EXPORT
EXPORT [ OPTIONAL ]
This keyword, when placed alone at the beginning of a class file declares the class as
exported.
That means that this class will be visible from the outside when making a component.
If the
OPTIONAL keyword is specified, then the class will be exported only if
no other previously loaded component has already exported a class with the same name.
Examples
' Gambas class file
'
' This is an implementation of a new ListBox control put in a component
INHERITS ListBox
EXPORT
...
Namespace support
Namespaces allow to choose the name of a class when it is exported.
In that public name, it is now possible to insert a colon, where the part before the colon is the "namespace".
For the Gambas interpreter, namespaces are just a convention. It only deals with the full exported name of the class.
EXPORT AS Namespace:PublicName [ OPTIONAL ]
This syntax exports the current class by using the
Namespace:PublicName public name.
EXPORT TO Namespace [ OPTIONAL ]
This syntax exports the current class by using the
Namespace:ClassName public name, where
ClassName is the name of the current class.
EXPORT TO DEFAULT [ OPTIONAL ]
This syntax exports the current class by using its name, without any namespace.
As now the IDE allows to define a default name space for all exported class of a project, this syntax is the only way to export a class with the same name, as the EXPORT keyword alone does before.
See also