All,
I am attempting to write some code that uses IBM's Global Name Recognition software. Unfortunately, they do not have a perl API though creating one shouldn't be that difficult. From the latest release notes:

The C++ interface to IBM NameWorks is now public. The C++ APIs are the definitive versions of the IBM NameWorks APIs, whereas the Java APIs are a thin, generally transparent “wrapper” layer over the C++ interface. The following example illustrates the differences between the C++ and Java versions of the analyzeForSearch() API:

C++: vector<QueryName> qnames; scoring.analyzeForSearch(name, 70, qnames);

Java: List<QueryName> qnames = scoring.analyzeForSearch(name, 70);

Other wrappers can be created for the C++ layer, such as managed C# for .NET, Ruby extensions, PHP extensions, or Perl extensions.

Now for some embarassing disclaimers.

• I have not yet installed the software
• I have not found the API documentation
• I do not speak C++
• I have only a neophyte understand of perlapi
• I only have a basic to moderate understanding of Inline::C
• I do not know XS but I intend to try InlineX::CPP2XS if I can get the inline version working

What would be ideal is a full working example of what I ultimately need to duplicate. In my head, the process looks like this:

1. Write a small C++ program that uses an external library that returns a non-trivial object
2. Convert that stand alone program into Inline::CPP
3. Call the function from perl and manipulate the returned object (as a hash?) in perl land

Any help or insight is appreciated. While I am not opposed to trudging through lots of documentation, I would prefer to have a working example to start from to be able to distinguish between problems in my understanding from those in my code.

Update 2010-03-17: I will very likely turn this into a pipe line process given the responses below. I happen to work with a former C++ developer so I will have him create me a stand-alone executable. Perl will generate a file of records as output. The C++ app will run the records through the APIs I need and write an output file which I will pick back up with perl on the other end. Not ideal but it gets the job done. Thanks!

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