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Varkon application developers manual

# Module libraries

The obvious way to start developing a Varkon application is of course to create the modules (MBS- and MBO-files) that are needed to represent the range of objects that the application will be able to create.

It may be convenient to move the MBS- and MBO-files of an application to one or more folders or directories that can be accessed by all jobs and users of that application. If you do so you must tell Varkon where they are. The way to do that is to edit the definition of the VARKON_LIB environment variable in the Varkon start script.

The startscript included in the Varkon distribution sets up the VARKON_LIB environment variable to point to `VARKON_ROOT/lib`. It is strongly recommended not to change or add anything in the standard library. Keep all your own modules somewhere else, outside the Varkon system file tree and point to your own module libraries by adding them to the VARKON_LIB environment variable defined in the Varkon start script. Here is an example:

`VARKON_LIB=the_path_to_my_own_library:$VARKON_ROOT/lib`

With VARKON_LIB defined as above Varkon will first search your own library and if not successful, search the Varkon standard library. VARKON_LIB permits up to 10 libraries to be defined like this and Varkon will search them in the order they appear. Note that there is only one single namespace for all modules including the Varkon standard modules. You must use unique names for all your modules. Names used by Varkon begin with `l_, dxf_, ed_, fe_, igs_, ma_ or stl_`. If you don't actually mean to replace a Varkon standard module, it is best to avoid names beginning with these letter combinations for all types of modules, also macro modules.

See Where should I keep my macros for similar information related to macro modules.

Varkon version 1.19C svn# 97