foreign-c/README.md

7.7 KiB

Portable Foreign Function Interface for R7RS schemes

Foreign function interface that is supported on multiple R7RS Sceheme implementations.

Any help in form of constructive advice and bug reports are appreciated.

Issue trackers

Maling lists

Jenkins.

Table of contents

Goals

  • Support only R7RS implementations
  • Same interface on all implementations
    • Some things that are procedures on one implementation are macros on other, but they must behave the same
  • Stability and being boring after 1.0.0 is reached

Non goals

  • To have every possible FFI feature
  • Compiling of used library C code at any point
    • That is no stubs, no C code generated by the library and so on
    • The pffi library itself may require compilation on installation

Status

Currently the interface of the library is in okay shape. It propably will not change much but no guarantees are being made just yet.

Due to supporting many different Scheme implementations, different parts of this software are in different stage. As a whole it is still in alpha stage. That said the interface should not be changing anymore and support for some implementations are in beta.

Implementation status

Alpha

Anything not in beta or done, not recommended to use.

Beta

Usage can be started but might still be quite buggy.

  • Guile
  • Sagittarius
  • Racket

Done

Usage recommended.

  • None yet

Implementation table

Chibi Chicken 5 Cyclone Gambit Gauche Gerbil Guile Kawa Larceny Mosh Racket Sagittarius Skint STklos tr7 Ypsilon
pffi-init X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-size-of X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-shared-object-auto-load X X X X X X X X X
pffi-shared-object-load X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-null X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-null? X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-allocate X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer? X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-free X X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-set! X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer-get X X X X X X X X
pffi-string->pointer X X X X X X X X
pffi-pointer->string X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-make X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-size X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-pointer X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-offset-get X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-get X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-struct-set! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
pffi-define X X X X X X X X
pffi-define-callback X X X X X

Other implementations

  • LIPS
    • Will work on nodejs by using some C FFI library from npm
    • Javascript side needs design
  • Biwascheme
    • Will work on nodejs by using some C FFI library from npm
    • Javascript side needs design
  • MIT-Scheme
  • s7
  • Airship
  • Other gambit targets
    • Gambit compiles to different targets other than C too, for example Javascript. It would be cool and interesting to see if this FFI could also support some of those
    • When LIPS and Biwascheme Javascript side is done then Gambit should be done too
  • s48-r7rs
  • prescheme
  • Loko
    • Desires no C interop, I can respect that

Documentation

Usage notes

  • Chibi
    • Install libffi-dev
    • Build with:
      • chibi-ffi retropikzel/r7rs-pffi/r7rs-pffi-chibi.stub
      • ${CC} -o retropikzel/r7rs-pffi/r7rs-pffi-chibi.so -fPIC -shared retropikzel/r7rs-pffi/r7rs-pffi-chibi.c -lchibi-scheme -lffi
  • Chicken 5
  • Kawa
    • Needs at least Java version 22
    • Needs jvm flags:
      • --add-exports java.base/jdk.internal.foreign.abi=ALL-UNNAMED
      • --add-exports java.base/jdk.internal.foreign.layout=ALL-UNNAMED
      • --add-exports java.base/jdk.internal.foreign=ALL-UNNAMED
      • --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED
  • Racket

Reference

pffi-init