Modules

In the lib-common, Modules can be defined and work in a similar way as kernel modules, allowing us to load blocks of functionalities with little effort.

Modules are declared using MODULE_BEGIN(module_name)/MODULE_END() macros. This creates a function with __attribute__(constructor)

The body of this function is called before main(), as long as the module is linked in your executable.

It builds the dependencies between modules, using:

  • MODULE_DEPENDS_ON(x) (load the module "x" before this one, a classic dependency)

  • MODULE_NEEDED_BY(x) (load this module before loading module "x", a reversed dependency).

When loading a module, 2 things happen:

  • all the automatic dependencies (MODULE_DEPENDS_ON) not loaded yet are loaded (this is recursive, so their dependencies are loaded first, and their <dep>_initialize() method is called before too).

  • then the <module_name>_initialize() method is called.

When unloading a module : * all the dependencies that are not needed anymore are unloaded. * the <module_name>_shutdown() method is called.

MODULE_PROVIDE(module_x, arg) ensures that the argument is passed to module_x_initialize(). Warnings will be issued if a module is provided an argument more than once.

Sometimes, you need conditional dependency. This is achieved using MODULE_REQUIRE(x), which does an immediate load. This is usually done in <module>_initialize, but could be done anywhere. A manually loaded module must be manually unloaded, using MODULE_RELEASE(x).