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+This is ../libffi/doc/libffi.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.11
+from ../libffi/doc/libffi.texi.
+
+This manual is for Libffi, a portable foreign-function interface
+library.
+
+   Copyright (C) 2008 Red Hat, Inc.
+
+     Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
+     document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+     published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or
+     (at your option) any later version.  A copy of the license is
+     included in the section entitled "GNU General Public License".
+
+
+INFO-DIR-SECTION
+START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
+* libffi: (libffi).             Portable foreign-function interface library.
+END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Introduction,  Up: (dir)
+
+libffi
+******
+
+This manual is for Libffi, a portable foreign-function interface
+library.
+
+   Copyright (C) 2008 Red Hat, Inc.
+
+     Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
+     document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+     published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or
+     (at your option) any later version.  A copy of the license is
+     included in the section entitled "GNU General Public License".
+
+
+* Menu:
+
+* Introduction::                What is libffi?
+* Using libffi::                How to use libffi.
+* Missing Features::            Things libffi can't do.
+* Index::                       Index.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Introduction,  Next: Using libffi,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top
+
+1 What is libffi?
+*****************
+
+Compilers for high level languages generate code that follow certain
+conventions.  These conventions are necessary, in part, for separate
+compilation to work.  One such convention is the "calling convention".
+The calling convention is a set of assumptions made by the compiler
+about where function arguments will be found on entry to a function.  A
+calling convention also specifies where the return value for a function
+is found.  The calling convention is also sometimes called the "ABI" or
+"Application Binary Interface".  
+
+   Some programs may not know at the time of compilation what arguments
+are to be passed to a function.  For instance, an interpreter may be
+told at run-time about the number and types of arguments used to call a
+given function.  `Libffi' can be used in such programs to provide a
+bridge from the interpreter program to compiled code.
+
+   The `libffi' library provides a portable, high level programming
+interface to various calling conventions.  This allows a programmer to
+call any function specified by a call interface description at run time.
+
+   FFI stands for Foreign Function Interface.  A foreign function
+interface is the popular name for the interface that allows code
+written in one language to call code written in another language.  The
+`libffi' library really only provides the lowest, machine dependent
+layer of a fully featured foreign function interface.  A layer must
+exist above `libffi' that handles type conversions for values passed
+between the two languages.  
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Using libffi,  Next: Missing Features,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Top
+
+2 Using libffi
+**************
+
+* Menu:
+
+* The Basics::                  The basic libffi API.
+* Simple Example::              A simple example.
+* Types::                       libffi type descriptions.
+* Multiple ABIs::               Different passing styles on one platform.
+* The Closure API::             Writing a generic function.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: The Basics,  Next: Simple Example,  Up: Using libffi
+
+2.1 The Basics
+==============
+
+`Libffi' assumes that you have a pointer to the function you wish to
+call and that you know the number and types of arguments to pass it, as
+well as the return type of the function.
+
+   The first thing you must do is create an `ffi_cif' object that
+matches the signature of the function you wish to call.  This is a
+separate step because it is common to make multiple calls using a
+single `ffi_cif'.  The "cif" in `ffi_cif' stands for Call InterFace.
+To prepare a call interface object, use the function `ffi_prep_cif'.  
+
+ -- Function: ffi_status ffi_prep_cif (ffi_cif *CIF, ffi_abi ABI,
+          unsigned int NARGS, ffi_type *RTYPE, ffi_type **ARGTYPES)
+     This initializes CIF according to the given parameters.
+
+     ABI is the ABI to use; normally `FFI_DEFAULT_ABI' is what you
+     want.  *note Multiple ABIs:: for more information.
+
+     NARGS is the number of arguments that this function accepts.
+     `libffi' does not yet handle varargs functions; see *note Missing
+     Features:: for more information.
+
+     RTYPE is a pointer to an `ffi_type' structure that describes the
+     return type of the function.  *Note Types::.
+
+     ARGTYPES is a vector of `ffi_type' pointers.  ARGTYPES must have
+     NARGS elements.  If NARGS is 0, this argument is ignored.
+
+     `ffi_prep_cif' returns a `libffi' status code, of type
+     `ffi_status'.  This will be either `FFI_OK' if everything worked
+     properly; `FFI_BAD_TYPEDEF' if one of the `ffi_type' objects is
+     incorrect; or `FFI_BAD_ABI' if the ABI parameter is invalid.
