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perl-5.6.1-TRIAL2
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/ pod/perlapi.pod

NAME

perlapi - autogenerated documentation for the perl public API

DESCRIPTION

This file contains the documentation of the perl public API generated by embed.pl, specifically a listing of functions, macros, flags, and variables that may be used by extension writers. The interfaces of any functions that are not listed here are subject to change without notice. For this reason, blindly using functions listed in proto.h is to be avoided when writing extensions.

Note that all Perl API global variables must be referenced with the PL_ prefix. Some macros are provided for compatibility with the older, unadorned names, but this support may be disabled in a future release.

The listing is alphabetical, case insensitive.

AvFILL

Same as av_len(). Deprecated, use av_len() instead.

int	AvFILL(AV* av)
av_clear

Clears an array, making it empty. Does not free the memory used by the array itself.

void	av_clear(AV* ar)
av_delete

Deletes the element indexed by key from the array. Returns the deleted element. flags is currently ignored.

SV*	av_delete(AV* ar, I32 key, I32 flags)
av_exists

Returns true if the element indexed by key has been initialized.

This relies on the fact that uninitialized array elements are set to &PL_sv_undef.

bool	av_exists(AV* ar, I32 key)
av_extend

Pre-extend an array. The key is the index to which the array should be extended.

void	av_extend(AV* ar, I32 key)
av_fetch

Returns the SV at the specified index in the array. The key is the index. If lval is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Check that the return value is non-null before dereferencing it to a SV*.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied arrays.

SV**	av_fetch(AV* ar, I32 key, I32 lval)
av_fill

Ensure than an array has a given number of elements, equivalent to Perl's $#array = $fill;.

void	av_fill(AV* ar, I32 fill)
av_len

Returns the highest index in the array. Returns -1 if the array is empty.

I32	av_len(AV* ar)
av_make

Creates a new AV and populates it with a list of SVs. The SVs are copied into the array, so they may be freed after the call to av_make. The new AV will have a reference count of 1.

AV*	av_make(I32 size, SV** svp)
av_pop

Pops an SV off the end of the array. Returns &PL_sv_undef if the array is empty.

SV*	av_pop(AV* ar)
av_push

Pushes an SV onto the end of the array. The array will grow automatically to accommodate the addition.

void	av_push(AV* ar, SV* val)
av_shift

Shifts an SV off the beginning of the array.

SV*	av_shift(AV* ar)
av_store

Stores an SV in an array. The array index is specified as key. The return value will be NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not need to be actually stored within the array (as in the case of tied arrays). Otherwise it can be dereferenced to get the original SV*. Note that the caller is responsible for suitably incrementing the reference count of val before the call, and decrementing it if the function returned NULL.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied arrays.

SV**	av_store(AV* ar, I32 key, SV* val)
av_undef

Undefines the array. Frees the memory used by the array itself.

void	av_undef(AV* ar)
av_unshift

Unshift the given number of undef values onto the beginning of the array. The array will grow automatically to accommodate the addition. You must then use av_store to assign values to these new elements.

void	av_unshift(AV* ar, I32 num)
bytes_from_utf8

Converts a string s of length len from UTF8 into byte encoding. Unlike <utf8_to_bytes> but like bytes_to_utf8, returns a pointer to the newly-created string, and updates len to contain the new length. Returns the original string if no conversion occurs, len is unchanged. Do nothing if is_utf8 points to 0. Sets is_utf8 to 0 if s is converted or contains all 7bit characters.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

U8*	bytes_from_utf8(U8 *s, STRLEN *len, bool *is_utf8)
bytes_to_utf8

Converts a string s of length len from ASCII into UTF8 encoding. Returns a pointer to the newly-created string, and sets len to reflect the new length.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

U8*	bytes_to_utf8(U8 *s, STRLEN *len)
call_argv

Performs a callback to the specified Perl sub. See perlcall.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

I32	call_argv(const char* sub_name, I32 flags, char** argv)
call_method

Performs a callback to the specified Perl method. The blessed object must be on the stack. See perlcall.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

I32	call_method(const char* methname, I32 flags)
call_pv

Performs a callback to the specified Perl sub. See perlcall.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

I32	call_pv(const char* sub_name, I32 flags)
call_sv

Performs a callback to the Perl sub whose name is in the SV. See perlcall.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

I32	call_sv(SV* sv, I32 flags)
CLASS

Variable which is setup by xsubpp to indicate the class name for a C++ XS constructor. This is always a char*. See THIS.

char*	CLASS
Copy

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memcpy function. The src is the source, dest is the destination, nitems is the number of items, and type is the type. May fail on overlapping copies. See also Move.

void	Copy(void* src, void* dest, int nitems, type)
croak

This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's die function. Normally use this function the same way you use the C printf function. See warn.

