SWI-Prolog -- use_foreign

Documentation
- Reference manual
  - Foreign Language Interface
    - Linking Foreign Modules
      - library(shlib): Utility library for loading foreign objects (DLLs, shared objects)
        
        use_foreign_library/1
        
        use_foreign_library/2
        
        compat_arch/2
        
        load_foreign_library/1
        
        load_foreign_library/2
        
        unload_foreign_library/1
        
        unload_foreign_library/2
        
        current_foreign_library/2
        
        reload_foreign_libraries/0
        
        win_add_dll_directory/1
- Packages

Availability::- use_module(library(shlib)).(can be autoloaded)

[det]use_foreign_library(+FileSpec)

[det]use_foreign_library(+FileSpec, +Entry:atom)

Load and install a foreign library as load_foreign_library/1,2 and register the installation using initialization/2 with the option now. This is similar to using:

:- initialization(load_foreign_library(foreign(mylib))).

but using the initialization/1 wrapper causes the library to be loaded after loading of the file in which it appears is completed, while use_foreign_library/1 loads the library immediately. I.e. the difference is only relevant if the remainder of the file uses functionality of the C-library.

As of SWI-Prolog 8.1.22, use_foreign_library/1,2 is in provided as a built-in predicate that, if necessary, loads library(shlib). This implies that these directives can be used without explicitly loading library(shlib) or relying on demand loading.