Changes between versions

This document lists functionality differences between each major version of Modules. The goal of each following section is to reference the features of previous major version that are missing or behave differently on the next major version and the features that can only be found on this newer version. For instance the Modules 4 section lists the changes compared to Modules 3.2.

Regarding deprecated or newly introduced features, this document only lists their name or the command line argument related to them. Please refer to the module and the modulefile man pages of the previous or newer Modules version to learn the details about these removed or added features.

Modules 4

This section provides the list of differences with Modules version 3.2. This version of Modules is also referred in this document as compatibility version. Modules 4 is based on what was previously called Modules-Tcl. Comparison takes as a basis version 3.2.10 of compatibility version against Modules version 4.0. Any change made past these versions will explicitly mention the release number starting from the difference appears or disappears.

Note

The numerous bugs or limitations spotted on Modules 3.2 across the years have been fixed in Modules 4.0. The list of reported issues that have been solved are available on the project code forge.

Removed or changed features

This section describes the features of the compatibility version that are not supported or that behave differently on Modules 4.

Package Initialization

MODULESBEGINENV environment snapshot functionality is not supported on version 4. Modules collection mechanism should be preferred to save and restore sets of enabled modulepaths and loaded modulefiles. Modules 4 also introduces a system configuration file init/modulerc, located in Modules installation directory. Starting version 4.3, this file could also be etc/initrc. This modulerc/initrc file is sourced by Modules shell initialization scripts and helps to setup the initial environment right after initializing the module command.

Command line switches

--human

--create, -c

--userlvl lvl, -u lvl

These command line switches are not supported on Modules 4. When these options are passed on the command-line, it produces an Unsupported option warning and command is ran with the unsupported switches ignored.

--ter

--lon

--sil

--verb

These intermediate-form command line switches are not supported on Modules 4. Short or long switch name should be used instead.

-h

This command line switch is short version of --help switch on Modules 4 whereas it is short version of --human switch on compatibility version.

--force, -f

This command line switch was not supported starting Modules version 4.0 but reintroduced starting version 4.2 with a different meaning: instead of enabling an active dependency resolution mechanism --force command line switch now enables to by-pass dependency consistency when loading or unloading a modulefile.

--verbose, -v

--silent, -s

These command line switches were not supported starting Modules version 4.0 but reintroduced starting version 4.3. However, reintroduced --silent switch does not redirect stderr channel to /dev/null if stderr is found not to be a tty.

--icase, -i

This command line switch was not supported starting Modules version 4.0 but reintroduced starting version 4.4. When --icase switch is now set it applies to search query string and module specification on all sub-commands and modulefile Tcl commands.

Module Sub-Commands

On compatibility version, paths composing the MODULEPATH environment variable may contain reference to environment variable. These variable references are resolved dynamically when MODULEPATH is looked at during module sub-command action like avail. This feature was missing on Modules 4.0 but it has been re-introduced on Modules 4.1.

update

This module sub-commands is not supported on Modules 4.

clear

This command line switch was not supported starting Modules version 4.0 but reintroduced starting version 4.3. It now takes into account the --force command-line switch to skip confirmation dialog.

refresh

On compatibility version, only the shell aliases defined by the currently loaded modulefiles are set again on a refresh command. Whereas on Modules 4 this command is an alias on the reload command that unload then load all the currently loaded modulefiles.

help

Compatibility version redirects output made on stdout in ModulesHelp Tcl procedure to stderr.

During an help sub-command, only the ModulesHelp Tcl procedure of a modulefile is interpreted on compatibility version. Version 4 interprets all the content of the modulefile, then call the ModulesHelp procedure if it exists.

On version 4, ModulesHelp subroutine is not ran if an error occurred during the interpretation of the modulefile main body.

display

On version 4, ModulesDisplay subroutine is not ran if an error occurred during the interpretation of the modulefile main body.

avail

On compatibility version, the same Tcl interpreter is used for the interpretation of all .modulerc or .version files during an avail command but the state of this interpreter is not reset between each interpretation. So some variable and procedure definitions may spread from one interpretation to another on this compatibility version. Modules 4 reuses the same interpreter for all .modulerc or .version interpretation but it is cleaned between each interpretation to protect from definition spread.

In case of --terse or --long mode, all enabled modulepaths will be displayed whether they hold result to display or not. Modules 4 outputs only the modulepaths where matching results are found. Modulepaths with no result to report are discarded from output.

apropos

On Modules 4, string passed as argument is always searched in a case insensitive manner.

load

On Modules 4, the value of an environment variable is set even if the new value is the same as the current value of this variable in environment.