If you want to throw an exception object, assign the object to $@ and then pass Nullch to croak():

   errsv = get_sv("@", TRUE);
   sv_setsv(errsv, exception_object);
   croak(Nullch);

	void	croak(const char* pat, ...)
CvSTASH

Returns the stash of the CV.

HV*	CvSTASH(CV* cv)
dMARK

Declare a stack marker variable, mark, for the XSUB. See MARK and dORIGMARK.

dMARK;
dORIGMARK

Saves the original stack mark for the XSUB. See ORIGMARK.

dORIGMARK;
dSP

Declares a local copy of perl's stack pointer for the XSUB, available via the SP macro. See SP.

dSP;
dXSARGS

Sets up stack and mark pointers for an XSUB, calling dSP and dMARK. This is usually handled automatically by xsubpp. Declares the items variable to indicate the number of items on the stack.

dXSARGS;
dXSI32

Sets up the ix variable for an XSUB which has aliases. This is usually handled automatically by xsubpp.

dXSI32;
ENTER

Opening bracket on a callback. See LEAVE and perlcall.

ENTER;
eval_pv

Tells Perl to eval the given string and return an SV* result.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

SV*	eval_pv(const char* p, I32 croak_on_error)
eval_sv

Tells Perl to eval the string in the SV.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

I32	eval_sv(SV* sv, I32 flags)
EXTEND

Used to extend the argument stack for an XSUB's return values. Once used, guarantees that there is room for at least nitems to be pushed onto the stack.

void	EXTEND(SP, int nitems)
fbm_compile

Analyses the string in order to make fast searches on it using fbm_instr() -- the Boyer-Moore algorithm.

void	fbm_compile(SV* sv, U32 flags)
fbm_instr

Returns the location of the SV in the string delimited by str and strend. It returns Nullch if the string can't be found. The sv does not have to be fbm_compiled, but the search will not be as fast then.

char*	fbm_instr(unsigned char* big, unsigned char* bigend, SV* littlesv, U32 flags)
FREETMPS

Closing bracket for temporaries on a callback. See SAVETMPS and perlcall.

FREETMPS;
get_av

Returns the AV of the specified Perl array. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

AV*	get_av(const char* name, I32 create)
get_cv

Returns the CV of the specified Perl subroutine. If create is set and the Perl subroutine does not exist then it will be declared (which has the same effect as saying sub name;). If create is not set and the subroutine does not exist then NULL is returned.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

CV*	get_cv(const char* name, I32 create)
get_hv

Returns the HV of the specified Perl hash. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

HV*	get_hv(const char* name, I32 create)
get_sv

Returns the SV of the specified Perl scalar. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then NULL is returned.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

SV*	get_sv(const char* name, I32 create)
GIMME

A backward-compatible version of GIMME_V which can only return G_SCALAR or G_ARRAY; in a void context, it returns G_SCALAR. Deprecated. Use GIMME_V instead.

U32	GIMME
GIMME_V

The XSUB-writer's equivalent to Perl's wantarray. Returns G_VOID, G_SCALAR or G_ARRAY for void, scalar or list context, respectively.

U32	GIMME_V
GvSV

Return the SV from the GV.

SV*	GvSV(GV* gv)
gv_fetchmeth

Returns the glob with the given name and a defined subroutine or NULL. The glob lives in the given stash, or in the stashes accessible via @ISA and @UNIVERSAL.

The argument level should be either 0 or -1. If level==0, as a side-effect creates a glob with the given name in the given stash which in the case of success contains an alias for the subroutine, and sets up caching info for this glob. Similarly for all the searched stashes.

This function grants "SUPER" token as a postfix of the stash name. The GV returned from gv_fetchmeth may be a method cache entry, which is not visible to Perl code. So when calling call_sv, you should not use the GV directly; instead, you should use the method's CV, which can be obtained from the GV with the GvCV macro.

GV*	gv_fetchmeth(HV* stash, const char* name, STRLEN len, I32 level)
gv_fetchmethod

See gv_fetchmethod_autoload.

GV*	gv_fetchmethod(HV* stash, const char* name)
gv_fetchmethod_autoload

Returns the glob which contains the subroutine to call to invoke the method on the stash. In fact in the presence of autoloading this may be the glob for "AUTOLOAD". In this case the corresponding variable $AUTOLOAD is already setup.

The third parameter of gv_fetchmethod_autoload determines whether AUTOLOAD lookup is performed if the given method is not present: non-zero means yes, look for AUTOLOAD; zero means no, don't look for AUTOLOAD. Calling gv_fetchmethod is equivalent to calling gv_fetchmethod_autoload with a non-zero autoload parameter.

These functions grant "SUPER" token as a prefix of the method name. Note that if you want to keep the returned glob for a long time, you need to check for it being "AUTOLOAD", since at the later time the call may load a different subroutine due to $AUTOLOAD changing its value. Use the glob created via a side effect to do this.

