The c-ffi Library

The C-FFI (C foreign function interface) library provides a means of interfacing a Dylan application with code written in the C language. The C-FFI library is available to applications as the module C-FFI in the library C-FFI.

The C-FFI library consists of macros, classes, and functions that you can use to write a complete description of the Dylan interface to a C library. Compiling this description generates a set of Dylan classes and functions through which Dylan code can manipulate the C library’s data and call its functions. Interface descriptions can also allow C code to call into Dylan; compiling such a description generates entry points compatible with C’s calling conventions.

Overview

This section is an overview of the C-FFI library, introducing the most commonly used constructs as the basis for examples.

The C-FFI library provides a set of macros that can be used to describe a C interface in a form that the Open Dylan compiler can understand; we call these macros the C interface definition language.

The C interface definition language provides macros that correspond to each of C’s type, function, variable, and constant defining forms. These macros define Dylan classes that designate and encapsulate instances of C types, Dylan methods through which to manipulate C variables and call out to C functions, and functions with C-compatible entry points through which to call in to Dylan from C.

In addition to the interface definition language, the C-FFI library provides run-time methods and functions for allocating, manipulating and destroying instances of C data structures. For example, using these facilities you can allocate C structs and arrays, and access and set their elements.

C types in Dylan

When you use the interface definition language to describe a C type to the Dylan compiler, the compiler generates a new Dylan class. This class is said to designate the C type, which means that it carries with it the essential properties of the C type such as its size and alignment.

You can use this designator class in subsequent interface definition forms to specify which elements involve the designated C type. A designator class also carries with it the information on how to interpret the untyped C data as a tagged Dylan object.

The C-FFI library contains predefined designator classes for C’s fundamental types like int and double. The names of these predefined Dylan classes are formed from the C name of the fundamental type being designated. The designator class name for a particular C type formed using Dylan’s standard class-naming convention; it is prefixed with “C-”, hyphenated if it contains more than one word, and enclosed in angle brackets. For example, the C-FFI library provides the class <C-int> to designate the C type int ; it designates double by the class <C-double>, and unsigned long by the class <C-unsigned-long>.

Note

Since Dylan variable names are compared without sensitivity to case, the capitalization of the “C” in the names above, and in other Dylan names appearing in this document, is not binding and can safely be ignored.

The C-FFI library also provides predefined classes designating pointers to C’s fundamental numeric types. To do so, it adds a * to the fundamental C type designator. For example <C-double*> designates the C type double*.

The following is an example of defining and using designator classes. Suppose we have the following C struct:

typedef struct {
  unsigned short x_coord;
  unsigned short y_coord;
} Point;

We describe C structs to Dylan using the macro define C-struct:

define C-struct <Point>
  slot x-coord :: <C-unsigned-short>;
  slot y-coord :: <C-unsigned-short>;
end C-struct;

This form defines a new designator class <Point> for a structure type corresponding to the C type Point. We designate the types of the slots of <Point> using the Dylan classes designating the C types used in the definition of Point. In this case, both slots are of the C type unsigned short which is designated by the predefined class <C-unsigned-short>. The information about the C type unsigned short carried by this designator class allows the compiler to compute the size, alignment, and layout of the struct. The compiler records the struct’s size and alignment and associates them with <Point>. The designator class <Point> can then be used in the definition of other types, functions, and variables. For example, we could describe

typedef struct {
  Point start;
  Point end;
} LineSegment;

like this:

define C-struct <LineSegment>
  slot start :: <Point>;
  slot end :: <Point>;
end C-struct;

As well as acting as a static information carrier for use in other FFI definitions, a designator class can also be instantiable, in which case Dylan uses an instance of the designator class to represent an object of the C type it designates when that object is passed from the “C world” to the “Dylan world”.

Note: Only classes that designate C pointer types can be instantiated in this way. Instances of C’s fundamental numeric value types like int, char, and double are just converted to an equivalent Dylan object with the same value. The <Point> class is not an instantiable class in Dylan because there is nothing in Dylan that corresponds to a C struct. However, the C-FFI does provide a Dylan representation of a pointer to a C struct.

To illustrate, here is an example interaction involving a C struct containing some pointer-typed slots and some slots whose types are fundamental numeric types:

define C-struct <Example>
  slot count :: <C-int>;
  slot statistic :: <C-double>;
  slot data :: <C-char*>;
  slot next :: <Example*>;
  pointer-type-name :: <Example*>;
end C-struct;

This example defines the two designator types <Example> and <Example*> ; the slots count and statistic have fundamental numeric types while data and next have pointer types. The getter and setter methods for the slots are defined for instances of <Example*>.

Suppose there is a function current-example that returns an initialized <Example*> struct. The following transactions illustrate what you get when you read the slots of the structure it returns:

? define variable example = current-example();
// Defined example
? example.count;
4
? instance?(example.count, <integer>);
#t
? example.statistic;
10.5
? instance?(example.statistic, <float>);
#t

The interactions above show that if we access structure slots that were defined as being of one of C’s fundamental numeric types, we get a Dylan number of the equivalent value. The same thing happens if an imported C function returns a fundamental numeric type: a Dylan number with the same value appears in Dylan. Similarly, when setting slots in structs expecting numbers or passing objects out to C functions expecting numeric arguments, you should provide a Dylan number, and the C-FFI will convert it automatically to its C equivalent.

? example.data;
{<C-char> pointer #xff5e00}
? instance?(example.data, <C-char*>);
#t
? example.next;
{<Example> pointer #xff5f00}
? instance?(example.next, <Example*>);
#t

The interactions above show that accessing structure slots with a pointer type results in an instance of the Dylan class that designates that type. Again, the same thing happens if an imported C function returns a pointer type: an instance of the corresponding designator class is created. Similarly, when setting slots in structs expecting pointers or passing objects out to C functions expecting pointer arguments, you should provide an instance of the Dylan designator class for that pointer type, and the C-FFI will convert it automatically to the raw C pointer value.

Later sections describe all the macros available for defining C types and the functions available for manipulating them.

C functions in Dylan

When you use the interface definition language to describe a C function to the Dylan compiler, the compiler generates a new Dylan function. This wrapper function accepts Dylan arguments and returns Dylan results. It converts each of its arguments from a Dylan object to a corresponding C value before calling the C function it wraps. The C-FFI converts any results that the C function returns into Dylan objects before returning them to the caller.

In order for Dylan to be able to call into C correctly, C functions must be described to Dylan in the same detail a C header file would provide a calling C program. Specifically, for every function we must provide the C name and the type of its arguments and results. As with struct definitions, these types are indicated by naming the designator classes corresponding to the C types involved in the C-FFI description of the C function.

The following is an example of defining and using wrapper functions. Suppose we have the following extern C function declaration:

extern double cos (double angle);

We describe C functions to Dylan using the C-FFI macro define C-function:

define C-function C-cos
  parameter angle :: <C-double>;
  result cos :: <C-double>;
  c-name: "cos"
end C-function;

The name appearing immediately after the define C-function is the name we want to give to the Dylan variable to which our wrapper function will be bound. We call it C-cos. We also give the actual C name of the function we want to wrap as the value of the keyword c-name:.

Once we have compiled the definition — and assuming the compiled version of the C library implementing cos has been linked in with the Dylan application — we can call the wrapper function just like any other Dylan function:

? C-cos(0.0);
1.0

As we noted above, when values are passed back and forth between Dylan and C, the C-FFI performs automatic conversions. In this case, the type of the parameter and the result are both fundamental numeric types which means that the C-FFI will accept and return Dylan floats, converting to and from raw C floats as necessary.

As well as making C functions available to Dylan code, the C-FFI allows us to make Dylan functions available to call from C code. We do this by defining a C-callable wrapper function. A C-callable wrapper is a Dylan function that a C program can call. The C-callable wrapper has a C calling convention. When a C program calls a C-callable wrapper, the C-FFI performs the necessary data conversions and then invokes a Dylan function.

You can pass C-callable wrappers into C code for use as callbacks. You can also give them names visible in C, so that C clients of Dylan code can call into Dylan directly by invoking a named function.

The argument and result conversions performed by C-callable wrappers are just like those done within Dylan wrapper functions. The macro that defines C-callable wrappers is called define C-callable-wrapper and we describe it in detail later. For now, consider the following simple example. Suppose we have a C extern function declaration AddDouble:

extern double AddDouble (double x, double y);

This function is intended to return the sum of two double values. Instead of implementing the function in C, we can implement it in Dylan using Dylan’s generic function +. All we need to do is define a C-callable wrapper for +, as follows:

define C-callable-wrapper AddDoubleObject of \+
  parameter x :: <C-double>;
  parameter y :: <C-double>;
  c-name: "AddDouble";
end C-callable-wrapper;

We can now call AddDouble in C. Our wrapper will be invoked, the C arguments will be converted and passed to Dylan’s + generic function, and then the result of the computation will be converted and passed back to C:

{
  extern double AddDouble (double x, double y);
  double result;

  result = AddDouble(1.0, 2.0);
}

The C-FFI binds the Dylan variable AddDoubleObject to a Dylan object representing the function pointer of the C-callable wrapper. This reference allows the C-callable wrapper to be passed to a C function expecting a callback argument.

C variables in Dylan

When you use the interface definition language to describe a C variable to the Dylan compiler, the compiler generates new Dylan getter and setter functions for reading and setting the variable’s value from Dylan. If the variable is constant, it defines a getter function only.