When an already loaded modulefiles is asked for load again, compatibility version will refresh the shell alias definition this modulefile hold if any, whereas Modules 4 will ignore the new load order.

In case of modulefile loading another modulefile, if sub-modulefile load fails calling modulefile will still be loaded on compatibility version whereas Modules 4 will also abort calling modulefile load. Compatibility version behavior could be restored by enclosing module load command and arguments within catch Tcl command.

Starting with version 4.1, content sent to the stdout channel during a modulefile interpretation is spooled to effectively transmit this content to stdout after rendering the environment changes made by this modulefile.

unload

On Modules 4, the value of an environment variable is set even if the new value is the same as the current value of this variable in environment.

Compatibility version enables to load a modulefile by passing on the command-line the name of a module alias or symbolic version pointing to this modulefile. However this module alias or symbolic version name cannot be used to unload the modulefile once loaded. Modules 4 enables to pass a module alias or symbolic version name to unload a loaded modulefile referred by this name.

On versions 4.0 and 4.1, unloading an nonexistent modulefile generates an Unable to locate modulefile error. Starting with version 4.2, unloading a module only looks at loaded module list and does not trigger a modulefile search. So starting version 4.2 the same behavior than Modules compatibility version is obtained.

Starting with version 4.1, content sent to the stdout channel during a modulefile interpretation is spooled to effectively transmit this content to stdout after rendering the environment changes made by this modulefile.

When the specified module to unload matches multiple loaded modules, Modules 4 unloads lastly loaded module whereas compatibility version unloads firstly loaded module. A configuration option unload_match_order has been introduced in version 4.3 and it enables to restore the behavior of compatibility version when it is set to returnfirst.

switch

When switching on version 4 an old modulefile by a new one, no error is raised if old modulefile is not currently loaded. In this situation compatibility version throws an error and abort switch action.

When switching on Modules 4 an old modulefile by a new one, this new modulefile does not keep the position that the old modulefile had in the LOADEDMODULES list as done on compatibility version but it is appended to the end of the list. Same goes for PATH-like environment variables: replaced PATH component is appended to the end or prepended to the beginning of the relative PATH-like variable, not appended or prepended relatively to the position hold by the swapped PATH component.

When a modulefile loads another modulefile with a module load order, this sub-module is not unloaded when the top modulefile is swapped-out during a switch command on compatibility version. Version 4 interprets the swapped-out modulefile in unload mode, so the module load order is interpreted as module unload order and sub-module is unloaded.

use

When the modulepath to enable is passed as a relative path, compatibility version will set it using passed relative name whereas Modules 4 will determine the corresponding absolute path and will register it rather passed relative name.

unuse

Modules 4 provides path element counting feature which increases a reference counter each time a given path entry is added to a given environment variable. This feature also applies to the MODULEPATH environment variable. As consequence a modulepath entry element is removed from the modulepath enabled list only if the related element counter is equal to 1. When unusing a modulepath if its reference counter is greater than 1, modulepath is kept enabled and reference counter is decreased by 1.

whatis

On Modules 4, environment variable edition commands (setenv, unsetenv, append-path, prepend-path and remove-path) do no set variable to the defined value on the modulefile evaluation context during a whatis evaluation. Instead environment variables are initialized with an empty value if undefined, to avoid raising error when attempting access to an undefined element during the modulefile evaluation.

initadd

initprepend

initswitch

On version 4 no message is displayed to give details on how list of modulefiles to load has been altered in initialization file.

initrm

No message is displayed on Modules 4 to inform of the modulefiles that have been removed from the loading list in initialization file.

Empty module load line is left on version 4 when last modulefile from a line is asked to be removed. On compatibility version module load null line is set in this case.

initclear

Empty module load lines are left on version 4 whereas module load null lines are set on compatibility version.

Modules Specific Tcl Commands

On version 4 the characters that have a special meaning when rendered in shells are escaped when used in value to set environment variables, shell alias or shell functions. Thus it is possible to set environment elements with value containing these special characters (like backticks). On version 3 these special characters were evaluated by shell when recording the environment changes implied by modulefile evaluation.

append-path

prepend-path

Modules 4 produces an error when adding a bare colon character : as a path element to a path-like variable, as this colon cannot be distinguished from the colon used for path separator.

Modules 4 supports adding or removing empty path element to a path-like variable, whereas compatibility version looses track of this path element when the path-like variable is modified afterward. Empty path element enables to set a leading colon character :, which has a specific meaning on some regular environment variable like MANPATH or LD_LIBRARY_PATH.