These functions have the same side-effects and as gv_fetchmeth with level==0. name should be writable if contains ':' or ' ''. The warning against passing the GV returned by gv_fetchmeth to call_sv apply equally to these functions.

GV*	gv_fetchmethod_autoload(HV* stash, const char* name, I32 autoload)
gv_stashpv

Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package. name should be a valid UTF-8 string. If create is set then the package will be created if it does not already exist. If create is not set and the package does not exist then NULL is returned.

HV*	gv_stashpv(const char* name, I32 create)
gv_stashsv

Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package, which must be a valid UTF-8 string. See gv_stashpv.

HV*	gv_stashsv(SV* sv, I32 create)
G_ARRAY

Used to indicate list context. See GIMME_V, GIMME and perlcall.

G_DISCARD

Indicates that arguments returned from a callback should be discarded. See perlcall.

G_EVAL

Used to force a Perl eval wrapper around a callback. See perlcall.

G_NOARGS

Indicates that no arguments are being sent to a callback. See perlcall.

G_SCALAR

Used to indicate scalar context. See GIMME_V, GIMME, and perlcall.

G_VOID

Used to indicate void context. See GIMME_V and perlcall.

HEf_SVKEY

This flag, used in the length slot of hash entries and magic structures, specifies the structure contains a SV* pointer where a char* pointer is to be expected. (For information only--not to be used).

HeHASH

Returns the computed hash stored in the hash entry.

U32	HeHASH(HE* he)
HeKEY

Returns the actual pointer stored in the key slot of the hash entry. The pointer may be either char* or SV*, depending on the value of HeKLEN(). Can be assigned to. The HePV() or HeSVKEY() macros are usually preferable for finding the value of a key.

void*	HeKEY(HE* he)
HeKLEN

If this is negative, and amounts to HEf_SVKEY, it indicates the entry holds an SV* key. Otherwise, holds the actual length of the key. Can be assigned to. The HePV() macro is usually preferable for finding key lengths.

STRLEN	HeKLEN(HE* he)
HePV

Returns the key slot of the hash entry as a char* value, doing any necessary dereferencing of possibly SV* keys. The length of the string is placed in len (this is a macro, so do not use &len). If you do not care about what the length of the key is, you may use the global variable PL_na, though this is rather less efficient than using a local variable. Remember though, that hash keys in perl are free to contain embedded nulls, so using strlen() or similar is not a good way to find the length of hash keys. This is very similar to the SvPV() macro described elsewhere in this document.

char*	HePV(HE* he, STRLEN len)
HeSVKEY

Returns the key as an SV*, or Nullsv if the hash entry does not contain an SV* key.

SV*	HeSVKEY(HE* he)
HeSVKEY_force

Returns the key as an SV*. Will create and return a temporary mortal SV* if the hash entry contains only a char* key.

SV*	HeSVKEY_force(HE* he)
HeSVKEY_set

Sets the key to a given SV*, taking care to set the appropriate flags to indicate the presence of an SV* key, and returns the same SV*.

SV*	HeSVKEY_set(HE* he, SV* sv)
HeVAL

Returns the value slot (type SV*) stored in the hash entry.

SV*	HeVAL(HE* he)
HvNAME

Returns the package name of a stash. See SvSTASH, CvSTASH.

char*	HvNAME(HV* stash)
hv_clear

Clears a hash, making it empty.

void	hv_clear(HV* tb)
hv_delete

Deletes a key/value pair in the hash. The value SV is removed from the hash and returned to the caller. The klen is the length of the key. The flags value will normally be zero; if set to G_DISCARD then NULL will be returned.

SV*	hv_delete(HV* tb, const char* key, U32 klen, I32 flags)
hv_delete_ent

Deletes a key/value pair in the hash. The value SV is removed from the hash and returned to the caller. The flags value will normally be zero; if set to G_DISCARD then NULL will be returned. hash can be a valid precomputed hash value, or 0 to ask for it to be computed.

SV*	hv_delete_ent(HV* tb, SV* key, I32 flags, U32 hash)
hv_exists

Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified hash key exists. The klen is the length of the key.

bool	hv_exists(HV* tb, const char* key, U32 klen)
hv_exists_ent

Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified hash key exists. hash can be a valid precomputed hash value, or 0 to ask for it to be computed.

bool	hv_exists_ent(HV* tb, SV* key, U32 hash)
hv_fetch

Returns the SV which corresponds to the specified key in the hash. The klen is the length of the key. If lval is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Check that the return value is non-null before dereferencing it to a SV*.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied hashes.

SV**	hv_fetch(HV* tb, const char* key, U32 klen, I32 lval)
hv_fetch_ent

Returns the hash entry which corresponds to the specified key in the hash. hash must be a valid precomputed hash number for the given key, or 0 if you want the function to compute it. IF lval is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Make sure the return value is non-null before accessing it. The return value when tb is a tied hash is a pointer to a static location, so be sure to make a copy of the structure if you need to store it somewhere.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied hashes.