The getter function converts the C value to a Dylan value before returning it according to the variable’s declared type. Similarly, the setter function converts its argument, as Dylan value, into a C value before setting the C variable. These conversions happen according to the same rules that apply to other C-Dylan world transition points, such as argument passing or structure slot access.

In order for Dylan to be able to access a C variable correctly, we must describe the variable to Dylan in the same detail that a C header file would give to a C program that uses it. Specifically, we must provide the C name and the type of the variable. As with struct and function definitions, we indicate C types by naming the appropriate Dylan designator classes.

Here is an example of defining and using C variables. Suppose we have the following extern C variable declaration:

extern double mean;

We describe C variables to Dylan using the C-FFI macro define C-variable:

define C-variable C-mean :: <C-double>
  c-name: "mean";
end C-variable;

The name immediately after the define C-variable is the name of the Dylan variable to which the getter for our C variable will be bound. In this case it is C-mean.

We give the C name of the variable as the value of the keyword c-name:. Once we have compiled the definition — and assuming the compiled version of the C library defining mean has been linked in with the Dylan application — we can call the getter function just like any other Dylan function:

? C-mean();
1.5

By default, the C-FFI also defines a setter function for the variable. The setter name uses Dylan’s convention of appending “-setter” to the getter name.

? C-mean() := 0.0;
0.0
? C-mean();
0.0

As described above, when values are passed back and forth between Dylan and C, the C-FFI performs automatic conversions. In this case, the type of the variable is a fundamental numeric type which means that the C-FFI accepts and returns Dylan floats, converting to and from raw C floats as necessary.

Note

We could achieve the same result by using the define C-address macro, which defines a constant that is a pointer to the storage allocated for the C variable.

Notes on Linking

When using C-FFI, you will typically need to link in an existing library or framework.

LID files provide many options for controlling the compilation and linking of the project depending on what exactly is required.

Linking against a Library

This can be done in a LID file using the C-Libraries keyword. This supports both static and shared libraries. It also supports specifying a search path. For example:

C-Libraries: -lGL

Linking against a macOS Framework

Just as with a regular shared library, the C-Libraries keyword in a LID file. For example:

C-Libraries: -framework OpenGL

Using pkg-config

Libraries that use “pkg-config” are slightly more complicated to work with in that they require using the Jam-Includes keyword and an additional file within the project. The GTK+ bindings provide multiple examples of this.

In the LID file, you would include the additional Jam file:

Jam-Includes: gtk-dylan.jam

And you would provide the additional Jam file:

{
  local _dll = [ FDLLName $(image) ] ;
  LINKLIBS on $(_dll) += `pkg-config --libs gtk+-3.0` ;
  CCFLAGS += `pkg-config --cflags gtk+-3.0` ;
}

Tracing FFI Calls

When working with the C-FFI, it is very useful to be able to trace what is happening, what is getting called, what the arguments are, and what the return value is. To aid in this, C-FFI enables the programmer to enable tracing.

To do this, you will need to exclude the default implementation of tracing when importing the c-ffi module and define your own implementation.

In your library.dylan, you would change your module declaration:

use c-ffi;

to:

use c-ffi, exclude: {
  $trace-ffi-calls,
  log-entry,
  log-exit };
use format-out;

Note that we’ve used the format-out module from the io library in addition to the exclusion.

After doing that, you can define your own implementation of tracing such that your implementation is in the same lexical scope as the C-function definitions that you want to trace:

define constant $trace-ffi-calls = #t;

define inline-only function log-entry(c-function-name, #rest args) => ();
  format-out("entering %s %=", c-function-name, args);
end;
define inline-only function log-exit(c-function-name, #rest results) => ();
  format-out(" => %=\n", results);
end;

define C-function ...

When this is run, you will see output like:

entering nn_socket #[1, 16] => #[0]
entering nn_socket #[1, 16] => #[1]
entering nn_bind #[0, "inproc://a"] => #[1]
entering nn_connect #[1, "inproc://a"] => #[1]
entering nn_send #[1, #x007D0AAC, 3, 0] => #[3]
entering nn_recv #[0, #x007D0AE4, 3, 0] => #[3]
entering nn_close #[0] => #[0]
entering nn_close #[1] => #[0]

Terminology

For the rest of this chapter, we adopt the following terminology, hopefully not too inconsistent with common C terminology:

• Base type Basic units of data storage (C’s variously sized integers, characters, and floating point numbers) and aggregate records (structs and unions).

• Derived type. A type based on some other type (C’s pointer, array, and function types).

• Fundamental numeric type. One of C’s integer or floating point types. This does not include pointer types, structure types, or union types.

Basic options in C-FFI macros

The defining macros of the C-FFI share a consistent core set of options which are worth describing here:

• A c-name argument. Every defining form allows you to specify the corresponding C entity through the keyword c-name:. It is optional in some forms but required in others. You can define types that have no named opposite number in C, and the c-name option is always optional in type definitions. On the other hand, you must always name an imported C function or variable so that Dylan knows the correct name from the compiled C library to link with.

  In general, any C entity you can declare in C using extern can only be found by the C-FFI if you pass a c-name argument to the corresponding C-FFI definition.

  The sole exception to this is the define objc-selector form which instead takes a selector: keyword.

• A pointer-type-name argument. All the type-defining forms allow you to name the type for a pointer to the type being defined. This is normally specified throughout the pointer-type-name: keyword option.

Designator classes

As Overview explained, the C-FFI defines some Dylan classes to designate C types and to describe how they are passed to and from Dylan. These designator classes carry with them static information about the C type they designate.

The C-FFI library provides an initial set of designator classes corresponding to C’s fundamental types, as well as macros for generating designator classes corresponding to C’s pointer types and for extending the translation between C data and Dylan objects.

Designator classes that correspond to fundamental numeric types are not instantiable. When you pass a numeric value to Dylan from C, the C-FFI simply generates a Dylan number with the same value. Similarly, a Dylan number passed to C is converted to a C number of the appropriate type and value.

Each of the fundamental designator classes indicate a conversion to or from a unique Dylan class. The conversions that take place are described in detail in the documentation for each designator class.

The main reasons for this design are increased efficiency, simplified implementation, and added convenience when working with numeric values. The designator classes for the numeric types could have been made instantiable and placed beneath the appropriate number protocol classes in Dylan, but these extra representations in such a fundamental area could cause problems for Dylan compilers. In addition, to make these instantiable designator classes convenient to work with, the C-FFI would also have to define methods on the standard arithmetic and comparison operators. It is simpler to represent these fundamental types with existing Dylan objects.

However, the designator classes that correspond to pointer types are instantiable. When you pass a pointer from C to Dylan, the C-FFI constructs an instance of the appropriate designator class that contains the raw address. A wrapped pointer like this can be passed out to some C code that is expecting a compatible pointer — the C-FFI extracts the raw address before handing it to C code. The documentation for the abstract class <C-pointer> describes the compatibility rules for pointer types.

This feature of pointer designator classes allows Dylan code to be typed to a specific kind of pointer. For example, you can define methods that specialize on different kinds of pointer on the same generic function.

Designator type properties

To understand how designator classes work, it is useful to know about their properties. A few of these properties are accessible programmatically, but others are implicit and only really exist in the compiler. Some of the properties may be empty.

A referenced type is the designator type to which a pointer refers. A designator’s referenced-type only has a value for subtypes of <C-statically-typed-pointer>. Programs can access the referenced type through the function referenced-type.

A designator class’s pointer-type only has a value for each of those types that has a pointer designator type that refers to it. Most of the constructs that define a new designator type also define a pointer-type for that designator. Many of the macros that define designators accept a pointer-type-name: keyword to bind the pointer-type of the defined designator to a given variable. The pointer-type is not programmatically available because it may not have been defined. You can assure that there is a pointer-type for a particular designator by using the macro define c-pointer-type.

A designator class’s import type and export type are instantiable Dylan types that describe the Dylan instantiation of a designator class when it is used in a position that imports values from C, or exports values to C.

Nearly all of the C-FFI’s designators have import and export types that are equivalent. Some, such as <C-string>, have different import and export types because it is possible to pass a pointer to a Dylan object to C directly without creating a C pointer object, or copying the underlying data, but when importing a string from C it is not practical to copy the contents and create a Dylan string. By default, the import and export types for any subtype of <C-pointer> are the class itself. You can override this by defining a new subclass with the macro define C-mapped-subtype.

You can define a designator’s import-function and export-function by using the macro define C-mapped-subtype. These functions are merely the procedural specifications for translating the C data to Dylan and back. The import and export functions are inherited when you define a subclass for a designator.

Designator class basics

<C-value> Abstract Sealed Class

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all designator classes. It is a subclass of <object>. It has neither an export-type nor an import-type, so you cannot use it when designating a transition between C and Dylan.

<C-void> Abstract Sealed Class

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all designator classes. It is a subclass of <C-value>. It has neither an export-type nor an import-type, so you cannot use it when designating a transition between C and Dylan.

This class is only useful in that it is the referenced-type for <C-void*>.

size-of Function

Takes a designator class and returns the size of the C type that the class designates.

Signature:

size-of designator-class => size

Parameters:

• designator-class – A subclass of <C-value>.

Values:

• size – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Takes a designator class and returns the size of the C type that the class designates.

