AutoHotkey Community

Lets suppose we have a following situation:

What is the default action if one needs to link an 'external' library to an already existing library in a project, like in the above example?
I've thought about:

• #include lib\ext_lib\extlib.ahk
  in main.ahk file
  Con: Each time I use lib1.ahk, I have to remember that lib1.ahk uses an external library
• #include %A_ScriptDir%
  #include ext_lib\extlib.ahk
  in lib1.ahk file
  Con: if lib1.ahk included in main.ahk, then in main.ahk directly after the #include lib\lib1.ahk there has to be a #include %A_ScriptDir% directive to restore the old main.ahk #include working directory - looks a little bit ugly:
  
  Code:
  #include %A_ScriptDir%
  #include lib\lib1.ahk
  #include %A_ScriptDir%
  #include lib\lib2.ahk
  #include %A_ScriptDir%
  etc.

For AutoHotkey_L, instead of
use

Additionally, the following applies to both versions of AutoHotkey:
However, if you do #include lib\lib1.ahk, it is not considered a library file.

Lastly, for v2:

Hi Lexikos, thanks for the response.

What is the definition of a library file?
I also have doubts about the sentence you quoted from the documentation - why would someone want to provide an #include ext_lib directive inside lib1.ahk library file if at the same time he'd know that in order to use any of the function inside the lib1.ahk library, he'd have to include that lib1.ahk library file in some other file (like main.ahk). My mind tells me that this (specifying #include ext_lib in lib1.ahk) looks like creating a redirection that will always fail (will fail bc the library will always be broken if linked to main.ahk) (unless I use sth like #include *i inside lib1.ahk)
From what I've understood so far, the sentence you quoted means sth like:


* works because 'the file to be compiled directly' is a library (#include 's working directory is the directory the library file is in)
** fails because 'the file to be compiled directly' is 'a file' (#include 's working directory is the file's directory. File's directory != lib1 default working directory)
Do I understand this correctly?

Ok, this is for Autohotkey v2 (I didn't even know such thing existed, thanks). I guess that new #include behaviour was implemented in response to cases similar to what I've described in the first part of my post (problems with #include working dir inheritance in a multiple files ahk project).

A file from a function library, included automatically because of a function-call, or explicitly with #include <>.
One would use #include in a library file for the same reasons one would use #include anywhere else.
I don't understand what you think the problem is. If lib1 depends on lib2, either the user must #include both libs in their script (even if they don't explicitly use lib2) or lib1 must #include lib2. If lib1 is split into multiple files, the user should not need to #include each individual file.

Thanks, now I get it. I had doubts if by 'library file' you mean only a file included with #include <> as #include <> has some special meaning.

I've tested #includes further in ahkB and it appears that approach 2) from my first post will always fail. Here is an example:
File structure

main.ahk

chair.ahk

cabinet.ahk


A workaround would be a solution 1) from my first post:
main.ahk

chair.ahk

In ahkL everything is much simpler because of #include <>.