HE*	hv_fetch_ent(HV* tb, SV* key, I32 lval, U32 hash)
hv_iterinit

Prepares a starting point to traverse a hash table. Returns the number of keys in the hash (i.e. the same as HvKEYS(tb)). The return value is currently only meaningful for hashes without tie magic.

NOTE: Before version 5.004_65, hv_iterinit used to return the number of hash buckets that happen to be in use. If you still need that esoteric value, you can get it through the macro HvFILL(tb).

I32	hv_iterinit(HV* tb)
hv_iterkey

Returns the key from the current position of the hash iterator. See hv_iterinit.

char*	hv_iterkey(HE* entry, I32* retlen)
hv_iterkeysv

Returns the key as an SV* from the current position of the hash iterator. The return value will always be a mortal copy of the key. Also see hv_iterinit.

SV*	hv_iterkeysv(HE* entry)
hv_iternext

Returns entries from a hash iterator. See hv_iterinit.

HE*	hv_iternext(HV* tb)
hv_iternextsv

Performs an hv_iternext, hv_iterkey, and hv_iterval in one operation.

SV*	hv_iternextsv(HV* hv, char** key, I32* retlen)
hv_iterval

Returns the value from the current position of the hash iterator. See hv_iterkey.

SV*	hv_iterval(HV* tb, HE* entry)
hv_magic

Adds magic to a hash. See sv_magic.

void	hv_magic(HV* hv, GV* gv, int how)
hv_store

Stores an SV in a hash. The hash key is specified as key and klen is the length of the key. The hash parameter is the precomputed hash value; if it is zero then Perl will compute it. The return value will be NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not need to be actually stored within the hash (as in the case of tied hashes). Otherwise it can be dereferenced to get the original SV*. Note that the caller is responsible for suitably incrementing the reference count of val before the call, and decrementing it if the function returned NULL.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied hashes.

SV**	hv_store(HV* tb, const char* key, U32 klen, SV* val, U32 hash)
hv_store_ent

Stores val in a hash. The hash key is specified as key. The hash parameter is the precomputed hash value; if it is zero then Perl will compute it. The return value is the new hash entry so created. It will be NULL if the operation failed or if the value did not need to be actually stored within the hash (as in the case of tied hashes). Otherwise the contents of the return value can be accessed using the He??? macros described here. Note that the caller is responsible for suitably incrementing the reference count of val before the call, and decrementing it if the function returned NULL.

See "Understanding the Magic of Tied Hashes and Arrays" in perlguts for more information on how to use this function on tied hashes.

HE*	hv_store_ent(HV* tb, SV* key, SV* val, U32 hash)
hv_undef

Undefines the hash.

void	hv_undef(HV* tb)
isALNUM

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ASCII alphanumeric character (including underscore) or digit.

bool	isALNUM(char ch)
isALPHA

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ASCII alphabetic character.

bool	isALPHA(char ch)
isDIGIT

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ASCII digit.

bool	isDIGIT(char ch)
isLOWER

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is a lowercase character.

bool	isLOWER(char ch)
isSPACE

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is whitespace.

bool	isSPACE(char ch)
isUPPER

Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an uppercase character.

bool	isUPPER(char ch)
is_utf8_char

Tests if some arbitrary number of bytes begins in a valid UTF-8 character. The actual number of bytes in the UTF-8 character will be returned if it is valid, otherwise 0.

STRLEN	is_utf8_char(U8 *p)
is_utf8_string

Returns true if first len bytes of the given string form valid a UTF8 string, false otherwise.

bool	is_utf8_string(U8 *s, STRLEN len)
items

Variable which is setup by xsubpp to indicate the number of items on the stack. See "Variable-length Parameter Lists" in perlxs.

I32	items
ix

Variable which is setup by xsubpp to indicate which of an XSUB's aliases was used to invoke it. See "The ALIAS: Keyword" in perlxs.

I32	ix
LEAVE

Closing bracket on a callback. See ENTER and perlcall.

LEAVE;
looks_like_number

Test if an the content of an SV looks like a number (or is a number).

I32	looks_like_number(SV* sv)
MARK

Stack marker variable for the XSUB. See dMARK.

mg_clear

Clear something magical that the SV represents. See sv_magic.

int	mg_clear(SV* sv)
mg_copy

Copies the magic from one SV to another. See sv_magic.

int	mg_copy(SV* sv, SV* nsv, const char* key, I32 klen)
mg_find

Finds the magic pointer for type matching the SV. See sv_magic.

MAGIC*	mg_find(SV* sv, int type)
mg_free

Free any magic storage used by the SV. See sv_magic.

int	mg_free(SV* sv)
mg_get

Do magic after a value is retrieved from the SV. See sv_magic.

int	mg_get(SV* sv)
mg_length

Report on the SV's length. See sv_magic.