When adding a path element to the MANPATH environment variable, Modules 4 is treating this variable like any other whereas a special treatment was applied on compatibility version: a default MANPATH value, set at configure time, was appended in case MANPATH variable was unset.

remove-path

Modules 4 provides path element counting feature which increases a reference counter each time a given path entry is added to a given environment variable. As consequence a path entry element is removed from a path-like variable only if the related element counter is equal to 1. If this counter is greater than 1, path element is kept in variable and reference counter is decreased by 1.

When unloading a modulefile, remove-path command is not applied to environment variable on Modules 4, whereas on compatibility version it is processed the exact same way than when loading modulefile.

exit

On Modules 4 code passed to the exit Modules specific Tcl command will not be thrown to be the module return value.

module-alias

module-version

In case the specified aliased module or the symbolic version introduces a resolution loop with already defined aliases or symbolic versions, this new alias or symbolic version is not registered and an error message is raised. On compatibility version, alias or symbolic version introducing loop are registered as the modulefile resolution is not computed at registration time.

module-info

module-info flags

module-info trace

module-info tracepat

module-info user

These module-info options are related to compatibility version-specific features so they are available on Modules 4 but with a dummy implementation that always returns false or an empty value.

module-info mode

During an unload sub-command, unload is returned instead of remove. However if mode is tested against remove value, true will be returned.

During a switch sub-command, unload then load is returned instead of switch1 then switch2 then switch3. However if mode is tested against switch value, true will be returned.

module-info name

If the module name passed to the command-line has been specified as a full path name, the module-info name used in modulefile returns this file base name on compatibility version whereas it returns on Modules 4+ the full path name as it is identified by this name once loaded.

module-info version

Declared aliases or symbolic versions are not registered anymore if they introduce a resolution loop. As a result module-info version does not return an *undef* string value as it does not face resolution loop situation anymore.

module-info symbols

Declared aliases or symbolic versions are not registered anymore if they introduce a resolution loop. As a consequence symbolic versions introducing loop situation are not part anymore of the module-info symbols returned result as they are not registered.

A symbolic version sets on a module alias will be propagated toward the resolution path to also apply to the relative modulefile if it still correspond to the same module name.

module-log

module-trace

module-user

module-verbosity

These Modules specific Tcl commands are related to compatibility version-specific features so they are available on Modules 4 but with a dummy implementation that always displays a warning message saying the command is not implemented.

module-whatis

When multiple words are passed as argument to module-whatis but they are not enclosed in double-quotes or curly braces they will be displayed as a single line on Modules 4 whereas compatibility version displays them as one line per word.

set-alias

Whereas compatibility version sets a shell function when variables are in use in alias value on Bourne shell derivatives, Modules 4 always defines a shell alias never a shell function.

setenv

On compatibility version the setenv modulefile command accepts any number of argument, but ignores all arguments after the first two. An error is raised on Modules 4 when more than two arguments are passed to the setenv modulefile command.

Locating Modulefiles

On version 4, when a module alias is set and overrides name of an existing directory, this alias is taken into account to locate the default version of this module name and the modulefiles locating in the directory are ignored.

When looking for an implicit default in a modulefile directory, aliases are taken into account in addition to modulefiles and directories to determine the highest numerically sorted element.

Modules 4 will resolve module alias or symbolic version passed to unload command to then remove the loaded modulefile pointed by the mentioned alias or symbolic version.

Modules 4 resolves module alias or symbolic version pointing to a modulefile located in another modulepath.

When locating modulefiles on Modules 4, if a .modulerc, a .version, a directory or a modulefile cannot be read during the search it is simply ignored with no error message produced. Visibility of modulefiles can thus be adapted to the rights the user has been granted. Exception is made when trying to directly access a directory or a modulefile. In this case, the access issue is returned as an error message. Access issue is also returned when a direct access is made to a module alias or a symbolic version targeting an unreadable modulefile.

New features

This section describes the features of Modules version 4 that are not supported on the compatibility version. Please refer to the above section for features supported by both versions but behaving differently.

Package Initialization

Support for fish, lisp, tcl and R code output has been introduced on Modules 4.0.

On version 4 and for sh, bash, ksh, zsh and fish shells, text output, like listing from the avail command, is redirected from stderr to stdout after shell command evaluation if shell is in interactive mode. Starting version 4.1, this content redirection occurs if shell session is attached to a terminal.

Starting version 4.5, a new alias or function called ml may be defined at initialization time, to provide a handy frontend to the module command.

Starting version 4.5, support for Windows cmd shell is introduced.

