+@node Foreign Function Interface
+@comment node-name, next, previous, up
+@chapter Foreign Function Interface
+
This chapter describes SBCL's interface to C programs and
libraries (and, since C interfaces are a sort of @emph{ingua
franca} of the Unix world, to other programs and libraries in
* Operations On Foreign Values::
* Foreign Variables::
* Foreign Data Structure Examples::
-* Loading Unix Object Files::
+* Loading Shared Object Files::
* Foreign Function Calls::
* Step-By-Step Example of the Foreign Function Interface::
@end menu
(setq my-struct (slot my-struct 'n))
@end lisp
-@node Loading Unix Object Files
+@node Loading Shared Object Files
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
-@section Loading Unix Object Files
+@section Loading Shared Object Files
Foreign object files can be loaded into the running Lisp process by
calling @code{load-shared-object}.
-The @code{sb-alien:load-shared-object} loads a single object file into
-the currently running Lisp. The external symbols defining routines and
-variables are made available for future external references (e.g. by
-@code{extern-alien}). Forward references to foreign symbols aren't
-supported: @code{load-shared-object} must be run before any of the
-defined symbols are referenced.
-
-@quotation
-Note: As of SBCL 0.7.5, all foreign code (code loaded with
-@code{load-shared-object}) is lost when a Lisp
-core is saved with @code{sb-ext:save-lisp-and-die}, and no attempt is
-made to restore it when the core is loaded. Historically this has been
-an annoyance both for SBCL users and for CMUCL users. It's hard to
-solve this problem completely cleanly, but some generally-reliable
-partial solution might be useful. Once someone in either camp gets
-sufficiently annoyed to create it, SBCL is likely to adopt some
-mechanism for automatically restoring foreign code when a saved core
-is loaded.
-@end quotation
-
+@include fun-sb-alien-load-shared-object.texinfo
@node Foreign Function Calls
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
printf("s = %s\n", s);
printf("r->x = %d\n", r->x);
printf("r->s = %s\n", r->s);
- for (j = 0; j < 10; j++) printf("a[%d] = %d.\n", j, a[j]);
+ for (j = 0; j < 10; j++) printf("a[%d] = %d.\n", j, a[j]);
r2 = (struct c_struct *) malloc (sizeof(struct c_struct));
r2->x = i + 5;
r2->s = "a C string";
@samp{(compile-file "test.lisp")}
Within Lisp, load the foreign object file to define the necessary
-symbols: @samp{(load-shared-object "test.so")}. This must be done
-before loading any code that refers to these symbols.
+symbols: @samp{(load-shared-object "test.so")}.
Now you can load the compiled Lisp (``fasl'') file into Lisp:
@samp{(load "test.fasl")}