U32	mg_length(SV* sv)
mg_magical

Turns on the magical status of an SV. See sv_magic.

void	mg_magical(SV* sv)
mg_set

Do magic after a value is assigned to the SV. See sv_magic.

int	mg_set(SV* sv)
Move

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memmove function. The src is the source, dest is the destination, nitems is the number of items, and type is the type. Can do overlapping moves. See also Copy.

void	Move(void* src, void* dest, int nitems, type)
New

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function.

void	New(int id, void* ptr, int nitems, type)
newAV

Creates a new AV. The reference count is set to 1.

AV*	newAV()
Newc

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function, with cast.

void	Newc(int id, void* ptr, int nitems, type, cast)
newCONSTSUB

Creates a constant sub equivalent to Perl sub FOO () { 123 } which is eligible for inlining at compile-time.

void	newCONSTSUB(HV* stash, char* name, SV* sv)
newHV

Creates a new HV. The reference count is set to 1.

HV*	newHV()
newRV_inc

Creates an RV wrapper for an SV. The reference count for the original SV is incremented.

SV*	newRV_inc(SV* sv)
newRV_noinc

Creates an RV wrapper for an SV. The reference count for the original SV is not incremented.

SV*	newRV_noinc(SV *sv)
NEWSV

Creates a new SV. A non-zero len parameter indicates the number of bytes of preallocated string space the SV should have. An extra byte for a tailing NUL is also reserved. (SvPOK is not set for the SV even if string space is allocated.) The reference count for the new SV is set to 1. id is an integer id between 0 and 1299 (used to identify leaks).

SV*	NEWSV(int id, STRLEN len)
newSViv

Creates a new SV and copies an integer into it. The reference count for the SV is set to 1.

SV*	newSViv(IV i)
newSVnv

Creates a new SV and copies a floating point value into it. The reference count for the SV is set to 1.

SV*	newSVnv(NV n)
newSVpv

Creates a new SV and copies a string into it. The reference count for the SV is set to 1. If len is zero, Perl will compute the length using strlen(). For efficiency, consider using newSVpvn instead.

SV*	newSVpv(const char* s, STRLEN len)
newSVpvf

Creates a new SV an initialize it with the string formatted like sprintf.

SV*	newSVpvf(const char* pat, ...)
newSVpvn

Creates a new SV and copies a string into it. The reference count for the SV is set to 1. Note that if len is zero, Perl will create a zero length string. You are responsible for ensuring that the source string is at least len bytes long.

SV*	newSVpvn(const char* s, STRLEN len)
newSVrv

Creates a new SV for the RV, rv, to point to. If rv is not an RV then it will be upgraded to one. If classname is non-null then the new SV will be blessed in the specified package. The new SV is returned and its reference count is 1.

SV*	newSVrv(SV* rv, const char* classname)
newSVsv

Creates a new SV which is an exact duplicate of the original SV.

SV*	newSVsv(SV* old)
newSVuv

Creates a new SV and copies an unsigned integer into it. The reference count for the SV is set to 1.

SV*	newSVuv(UV u)
newXS

Used by xsubpp to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs.

newXSproto

Used by xsubpp to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs. Adds Perl prototypes to the subs.

Newz

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function. The allocated memory is zeroed with memzero.

void	Newz(int id, void* ptr, int nitems, type)
Nullav

Null AV pointer.

Nullch

Null character pointer.

Nullcv

Null CV pointer.

Nullhv

Null HV pointer.

Nullsv

Null SV pointer.

ORIGMARK

The original stack mark for the XSUB. See dORIGMARK.

perl_alloc

Allocates a new Perl interpreter. See perlembed.

PerlInterpreter*	perl_alloc()
perl_construct

Initializes a new Perl interpreter. See perlembed.

void	perl_construct(PerlInterpreter* interp)
perl_destruct

Shuts down a Perl interpreter. See perlembed.

void	perl_destruct(PerlInterpreter* interp)
perl_free

Releases a Perl interpreter. See perlembed.

void	perl_free(PerlInterpreter* interp)
perl_parse

Tells a Perl interpreter to parse a Perl script. See perlembed.

int	perl_parse(PerlInterpreter* interp, XSINIT_t xsinit, int argc, char** argv, char** env)
perl_run

Tells a Perl interpreter to run. See perlembed.

int	perl_run(PerlInterpreter* interp)
PL_modglobal

PL_modglobal is a general purpose, interpreter global HV for use by extensions that need to keep information on a per-interpreter basis. In a pinch, it can also be used as a symbol table for extensions to share data among each other. It is a good idea to use keys prefixed by the package name of the extension that owns the data.

HV*	PL_modglobal
PL_na

A convenience variable which is typically used with SvPV when one doesn't care about the length of the string. It is usually more efficient to either declare a local variable and use that instead or to use the SvPV_nolen macro.

