-@node The Foreign Function Interface
+@node Foreign Function Interface
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
-@chapter The Foreign Function Interface
+@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
* 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
@code{sb-alien:null-alien} function.
@item
-The foreign type specifier @code{(array @var{foo} &optional
+The foreign type specifier @code{(array @var{foo} &rest
dimensions)} describes array of the specified @code{dimensions},
holding elements of type @var{foo}. Note that (unlike in C) @code{(*
@var{foo})} and @code{(array @var{foo})} are considered to be
(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 the functions @code{load-foreign} or @code{load-1-foreign}.
-
-The @code{sb-alien:load-1-foreign} function is the more primitive of
-the two operations. It 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-1-foreign} must be run before any of the defined
-symbols are referenced.
-
-@code{sb-alien:load-foreign} is built in terms of
-@code{load-1-foreign} and some other machinery like
-@code{sb-ext:run-program}. It accepts a list of files and libraries,
-and runs the linker on the files and libraries, creating an absolute
-Unix object file which is then processed by @code{load-1-foreign}.
-
-@quotation
-Note: As of SBCL 0.7.5, all foreign code (code loaded with
-@code{load-1-function} or @code{load-function}) 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
+calling @code{load-shared-object}.
+@include fun-sb-alien-load-shared-object.texinfo
@node Foreign Function Calls
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@end lisp
To execute the above example, it is necessary to compile the C
-routine, e.g.: @samp{cc -c test.c} (In order to enable incremental
-loading with some linkers, you may need to say @samp{cc -G 0 -c
-test.c})
+routine, e.g.: @samp{cc -c test.c && ld -shared -o test.so test.o} (In
+order to enable incremental loading with some linkers, you may need to
+say @samp{cc -G 0 -c test.c})
Once the C code has been compiled, you can start up Lisp and load it
in: @samp{sbcl} Lisp should start up with its normal prompt.
@samp{(compile-file "test.lisp")}
Within Lisp, load the foreign object file to define the necessary
-symbols: @samp{(load-foreign "test.o")}. This must be done before
-loading any code that refers to these symbols.
+symbols: @samp{(load-shared-object "test.so")}. This must be done
+before loading any code that refers to these symbols.
Now you can load the compiled Lisp (``fasl'') file into Lisp:
@samp{(load "test.fasl")}
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