+
+   To call a function using an initialized `ffi_cif', use the
+`ffi_call' function:
+
+ -- Function: void ffi_call (ffi_cif *CIF, void *FN, void *RVALUE, void
+          **AVALUES)
+     This calls the function FN according to the description given in
+     CIF.  CIF must have already been prepared using `ffi_prep_cif'.
+
+     RVALUE is a pointer to a chunk of memory that will hold the result
+     of the function call.  This must be large enough to hold the
+     result and must be suitably aligned; it is the caller's
+     responsibility to ensure this.  If CIF declares that the function
+     returns `void' (using `ffi_type_void'), then RVALUE is ignored.
+     If RVALUE is `NULL', then the return value is discarded.
+
+     AVALUES is a vector of `void *' pointers that point to the memory
+     locations holding the argument values for a call.  If CIF declares
+     that the function has no arguments (i.e., NARGS was 0), then
+     AVALUES is ignored.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Simple Example,  Next: Types,  Prev: The Basics,  Up: Using libffi
+
+2.2 Simple Example
+==================
+
+Here is a trivial example that calls `puts' a few times.
+
+     #include <stdio.h>
+     #include <ffi.h>
+
+     int main()
+     {
+       ffi_cif cif;
+       ffi_type *args[1];
+       void *values[1];
+       char *s;
+       int rc;
+
+       /* Initialize the argument info vectors */
+       args[0] = &ffi_type_pointer;
+       values[0] = &s;
+
+       /* Initialize the cif */
+       if (ffi_prep_cif(&cif, FFI_DEFAULT_ABI, 1,
+     		       &ffi_type_uint, args) == FFI_OK)
+         {
+           s = "Hello World!";
+           ffi_call(&cif, puts, &rc, values);
+           /* rc now holds the result of the call to puts */
+
+           /* values holds a pointer to the function's arg, so to
+              call puts() again all we need to do is change the
+              value of s */
+           s = "This is cool!";
+           ffi_call(&cif, puts, &rc, values);
+         }
+
+       return 0;
+     }
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Types,  Next: Multiple ABIs,  Prev: Simple Example,  Up: Using libffi
+
+2.3 Types
+=========
+
+* Menu:
+
+* Primitive Types::             Built-in types.
+* Structures::                  Structure types.
+* Type Example::                Structure type example.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Primitive Types,  Next: Structures,  Up: Types
+
+2.3.1 Primitive Types
+---------------------
+
+`Libffi' provides a number of built-in type descriptors that can be
+used to describe argument and return types:
+
+`ffi_type_void'
+     The type `void'.  This cannot be used for argument types, only for
+     return values.
+
+`ffi_type_uint8'
+     An unsigned, 8-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_sint8'
+     A signed, 8-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_uint16'
+     An unsigned, 16-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_sint16'
+     A signed, 16-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_uint32'
+     An unsigned, 32-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_sint32'
+     A signed, 32-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_uint64'
+     An unsigned, 64-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_sint64'
+     A signed, 64-bit integer type.
+
+`ffi_type_float'
+     The C `float' type.
+
+`ffi_type_double'
+     The C `double' type.
+
+`ffi_type_uchar'
+     The C `unsigned char' type.
+
+`ffi_type_schar'
+     The C `signed char' type.  (Note that there is not an exact
+     equivalent to the C `char' type in `libffi'; ordinarily you should
+     either use `ffi_type_schar' or `ffi_type_uchar' depending on
+     whether `char' is signed.)
+
+`ffi_type_ushort'
+     The C `unsigned short' type.
+
+`ffi_type_sshort'
+     The C `short' type.
+
+`ffi_type_uint'
+     The C `unsigned int' type.
+
+`ffi_type_sint'
+     The C `int' type.
+
+`ffi_type_ulong'
+     The C `unsigned long' type.
+
+`ffi_type_slong'
+     The C `long' type.
+
+`ffi_type_longdouble'
+     On platforms that have a C `long double' type, this is defined.
+     On other platforms, it is not.
+
+`ffi_type_pointer'
+     A generic `void *' pointer.  You should use this for all pointers,
+     regardless of their real type.
+
+   Each of these is of type `ffi_type', so you must take the address
+when passing to `ffi_prep_cif'.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Structures,  Next: Type Example,  Prev: Primitive Types,  Up: Types
+
+2.3.2 Structures
+----------------
+
+Although `libffi' has no special support for unions or bit-fields, it
+is perfectly happy passing structures back and forth.  You must first
+describe the structure to `libffi' by creating a new `ffi_type' object
+for it.