The size-of function can be applied to any designator class. However, if it is applied to <C-void>, <C-value>, or <C-struct>, it returns zero. It corresponds to C’s sizeof operator and returns an integer, size, in the same units as sizeof does on the target platform. It can be useful when allocating a C object whose declared size is not accurate and has to be adjusted manually.

alignment-of Function

Takes a designator class and returns the alignment of the C type that the class designates.

Signature:

alignment-of designator-class => alignment

Parameters:

• designator-class – A subclass of <C-value>.

Values:

• alignment – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Takes a designator class and returns the alignment of the C type that the class designates. The alignment-of function can be applied to any designator class. It returns the alignment as an integer, in the same units as size-of does.

Fundamental numeric type designator classes

This section describes the pre-defined designator classes for fundamental C numeric types. On page Designator classes we saw that none of these designator types are instantiable: a number on one side of the interface is converted to a number on the other side with the same value.

There are some additional details to note about integer representations. Because Dylan’s integer representations do not match C’s exactly, for each of the C integer types there are three designator classes that can be used to translate Dylan representations to that C integer. The categories are plain, unsafe, and raw integers.

Plain integer designators — of which the class <C-unsigned-short> is an example — translate C integer values to instances of <integer>. If the integer being translated is too big for the destination, the C-FFI signals an error. There are two ways this can happen.

• On export, the C-FFI signals an error if the Dylan value has more significant bits than the C integer.

This can happen if, for example, the designator is <C-unsigned-short>, and the Dylan value is negative, or if unsigned short on that platform is 16 bits wide, but the Dylan integer has more than 16 significant bits. The check will be omitted if the compiler can determine that no Dylan value outside the safe range can reach there. This can be done using a limited integer type.

• On import into Dylan, the C-FFI signals an error if it cannot represent the C value using a Dylan <integer>.

This can happen with any C integer type that is more than 30 bits wide. The size of a Dylan <integer> depends on the particular platform, but it is guaranteed to be at least 30 bits in length.

The C-FFI never signals an error for the unsafe designator classes — of which the class <C-unsafe-unsigned-short> is an example — but if the destination is too small for the value, the most significant bits of the value are chopped off to fit into the destination. Because there is no checking, using the unsafe designator classes brings a very small performance improvement, but nonetheless you should not use them unless you are certain you will not lose any bits.

Raw designator classes — of which the class <C-raw-unsigned-int> is an example — represent the integer on the Dylan side as a <machine-word>. An instance of <machine-word> is guaranteed to have enough bits to represent any C long value, or any C void* value. Note that a <machine-word> value may still have more significant bits than some C integer types, and so the C-FFI may still signal an overflow error if the <machine-word> value, interpreted as indicated by the designator, has more significant bits than may be held in the indicated C type.

The integer designator classes and their mappings. shows all raw, plain, and unsafe integer designator types exported from the C-FFI module.

The integer designator classes and their mappings.

Designator name	C type	Dylan type(s)
<C-int>	int	<integer>
<C-raw-int>	int	<machine-word>
<C-unsafe-int>	int	<integer>
<C-raw-signed-int>	signed int	<machine-word>
<C-unsafe-signed int>	signed int	<integer>
<C-signed-int>	signed int	<integer>
<C-raw-unsigned-int>	unsigned int	<machine-word>
<C-unsafe-unsigned-int>	unsigned int	<integer>
<C-unsigned-int>	unsigned int	<integer>
<C-unsigned-long>	unsigned long	<integer>
<C-signed-long>	signed long	<integer>
<C-unsafe-unsigned-long>	unsigned long	<integer>
<C-unsafe-signed-long>	signed long	<integer>
<C-raw-unsigned-long>	unsigned long	<machine-word>
<C-raw-signed-long>	signed long	<machine-word>
<C-unsigned-short>	unsigned short	<integer>
<C-signed-short>	signed short	<integer>
<C-unsafe-unsigned-short>	unsigned short	<integer>
<C-unsafe-signed-short>	signed short	<integer>
<C-raw-unsigned-short>	unsigned short	<machine-word>
<C-raw-signed-short>	signed short	<machine-word>
<C-unsigned-char>	unsigned char	<integer>
<C-signed-char>	signed char	<integer>
<C-unsafe-unsigned-char>	unsigned char	<integer>
<C-unsafe-signed-char>	signed char	<integer>
<C-raw-unsigned-char>	unsigned char	<machine-word>
<C-raw-signed-char>	signed char	<machine-word>
<C-char>	char	<integer>
<C-unsafe-char>	char	<integer>
<C-raw-char>	char	<machine-word>
<C-size-t>	size_t	<integer>
<C-unsafe-size-t>	size_t	<integer>
<C-raw-size-t>	size_t	<machine-word>
<C-ssize-t>	ssize_t	<integer>
<C-unsafe-ssize-t>	ssize_t	<integer>
<C-raw-ssize-t>	ssize_t	<machine-word>

For each of the fundamental integer designator types, <C- xxx >, there is also a type designating pointers to that type called <C- xxx *>. In addition, the C-FFI defines methods for pointer-value and pointer-value-setter, with appropriate translation behavior for each of the types designating pointers to the fundamental integer designator types.

<C-number> Abstract Sealed Class

Superclasses:

<C-value>

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all classes that designate a fundamental numeric C type.

<C-float> Abstract Sealed Class

Discussion:

The class of C floating point values.

<C-double> Abstract Sealed Class

Discussion:

The class of C double-precision values.

Pointer designator classes and related functions

This section describes the pre-defined classes that designate C pointer types. Subclasses of the abstract classes documented here are instantiable, and C pointers are represented in Dylan by instances of these classes.

Note

Pointer designator classes are defined for all the designator classes in The integer designator classes and their mappings., but are not listed here. To form the name of the pointer designator class for a particular designator class, append a * to the part of the name enclosed in angle brackets. Thus for <C-int> the pointer designator class is <C-int*>.

<C-pointer> Open Primary Abstract Class

Superclasses:

<C-value>

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all classes that designate a C pointer type. Instances of concrete subclasses of <C-pointer> encapsulate a raw C address. The make methods on subclasses of <C-pointer> accept the keyword argument address:, which must be a Dylan <integer> or <machine-word> representation of the C address.

pointer-address Function

Recovers the address from an instance of <C-pointer> and returns it as a Dylan <machine-word>.

Signature:

pointer-address C-pointer => address

Parameters:

• c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• address – An instance of <machine-word>.

Discussion:

Recovers the address from an instance of <C-pointer> and returns it as a Dylan <machine-word>.

pointer-cast Function

Converts a pointer from one pointer type to another.

Signature:

pointer-cast pointer-designator-class C-pointer => new-C-pointer

Parameters:

• pointer-designator-class – A subclass of <C-pointer>.

• c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• new-c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Discussion:

Converts a pointer from one pointer type to another. The new pointer will have the same address as the old pointer.

null-pointer Function

Returns a null pointer whose type is given by the pointer-designator-class.

Signature:

null-pointer pointer-designator-class => null-pointer

Parameters:

• pointer-designator-class – A subclass of <C-pointer>.

• c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• new-c-pointer –

Discussion:

Returns a null pointer whose type is given by pointer-designator-class. Note that different calls to null-pointer may return the same object.

null-pointer? Function

Returns true if a pointer is null

Signature:

null-pointer? C-pointer => boolean

Parameters:

• c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• boolean – An instance of <boolean>.

Discussion:

Returns #t if a pointer is null and #f otherwise.

<C-void\*> Open Concrete Class

Superclasses:

<C-pointer>

Discussion:

The class designating C’s void* pointer type. No pointer-value methods are defined on this class.

<C-statically-typed-pointer> Open Abstract Class

Superclasses:

<C-pointer>, <mutable-object-with-elements>

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all classes designating a C pointer type for a non-void base.

define C-pointer-type Defining Macro

Defines a constant bound to a pointer class designating pointers to a designator class name.

Macro Call:

define C-pointer-type pointer-class-name => designator-class-name

Parameters:

• pointer-class-name – A Dylan variable name.

Values:

• designator-class – A Dylan name.

Discussion:

Defines a constant bound to a pointer class designating pointers to designator-class-name. Note that the pointer type may already exist. The class defined will be open, abstract and instantiable. Objects returned by make(*pointer-class-name*) will be instances of a sealed concrete subclass of pointer-class-name.

referenced-type Function

Returns the class designating the contents type of the designated C pointer type.

Signature:

referenced-type pointer-designator-class => designator-class

Parameters:

• pointer-designator-class – A subclass of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• designator-class – A subclass of <C-value>.

Discussion:

Returns the class designating the contents type of the C pointer type designated by pointer-designator-class. The same designator class is returned whenever referenced-type is called with the same argument.

c-type-cast Function

Converts a value to a value of a specified type, according to the semantics of a C type cast.

Signature:

c-type-cast type value => value

Parameters:

• type – See Description.

• value – An instance of <object>.

Values:

• value – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Returns the value of the second argument, converted to the type specified by the first argument, in accordance with the semantics of a C type cast. This is convenient to use when translating C code to Dylan. It may also be helpful for converting a value to the form required by a C-function wrapper argument.

The first argument can be either a C type designator or one of the Dylan classes <boolean>, <character>, <machine-word>, or any subclass of <number>. For a C type designator, the value is converted to the Dylan class which it maps to. <C- [un ]*signed-short>* and <C- [un ]*signed-char>* truncate the value as well as ensuring that it is an <integer>.