STRLEN	PL_na
PL_sv_no

This is the false SV. See PL_sv_yes. Always refer to this as &PL_sv_no.

SV	PL_sv_no
PL_sv_undef

This is the undef SV. Always refer to this as &PL_sv_undef.

SV	PL_sv_undef
PL_sv_yes

This is the true SV. See PL_sv_no. Always refer to this as &PL_sv_yes.

SV	PL_sv_yes
POPi

Pops an integer off the stack.

IV	POPi
POPl

Pops a long off the stack.

long	POPl
POPn

Pops a double off the stack.

NV	POPn
POPp

Pops a string off the stack.

char*	POPp
POPs

Pops an SV off the stack.

SV*	POPs
PUSHi

Push an integer onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. Handles 'set' magic. See XPUSHi.

void	PUSHi(IV iv)
PUSHMARK

Opening bracket for arguments on a callback. See PUTBACK and perlcall.

PUSHMARK;
PUSHn

Push a double onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. Handles 'set' magic. See XPUSHn.

void	PUSHn(NV nv)
PUSHp

Push a string onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. The len indicates the length of the string. Handles 'set' magic. See XPUSHp.

void	PUSHp(char* str, STRLEN len)
PUSHs

Push an SV onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. Does not handle 'set' magic. See XPUSHs.

void	PUSHs(SV* sv)
PUSHu

Push an unsigned integer onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. See XPUSHu.

void	PUSHu(UV uv)
PUTBACK

Closing bracket for XSUB arguments. This is usually handled by xsubpp. See PUSHMARK and perlcall for other uses.

PUTBACK;
Renew

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C realloc function.

void	Renew(void* ptr, int nitems, type)
Renewc

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C realloc function, with cast.

void	Renewc(void* ptr, int nitems, type, cast)
require_pv

Tells Perl to require a module.

NOTE: the perl_ form of this function is deprecated.

void	require_pv(const char* pv)
RETVAL

Variable which is setup by xsubpp to hold the return value for an XSUB. This is always the proper type for the XSUB. See "The RETVAL Variable" in perlxs.

(whatever)	RETVAL
Safefree

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C free function.

void	Safefree(void* ptr)
savepv

Copy a string to a safe spot. This does not use an SV.

char*	savepv(const char* sv)
savepvn

Copy a string to a safe spot. The len indicates number of bytes to copy. This does not use an SV.

char*	savepvn(const char* sv, I32 len)
SAVETMPS

Opening bracket for temporaries on a callback. See FREETMPS and perlcall.

SAVETMPS;
SP

Stack pointer. This is usually handled by xsubpp. See dSP and SPAGAIN.

SPAGAIN

Refetch the stack pointer. Used after a callback. See perlcall.

SPAGAIN;
ST

Used to access elements on the XSUB's stack.

SV*	ST(int ix)
strEQ

Test two strings to see if they are equal. Returns true or false.

bool	strEQ(char* s1, char* s2)
strGE

Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is greater than or equal to the second, s2. Returns true or false.

bool	strGE(char* s1, char* s2)
strGT

Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is greater than the second, s2. Returns true or false.

bool	strGT(char* s1, char* s2)
strLE

Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is less than or equal to the second, s2. Returns true or false.

bool	strLE(char* s1, char* s2)
strLT

Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is less than the second, s2. Returns true or false.

bool	strLT(char* s1, char* s2)
strNE

Test two strings to see if they are different. Returns true or false.

bool	strNE(char* s1, char* s2)
strnEQ

Test two strings to see if they are equal. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false. (A wrapper for strncmp).

bool	strnEQ(char* s1, char* s2, STRLEN len)
strnNE

Test two strings to see if they are different. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false. (A wrapper for strncmp).

bool	strnNE(char* s1, char* s2, STRLEN len)
StructCopy

This is an architecture-independent macro to copy one structure to another.

void	StructCopy(type src, type dest, type)
SvCUR

Returns the length of the string which is in the SV. See SvLEN.

STRLEN	SvCUR(SV* sv)
SvCUR_set

Set the length of the string which is in the SV. See SvCUR.

void	SvCUR_set(SV* sv, STRLEN len)
SvEND

Returns a pointer to the last character in the string which is in the SV. See SvCUR. Access the character as *(SvEND(sv)).

char*	SvEND(SV* sv)
SvGETMAGIC

Invokes mg_get on an SV if it has 'get' magic. This macro evaluates its argument more than once.

void	SvGETMAGIC(SV* sv)
SvGROW

Expands the character buffer in the SV so that it has room for the indicated number of bytes (remember to reserve space for an extra trailing NUL character). Calls sv_grow to perform the expansion if necessary. Returns a pointer to the character buffer.

void	SvGROW(SV* sv, STRLEN len)
SvIOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer.

