Ugh, please, please don't implement this in XS. Just write a simple Perl wrapper that allows named arguments and have it call your XS routine with the arguments represented in a way that is easy (preferably trivial) for you to get at them using C code.

By using Perl code to define the interface, you will almost certainly end up with an interface that is easier to use from Perl code, easier to understand, debug, maintain, and enhance, and you won't be doing things in XS that are likely to break with updates to Perl or not work when given "magic" things like tied hashes, etc.

I went back and forth for a while on whether named parameters should be passed as a list of items or as a hash reference. After lots of cases I decided that the hash reference is more versatile and so I always use that now.

        - tye (but my friends call me "Tye")

In reply to (tye)Re: XS hash question by tye
in thread XS hash question by Anonymous Monk

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.