Re^4: Using a module more than once

[techra]

However, as I understand it, you can delay use calls if you are using SelfLoader and then execute the use call inside of a subroutine.

Example:

use SelfLoader;
sub __PACKAGE__::myfunc;
1;
__DATA__
sub myfunc {
  use ThisOtherModule;
}

[bart]

Interesting. And it comes with perl 5.8.7, no less. But so does autouse. Its purpose looks similar.

SelfLoader

load functions only on demand

autouse

postpone load of modules until a function is used

So... what's the difference between SelfLoader and autouse? And which is "best"?

[techra]

I don't know much about autouse, as I haven't tried it out. It looks like autouse's purpose is more context-oriented while SelfLoader is useful in a broader context. The benefit of delaying a 'use Module' command is a side-effect of SelfLoader, while it seems to be the main purpose of autouse.

SelfLoader delays the compilation of methods/subroutines until they are called, while autouse delays the execution of 'using' a module until it is explicitly called.