+
+ -- ffi_type:
+     The `ffi_type' has the following members:
+    `size_t size'
+          This is set by `libffi'; you should initialize it to zero.
+
+    `unsigned short alignment'
+          This is set by `libffi'; you should initialize it to zero.
+
+    `unsigned short type'
+          For a structure, this should be set to `FFI_TYPE_STRUCT'.
+
+    `ffi_type **elements'
+          This is a `NULL'-terminated array of pointers to `ffi_type'
+          objects.  There is one element per field of the struct.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Type Example,  Prev: Structures,  Up: Types
+
+2.3.3 Type Example
+------------------
+
+The following example initializes a `ffi_type' object representing the
+`tm' struct from Linux's `time.h'.
+
+   Here is how the struct is defined:
+
+     struct tm {
+         int tm_sec;
+         int tm_min;
+         int tm_hour;
+         int tm_mday;
+         int tm_mon;
+         int tm_year;
+         int tm_wday;
+         int tm_yday;
+         int tm_isdst;
+         /* Those are for future use. */
+         long int __tm_gmtoff__;
+         __const char *__tm_zone__;
+     };
+
+   Here is the corresponding code to describe this struct to `libffi':
+
+         {
+           ffi_type tm_type;
+           ffi_type *tm_type_elements[12];
+           int i;
+
+           tm_type.size = tm_type.alignment = 0;
+           tm_type.elements = &tm_type_elements;
+
+           for (i = 0; i < 9; i++)
+               tm_type_elements[i] = &ffi_type_sint;
+
+           tm_type_elements[9] = &ffi_type_slong;
+           tm_type_elements[10] = &ffi_type_pointer;
+           tm_type_elements[11] = NULL;
+
+           /* tm_type can now be used to represent tm argument types and
+     	 return types for ffi_prep_cif() */
+         }
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Multiple ABIs,  Next: The Closure API,  Prev: Types,  Up: Using libffi
+
+2.4 Multiple ABIs
+=================
+
+A given platform may provide multiple different ABIs at once.  For
+instance, the x86 platform has both `stdcall' and `fastcall' functions.
+
+   `libffi' provides some support for this.  However, this is
+necessarily platform-specific.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: The Closure API,  Prev: Multiple ABIs,  Up: Using libffi
+
+2.5 The Closure API
+===================
+
+`libffi' also provides a way to write a generic function - a function
+that can accept and decode any combination of arguments.  This can be
+useful when writing an interpreter, or to provide wrappers for
+arbitrary functions.
+
+   This facility is called the "closure API".  Closures are not
+supported on all platforms; you can check the `FFI_CLOSURES' define to
+determine whether they are supported on the current platform.  
+
+   Because closures work by assembling a tiny function at runtime, they
+require special allocation on platforms that have a non-executable
+heap.  Memory management for closures is handled by a pair of functions:
+
+ -- Function: void *ffi_closure_alloc (size_t SIZE, void **CODE)
+     Allocate a chunk of memory holding SIZE bytes.  This returns a
+     pointer to the writable address, and sets *CODE to the
+     corresponding executable address.
+
+     SIZE should be sufficient to hold a `ffi_closure' object.
+
+ -- Function: void ffi_closure_free (void *WRITABLE)
+     Free memory allocated using `ffi_closure_alloc'.  The argument is
+     the writable address that was returned.
+
+   Once you have allocated the memory for a closure, you must construct
+a `ffi_cif' describing the function call.  Finally you can prepare the
+closure function:
+
+ -- Function: ffi_status ffi_prep_closure_loc (ffi_closure *CLOSURE,
+          ffi_cif *CIF, void (*FUN) (ffi_cif *CIF, void *RET, void
+          **ARGS, void *USER_DATA), void *USER_DATA, void *CODELOC)
+     Prepare a closure function.
+
+     CLOSURE is the address of a `ffi_closure' object; this is the
+     writable address returned by `ffi_closure_alloc'.
+
+     CIF is the `ffi_cif' describing the function parameters.
+
+     USER_DATA is an arbitrary datum that is passed, uninterpreted, to
+     your closure function.
+
+     CODELOC is the executable address returned by `ffi_closure_alloc'.
+
+     FUN is the function which will be called when the closure is
+     invoked.  It is called with the arguments:
+    CIF
+          The `ffi_cif' passed to `ffi_prep_closure_loc'.
