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authorLouis Pilfold <louis@lpil.uk>2024-03-26 13:57:31 +0000
committerLouis Pilfold <louis@lpil.uk>2024-03-26 13:57:31 +0000
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Document opaque types
Closes https://github.com/gleam-lang/language-tour/issues/63
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+<p>
+ Sometimes in our projects we want to use code written in other languages, most
+ commonly Erlang and JavaScript, depending on which runtime is being used.
+ Gleam's <em>external functions</em> and <em>external types</em> allow us to
+ import and use this non-Gleam code.
+</p>
+<p>
+ An external type is one that has no constructors. Gleam doesn't know what
+ shape it has or how to create one, it only knows that it exists.
+</p>
+<p>
+ An external function is one that has the <code>@external</code> attribute on
+ it, directing the compiler to use the specified module function as the
+ implementation, instead of Gleam code.
+</p>
+<p>
+ The compiler can't tell the types of functions written in other languages, so
+ when the external attribute is given type annotations must be provided. Gleam
+ trusts that the type given is correct so an inaccurate type annotation can
+ result in unexpected behaviour and crashes at runtime. Be careful!
+</p>
+<p>
+ External functions are useful but should be used sparingly. Prefer to write
+ Gleam code where possible.
+</p>