encoding(Enc)

Set stream to encoding Enc.

Without loaded plugins, the open_any/5 processes the following values for Specification. If no rule matches, open_any/5 processes Specification as file(Specification).

Stream

A plain stream handle. Possisible post-processing options such as encoding are applied. Close does not close the stream, but resets other side-effects such as the encoding.

stream(Stream)

Same as a plain Stream.

FileURL

If Specification is of the form =file://...=, the pointed to file is opened using open/4. Requires library(uri) to be installed.

file(Path)

Explicitly open the file Path. Path can be an Path(File) term as accepted by absolute_file_name/3.

string(String)

Open a Prolog string, atom, list of characters or codes as an input stream.

The typical usage scenario is given in the code below, where <process> processes the input.

setup_call_cleanup(
    open_any(Spec, read, In, Close, Options),
    <process>(In),
    Close).

Currently, the following libraries extend this predicate:

library(http/http_open)

Adds support for URLs using the http and https schemes.