It uses the many [ResourceFormatLoader] classes registered in the engine (either built-in or from a plugin) to load files into memory and convert them to a format that can be used by the engine.
[b]Note:[/b] You have to import the files into the engine first to load them using [method load]. If you want to load [Image]s at run-time, you may use [method Image.load]. If you want to import audio files, you can use the snippet described in [member AudioStreamMP3.data].
[b]Note:[/b] Non-resource files such as plain text files cannot be read using [ResourceLoader]. Use [FileAccess] for those files instead, and be aware that non-resource files are not exported by default (see notes in the [FileAccess] class description for instructions on exporting them).
Returns whether a recognized resource exists for the given [param path].
An optional [param type_hint] can be used to further specify the [Resource] type that should be handled by the [ResourceFormatLoader]. Anything that inherits from [Resource] can be used as a type hint, for example [Image].
[b]Note:[/b] If you use [method Resource.take_over_path], this method will return [code]true[/code] for the taken path even if the resource wasn't saved (i.e. exists only in resource cache).
Once a resource has been loaded by the engine, it is cached in memory for faster access, and future calls to the [method load] method will use the cached version. The cached resource can be overridden by using [method Resource.take_over_path] on a new resource for that same path.
Lists a directory, returning all resources and subdirectories contained within. The resource files have the original file names as visible in the editor before exporting. The directories have [code]"/"[/code] appended.
[codeblock]
# Prints ["extra_data/", "model.gltf", "model.tscn", "model_slime.png"]
The registered [ResourceFormatLoader]s are queried sequentially to find the first one which can handle the file's extension, and then attempt loading. If loading fails, the remaining ResourceFormatLoaders are also attempted.
An optional [param type_hint] can be used to further specify the [Resource] type that should be handled by the [ResourceFormatLoader]. Anything that inherits from [Resource] can be used as a type hint, for example [Image].
GDScript has a simplified [method @GDScript.load] built-in method which can be used in most situations, leaving the use of [ResourceLoader] for more advanced scenarios.
[b]Note:[/b] If [member ProjectSettings.editor/export/convert_text_resources_to_binary] is [code]true[/code], [method @GDScript.load] will not be able to read converted files in an exported project. If you rely on run-time loading of files present within the PCK, set [member ProjectSettings.editor/export/convert_text_resources_to_binary] to [code]false[/code].
If this is called before the loading thread is done (i.e. [method load_threaded_get_status] is not [constant THREAD_LOAD_LOADED]), the calling thread will be blocked until the resource has finished loading. However, it's recommended to use [method load_threaded_get_status] to known when the load has actually completed.
An array variable can optionally be passed via [param progress], and will return a one-element array containing the ratio of completion of the threaded loading (between [code]0.0[/code] and [code]1.0[/code]).
Loads the resource using threads. If [param use_sub_threads] is [code]true[/code], multiple threads will be used to load the resource, which makes loading faster, but may affect the main thread (and thus cause game slowdowns).
Neither the main resource (the one requested to be loaded) nor any of its subresources are retrieved from cache nor stored into it. Dependencies (external resources) are loaded with [constant CACHE_MODE_REUSE].
The main resource (the one requested to be loaded), its subresources, and its dependencies (external resources) are retrieved from cache if present, instead of loaded. Those not cached are loaded and then stored into the cache. The same rules are propagated recursively down the tree of dependencies (external resources).
Like [constant CACHE_MODE_REUSE], but the cache is checked for the main resource (the one requested to be loaded) as well as for each of its subresources. Those already in the cache, as long as the loaded and cached types match, have their data refreshed from storage into the already existing instances. Otherwise, they are recreated as completely new objects.
