The using Keyword

04 / 09 / 25

Objective

The objective of the using keyword is to enable multi-file projects to be compiled without manually defining all included files from the command line, it also serves as a way to disclose which existing object files should be linked after codegen.

Dictionary

using - The using keyword

Examples

The using keyword can change it's meaning depending on the syntax that follows. Following a using keyword with a string will tell the compiler to include another source file at the path provided, relative paths are preferred, example:

/* file: main.k */
using "./api/weather.k";

This syntax will include the source of ./api/weather.k in the compiler. It's worth noting that each source file is compiled individually using a shared symbol table. The resulting object files for each individual source file are then linked together to produce the final executable.

The second way to use the using keyword is with identifiers. This syntax will tell the compiler to link an object file following the path of the identifier. For example:

/* file: main.k */
using std.io;

This example will tell the compiler to link std/io.o with the resulting object files at the end of compilation. By default the compiler will search it's own working directory for object files to link, however if it does not find any then it will switch to the project working directory. Periods in the syntax will denote folders, for example:

/* file: main.k */
using os.api.platform;

This example will attempt to link os/api/platform.o with your KSL code.