— Scheme Procedure: load filename [reader]

Load filename and evaluate its contents in the top-level environment. The load paths are not searched.

reader if provided should be either #f, or a procedure with the signature (lambda (port) ...) which reads the next expression from port. If reader is #f or absent, Guile's built-in read procedure is used (see Scheme Read).

The reader argument takes effect by setting the value of the current-reader fluid (see below) before loading the file, and restoring its previous value when loading is complete. The Scheme code inside filename can itself change the current reader procedure on the fly by setting current-reader fluid.

If the variable %load-hook is defined, it should be bound to a procedure that will be called before any code is loaded. See documentation for %load-hook later in this section.

— Scheme Procedure: load-from-path filename

Similar to load, but searches for filename in the load paths.

— Scheme Procedure: primitive-load filename
— C Function: scm_primitive_load (filename)

Load the file named filename and evaluate its contents in the top-level environment. The load paths are not searched; filename must either be a full pathname or be a pathname relative to the current directory. If the variable %load-hook is defined, it should be bound to a procedure that will be called before any code is loaded. See the documentation for %load-hook later in this section.

— Scheme Procedure: primitive-load-path filename
— C Function: scm_primitive_load_path (filename)

Search %load-path for the file named filename and load it into the top-level environment. If filename is a relative pathname and is not found in the list of search paths, an error is signalled.

— Scheme Procedure: %search-load-path filename
— C Function: scm_sys_search_load_path (filename)

Search %load-path for the file named filename, which must be readable by the current user. If filename is found in the list of paths to search or is an absolute pathname, return its full pathname. Otherwise, return #f. Filenames may have any of the optional extensions in the %load-extensions list; %search-load-path will try each extension automatically.

— Variable: current-reader

current-reader holds the read procedure that is currently being used by the above loading procedures to read expressions (from the file that they are loading). current-reader is a fluid, so it has an independent value in each dynamic root and should be read and set using fluid-ref and fluid-set! (see Fluids and Dynamic States).

— Variable: %load-hook

A procedure to be called (%load-hook filename) whenever a file is loaded, or #f for no such call. %load-hook is used by all of the above loading functions (load, load-path, primitive-load and primitive-load-path).

For example an application can set this to show what's loaded,

          (set! %load-hook (lambda (filename)
                             (format #t "Loading ~a ...\n" filename)))
          (load-from-path "foo.scm")
          -| Loading /usr/local/share/guile/site/foo.scm ...
     

— Scheme Procedure: current-load-port
— C Function: scm_current_load_port ()

Return the current-load-port. The load port is used internally by primitive-load.

— Variable: %load-extensions

A list of default file extensions for files containing Scheme code. %search-load-path tries each of these extensions when looking for a file to load. By default, %load-extensions is bound to the list ("" ".scm").