..
   This file is part of Logtalk <https://logtalk.org/>
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 1998-2026 Paulo Moura <pmoura@logtalk.org>
   SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   You may obtain a copy of the License at

       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
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   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
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.. rst-class:: align-right

**directive**

.. index:: pair: initialization/1; Directive
.. _directives_initialization_1:

``initialization/1``
====================

Description
-----------

::

   initialization(Goal)

When used within an object, this directive defines a goal to be called after
the object has been successfully loaded into memory. When used at a global
level within a source file, this directive defines a goal to be called after
the source file is successfully compiled and loaded into memory.

The loading context can be accessed from this directive by calling the
:ref:`predicates_logtalk_load_context_2` predicate. Note that the usable
loading context keys depend on the directive scope (file or object).

Multiple initialization directives can be used in a source file or in an
object. Their goals will be called in the same order as the directives at
loading time.

.. note::

   Arbitrary goals cannot be used as directives in source files. Any
   goal that should be automatically called when a source file is loaded
   must be wrapped using this directive.

   Categories and protocols cannot contain ``initialization/1`` directives
   as the initialization goals would lack a complete
   :term:`execution context <predicate execution context>` that is only
   available for objects.

Although technically a global ``initialization/1`` directive in a source
file is a Prolog directive, calls to Logtalk built-in predicates from it
are usually compiled to improve portability, improve performance, and
provide better support for embedded applications.

.. warning::

   Some backend Prolog compilers declare the atom ``initialization`` as
   an operator for a lighter syntax. But this makes the code non-portable
   and is therefore a practice best avoided.

Template and modes
------------------

::

   initialization(@callable)

Examples
--------

::

   % call the init/0 predicate after loading the
   % source file containing the directive

   :- initialization(init).

::

   % print a debug message after loading a
   % source file defining an object

   :- object(log).

       :- initialization(start_date).

       start_date :-
           os::date_time(Year, Month, Day, _, _, _, _),
           logtalk::print_message(debug, my_app, 'Starting date: ~d-~d-~d~n'+[Year,Month,Day]).

   :- end_object.

.. seealso::

   :ref:`predicates_logtalk_load_context_2`