bool	SvIOK(SV* sv)
SvIOKp

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer. Checks the private setting. Use SvIOK.

bool	SvIOKp(SV* sv)
SvIOK_notUV

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an signed integer.

void	SvIOK_notUV(SV* sv)
SvIOK_off

Unsets the IV status of an SV.

void	SvIOK_off(SV* sv)
SvIOK_on

Tells an SV that it is an integer.

void	SvIOK_on(SV* sv)
SvIOK_only

Tells an SV that it is an integer and disables all other OK bits.

void	SvIOK_only(SV* sv)
SvIOK_only_UV

Tells and SV that it is an unsigned integer and disables all other OK bits.

void	SvIOK_only_UV(SV* sv)
SvIOK_UV

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an unsigned integer.

void	SvIOK_UV(SV* sv)
SvIV

Coerces the given SV to an integer and returns it.

IV	SvIV(SV* sv)
SvIVX

Returns the integer which is stored in the SV, assuming SvIOK is true.

IV	SvIVX(SV* sv)
SvLEN

Returns the size of the string buffer in the SV, not including any part attributable to SvOOK. See SvCUR.

STRLEN	SvLEN(SV* sv)
SvNIOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or double.

bool	SvNIOK(SV* sv)
SvNIOKp

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or double. Checks the private setting. Use SvNIOK.

bool	SvNIOKp(SV* sv)
SvNIOK_off

Unsets the NV/IV status of an SV.

void	SvNIOK_off(SV* sv)
SvNOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double.

bool	SvNOK(SV* sv)
SvNOKp

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double. Checks the private setting. Use SvNOK.

bool	SvNOKp(SV* sv)
SvNOK_off

Unsets the NV status of an SV.

void	SvNOK_off(SV* sv)
SvNOK_on

Tells an SV that it is a double.

void	SvNOK_on(SV* sv)
SvNOK_only

Tells an SV that it is a double and disables all other OK bits.

void	SvNOK_only(SV* sv)
SvNV

Coerce the given SV to a double and return it.

NV	SvNV(SV* sv)
SvNVX

Returns the double which is stored in the SV, assuming SvNOK is true.

NV	SvNVX(SV* sv)
SvOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the value is an SV.

bool	SvOK(SV* sv)
SvOOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SvIVX is a valid offset value for the SvPVX. This hack is used internally to speed up removal of characters from the beginning of a SvPV. When SvOOK is true, then the start of the allocated string buffer is really (SvPVX - SvIVX).

bool	SvOOK(SV* sv)
SvPOK

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string.

bool	SvPOK(SV* sv)
SvPOKp

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string. Checks the private setting. Use SvPOK.

bool	SvPOKp(SV* sv)
SvPOK_off

Unsets the PV status of an SV.

void	SvPOK_off(SV* sv)
SvPOK_on

Tells an SV that it is a string.

void	SvPOK_on(SV* sv)
SvPOK_only

Tells an SV that it is a string and disables all other OK bits.

void	SvPOK_only(SV* sv)
SvPOK_only_UTF8

Tells an SV that it is a UTF8 string (do not use frivolously) and disables all other OK bits.

void	SvPOK_only_UTF8(SV* sv)
SvPV

Returns a pointer to the string in the SV, or a stringified form of the SV if the SV does not contain a string. Handles 'get' magic.

char*	SvPV(SV* sv, STRLEN len)
SvPVX

Returns a pointer to the string in the SV. The SV must contain a string.

char*	SvPVX(SV* sv)
SvPV_force

Like <SvPV> but will force the SV into becoming a string (SvPOK). You want force if you are going to update the SvPVX directly.

char*	SvPV_force(SV* sv, STRLEN len)
SvPV_nolen

Returns a pointer to the string in the SV, or a stringified form of the SV if the SV does not contain a string. Handles 'get' magic.

char*	SvPV_nolen(SV* sv)
SvREFCNT

Returns the value of the object's reference count.

U32	SvREFCNT(SV* sv)
SvREFCNT_dec

Decrements the reference count of the given SV.

void	SvREFCNT_dec(SV* sv)
SvREFCNT_inc

Increments the reference count of the given SV.

SV*	SvREFCNT_inc(SV* sv)
SvROK

Tests if the SV is an RV.

bool	SvROK(SV* sv)
SvROK_off

Unsets the RV status of an SV.

void	SvROK_off(SV* sv)
SvROK_on

Tells an SV that it is an RV.

void	SvROK_on(SV* sv)
SvRV

Dereferences an RV to return the SV.

SV*	SvRV(SV* sv)
SvSETMAGIC

Invokes mg_set on an SV if it has 'set' magic. This macro evaluates its argument more than once.

void	SvSETMAGIC(SV* sv)
SvSetSV

Calls sv_setsv if dsv is not the same as ssv. May evaluate arguments more than once.

void	SvSetSV(SV* dsb, SV* ssv)
SvSetSV_nosteal

Calls a non-destructive version of sv_setsv if dsv is not the same as ssv. May evaluate arguments more than once.

void	SvSetSV_nosteal(SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
SvSTASH

Returns the stash of the SV.