Modulecmd startup

Starting with version 4.1, modulecmd.tcl sources upon invocation a site-specific configuration script named siteconfig.tcl. This Tcl script enables to supersede any global variable or procedure definition of modulecmd.tcl.

Command line switches

The following command line switches appeared on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New command line switches
4.0	--debug, -D, --default, -d, --latest, -L
4.1	--paginate, --no-pager
4.2	--auto, --no-auto
4.3	--indepth, --no-indepth, --color, --starts-with, -S, --contains, -C
4.5	--json, -j
4.6	--trace, -T, --all, -a, -DD
4.7	-vv, --output, -o, --width, -w

Module Sub-Commands

The following module sub-commands appeared on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New module sub-commands
4.0	reload, source, search, save, restore, saverm, saveshow, savelist, path, paths, autoinit, aliases, test
4.1	append-path, prepend-path, remove-path, is-loaded, is-saved is-used, is-avail, info-loaded
4.3	config
4.6	sh-to-mod
4.8	edit, try-load

All module sub-commands will return a non-zero exit code in case of error whereas on compatibility version issues that occurred do not lead to an exit of the module command with a non-zero code.

Starting with version 4.1, module function for all scripting languages, like Perl or Python, always returns a value. In case of error, a false boolean value is returned instead of raising a fatal exception. For module sub-commands returning a text value, the module function will actually return this value. In all other cases a true boolean value is returned.

avail, whatis and apropos

Non-critical errors are not displayed on avail, whatis and apropos sub-commands. Only valid results are returned.

Module aliases are included in the result of these sub-commands. They are displayed in the module path section where they are defined or in a global/user modulerc section for aliases set in user's or global modulerc file. A @ symbol is added in parenthesis next to their name to distinguish them from modulefiles.

Search may be performed with an alias or a symbolic version-name passed as argument.

Arguments to these avail, whatis and apropos commands may use wildcard characters to express glob patterns.

Collections

Modules Collections have been introduced on Modules 4.0.

Environment

The following environment variables appeared on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New environment variables
4.0	MODULECONTACT, MODULES_COLLECTION_TARGET, MODULES_USE_COMPAT_VERSION, <VAR>_modshare
4.1	MODULES_CMD, MODULES_COLLECTION_PIN_VERSION, MODULES_PAGER, MODULES_RUNENV_<VAR>, MODULES_RUN_QUARANTINE, MODULES_SILENT_SHELL_DEBUG, <VAR>_modquar
4.2	MODULES_AUTO_HANDLING, MODULES_LMALTNAME, MODULES_LMCONFLICT, MODULES_LMNOTUASKED, MODULES_LMPREREQ
4.3	MODULES_AVAIL_INDEPTH, MODULES_COLOR, MODULES_COLORS, MODULES_IMPLICIT_DEFAULT, MODULES_SEARCH_MATCH, MODULES_SET_SHELL_STARTUP, MODULES_SITECONFIG, MODULES_TERM_BACKGROUND, MODULES_UNLOAD_MATCH_ORDER, MODULES_VERBOSITY, MODULES_WA_277
4.4	MODULES_ADVANCED_VERSION_SPEC, MODULES_EXTENDED_DEFAULT, MODULES_ICASE
4.5	MODULES_ML
4.6	MODULES_LMSOURCESH, MODULES_NEARLY_FORBIDDEN_DAYS
4.7	MODULES_SHELLS_WITH_KSH_FPATH, MODULES_IMPLICIT_REQUIREMENT, MODULES_LMTAG, MODULES_TAG_ABBREV, MODULES_TAG_COLOR_NAME, MODULES_MCOOKIE_VERSION_CHECK MODULES_AVAIL_OUTPUT, MODULES_AVAIL_TERSE_OUTPUT, MODULES_LIST_OUTPUT, MODULES_LIST_TERSE_OUTPUT, MODULES_TERM_WIDTH
4.8	MODULES_EDITOR, MODULES_VARIANT_SHORTCUT, MODULES_LMVARIANT

Modules Specific Tcl Commands

The following modulefile Tcl commands appeared on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New modulefile Tcl commands
4.0	module-info command, getenv, reportError, reportWarning
4.1	module-info loaded, is-saved, is-used, is-avail, module-virtual
4.2	set-function, unset-function
4.6	source-sh, module-hide, module-forbid, module-info usergroups, module-info username
4.7	versioncmp, module-tag, module-info tags
4.8	variant, getvariant

conflict and prereq

Starting with version 4.2, these Modules-specific Tcl commands support being called with a symbolic modulefile or a modulefile alias passed as argument.

getenv

Starting with version 4.2, an optional value argument is added on getenv to define the value to return in case environment variable is not set.

module

In case of module load command specifying multiple modulefiles, when mode is set to unload these modulefiles will be unloaded in the reverse order to ensure correct handling of prerequisites.

