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instance method

Module#autoload

(::interned constant, ::path filename) -> nil

mod.autoload(const, filename) → nil

static VALUE
rb_mod_autoload(VALUE mod, VALUE sym, VALUE file)
{
    ID id = rb_to_id(sym);

    FilePathValue(file);
    rb_autoload_str(mod, id, file);
    return Qnil;
}

Registers filename to be loaded (using Kernel::require) the first time that const (which may be a String or a symbol) is accessed in the namespace of mod.

Example

module A
end
A.autoload(:B, "b")
A::B.doit            # autoloads "b"

If const in mod is defined as autoload, the file name to be loaded is replaced with filename. If const is defined but not as autoload, does nothing.

Files that are currently being loaded must not be registered for autoload.

See also #autoload? #attr_writer #attr_reader #autoload_relative also in 4.0 · 3.4 · 3.3 · 3.2 · 3.1 · 3.0

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