Hoon-cludes

Enter Hoon School

Hoon is a functional, typed language. Using Hoon, we can write gates that can run directly on Arvo, the Urbit OS.

Hoon School Teaches Many Things

How to write and use gates
Some data types
Recursion
More

Including code modules

A key tactic in coding is to write code that performs a particular calculation based on inputs, then re-using that code as a building block.

Like in most languages, this modularization can be done in Urbit by storing code in libraries, then including them in other code. This post explains how I tested this.

How I did it:

Boot a fake planet.

I’d be daft to risk my home planet on sketchy code.

bash $ ./urbit zod

(a lot of line melody)

~zod:dojo>

Make a first library.

:: A first library to test inclusion and use of libraries.
|%
++  addthree :: a function to be called   
  |=  x=@ud  ^-  @ud :: Take an unsigned integer, and return one.
  (add 3 x)
-- :: remember to close the gates.

Save this as .../your-pier/home/lib/firstlib.hoon

Note that libraries go in the subdirectory lib.

So much fun! Again!

:: Another library to test inclusion and use of libraries.
|%
++  multwo :: a function to be called   
  |=  x=@ud  ^-  @ud :: Take an unsigned integer, and return one.
  (mul 2 x)
--

Save this as .../your-pier/home/lib/secondlib.hoon

Make a gate that will use those two libraries.

:: Another generator to test inclusion and use of libraries.
|=  x=@ud  ^-  @ud

:: Include your libraries.
/+  firstlib  :: Include one library.
/+  secondlib :: Include a second library.
|=  x=@ud  ^-  @ud

:: To call an arm from a loaded library, the pattern is
:: (arm-name:library-name args)
(multwo:secondlib (addthree:firstlib x))

Save as .../your-pier/home/gen/twoincludes.hoon

Note that this goes in the subdirectory gen

Load code.

In dojo

~zod:dojo>  |commit %home :: load your new code from your pier into your ship.
>=
: /~zod/home/1.869/lib/firstlib/hoon
: /~zod/home/1.869/lib/secondlib/hoon
: /~zod/home/1.869/gen/twoincludes/hoon

note the ‘1.869’ will likely be different. I think it is an event serial number.