Starting with version 4.7, the load, unload and switch sub-commands support the --not-req option to avoid recording a prereq or a conflict requirement toward specified modules.

append-path and prepend-path

Starting with version 4.1, both commands handle being called with multiple value arguments and option --duplicates is added.

remove-path

Starting with version 4.1, remove-path handles being called with multiple value arguments and option --index is added.

is-loaded

Starting with version 4.1, is-loaded supports being called with no argument passed. In this case, it returns true if any modulefile is currently loaded, false otherwise.

Starting with version 4.2, is-loaded supports being called with a symbolic modulefile or a modulefile alias passed as argument.

This Modules-specific Tcl command was not enabled for modulerc evaluation starting Modules version 4.0 but it has been reintroduced starting version 4.2.1.

Modules Variables

The following Modules-specific Tcl variables appeared on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New Modules-specific Tcl variables
4.7	ModuleTool, ModuleToolVersion
4.8	ModuleVariant

Modules configuration options

The concept of configuration option has been introduced on Modules 4.3. The following Modules configuration option has been introduced on Modules 4.

Introduced in version	New Modules configuration options
4.3	auto_handling, avail_indepth, collection_pin_version, collection_target, color, colors, contact, extra_siteconfig, implicit_default, locked_configs, pager, rcfile, run_quarantine, silent_shell_debug, search_match, set_shell_startup, term_background, unload_match_order, verbosity, wa_277
4.4	advanced_version_spec, extended_default, home, icase
4.5	ml
4.6	nearly_forbidden_days
4.7	avail_output, avail_terse_output, implicit_requirement, list_output, list_terse_output, mcookie_version_check, shells_with_ksh_fpath, tag_abbrev, tag_color_name, term_width
4.8	editor, variant_shortcut

list_output, list_terse_output

Starting version 4.8, element variant is added to the list of accepted values. It is added to the default value list of list_output.

Modules 5

This section provides the list of differences with Modules version 4. Comparison takes as a basis version 4.8 against Modules version 5.0. Any change made past these versions will explicitly mention the release number starting from the difference appears or disappears.

Removed or changed features

This section describes the features of Modules 4 that are not supported or that behave differently on Modules 5.

Package Initialization

The initialization configuration file initrc and the modulepath-specific configuration file modulespath are now searched by default in the etcdir instead of in the initdir. Moreover these configuration files are only searched in one location. Previously they were searched in both etcdir and initdir locations by Modules initialization process.

When initializing Modules, the initrc configuration file is evaluated in addition to the the modulespath configuration file and not instead of this file. initrc is evaluated after modulespath file.

Report the modules loading and unloading during the evaluation of the initrc configuration file. These report messages are disabled when the verbosity configuration option is set to concise or silent.

Enforce use of the Modules magic cookie (i.e., #%Module file signature) at the start of initrc configuration file. No evaluation occurs and an error is produced if the magic cookie is missing or if the optional version number placed after the cookie string is higher than the version of the modulecmd.tcl script in use.

Quarantine mechanism code in the Modules shell initialization scripts is now always defined and mechanism always applies if some environment variables are defined in MODULES_RUN_QUARANTINE. Code in the modulecmd.tcl script to restore environment variables put in quarantine is now always generated and applies if the __MODULES_QUARANTINE_SET environment variable is set to 1. By default on Modules 5 the module shell function definition is generated without quarantine support but it could be enabled by setting quarantine_support to 1 in initrc.

Code to silence shell debug properties in the Modules shell initialization scripts is now always defined and mechanism applies if MODULES_SILENT_SHELL_DEBUG is set to 1. Code to silence shell debug properties in the module shell function could now be enabled if MODULES_SILENT_SHELL_DEBUG is set to 1 prior Modules initialization or if the silent_shell_debug configuration option is set to 1 in the initrc configuration file. Option is set off by default on Modules 5.

During the autoinit process, the environment variable __MODULES_AUTOINIT_INPROGRESS is checked and if it is found set to 1, the initialization process immediately ends. If not, this environment variable is set to 1 which ensures no initialization loop could occur, especially when the set_shell_startup configuration option is set.

Modulecmd startup

Enforce use of the Modules magic cookie (i.e., #%Module file signature) at the start of global or user rc files. These files are not evaluated and an error is produced if the magic cookie is missing or if the optional version number placed after the cookie string is higher than the version of the modulecmd.tcl script in use.

