File: gawk.info,  Node: Loading Shared Libraries,  Next: Obsolete,  Prev: Include Files,  Up: Invoking Gawk

2.8 Loading Dynamic Extensions into Your Program
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This minor node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'.

   The '@load' keyword can be used to read external 'awk' extensions
(stored as system shared libraries).  This allows you to link in
compiled code that may offer superior performance and/or give you access
to extended capabilities not supported by the 'awk' language.  The
'AWKLIBPATH' variable is used to search for the extension.  Using
'@load' is completely equivalent to using the '-l' command-line option.

   If the extension is not initially found in 'AWKLIBPATH', another
search is conducted after appending the platform's default shared
library suffix to the file name.  For example, on GNU/Linux systems, the
suffix '.so' is used:

     $ gawk '@load "ordchr"; BEGIN {print chr(65)}'
     -| A

This is equivalent to the following example:

     $ gawk -lordchr 'BEGIN {print chr(65)}'
     -| A

For command-line usage, the '-l' option is more convenient, but '@load'
is useful for embedding inside an 'awk' source file that requires access
to an extension.

   *note Dynamic Extensions::, describes how to write extensions (in C
or C++) that can be loaded with either '@load' or the '-l' option.  It
also describes the 'ordchr' extension.