Example:

For example, with a function declared in C as

Foo(long x);

and called as

Foo((long) p);

if the Dylan declaration is

define C-function Foo
  parameter x :: <C-both-long>;
  c-name: "Foo";
end;

then the equivalent call will be:

Foo(c-type-cast(<C-both-long>, p));

which will ensure that the C semantics are preserved without needing to analyze exactly what the type cast is doing.

The functions pointer-value and pointer-value-setter perform the primitive Dylan-to-C and C-to-Dylan conversions as documented with the designator class of the pointer’s contents type (see The integer designator classes and their mappings.). The C-FFI signals an error if it cannot convert the object you attempt to store in the pointer to a compatible type.

These two functions are part of a protocol for extending the C type conversions. You can define new methods for pointer-value and pointer-value-setter for types defined by define C-subtype that are subtypes of <C-pointer>.

pointer-value Open Generic function

Dereferences a c-typed pointer using its encapsulated raw C address.

Signature:

pointer-value C-typed-pointer #key index => object

Parameters:

• c-typed-pointer – An instance of <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

Values:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Dereferences c-typed-pointer using its encapsulated raw C address, and returns a Dylan object representing the object at that address. If you supply index, the pointer is treated as a pointer to an array, and the function returns the appropriate element indexed by the correct unit size.

It is an error if C-typed-pointer does not point to a valid address or is a null pointer.

See also:

• pointer-value-setter.

pointer-value-setter Open Generic function

Allows you to set pointer values.

Signature:

pointer-value-setter new-value C-typed-pointer #key index => new-value

Parameters:

• new-value – An instance of <object>.

• c-typed-pointer – An instance of <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

• index (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

Values:

• new-value – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Allows you to set pointer values. If you supply index, the pointer is treated as a pointer to an array, and the function returns the appropriate element indexed by the correct unit size.

It is an error if C-typed-pointer does not point to a valid address or is a null pointer.

pointer-value-address Open Generic function

Returns a pointer of the same type as a C-typed pointer that points to the object offset into the C-typed pointer.

Signature:

pointer-value-address C-typed-pointer #key index => object

Parameters:

• c-typed-pointer – An instance of <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

• index (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

Values:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Returns a pointer of the same type as C-typed-pointer that points to the index th object offset into C-typed-pointer. The following expression is guaranteed to be true:

Example:

pointer-value(*C-typed-pointer*, index: i)
 = pointer-value (pointer-value-address(*C-typed-pointer*, index: i))

element(<C-statically-typed-pointer>) Method

Dereferences a c-typed pointer using its encapsulated raw C address.

Signature:

element C-typed-pointer index => object

Parameters:

• c-typed-pointer – An instance of <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

Values:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Dereferences a c-typed pointer using its encapsulated raw C address. Synonymous with a call to pointer-value that includes the optional index. Thus it does the same thing as:

pointer-value(*C-statically-typed-pointer*, index: *index*)

element-setter(<C-statically-typed-pointer>) Method

Allows you to set pointer values.

Signature:

element-setter new C-typed-pointer index => object

Parameters:

• c-typed-pointer – An instance of <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

• index – An instance of <integer>.

Values:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Synonymous with a call to pointer-value-setter that includes the optional index. Thus it does the same thing as:

pointer-value-setter(*new*, *C-statically-typed-pointer*, index:
                     *index*)

=(<C-pointer>) Method

Returns #t if two pointers are equal.

Signature:

= C-pointer-1 C-pointer-2 => boolean

Parameters:

• c-pointer-1 – An instance of <C-pointer>.

• c-pointer-2 – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• boolean – An instance of <boolean>.

Discussion:

Returns #t if two pointers are equal. This is equivalent to:

(pointer-address(*C-pointer-1*) = pointer-address(*C-pointer-2*))

Note that operations corresponding to C pointer arithmetic are not defined on <C-pointer>. If pointer arithmetic operations are required, use pointer-value with an index: argument.

See also:

• pointer-value.

<(<C-pointer>) Method

Returns #t if the second argument is less than the first.

Signature:

< C-pointer-1 C-pointer-2 => boolean

Parameters:

• c-pointer-1 – An instance of <C-pointer>.

• c-pointer-2 – An instance of <C-pointer>.

Values:

• boolean – An instance of <boolean>.

Discussion:

Returns #t if the second argument is less than the first. This allows pointer comparison operations to be performed on instances of <C-pointer>.

Note that operations corresponding to C pointer arithmetic are not defined on <C-pointer>. If pointer arithmetic operations are required, use pointer-value with an index: argument.

See also:

• pointer-value.

The following functions comprise the conceptual foundation on which the pointer accessing protocol is based. In the signatures of these functions, byte-index is in terms of address units (typically bytes) and scaled-index is scaled by the size of the units involved. In the setters, new is the new value to which the value in the pointed-at location will be set. These functions can be used to deference any general instance of <C-pointer>.

C-char-at

Function

Signature

C-char-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-char-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-char-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index*
  => *machine-word*

C-signed-char-at

Function

Signature

C-signed-char-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-signed-char-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-signed-char-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-unsigned-char-at

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-char-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-unsigned-char-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-char-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-unsigned-short-at

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-short-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index*
  => *machine-word*

C-unsigned-short-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-short-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-signed-short-at

Function

Signature

C-signed-short-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-signed-short-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-signed-short-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-short-at

Function

Signature

C-short-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-short-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-short-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-unsigned-long-at

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-long-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-unsigned-long-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-long-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-signed-long-at

Function

Signature

C-signed-long-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-signed-long-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-signed-long-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-long-at

Function

Signature

C-long-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-long-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-long-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-unsigned-int-at

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-int-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-unsigned-int-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-unsigned-int-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-signed-int-at

Function

Signature

C-signed-int-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-signed-int-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-signed-int-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-int-at

Function

Signature

C-int-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *machine-word*

C-int-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-int-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-double-at

Function

Signature

C-double-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *float*

C-double-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-double-at-setter *new-double-float* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *float*

C-float-at

Function

Signature

C-float-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *float*

C-float-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-float-at-setter *new-single-float* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index*
  *scaled-index* => *float*

C-pointer-at

Function

Signature

C-pointer-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* => *C-pointer*

C-pointer-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-pointer-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index*
  => *C-pointer*

C-size-t-at

Function

Signature

C-size-t-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-size-t-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-size-t-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-ssize-t-at

Function

Signature

C-ssize-t-at *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

C-ssize-t-at-setter

Function

Signature

C-ssize-t-at-setter *new* *C-pointer* #key *byte-index* *scaled-index* =>
  *machine-word*

Structure types

<C-struct> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all classes designating a C struct type. It is a subclass of <C-value>. It is a subclass of <C-value>. You can describe new struct types using the define C-struct macro.

Classes designating C structs are not instantiable. Where a slot, array element, function parameter or function result is typed as a struct value, pointers to that struct type are accepted and returned.

Union types

<C-union> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

The abstract superclass of all classes designating a C union type. It is a subclass of <C-value>. You can describe new union types with the macro define C-union. Classes designating C unions are not instantiable. Where a slot, array element, function parameter or function result is typed as a union value, pointers to that union type are accepted and returned.

Notes on C type macros

The C-FFI’s C interface description language does not model all of the ways of defining new types in C, but all C types should be expressible in it. As a simplification, we do not support anonymous base types in the C interface description language. If a structure or union field has an in-line type definition in C, that definition must be extracted and given a name in order for it to be used. For example, the following C struct

struct something {
  char *name;
  long flags;
  union {
    long int_val;
    char *string_val;
  } val;
}

can be described with these definitions:

define C-union <anonymous-union-1>
  slot int-val :: <C-long>;
  slot string-val :: <C-string>;
end C-union;

define C-struct <anonymous-struct-1>
  slot name :: <C-string>;
  slot flags :: <C-long>;
  slot val :: <anonymous-union-1>;
end C-struct;

The slots of these ex-inline types must be accessed through a chain of accesses, for example o.val.string-val.

Defining types

This section covers the definition macros that create Dylan designators for C types, structs and unions.

Defining specialized versions of designator classes

define C-subtype Defining Macro

Defines a specialized designator class for a C type based on an existing designator class for that type.

Macro Call:

define [modifiers] C-subtype name (superclasses)
  [slot-spec ; ...] [;]
  [type-options] [;]
end [C-subtype] [name]

Parameters:

• modifiers – The same as the modifiers allowed in define class.

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• superclasses – A list of Dylan names.

• slot-spec – Same syntax as a slot definition in define class.

• type-options – A property list.

Discussion:

Defines a specialized designator class for a C type based on an existing designator class for that type. It does this by defining a subclass of the original designator class, and is a simple wrapper around define class from which it takes its syntax. The superclasses, slot-specs, and modifiers are passed on to define class unchanged. In effect, it expands to:

define class *name* (*superclasses*)
  *slot-spec* ; ...
end class;

In terms of C, define C-subtype can be thought of as implementing a strongly typed version of typedef because a new designator class is generated that Dylan’s type system can distinguish from the designator class on which it was based. As well as inheriting from an existing designator class, other Dylan classes can be mixed in too.

The optional type-options must be a property list. The c-name: keyword is recognized, allowing the original C name of the type designated by the class to be documented. The pointer-type-name: keyword option can be used to name the designator for pointers to name.

