What's the point of package

[DreepyYunky]

Sorry but whenever I want to build an odin file, I usually think I need to put in my package name not directory.

If not the directory what's the use of package?

[Kelimion]

The package directive at the top of the file is used in the ABI. Say you import fmt, then if you call fmt.printf, that fmt.printf is the symbol name the linker will see.

[programandala-net]

Yunky86 escribió/skribis/wrote/scrit (2023-03-25T04:53:53-0700):

what's the use of `package`?

I've had the very same doubt from the first time I used Odin. 1) A package is the content of a directory; 2) the package name can be different than its directory name; 3) there seems to be no `@()` attribute applicable to `package`. So what's the `package` keyword useful for?

…

-- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net

[programandala-net]

Jeroen van Rijn escribió/skribis/wrote/scrit (2023-03-25T05:21:52-0700):

The `package` directive at the top of the file is used in the ABI. Say you import `fmt`, then if you call `fmt.printf`, that `fmt.printf` is the symbol name the linker will see.

So the only purpose of adding `package` to all of the files of a package is to make the package name explicit in the code itself, and also allow it to be different from the directory's. I always wondered why `package` is required in all files, instead of using the directory name as package name.

…

-- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net

[Kelimion]

Yes. This way you can have the directory name be something descriptive and the ABI prefix shorter, or vice versa. It's useful having this control over what the linker (or debugger) see.

Jeroen van Rijn escribió/skribis/wrote/scrit (2023-03-25T05:21:52-0700):
The package directive at the top of the file is used in the ABI. Say you import fmt, then if you call fmt.printf, that fmt.printf is the symbol name the linker will see.
So the only purpose of adding package to all of the files of a package is to make the package name explicit in the code itself, and also allow it to be different from the directory's. I always wondered why package is required in all files, instead of using the directory name as package name.
…
-- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net

[programandala-net]

In 2022 this was questioned in a comment to the video Compiler Demo - Introspection, Modules, and Record Layout and @gingerBill responded it:

Why isnt the package inferred by the folder name instead of requiring to be added manually at the start of the file?

The package name at the beginning is required for consistent ABI. Tying it to the directory structure would require an absolute root path to be defined which would conflict with other design concerns.