Re: Calling C++ functions from Perl without using xsubpp

Actually, xsubpp produces set of code that does conversion from structures specific to perl to those understandable for your code. In fact, you can write C code that works with perl structures directly, in which case no conversion has to be done. Just make your function work with AV* or for example SV*.

Inline::C and Co. provide automatic conversion to some set of common types, just like XS does. If using these types is enough, then you don't need anything else but those modules. If you have to work with more complex data structures, then you have to understand perl's guts. Read perldoc perlguts. Then read perldoc perlxs to learn how to work with XS. Then read perldoc perlapi to see which functions are available to you for working with perl's structures. XS shall only simplify certain things for you.

After all, you can think of Perl as of C library providing certain API.

Comment on Re: Calling C++ functions from Perl without using xsubpp

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Re^2: Calling C++ functions from Perl without using xsubpp by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 19, 2012 at 09:24 UTC
Inline::C and Co. provide automatic conversion to some set of common types, just like XS does. If using these types is enough, then you don't need anything else but those modules. If you have to work with more complex data structures, then you have to .... learn how to work with XS. Perhaps I've misread (and inappropriately edited) that excerpt from your post, but it seems to me that you're saying that Inline::C is good only for some limited set of C types. That's not the case - if it can be done using XS then it can be done using Inline::C. After all, Inline::C is little more than a utility that generates an XS file, which it then compiles. (I keep thinking there must be some feature of XS that Inline::C can't reproduce ... and I'd love to see some examples that validate such thinking.) Cheers, Rob	[reply]
Re^3: Calling C++ functions from Perl without using xsubpp by andal (Hermit) on Sep 20, 2012 at 06:56 UTC
Well, I guess I have expressed myself imprecise. My point was not so much about abilities of Inline::C. My point was about need to learn perl guts if one needs to work with more complex input/output parameters. In this case learning XS comes in mostly for understanding what is happening. Though, probably some people can write code without knowing how their code turns into program :)	[reply]
Re^4: Calling C++ functions from Perl without using xsubpp by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 20, 2012 at 09:32 UTC
My point was about need to learn perl guts if one needs to work with more complex input/output parameters Yes, that is so ... and I probably should have realised that was what you were saying. Cheers, Rob	[reply]


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