Example:

Some example C declarations:

typedef void *Handle;

typedef Handle WindowHandle;
typedef Handle StreamHandle;

extern WindowHandle CurrentWindow (void);

extern StreamHandle CurrentStream (void);

Example FFI definitions:

define C-subtype <Handle> (<C-void*>) end;

define C-subtype <WindowHandle> (<Handle>) end;
define C-subtype <StreamHandle> (<Handle>) end;

define C-function CurrentWindow
  result value :: <WindowHandle>;
  c-name: "CurrentWindow";
end C-function;

define C-function CurrentStream
  result value :: <StreamHandle>;
  c-name: "CurrentStream";
end C-function;

Example transactions:

? <C-void*> == <WindowHandle> | <WindowHandle> == <StreamHandle>;
#f

? define variable *cw* = CurrentWindow();
// Defined *cw*

? *cw*
{<WindowHandle> #xff5400}

? define variable *cs* = CurrentStream();
// Defined *cs*

? *cs*
{<StreamHandle> #xff6400}

? instance?(*cs*, <WindowHandle>) | instance?(*cw*, <StreamHandle>);
#f

The following example uses the ability to specify extra superclasses to place a type beneath an abstract class.

Example C declarations:

struct _Matrix {
  int rank;
  int *dimensions;
  int *values;
};
typedef struct _Matrix *Matrix;

extern Matrix MatrixAdd (Matrix m, Matrix n);

Example FFI definitions:

define C-struct <_Matrix-struct>
  slot rank :: <C-int>;
  slot dimensions :: <C-int*>;
  slot values :: <C-int*>;
  pointer-type-name: <_Matrix-struct*>;
end C-struct;

define C-subtype <Matrix> (<_Matrix-struct*>, <number>) end;

define C-function MatrixAdd
  parameter m :: <Matrix>;
  parameter n :: <Matrix>;
  result value :: <Matrix>;
  c-name: "MatrixAdd";
end C-function;

define method \+ (m1 :: <Matrix>, m2 :: <Matrix>) =>
    (r :: <Matrix>)
  MatrixAdd(m1, m2)
end method;

Defining specialized designator classes

define C-mapped-subtype Defining Macro

Allows you to define a name to which to bind a pointer designator.

Macro Call:

define [modifier ...] C-mapped-subtype type-name (superclass )
  [map high-level-type
    [, import-function: import-fun ]
    [, export-function: export-fun ];]
  [import-map high-level-type,
    import-function: import-fun ;]
  [export-map high-level-type,
    export-function: export-fun ;]
  [type-options]
end

Parameters:

• modifiers – The same as the modifiers allowed in define-class.

• type-name – A Dylan variable name.

• superclasses – A list of Dylan names.

• high-level-type – An instance of a Dylan <type>.

• import-fun – An instance of <function>.

• export-fun – An instance of <function>.

• type-options – A property list.

Discussion:

Allows you to define a name to which to bind a pointer designator.

The modifiers may be sealed or open. (The default is sealed.) Their effect on the class defined is the same as the similar modifiers on an ordinary class.

The possible combinations are, a map clause, an import-map clause, an export-map clause, or both an import-map and an export-map clause. Any other combinations are illegal.

The import-map clause specifies that a type conversion takes place when type-name is used as a designator for values imported from C into Dylan. The conversion is accomplished by calling the import-function on the imported value. This call is automatically inserted into function wrappers, structure member getters, pointer-value dereference functions and so on by the C-FFI. The high-level-type is used as the Dylan type specifier for the appropriate parameter or result in any wrapper function or c-struct accessor which uses the defined class. The export-map clause specifies a similar type conversion for exported values. The high-level-type must in either case name an instantiable Dylan type.

map <type-c>;

is equivalent to:

import-map <type-c>;
export-map <type-c>;

The import and export functions are monadic functions whose single argument is the appropriate low-level value for export functions and the appropriate Dylan type for import functions. Any mapped subtype which specifies an import-map must specify an import-function. Any mapped subtype which specifies an export-map must specify an export-function.

Map boolean example:

bool-header.h:

typedef int bool;

bool bool_function (bool b);
void bool_pointer_function (bool * b);

//eof

Module: my-module

define C-mapped-subtype <bool> (<C-int>)
  map <boolean>,
    export-function:
      method (v :: <boolean>) => (result :: <integer>)
        as(<integer>, if(v) 1 else 0 end if)
      end,
    import-function:
      method (v :: <integer>) => (result :: <boolean>)
        ~zero?(v)
      end;
end;

//end module

Mapped string example: an alternate version of C-string which automatically converts instances of <byte-string> to instances of <C-example-string> on export.

string-header.h

typedef char * string;

string string-filter(string s);
void string-modifier(string * s);

//eof

module: my-module

define C-mapped-subtype <C-example-string> (<C-char*>, <string>)
  export-map type-union(<byte-string>, <C-example-string>),
    export-function: c-string-exporter;
end;

define method c-string-exporter
    (s :: <byte-string>)
 => (result :: <C-char*>)
  as(<C-example-string>, s)
end;

define method c-string-exporter
    (s :: <C-example-string>)
 => (result :: <C-example-string>)
  s
end;

//end module

It is possible to define an ordinary subtype of a mapped supertype. The mapping characteristic of the subtype is inherited from the supertype. It is also possible to define a mapped subtype of a mapped supertype. When the subtype and supertype both specify an export function, the export functions of the subtype and the supertype are composed with the subtype’s export function applied to the result of the supertype’s export function. Import functions of a mapped subtype and supertype are similarly composed. Mapping characteristics are inherited from the supertype where the subtype does not define them. (You can think of this as composition with identity when either the supertype or subtype fails to specify an import or export function.) This shadowing is only useful when import and export maps are defined separately. Here is an example of a mapped subtypes which adds an import map to the mapped version of <C-example-string> defined above.

define C-mapped-subtype <other-string>
    (<C-example-string>)
  import-map <byte-string>,
    import-function:
      method (v :: <byte-string>)
       => (result :: <C-example-string>)
        as(<C-example-string>, v)
      end method;
end;

The import signature is <byte-string>. The export signature is inherited from <C-example-string> type-union(<byte-string>, <C-example-string>). For a example involving composition of mapped types consider the following (hypothetical) definitions of <C-raw-int>, <C-mapped-int> and <bool>. The <C-raw-int> class is a primitive which returns and accepts instances of <machine-word>. The <C-mapped-int> class is a mapped subtype which converts the instances of <machine-word> to instances of <integer>. The <bool> class is a mapped subtype of <C-mapped-int> which converts to and from <boolean>.

define C-mapped-subtype <C-mapped-int> (<C-raw-int>)
  map <boolean>,
    export-function:
      method (v :: <integer>) => (result :: <machine-word>)
        as(<machine-word>, v)
      end,
    import-function:
      method (v :: <machine-word>) => (result :: <integer>)
        as(<integer>, v)
      end;
end;

define C-mapped-subtype <bool> (<C-mapped-int>)
  map <boolean>,
    export-function:
      method (v :: <boolean>) => (result :: <integer>)
        if(v) 1 else 0 end if
      end,
    import-function:
      method (v :: <integer>) => (result :: <boolean>)
        ~zero?(v)
      end;
end;

Describing structure types

define C-struct Defining Macro

Describes C’s aggregate structures.

Macro Call:

define C-struct name
  [slot-spec ; ...] [;]
  [type-options] [;]
end [C-struct] [name]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• slot-spec –

• type-options – A property list.

Discussion:

Describes C’s aggregate structures. The name is defined to be a designator class encapsulating the value of a structure, not a pointer to the structure. This is significant because many of the protocols associated with structures work only on pointers to structures — pointers to structures being the most common form and the form closest to Dylan’s object model. The new designator class is defined to be a subclass of <C-struct>.

Once defined, a structure-designating class is most likely to be used as the basis for a pointer type definition in terms of which most further transactions will take place. Structure-designating classes are abstract and cannot have direct instances. Accessor methods defined for the slots of the structure are specialized on the structure designator’s pointer-type. However, the class itself may be needed to specify an in-line structure in another structure, union, or array, or a value-passed structure argument or result in a C function.

A slot-spec has the following syntax:

[*slot-adjective* ] slot *getter-name* :: *c-type* #key *setter*
  *address-getter* *c-name length* *width*

The slot-adjective can be constant, array or bitfield. The array slot adjective indicates that the slot is repeated and the dimensions option is used to indicate how many repetitions are defined, and how it is accessed. The bitfield slot adjective indicates that the slot is really a bitfield. If bitfield is given then the width option must also be given. The c-type given for a bitfield slot must be an integer designator. The c-type for a bitfield slot indicates how the value is interpreted in Dylan by the slot accessor. A slot may not be specified as both an array and a bitfield. If constant is specified, then no setter is generated. The constant adjective can be supplied for array and bitfield slots.

The getter-name keyword specifies the name of the Dylan function to which the getter method for the structure slot will be added. The specializer of the getter method’s single argument will be a designator indicating a pointer to the struct’s name.

The c-type specifies the field’s C type, and must be a designator class. Unlike Dylan slot specifications, the type declaration here is not optional.

The optional setter keyword specifies the generic function to which the setter method for the structure slot will be added. It defaults to getter-name*-setter*. No setter method is defined if the setter option is #f. If the constant keyword is supplied, no setter option should be supplied.

The optional address-getter specifies the name of a function that can be used to return a pointer to the data in the member. It must return a <C-pointer> object that points to a C type. No address-getter is defined by default.