Module Sub-Commands

append-path, prepend-path, remove-path

When sub-command is not called during a modulefile evaluation, the reference counter associated with each entry in targeted environment variable is ignored. In such context, a module append-path/prepend-path will not increase the reference counter of a path entry already defined and a module remove-path will remove specified path whatever its reference counter value.

display

No error is raised when evaluating a modulefile without a value specified for the variant it defines. As a result, the unspecified variant is not instantiated in the ModuleVariant array variable.

load

Reference counting mechanism is not anymore applied to the Modules-specific path variables (like LOADEDMODULES). As a result no __MODULES_SHARE_<VAR> variable is set in user environment for these variables. Exception is made for MODULEPATH environment variable where the mechanism still applies.

refresh

Sub-command evaluates all loaded modulefiles and re-apply the non-persistent environment changes they define (i.e., shell aliases, shell functions and command put on stdout channel). With this change the refresh sub-command is restored to the behavior it had on Modules version 3.2.

restore, source

Only report the module load and unload directly triggered by these sub-commands. Load and unload triggered by other modules are reported through the automated module handling messages of the main modules.

restore

Starting Modules 5.2:

• if no argument is provided and if default collection does not exist, initial environment is restored.

• sticky modules are unloaded when restoring a collection.

source

Enforce use of the Modules magic cookie (i.e., #%Module file signature) at the start of any scriptfile passed for evaluation to the source sub-command. These files are not evaluated and an error is produced if the magic cookie is missing or if the optional version number placed after the cookie string is higher than the version of the modulecmd.tcl script in use.

saveshow

Starting Modules 5.2, if no argument is provided and if default collection does not exist, initial environment is displayed.

use

Non-existent modulepath is now accepted as argument.

Reference counting mechanism is ignored when sub-command is not called during a modulefile evaluation. In such context, a module use will not increase the reference counter of a path entry already defined.

unuse

Reference counting mechanism is ignored when sub-command is not called during a modulefile evaluation. In such context, a module unuse will remove specified path whatever its reference counter value.

Correctly handle several modulepaths specified as a single argument (i.e., /path/to/dir1:/path/to/dir2).

Modules Specific Tcl Commands

append-path, prepend-path

When an element is added to a path-like variable, add this element to the associated reference counter variable (named __MODULES_SHARE_<VAR>) only when this element is added multiple times to the path-like variable. When an element is removed from a path-like variable, this element is removed from the reference counter variable when its counter is equal to 1.

chdir, module, module-trace, module-verbosity, module-user, module-log

These modulefile commands have been undeclared from the modulerc Tcl interpreter on Modules 5. An error message is obtained if still used instead of silently ignoring it.

getenv

When passed environment variable is not defined, an empty string is returned by default rather _UNDEFINED_.

module

Forbid use of module source command in modulefile or in an initialization rc file, the source Tcl command should be used instead.

Starting version 5.1 an error is raised when an unused option is set on module use or module unuse commands.

unsetenv

When running on an unload evaluation, do not unset designated environment variable if no value to restore is provided.

Distinguish between being called on a unload evaluation without a value to restore or with an empty string value to restore.

variant

Starting version 5.1, variant command accepts being called without a list of accepted value defined. In this case, any value specified is accepted.

Starting version 5.5, a valid variant name is only composed of the [A-Za-z0-9_-] characters. It cannot start with - character and the name as a whole cannot correspond to a number.

Locating Modulefiles

As the Advanced module version specifiers mechanism is enabled by default on Modules 5.0, several characters are made special and cannot be used anymore in module name or version. These characters are @, =, ~, + and ,. Also a module name cannot start with - character. Module name is allowed to finish by one or more + character but + cannot be used at the start or inside a module name.

Starting version 5.5, characters + and ~ may be part of module name or version as long as the string part next to these character is not a valid variant name.

Environment

The following Modules environment variables have been changed on Modules 5.

Environment variable	Change
MODULES_LMALTNAME	Renamed to __MODULES_LMALTNAME
MODULES_LMCONFLICT	Renamed to __MODULES_LMCONFLICT
MODULES_LMNOTUASKED	Removed
MODULES_LMPREREQ	Renamed to __MODULES_LMPREREQ
MODULES_LMSOURCESH	Renamed to __MODULES_LMSOURCESH
MODULES_LMTAG	Renamed to __MODULES_LMTAG
MODULES_LMVARIANT	Renamed to __MODULES_LMVARIANT
MODULES_USE_COMPAT_VERSION	Removed
<VAR>_modquar	Renamed to __MODULES_QUAR_<VAR>
<VAR>_modshare	Renamed to __MODULES_SHARE_<VAR>

Modules configuration options

The default value of the following Modules configuration option has been changed on Modules 5.

