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(elisp)Loading

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Enter node , (file) or (file)node

Loading
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   Loading a file of Lisp code means bringing its contents into the Lisp
environment in the form of Lisp objects.  Emacs finds and opens the
file, reads the text, evaluates each form, and then closes the file.

   The load functions evaluate all the expressions in a file just as
the `eval-current-buffer' function evaluates all the expressions in a
buffer.  The difference is that the load functions read and evaluate
the text in the file as found on disk, not the text in an Emacs buffer.

   The loaded file must contain Lisp expressions, either as source code
or as byte-compiled code.  Each form in the file is called a "top-level
form".  There is no special format for the forms in a loadable file;
any form in a file may equally well be typed directly into a buffer and
evaluated there.  (Indeed, most code is tested this way.)  Most often,
the forms are function definitions and variable definitions.

   A file containing Lisp code is often called a "library".  Thus, the
"Rmail library" is a file containing code for Rmail mode.  Similarly, a
"Lisp library directory" is a directory of files containing Lisp code.

How Programs Do Loading

The `load' function and others.

Library Search

Finding a library to load.

Loading Non-ASCII

Non-ASCII characters in Emacs Lisp files.

Autoload

Setting up a function to autoload.

Repeated Loading

Precautions about loading a file twice.

Named Features

Loading a library if it isn't already loaded.

Unloading

How to ``unload'' a library that was loaded.

Hooks for Loading

Providing code to be run when

particular libraries are loaded.