You can use the dimensions keyword only if you used the array slot adjective. This dimensions value can be either a list of integers or a single integer. The accessor for an array slot is defined to take an extra integer parameter for each dimension given.

You can use the width keyword option only if you used the bitfield adjective.

The optional c-name keyword allows you to document the original C name of the slot.

The type-options clause is a property list allowing you to specify properties of the type as a whole. It accepts the optional keyword c-name:, allowing you to document the original C name of the struct to be documented. The optional keyword pointer-type-name: is also accepted. When given, the name is bound to the struct pointer type on which the accessors are defined.

The type option pack: n indicates that the struct has the packing semantics of Microsoft’s #pragma pack(*n*).

Example:

Example C declaration:

struct Point {
  unsigned short x;
  unsigned short y;
};

Point *OnePoint(); /* Returns a pointer to a Point */
Point *PointArray(); /* Returns a Point array */

Example FFI definition:

define C-struct <Point>
  slot x :: <C-unsigned-short>;
  slot y :: <C-unsigned-short>;
  pointer-type-name: <Point*>;
end C-struct;

define C-function one-point
  result point :: <Point*>;
  c-name: "OnePoint";
end C-function;

define C-function point-array
  result array :: <Point*>;
  c-name: "PointArray";
end C-function;

Example transactions:

? define variable p = one-point();
// Defined p.

? values(p.x, p.y);
100
50

? define variable array = point-array();
// Defined array.

? array[5].object-class; // implicit conversion to
// the pointer type
{<Point> pointer #xff5e00}

? begin array[5].x := 10; array[5].y := 20 end;
20

? values(array[5].x, array[5].y)
10
20

Describing union types

define C-union Defining Macro

Describes C union types to the c-ffi.

Macro Call:

define C-union name
  [slot-spec ; ...] [;]
  [type-options] [;]
end [C-union] [name]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• slot-spec –

• type-options – A property list.

Discussion:

Describes C union types to the C-FFI. The syntax for the macro and its use are similar to define c-struct except that bitfield slots are not allowed. The designator created by the macro is a subclass of <c-union>.

Each of the slots in a union is laid out in memory on top of one another just as in C’s union construct.

Example:

Example C declaration:

union Num {
  int int_value;
  double double_value;
};

Num *OneNum(); /* Returns a pointer to a Num */

Num *NumArray(); /* Returns a Num array */

Example FFI definition:

define C-union <Num>
  slot int-value :: <C-int>;
  slot double-value :: <C-double>;
  pointer-type-name: <Num*>;
end C-union;

define C-function one-num
  result num :: <Num*>;
  c-name: "OneNum";
end C-function;

define C-function num-array
  result array :: <Num*>;
  c-name: "NumArray";
end C-function;

Example transactions:

? define variable n = one-num();
// Defined n.

? values(p.int-value, p.double-value);
154541
92832.e23 // or something

? define variable array = num-array();
// Defined array.

? array[5].object-class; // implicit conversion to
// the pointer type
{<Num> pointer #xff5e00}

? array[5].int-value := 0;
0

? array[5].double-value;
11232e-12 // or a different something

Functions

This section describes the C FFI macros that allow C functions to be made available to Dylan and Dylan functions available to C.

Function types

This section describes classes that designate C function types and how to construct them.

<C-function-pointer> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

The superclass of all classes that designate a C function type. It is a subclass of <C-pointer>. The Dylan variable bound by define c-callable is of this type.

Describing C functions to Dylan

define C-function Defining Macro

Describes a C function to the c-ffi.

Macro Call:

define C-function name
  [parameter-spec; ...]
  [result-spec;]
  [function-option, ...;]
end [C-function] [name]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• parameter-spec –

• result-spec –

• function-option – A property list.

Discussion:

Describes a C function to the C-FFI. In order for a C function to be called correctly by Dylan, the same information about the function must be given as is needed by C callers, typically provided by extern declarations for the function in a C header file: the function’s name and the types of its parameters and results.

The result of processing a define C-function definition is a Dylan function which is bound to name. This function takes Dylan objects as arguments, converting them to their C representations according to the types declared for the parameters of the C function before calling the C function with them. If the C function returns results, these results are converted to Dylan representations according to the declared types of those results before being returned to the Dylan caller of the function. By default the function created is a raw method, not a generic function. A generic function method can defined by using the generic-function-method: option.

Either the c-name: function option must be supplied, or the indirect: option must be supplied with a value other than #f, but not both.

A parameter-spec has the following syntax:

[*adjectives*] parameter name :: *c-type* #key *c-name*

If no parameters are specified, the C function is taken to have no arguments.

The adjectives can be either output, input, or both. The calling discipline is specified by the input and output adjectives.

By itself, input indicates that the argument is passed into the function by value. This option is the default and is used primarily to document the code. There is a parameter to the generated Dylan function corresponding to each input parameter of the C function.

The output adjective specifies that the argument value to the C function is used to identify a location into which an extra result of the C function will be stored. There is no parameter in the generated Dylan function corresponding to an output parameter of the C function. The C-FFI generates a location for the extra return value itself and passes it to the C function. When the C function returns, the value in the location is accessed and returned as an extra result from the Dylan function. The C-FFI allocates space for the output parameter’s referenced type, passes a pointer to the allocated space, and returns pointer-value of that pointer. A struct or union type may not be used as an output parameter.

Example of output parameter definition:

define C-function mix-it-up
  output parameter out1 :: <some-struct*>;
  output parameter out2 :: <C-int*>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "mix_it_up";
end C-function mix-it-up;

Example transaction:

? mix-it-up();
1
{<some-struct> pointer #xfefe770}
42

If both input and output are supplied, they specify that the argument value to the C function is used to identify a location from which a value is accessed and into which an extra result value is placed by the C function. There is a parameter to the generated Dylan function corresponding to each input output parameter of the C function that is specialized as the union of the export type of the referenced type of the type given for the parameter in define c-function, and #f. When the C function returns, the value in the location is accessed and returned as an extra result from the Dylan function. If an input output parameter is passed as #f from Dylan then a NULL pointer is passed to the C function, and the extra value returned by the Dylan function will be #f.

Example of input output parameter definition:

define C-function mix-it-up
  input output parameter inout :: <C-int*>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "mix_it_up";
end C-function mix-it-up;

Example transaction:

? mix-it-up(7);
1
14

Note that neither output nor input output affects the declared type of an argument: it must have the same type it has in C and so, because it represents a location, must be a pointer type.

A result-spec has the following syntax:

result [name :: c-type]
error-result [name :: c-type]

If no result is specified, the Dylan function does not return a value for the C result, and the C function is expected to have a return type of void.

error-result is used when it is necessary to call the import-map function on the result and then discard it. This is often used when mapping a return value to a Dylan error.

Each function-option is a keyword–value pair. The generic-function-method: option may be either #t or #f, indicating whether to add a method to the generic function name or to bind a bare constant method directly to name. The default value for generic-function-method: is #f. The option C-modifiers: can be used to specify platform dependent modifiers for the C function being called. For example, on Windows, use C-modifiers: "__stdcall" if the C function to be called is defined to be a __stdcall function.

The c-name: option is used to specify the name of the C function as it is defined in the object or shared library file. The c-name must be a constant string.

The indirect: #t option defines a function that accepts a C function pointer as its first argument and calls the function given with the signature described by the parameters and result given. In this case the Dylan function defined accepts one more argument than if c-name was given. The type specified for the first parameter of the Dylan function is <c-function-pointer>. One of c-name or indirect: #t must be supplied, but not both.

Example C declarations:

/* Compute the length of a string */
int strlen(char *string);

/* Set the given locations to values,
   returning an error code */
int fill_locations(int *loc1, int *loc2);

/* Read at most as far as indicated in max_then_read,
   updating it to contain how much was actually read */
void read_stuff(int *max_then_read);

Example FFI definitions:

define C-function strlen
  parameter string :: <C-char*>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "strlen";
end C-function;

define C-function fill-locations
  output parameter loc1 :: <C-int*>;
  output parameter loc2 :: <C-int*>;
  result return-code :: <C-int>;
  c_name: "fill_locations";
end C-function;

define C-function read-stuff
  input output parameter :: <C-int*>;
  c-name: "read_stuff";
end C-function;

Example transactions:

? strlen($my-c-string);
44
? fill-locations();
0
101 // extra output value
102 // extra output value
? read-stuff(100);
50 // extra output value

In effect, a define C-function such as:

define C-function foo
  parameter string :: <C-char*>;
  parameter count :: <C-int>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "foo";
end C-function;

expands into something like:

define functon foo (string, count)
  let c-string = %as-c-representation(<C-char*>,
                                      string);
  let c-count = %as-c-representation(<C-int>, count);
  let c-result = %call-c-function("foo", c-string,
                                  c-count);
  %as-dylan-representation(<C-int>, c-result);
end;

with the declared type.

Describing Dylan functions for use by C

define C-callable-wrapper Defining Macro

Makes a Dylan function callable from C by describing a C contract for the function.

Macro Call:

define C-callable-wrapper [dylan-rep-name] of dylan-function
  [parameter-spec ; ...] [;]
  [result-spec ] [;]
  [function-options ][;]
end [C-callable-wrapper]

Parameters:

• dylan-rep-name – A Dylan variable name.

• dylan-function – An instance of <function>.

• parameter-spec –

• result-spec –

• function-options – A property list.