Configuration option	Previous default value	New default value
auto_handling	0	1
extended_default	0	1
advanced_version_spec	0	1
color	never	auto
icase	never	search
set_shell_startup	1	0
silent_shell_debug	undefined	0

New features

Package Initialization

When initializing Modules, refresh the loaded modules in case some user environment is already configured.

Starting version 5.5, support for Windows pwsh shell is introduced.

Command line switches

The following command line switches appeared on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New command line switches
5.1	--redirect, --no-redirect, --tag
5.2	--timer
5.3	--ignore-cache, --ignore-user-rc

--output

Starting Modules 5.3, this command line switch accepts value prefixed by + or - which means value should respectively be appended to or subtracted from current configuration option value.

--force

Starting Modules 5.4, this command line switch by-passes abort on error behavior. Modulefile is unloaded anyway when an evaluation error occurs if --force option is used.

Module Sub-Commands

The following module sub-commands appeared on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New module sub-commands
5.1	state, load-any
5.2	lint, mod-to-sh, reset, stash, stashpop, stashrm, stashshow, stashclear, stashlist
5.3	cachebuild, cacheclear

list

Starting Modules 5.1:

• this sub-command accepts patterns to filter the loaded modules to list.

• the --starts-with and --contains options are supported on this sub-command to provide the regular search match capabilities.

Starting Modules 5.3:

• Search query with just a variant set (no module name and version) is accepted.

refresh

Starting Modules 5.2, only the loaded modules listed in the __MODULES_LMREFRESH environment variables are refreshed.

restore

Starting Modules 5.2, initial environment is restored when specified collection name is __init__.

savelist

Starting Modules 5.2:

• this sub-command accepts patterns to filter the named collections to list.

• the --starts-with and --contains options are supported on this sub-command to provide the regular search match capabilities.

• the --all option is supported on this sub-command not to limit to the collection matching currently set collection target.

saveshow

Starting Modules 5.2, initial environment is displayed when specified collection name is __init__.

sh-to-mod

Starting Modules 5.1, this sub-command also tracks shell completion changes for bash, tcsh and fish shells.

Shell mode bash-eval is introduced on Modules version 5.4.

source

Starting Modules 5.2, this sub-command accepts modulefile specification as argument in addition to file path.

avail, paths, whatis

Starting Modules 5.3:

• variant specified in search query is taken into account to return available modules matching the variant specification.

• when one variant is specified multiple times in search query, returned modules are those providing all the specified variant values.

• Search query with just a variant set (no module name and version) is accepted.

• Extra specifier is accepted in search query to query content of modulefiles.

Starting Modules 5.4:

• tag Extra specifier is introduced.

• set multiple values on extra specifier, each of them separated by comma character, to get modules matching any of these values (OR operator).

• set multiple values on variant specification, each of them separated by comma character, to get modules providing any of these variant values (OR operator).

Starting Modules 5.5:

• not: prefix may be added to extra specifier criterion to select modules not matching specified values.

• not: prefix may be added to variant specification to get modules not providing variant or not matching specified variant values.

reload

Starting Modules 5.4, support for --force option is added on this sub-command.

autoinit

Starting Modules 5.5, definition of mogui shell alias or function is added on this sub-command.

Environment

The following environment variables appeared on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New environment variables
5.0	MODULES_QUARANTINE_SUPPORT, __MODULES_QUARANTINE_SET, __MODULES_AUTOINIT_INPROGRESS
5.1	MODULES_REDIRECT_OUTPUT, MODULES_MCOOKIE_CHECK, MODULES_FAMILY_<NAME>, __MODULES_PUSHENV_<VAR>, __MODULES_LMEXTRATAG, MODULES_COLLECTION_PIN_TAG
5.2	MODULES_PROTECTED_ENVVARS, MODULES_TCL_LINTER, __MODULES_LMINIT, MODULES_RESET_TARGET_STATE, __MODULES_LMREFRESH
5.3	MODULES_IGNORE_CACHE, MODULES_CACHE_BUFFER_BYTES, MODULES_CACHE_EXPIRY_SECS MODULES_IGNORE_USER_RC
5.4	MODULES_STICKY_PURGE, MODULES_UNIQUE_NAME_LOADED, MODULES_ABORT_ON_ERROR, __MODULES_LMSTICKYRULE, MODULES_SOURCE_CACHE
5.5	MODULES_HIDE_AUTO_LOADED, MODULES_LOGGER, MODULES_LOGGED_EVENTS