+
+    RET
+          A pointer to the memory used for the function's return value.
+          FUN must fill this, unless the function is declared as
+          returning `void'.
+
+    ARGS
+          A vector of pointers to memory holding the arguments to the
+          function.
+
+    USER_DATA
+          The same USER_DATA that was passed to `ffi_prep_closure_loc'.
+
+     `ffi_prep_closure_loc' will return `FFI_OK' if everything went ok,
+     and something else on error.
+
+     After calling `ffi_prep_closure_loc', you can cast CODELOC to the
+     appropriate pointer-to-function type.
+
+   You may see old code referring to `ffi_prep_closure'.  This function
+is deprecated, as it cannot handle the need for separate writable and
+executable addresses.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Missing Features,  Next: Index,  Prev: Using libffi,  Up: Top
+
+3 Missing Features
+******************
+
+`libffi' is missing a few features.  We welcome patches to add support
+for these.
+
+   * There is no support for calling varargs functions.  This may work
+     on some platforms, depending on how the ABI is defined, but it is
+     not reliable.
+
+   * There is no support for bit fields in structures.
+
+   * The closure API is
+
+   * The "raw" API is undocumented.
+
+
+File: libffi.info,  Node: Index,  Prev: Missing Features,  Up: Top
+
+Index
+*****
+
+[index]
+* Menu:
+
+* :                                      Structures.           (line 12)
+* ABI:                                   Introduction.         (line 13)
+* Application Binary Interface:          Introduction.         (line 13)
+* calling convention:                    Introduction.         (line 13)
+* cif:                                   The Basics.           (line 14)
+* closure API:                           The Closure API.      (line 13)
+* closures:                              The Closure API.      (line 13)
+* FFI:                                   Introduction.         (line 31)
+* ffi_call:                              The Basics.           (line 41)
+* ffi_closure_alloca:                    The Closure API.      (line 19)
+* ffi_closure_free:                      The Closure API.      (line 26)
+* FFI_CLOSURES:                          The Closure API.      (line 13)
+* ffi_prep_cif:                          The Basics.           (line 16)
+* ffi_prep_closure_loc:                  The Closure API.      (line 34)
+* ffi_status <1>:                        The Closure API.      (line 37)
+* ffi_status:                            The Basics.           (line 18)
+* ffi_type:                              Structures.           (line 11)
+* ffi_type_double:                       Primitive Types.      (line 41)
+* ffi_type_float:                        Primitive Types.      (line 38)
+* ffi_type_longdouble:                   Primitive Types.      (line 71)
+* ffi_type_pointer:                      Primitive Types.      (line 75)
+* ffi_type_schar:                        Primitive Types.      (line 47)
+* ffi_type_sint:                         Primitive Types.      (line 62)
+* ffi_type_sint16:                       Primitive Types.      (line 23)
+* ffi_type_sint32:                       Primitive Types.      (line 29)
+* ffi_type_sint64:                       Primitive Types.      (line 35)
+* ffi_type_sint8:                        Primitive Types.      (line 17)
+* ffi_type_slong:                        Primitive Types.      (line 68)
+* ffi_type_sshort:                       Primitive Types.      (line 56)
+* ffi_type_uchar:                        Primitive Types.      (line 44)
+* ffi_type_uint:                         Primitive Types.      (line 59)
+* ffi_type_uint16:                       Primitive Types.      (line 20)
+* ffi_type_uint32:                       Primitive Types.      (line 26)
+* ffi_type_uint64:                       Primitive Types.      (line 32)
+* ffi_type_uint8:                        Primitive Types.      (line 14)
+* ffi_type_ulong:                        Primitive Types.      (line 65)
+* ffi_type_ushort:                       Primitive Types.      (line 53)
+* ffi_type_void:                         Primitive Types.      (line 10)
+* Foreign Function Interface:            Introduction.         (line 31)
+* void <1>:                              The Closure API.      (line 20)
+* void:                                  The Basics.           (line 43)
+
+
+
+Tag Table:
+Node: Top688
+Node: Introduction1424
+Node: Using libffi3060
+Node: The Basics3495
+Node: Simple Example6102
+Node: Types7129
+Node: Primitive Types7412
+Node: Structures9232
+Node: Type Example10092
+Node: Multiple ABIs11315
+Node: The Closure API11686
+Node: Missing Features14606
+Node: Index15099
+
+End Tag Table