Discussion:

Makes a Dylan function callable from C by describing a C contract for the function. In order to generate a correct C-callable function wrapper, the same information about the function must be given as would be needed by C callers, typically provided by extern declarations for the function in a C header file: the types of its parameters and results.

The result of processing a define C-callable-wrapper definition is a function with a C entry point with the contract described. This function takes C values as arguments, converting them to Dylan representations according to the types declared for the parameters of the C function before calling the Dylan function with them. If the C function was described as returning results, the results of the call to the Dylan function are converted to C representations according to the declared types of those results before being returned to the C caller of the function.

The dylan-function is a Dylan function that accepts the correct number of parameters, and is called by the C callable wrapper.

The function-options are a property list. This list may contain a string value for the c-name keyword. If a c-name is specified, that name is made visible to C as the name of the generated C-callable wrapper function. Given a compatible extern declaration, this allows C code to call Dylan code simply by invoking a named function. The export: option takes the values #t or #f and indicates whether the c-name for the generated C-callable-wrapper function is to be exported from the library’s .dll. #t means it is exported, #f means it is not. The default is #f. The c-modifiers: option is the same as in the c-function macro, except that the modifiers apply to the C function wrapper which is generated. See define C-function.

If dylan-rep-name is specified, it is bound to an instance of a function-pointer designator class identifying the generated C-callable wrapper function. You can pass this pointer to C code for use as, for example, a callback.

A parameter-spec has the following syntax:

[*adjectives* ] parameter name :: *c-type* #key *c-name*

If no parameters are specified, the C function is taken to have no arguments.

An adjective can be input, output, or both. The calling discipline is specified by the input and output adjectives.

If a parameter is output, the corresponding parameter is not passed to the Dylan function, but the Dylan function is expected to return an extra value that is placed in the location pointed to by the parameter. When the pointer is NULL, the extra value from the Dylan function is ignored. The type designated for the parameter must be a pointer type.

If a parameter is both input and output, the parameter must be a pointer type, and the value accepted by the Dylan function is the result. The functions pointer-value and pointer-value-setter perform the primitive Dylan-to-C and C-to-Dylan conversions as documented with the designator class of the pointer’s contents type (see Table 1.1). The C-FFI signals an error if it cannot convert the object you attempt to store in the pointer to a compatible type on that pointer. The Dylan function is expected to return an extra value which is placed into the location specified by the pointer passed to the C function. If the pointer passed to the C function is NULL, then the value passed to the Dylan function will be #f, and the extra value returned will be ignored.

There is currently no way to define a C-callable function that accepts a variable number of arguments.

A result-spec has the following syntax:

result name :: *c-type*

If no result is specified, the C function defined does not return a value. It is defined as what in C terminology is known as a void function.

Example:

Example C declarations:

/* Compute the length of a string */
int strlen(char *string);

/* Set the given locations to values, returning an
   error code */
int fill_locations(int *loc1, int* loc2);

/* Read at most as far as indicated in max_then_read,
   updating it to contain how much was actually read */
void read_stuff(int *max_then_read);

Example FFI definitions:

define method dylan-strlen (string) => (length) ... end;

define C-callable-wrapper of dylan-strlen
  parameter string :: <C-char*>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "strlen";
end C-function;

define method dylan-fill-locations ()
 => (return-code :: <integer>,
     val1 :: <integer>,
     val2 :: <integer>)
  ...
end;

define C-callable-wrapper of dylan-fill-locations
  output parameter loc1 :: <C-int*>;
  output parameter loc2 :: <C-int*>;
  result return-code :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "fill_locations";
end C-function;

define method dylan-read-stuff (max :: <integer>) =>
  (read :: <integer) ...
end;

define C-callable-wrapper of dylan-read-stuff
  input output parameter max-then-read :: <C-int*>;
  c-name: "read_stuff";
end C-function;

Example C calls:

{
  int length, *loc1, *loc2, max_then_read;
  length = strlen("ABC");
  fill_locations(loc1, loc2);

  max_then_read = 100

  read_stuff(&max_then_read);
}

In effect, a define C-callable-wrapper such as:

define C-callable-wrapper of foo
  parameter string :: <C-char*>;
  parameter count :: <C-int>;
  result value :: <C-int>;
  c-name: "foo";
end C-function;

expands into something like:

%c-callable-function "foo" (c-string, c-count)
  let dylan-string
    = %as-dylan-representation(<C-char*>, c-string);
  let dylan-count
    = %as-dylan-representation(<C-int>, c-count);
  let dylan-result
    = foo(dylan-string, dylan-count);
  %as-c-representation(<C-int>, dylan-result);
end;

where the % functions perform the primitive conversions between Dylan and C representations, checking that their arguments are compatible with the declared type.

Callback example:

define C-function c-sort
  parameter strings :: <C-string*>;
  parameter compare :: <C-function-pointer>;
  result sorted-strings :: <C-string*>;
  c-name: "sort";
end C-function;

define C-callable-wrapper callback-for-< of \<
  parameter string1 :: <C-string>;
  parameter string2 :: <C-string>;
  result int :: <C-int>;
end C-callable-wrapper;

? callback-for-<
{function pointer #xff6e00}

? c-sort(some-c-strings, callback-for-<);
{<C-string> array}

Objective C

A full-featured Objective C bridge is provided separately, however, parts of that bridge are implemented within this library.

define objc-selector Defining Macro

Describe Objective C selectors to the c-ffi.

Macro Call:

define objc-selector name
  [parameter-spec; ...]
  [result-spec;]
  [function-option, ...;]
end [C-function] [name]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• parameter-spec –

• result-spec –

• function-option – A property list.

Discussion:

Defining an Objective C selector is much the same as define C-function, except:

• There must be at least one parameter specification. The first parameter specifies the target of the method, so it should be either an Objective C class or an object instance.

• Rather than specifying a c-name: for the function, a selector is specified instead.

• The c-modifiers keyword can be used to select alternate versions of objc_msgSend when calling into the Objective C run-time.

• An additional keyword, type-encoding: must be supplied with a valid type encoding for the selector. See the Objective C bridge documentation for more details.

Example:

define objc-selector sel/alloc
  parameter target :: <objc/class>;
  result objc-instance :: <objc/instance-address>;
  selector: "alloc";
end;

Variables

This section covers describing and accessing C variables.

define C-variable Defining Macro

Describes C variables to the c-ffi.

Macro Call:

define C-variable getter-name :: c-type
  #key setter c-name import: boolean
end [C-variable]

Parameters:

• getter-name – A Dylan variable name.

• c-type – A Dylan name.

• setter – #f or a Dylan variable name.

• c-name – A string constant.

• import – #f or #t.

Discussion:

Describes C variables to the C-FFI. It defines a getter and setter function for accessing the variable’s value. The c-name keyword argument is required and gives the C name of the variable to be accessed. The setter keyword allows you to specify the name of the setter function, or if a setter function is to be defined at all. If setter is #f, no setter function will be defined.

The import: option indicates if the C variable must be imported from another .dll or not. #t indicates it is in another .dll and must be imported, #f means that it is not to be imported. Whether the variable has to be imported from another .dll or not is determined by which Dylan project the C source files are part of. If they are in the same project as the C-variable definition then the value of “import:” should be #f as the definition and variable will be linked into the same .dll. If the definition is in a different project from the C source files then they will be in separate .dll s and import: needs to be #t. The default value is #f.

For integer, float, or pointer-typed C variables the representation is clear and unambiguous. For C struct or union typed variables the translation is not so simple. A C union or struct has no direct representation in Dylan. You may only have a reference to the C object in Dylan through a <c-pointer> object. For this reason, define c-variable is not permitted for variables with C aggregate types. Use define C-address for those variables.

Example:

? define C-variable process-count :: <C-int>,
  c-name: "process_count" end;

? process-count();
57

? process-count() := 0;
0

? process-count();
0

? define C-variable machine-name-1 :: <C-char*>,
  c-name: "MachineName";
end;

? machine-name-1();
#{<C-char*> #xaaabc00}

In C and other static languages what is known as a variable is a named allocation of memory. To access a global C variable from Dylan it is occasionally necessary to get a handle to the location where that variable is kept. The define C-address macro can be used for this purpose.

define C-address Defining Macro

Defines a Dylan constant binding that is a <C-pointer> to the location of a C global variable.

Macro Call:

define C-address name :: pointer-designator-type
  #key c-name import: boolean
end [C-address] [name]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• pointer-designator-type –

• c-name – A string constant.

• import – #f or #t.

Discussion:

Defines a Dylan constant binding, name, that is a <C-pointer> which points to the location of the C global variable c-name.

Pointer-designator-type must be the type of the constant to be defined, and a subtype of <C-pointer>.

The import: option indicates if the C address must be imported from another .dll or not. #t indicates it is in another .dll and must be imported, #f means that it is not to be imported. Whether the variable has to be imported from another .dll or not is determined by which Dylan project the C source files are part of. If they are in the same project as the C-address definition then the value of “import:” should be #f as the definition and variable will be linked into the same .dll. If the definition is in a different project from the C source files then they will be in separate .dll s and import: needs to be #t. The default value is #f.

Allocating and deallocating C storage

C objects can be allocated by calling make on an associated wrapper class or by allocating them on the stack using the macro with-stack-structure.

The C component of a make -allocated object is not deallocated by default when the Dylan designator object is reclaimed by the garbage collector, so we provide a manual means of freeing this storage with the function destroy.

make(subclass(<C-pointer>)) Method

Allocates a C object on the heap.