Modules Specific Tcl Commands

The following modulefile Tcl commands appeared on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New modulefile Tcl commands
5.1	add-property, remove-property, extensions, prereq-any, require-fullname, depends-on, prereq-all, always-load, module load-any, family, complete, uncomplete, pushenv
5.4	modulepath-label
5.5	hide-modulefile, hide-version, lsb-release

system, is-used

Starting Modules 5.0, these modulefile commands are available from a modulerc evaluation context.

getenv

Starting version 5.1, the --return-value option is added to return environment variable value or its fallback when modulefile is evaluated in display mode.

prereq, module load/try-load/load-any/switch

Starting Modules 5.1, these modulefile commands accept the --tag option.

prereq, prereq-all, always-load, depends-on

Starting Modules 5.2, these modulefile commands accept the --optional option.

Starting Modules 5.5, these modulefile commands accept the --modulepath option.

module try-load/load-any

Starting Modules 5.1, these modulefile commands accept the --not-req option.

module unuse

Starting version 5.1 options --*-on-unload added to the remove-path command are also added to the module unuse command.

puts

Starting Modules 5.1, if content is sent to the prestdout channel, it is rendered as command to evaluate in current shell session and prior any other environment changes.

Starting Modules 5.5, if content is sent to the log channel, it is sent to the defined logger command.

remove-path

Starting with version 5.1:

• the --remove-on-unload option is added to also remove value when modulefile is unloaded.

• the --append-on-unload and --prepend-on-unload options are added to restore when modulefile is unloaded the value list unset at load time.

• the --noop-on-unload option is added to perform no operation when modulefile is unloaded.

Starting with version 5.4, the --glob option is added to remove value matching a glob-style pattern.

setenv

Starting with version 5.1, the --set-if-undef option is added to set environment variable when modulefile is loaded only if not yet defined.

source-sh

Starting Modules 5.1, this modulefile command also tracks shell completion changes for bash, tcsh and fish shells.

Shell mode bash-eval is introduced on Modules version 5.4.

--ignore option is introduced on Modules version 5.4.

unsetenv

Starting with version 5.1:

• the --noop-on-unload option is added to perform no operation when modulefile is unloaded.

• the --unset-on-unload option is added to also unset variable when modulefile is unloaded.

getvariant

Starting version 5.1, the --return-value option is added to return variant value or its fallback when modulefile is evaluated in display mode.

module-tag, module-hide, module-forbid

Starting with version 5.4:

• module can be specified with its full path file name to precisely target one modulefile.

• module specification on which stickiness applies is recorded in loaded environment to determine if it is still satisfied when updating environment.

• options --user and --group are added.

break

Starting with version 5.4, a modulefile using break may be unloaded anyway if forced. To forbid unload of a modulefile, it is now advised to tag it super-sticky with module-tag command.

Modules Variables

The following Modules-specific Tcl variables appeared on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New Modules-specific Tcl variables
5.1	ModuleVersion

Modules configuration options

The following Modules configuration option has been introduced on Modules 5.

Introduced in version	New Modules configuration options
5.0	quarantine_support
5.1	redirect_output, mcookie_check, collection_pin_tag
5.2	tcl_linter, protected_envvars, reset_target_state
5.3	ignore_cache, cache_buffer_bytes, cache_expiry_secs, ignore_user_rc
5.4	sticky_purge, unique_name_loaded, abort_on_error, source_cache
5.5	hide_auto_loaded, logger, logged_events

avail_output, avail_terse_output

Starting version 5.3, element variant is added to the list of accepted values.

Starting version 5.3, element variantifspec is added to the list of accepted values. It is added to the default value list of both configuration options.

Starting Modules 5.3, these configuration options accept value prefixed by + or - which means value should respectively be appended to or subtracted from current configuration option value.

Starting version 5.3.1, element indesym is added to the list of accepted values.

list_output, list_terse_output

Starting Modules 5.3, these configuration options accept value prefixed by + or - which means value should respectively be appended to or subtracted from current configuration option value.

Starting version 5.4, elements alias and indesym are added to the list of accepted values.

colors, protected_envvars, shells_with_ksh_fpath, tag_abbrev, tag_color_name, variant_shortcut

Starting Modules 5.3, these configuration options accept value prefixed by + or - which means value should respectively be appended to or subtracted from current configuration option value.

rcfile

Starting Modules 5.4, this configuration option accepts more than one global rc file location. A colon character separates each of these locations.

pager

Starting Modules 5.5, pager is not launched if modulecmd.tcl program is run for scripting language.