oracular (3) FFI::Build.3pm.gz
NAME
FFI::Build - Build shared libraries for use with FFI
VERSION
version 2.08
SYNOPSIS
use FFI::Platypus 2.00;
use FFI::Build;
my $build = FFI::Build->new(
'frooble',
source => 'ffi/*.c',
);
# $lib is an instance of FFI::Build::File::Library
my $lib = $build->build;
my $ffi = FFI::Platypus->new( api => 2 );
# The filename will be platform dependant, but something like libfrooble.so or frooble.dll
$ffi->lib($lib->path);
... # use $ffi to attach functions in ffi/*.c
DESCRIPTION
Using libffi based FFI::Platypus is a great alternative to XS for writing library bindings for Perl.
Sometimes, however, you need to bundle a little C code with your FFI module, but this has never been that
easy to use. Module::Build::FFI was an early attempt to address this use case, but it uses the now out
of fashion Module::Build.
This module itself doesn't directly integrate with CPAN installers like ExtUtils::MakeMaker or
Module::Build, but there is a light weight layer FFI::Build::MM that will allow you to easily use this
module with ExtUtils::MakeMaker. If you are using Dist::Zilla as your dist builder, then there is also
Dist::Zilla::Plugin::FFI::Build, which will help with the connections.
There is some functional overlap with ExtUtils::CBuilder, which was in fact used by Module::Build::FFI.
For this iteration I have decided not to use that module because although it will generate dynamic
libraries that can sometimes be used by FFI::Platypus, it is really designed for building XS modules, and
trying to coerce it into a more general solution has proved difficult in the past.
Supported languages out of the box are C, C++ and Fortran. Rust is supported via a language plugin, see
FFI::Platypus::Lang::Rust.
CONSTRUCTOR
new
my $build = FFI::Build->new($name, %options);
Create an instance of this class. The $name argument is used when computing the file name for the
library. The actual name will be something like "lib$name.so" or "$name.dll". The following options are
supported:
alien
List of Aliens to compile/link against. FFI::Build will work with any Alien::Base based alien, or
modules that provide a compatible API.
buildname
Directory name that will be used for building intermediate files, such as object files. This is
"_build" by default.
cflags
Extra compiler flags to use. Things like "-I/foo/include" or "-DFOO=1".
dir The directory where the library will be written. This is "." by default.
export
Functions that should be exported (Windows + Visual C++ only)
file
An instance of FFI::Build::File::Library to which the library will be written. Normally not needed.
libs
Extra library flags to use. Things like "-L/foo/lib -lfoo".
platform
An instance of FFI::Build::Platform. Usually you want to omit this and use the default instance.
source
List of source files. You can use wildcards supported by "bsd_glob" from File::Glob.
verbose
By default this class does not print out the actual compiler and linker commands used in building the
library unless there is a failure. You can alter this behavior with this option. Set to one of
these values:
zero (0)
Default, quiet unless there is a failure.
one (1)
Output the operation (compile, link, etc) and the file, but nothing else
two (2)
Output the complete commands run verbatim.
If the environment variable "V" is set to a true value then the verbosity will be set to 2 regardless
of what is passed in.
METHODS
dir
my $dir = $build->dir;
Returns the directory where the library will be written.
buildname
my $builddir = $build->builddir;
Returns the build name. This is used in computing a directory to save intermediate files like objects.
For example, if you specify a file like "ffi/foo.c", then the object file will be stored in
"ffi/_build/foo.o" by default. "_build" in this example (the default) is the build name.
export
my $exports = $build->export;
Returns a array reference of the exported functions (Windows + Visual C++ only)
file
my $file = $build->file;
Returns an instance of FFI::Build::File::Library corresponding to the library being built. This is also
returned by the "build" method below.
platform
my $platform = $build->platform;
An instance of FFI::Build::Platform, which contains information about the platform on which you are
building. The default is usually reasonable.
verbose
my $verbose = $build->verbose;
Returns the verbose flag.
cflags
my @cflags = @{ $build->cflags };
Returns the compiler flags.
cflags_I
my @cflags_I = @{ $build->cflags_I };
Returns the "-I" cflags.
libs
my @libs = @{ $build->libs };
Returns the library flags.
libs_L
my @libs = @{ $build->libs };
Returns the "-L" library flags.
alien
my @aliens = @{ $build->alien };
Returns a the list of aliens being used.
source
$build->source(@files);
Add the @files to the list of source files that will be used in building the library. The format is the
same as with the "source" attribute above.
build
my $lib = $build->build;
This compiles the source files and links the library. Files that have already been compiled or linked
may be reused without recompiling/linking if the timestamps are newer than the source files. An instance
of FFI::Build::File::Library is returned which can be used to get the path to the library, which can be
feed into FFI::Platypus or similar.
clean
$build->clean;
Removes the library and intermediate files.
AUTHOR
Author: Graham Ollis <plicease@cpan.org> Contributors: Bakkiaraj Murugesan (bakkiaraj) Dylan Cali (calid) pipcet Zaki Mughal (zmughal) Fitz Elliott (felliott) Vickenty Fesunov (vyf) Gregor Herrmann (gregoa) Shlomi Fish (shlomif) Damyan Ivanov Ilya Pavlov (Ilya33) Petr Písař (ppisar) Mohammad S Anwar (MANWAR) Håkon Hægland (hakonhagland, HAKONH) Meredith (merrilymeredith, MHOWARD) Diab Jerius (DJERIUS) Eric Brine (IKEGAMI) szTheory José Joaquín Atria (JJATRIA) Pete Houston (openstrike, HOUSTON)
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2015-2022 by Graham Ollis.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5
programming language system itself.