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load *- dynamically load an object file
load "filename"
Load loads an object (or ".o") file into POSTGRES's address space. Once a file is loaded, all functions in that file can be accessed. This function is used in support of ADT's.
If a file is not loaded using the load command, the file will be loaded automatically the first time the function is called by POSTGRES. Load can also be used to reload an object file if it has been edited and recompiled. Only objects created from C language files are supported at this time.
/* Load the file /usr/postgres/demo/circle.o */ load "/usr/postgres/demo/circle.o"
Functions in loaded object files should not call functions in other object files loaded through the load command, meaning, for example, that all functions in file A should call each other, functions in the standard or math libraries, or in POSTGRES itself. They should not call functions defined in a different loaded file B. This is because if B is reloaded, the POSTGRES loader is not "smart" enough to relocate the calls from the functions in A into the new address space of B. If B is not reloaded, however, there will not be a problem.
On diskless platforms or when running across NFS, load can take two or three minutes or more, depending on network traffic. On diskful platforms, load takes from a few seconds on Suns and Sparcs to several minutes on DECstations.
On DECstations, you must use the "-G O" option when compiling object files to be loaded.
Note that if you are porting POSTGRES to a new platform, the load command will have to work in order to support ADT's.