Signature:

make subclass(<c-pointer>) #key allocator element-count extra-bytes address => C-pointer

Parameters:

• subclass – A subclass of <C-pointer>.

• allocator (#key) – An instance of <function>.

• element-count (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

• extra-bytes (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

• address (#key) – An instance of <integer> or <machine-word>.

Values:

• c-pointer – An instance of type <c-pointer> pointing to the object.

Discussion:

Allocates a C object on the heap, using whatever standard C allocation function is in use on the target platform (typically malloc) to allocate the storage. This method is applicable to subclasses of <C-pointer> and returns an instance of its argument class.

If the address option is provided, no new storage is allocated, but instead, a new pointer with the given machine word address is returned.

The allocator argument should be a Dylan function that can serve as an allocator. It must accept a single integer argument — the number of bytes to be allocated — and return a Dylan <machine-word> that represents the address of the memory it allocated.

The amount of storage allocated by default is the result of:

size-of(*pointer-wrapper-class*.referenced-type)

If a positive integer is passed as an extra-bytes option, that number of extra bytes is also allocated.

If a positive integer is passed as a element-count option, space for element-count copies of the referenced type is allocated, taking into account the extra-bytes option for each of them. The element-count argument can be used for allocating arrays of sizes that are not known statically. The keyword element-count is used for this option rather than size in order to avoid conflict with the size collection keyword. The logical size of a collection represented by a pointer wrapper and the number of array elements that implement it may differ; a null-terminated string is an example of such a case.

This make method calls initialize on the wrapper object it generates before returning it.

? define variable *space-for-one-int* = make(<C-int*>);

? *space-for-one-int*[0];
97386437634 // Could have been anything unless the
  // default allocator guarantees to zero new memory.

? *space-for-one-int*[0] := 0;
0

? *space-for-one-int*[0];
0

? define variable *space-for-ten-ints*
= make(<C-int*>, element-count: 10);

? define C-struct <Z-properties>
  slot type :: <C-int>;
  array slot properties :: <C-int>,
end C-struct <Z-properties>;

? define variable *props* =
  make(<Z-properties>,
    extra-bytes: 10 * size-of(<C-int>));

destroy Open Generic function

Frees the allocated heap memory at a specified address.

Signature:

destroy C-pointer #key de-allocator => ()

Parameters:

• c-pointer – An instance of <C-pointer>.

• de-allocator (#key) – An instance of <function>.

Discussion:

Frees the allocated heap memory at the address encapsulated in C-pointer.

The deallocator argument should be a Dylan function that can serve as a deallocation facility. It must accept an address as a <machine-word> and free the storage allocated at that address.

You should only use destroy on pointers allocated using make where no address was given. If allocator was passed to make, the matching deallocator should be passed to destroy.

There is a default method for destroy on <C-statically-typed-pointer>.

with-stack-structure Statement Macro

Allocates an object within the scope of the body of the code.

Macro Call:

with-stack-structure (name :: wrapper-type
    #key element-count, extra-bytes)
  body
end [with-stack-structure]

Parameters:

• name – A Dylan variable name.

• wrapper-type – A Dylan name.

• element-count (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

• extra-bytes (#key) – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Allocates an object name within the scope of a body. The element-count and extra-bytes options behave as in make. The memory that was allocated is freed after body exits.

This macro gives the object dynamic extent.

Example:

define C-struct <PointStruct>
  slot x-coord :: <C-unsigned-short>;
  slot y-coord :: <C-unsigned-short>;
  pointer-type-name: <PointStruct*>
end C-struct;

define constant <Point> = <PointStruct*>;

define C-function PlotPoint
  parameter point :: <Point>;
  c-name: "PlotPoint";
end C-function;

define method plot (x, y)
  with-stack-structure (point :: <Point>)
    point.x-coord := 20;
    point.y-coord := 30;
    PlotPoint(point);
  end;
end;

Utility designator classes

The following designator classes are defined for convenience purposes using define c-mapped-subtype.

<C-boolean> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

A mapped subclass of <C-int> that provides an analogue to Dylan’s <boolean> class. The Dylan type for both import and export is <boolean>, and the C type is int. The C integer 0 is mapped to #f in Dylan, and all other values are mapped to #t.

<C-string> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

A mapped subclass of <C-char*> and <string>. On export the Dylan types <C-string>, or <byte-string> may be passed to C. On import all values are mapped to <C-string>. A <byte-string> may be passed to C directly and no copying takes place. The value in C will be a pointer to the data of the byte-string. The implementation of <byte-string> is such that, unless there are NULL characters embedded in the string, strlen in C and size in Dylan will return the same value.

A <byte-string> may only be safely passed to a C function if its value is never stored and used after the call returns.

<C-character> Open Abstract Class

Discussion:

The Dylan type for import and export is <character>. It is a designator that allows instances of <character> to be passed to and from C.

with-c-string Statement Macro

Passes a C pointer to the contents of a <byte-string>.

Macro Call:

with-c-string (variable = string-valued-expression)
  body
end

Parameters:

• variable – A Dylan variable name.

• string-valued-expression – An instance of <string>.

Discussion:

Use this macro when you need to pass C a pointer to the contents of a <byte-string>, but for some reason it cannot be passed directly. Inside the body, variable is bound to a <C-string> object that refers to the contents of the string returned by string-valued-expression.

Note

The <c-string> object is only live during the period that body is executing. If the program holds onto the pointer after that, the data it refers to cannot be guaranteed to be correct, because the garbage collector can no longer keep track of it.

clear-memory! Function

Stores zeros in the specified bytes of memory.

Signature:

clear-memory! pointer, size => ()

Parameters:

• pointer – An instance of type <C-pointer> that points to the memory location at which to start writing zeros.

• size – An instance of type <integer>. The number of bytes to clear.

Discussion:

Stores zeros into size bytes of memory beginning at pointer. The space is assumed to be a whole number of words and word-aligned.

copy-bytes! Function

Copies an arbitrary number of bytes at an arbitrary alignment.

Signature:

copy-bytes! destination-pointer, source-pointer, size => ()

Parameters:

• destination-pointer – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• source-pointer – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• size – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Copies an arbitrary number of bytes at arbitrary alignment instead of copying whole words.

See also:

• copy-into!.

copy-into! Function

Copies the specified number of words.

Signature:

copy-into! destination-pointer, source-pointer, size) => ()

Parameters:

• destination-pointer – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• source-pointer – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• size – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Copies size bytes from source-pointer to destination-pointer.

Although the size is specified in bytes, it will be assumed to be a multiple of the word size. The function may also assume that both pointers are word-aligned and that the two storage areas do not overlap.

See also:

• copy-bytes!.

equal-memory? Function

Returns #t if the size of the two designated memory spaces have the same contents.

Signature:

equal-memory? ptr1, ptr2, size => <boolean>

Parameters:

• ptr1 – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• ptr2 – An instance of type <C-pointer>.

• size – An instance of <integer>.

Discussion:

Returns #t if the size bytes of memory starting at pointer ptr1 have the same contents as the memory starting at ptr2, else #f. The space is assumed to be a whole number of words and word-aligned.

<C-Dylan-object> Open Abstract Class

Superclasses:

<C-void*>

Discussion:

A mapped subclass of <C-void*>. Objects of this type correspond to specific Dylan objects. The Dylan type for import and export is <C-Dylan-Object>. The C type is void*.

To pass a reference to an arbitrary Dylan object to C, the Dylan object first must be registered using register-C-Dylan-object. Then a <C-Dylan-object> handle to the object can be created using the function export-C-Dylan-object. The handle can then be passed directly to any C transition point designated as <C-Dylan-object>. Any object received by Dylan from a transition point designated as <C-Dylan-object> may be passed to import-C-Dylan-object to get the Dylan object for which it was a handle.

register-C-Dylan-object Function

Allows objects to be passed to a C function as instances of <C-Dylan-object>.

Signature:

register-C-Dylan-object object

Parameters:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Allows objects to be passed to a C function as instances of <C-Dylan-object>.

The register-C-Dylan-object function arranges for the garbage collector to leave the storage used by object unclaimed, and assures that the handle passed to C is not accidentally corrupted (from C’s point of view) by the memory manager.

See also:

• unregister-C-Dylan-object.

unregister-C-Dylan-object Function

Deallocates an object.

Signature:

unregister-C-Dylan-object object

Parameters:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Deallocates an object. When the handle is no longer needed from C, you call unregister-C-Dylan-object to allow the object to be normally reclaimed by the memory manager. Calls to register-C-Dylan-object and unregister-C-Dylan-object on the same object nest or interleave without interference. That is, if register-C-Dylan-object is called exactly twice on an object then unregister-C-Dylan-object must be called exactly twice before the memory manager can reclaim the space for the object as it normally would.

export-C-Dylan-object Function

Fetches the <C-Dylan-object> handle for a Dylan object.

Signature:

export-C-Dylan-object object => c-dylan-object

Parameters:

• object – An instance of <C-Dylan-object>.

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Fetches the <C-Dylan-object> handle for a Dylan object.

import-C-Dylan-object Function

Fetches the Dylan object for a <C-Dylan-object> handle.

Signature:

import-c-dylan-object c-dylan-object => object

Parameters:

• object – An instance of <C-Dylan-object>.

Values:

• object – An instance of <object>.

Discussion:

Fetches the Dylan object for a <C-Dylan-object> handle.