# Overview

This folder contains libraries of useful objects, categories, and protocols. Specific notes about individual libraries can be found in the corresponding library directory `NOTES.md` files.

A plain Prolog version of the Unicode 6.2 standard is also included in the `unicode_data` folder. See its `README.md` file for details.

A `parallel_logtalk_processes_setup.pl` Prolog file is also provided with sample code for selected backend Prolog compilers for initializing Logtalk processes such that each process uses a unique scratch directory therefore allowing parallel process execution (e.g. for usage at continuous integration servers). Starting with Logtalk 3.48.0, this setup is only required in general when running with the `clean` flag turned off. See the comments in the file itself for usage instructions.

## Library documentation

Specific notes about each library can be found in the corresponding `NOTES.md` files. HTML documentation for each library API can be found on the `docs` directory (open the `../docs/index.html` file with your web browser). The documentation for these libraries can be regenerated using the shell scripts `../scripts/update_html_docs.sh` and `../scripts/update_svg_diagrams.sh`.

## Loading libraries

All the individual libraries can be loaded using the `<library name>(loader)` notation as argument for the compiling and loading predicates. For example:

    | ?- logtalk_load(random(loader)).

For existing applications still relying on the old library `*_loader.lgt` files, these loader files are still provided but are considered deprecated.

There is a file named `all_loader.lgt` that will load all libraries. Simply type the goal:

    | ?- logtalk_load(library(all_loader)).

As a general rule, always use the corresponding loader file to load a library. Most library entities are part of small hierarchies or depend on other libraries and thus cannot be loaded and compiled separately (e.g. the `list` object implements the `listp` protocol and is part of a basic types hierarchy). Using the loader files takes care of all dependencies and also ensures compilation in optimized mode.

## Testing libraries

Most of the libraries include unit tests in their directory, together with a `tester.lgt` file for running them. For example, to run the tests for the `random` library, we can use the goal:

    | ?- logtalk_load(random(tester)).

To run all libraries tests, we can use the `logtalk_tester` automation script from the `library` directory at the root of the Logtalk distribution. For example, assuming the Logtalk user directory is `~/logtalk` and that we want to run the tests using ECLiPSe as the backend Prolog compiler:

    $ cd ~/logtalk/library
    $ logtalk_tester -p eclipse

## Credits

Some code in this library is based on public domain Prolog code, in particular, code adopted from the Edinburgh Prolog library. The definition of predicate `reverse/2` in object list is from Richard O’Keefe and can be found in its book “The Craft of Prolog”.

Some elements of this library are inspired by Richard O’Keefe library proposal available at:

http://www.cs.otago.ac.nz/staffpriv/ok/pllib.htm

Some libraries, or part of libraries, are either ports of Prolog system libraries or inspired by Prolog system libraries. See the individual library notes for details. See also the `NOTICE.txt` file at the root of the Logtalk distribution for copyright information on third-party source code.

## Other notes

Some files contained in this directory represent work in progress and are not loaded by default by any loader utility file.