HV*	SvSTASH(SV* sv)
SvTAINT

Taints an SV if tainting is enabled

void	SvTAINT(SV* sv)
SvTAINTED

Checks to see if an SV is tainted. Returns TRUE if it is, FALSE if not.

bool	SvTAINTED(SV* sv)
SvTAINTED_off

Untaints an SV. Be very careful with this routine, as it short-circuits some of Perl's fundamental security features. XS module authors should not use this function unless they fully understand all the implications of unconditionally untainting the value. Untainting should be done in the standard perl fashion, via a carefully crafted regexp, rather than directly untainting variables.

void	SvTAINTED_off(SV* sv)
SvTAINTED_on

Marks an SV as tainted.

void	SvTAINTED_on(SV* sv)
SvTRUE

Returns a boolean indicating whether Perl would evaluate the SV as true or false, defined or undefined. Does not handle 'get' magic.

bool	SvTRUE(SV* sv)
svtype

An enum of flags for Perl types. These are found in the file sv.h in the svtype enum. Test these flags with the SvTYPE macro.

SvTYPE

Returns the type of the SV. See svtype.

svtype	SvTYPE(SV* sv)
SVt_IV

Integer type flag for scalars. See svtype.

SVt_NV

Double type flag for scalars. See svtype.

SVt_PV

Pointer type flag for scalars. See svtype.

SVt_PVAV

Type flag for arrays. See svtype.

SVt_PVCV

Type flag for code refs. See svtype.

SVt_PVHV

Type flag for hashes. See svtype.

SVt_PVMG

Type flag for blessed scalars. See svtype.

SvUPGRADE

Used to upgrade an SV to a more complex form. Uses sv_upgrade to perform the upgrade if necessary. See svtype.

void	SvUPGRADE(SV* sv, svtype type)
SvUTF8

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains UTF-8 encoded data.

void	SvUTF8(SV* sv)
SvUTF8_off

Unsets the UTF8 status of an SV.

void	SvUTF8_off(SV *sv)
SvUTF8_on

Tells an SV that it is a string and encoded in UTF8. Do not use frivolously.

void	SvUTF8_on(SV *sv)
SvUV

Coerces the given SV to an unsigned integer and returns it.

UV	SvUV(SV* sv)
SvUVX

Returns the unsigned integer which is stored in the SV, assuming SvIOK is true.

UV	SvUVX(SV* sv)
sv_2mortal

Marks an SV as mortal. The SV will be destroyed when the current context ends.

SV*	sv_2mortal(SV* sv)
sv_bless

Blesses an SV into a specified package. The SV must be an RV. The package must be designated by its stash (see gv_stashpv()). The reference count of the SV is unaffected.

SV*	sv_bless(SV* sv, HV* stash)
sv_catpv

Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. See sv_catpv_mg.

void	sv_catpv(SV* sv, const char* ptr)
sv_catpvf

Processes its arguments like sprintf and appends the formatted output to an SV. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. SvSETMAGIC() must typically be called after calling this function to handle 'set' magic.

void	sv_catpvf(SV* sv, const char* pat, ...)
sv_catpvf_mg

Like sv_catpvf, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_catpvf_mg(SV *sv, const char* pat, ...)
sv_catpvn

Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV. The len indicates number of bytes to copy. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. See sv_catpvn_mg.

void	sv_catpvn(SV* sv, const char* ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_catpvn_mg

Like sv_catpvn, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_catpvn_mg(SV *sv, const char *ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_catpv_mg

Like sv_catpv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_catpv_mg(SV *sv, const char *ptr)
sv_catsv

Concatenates the string from SV ssv onto the end of the string in SV dsv. Modifies dsv but not ssv. Handles 'get' magic, but not 'set' magic. See sv_catsv_mg.

void	sv_catsv(SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
sv_catsv_mg

Like sv_catsv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_catsv_mg(SV *dstr, SV *sstr)
sv_chop

Efficient removal of characters from the beginning of the string buffer. SvPOK(sv) must be true and the ptr must be a pointer to somewhere inside the string buffer. The ptr becomes the first character of the adjusted string.

void	sv_chop(SV* sv, char* ptr)
sv_clear

Clear an SV, making it empty. Does not free the memory used by the SV itself.

void	sv_clear(SV* sv)
sv_cmp

Compares the strings in two SVs. Returns -1, 0, or 1 indicating whether the string in sv1 is less than, equal to, or greater than the string in sv2.

I32	sv_cmp(SV* sv1, SV* sv2)
sv_cmp_locale

Compares the strings in two SVs in a locale-aware manner. See "sv_cmp_locale"

I32	sv_cmp_locale(SV* sv1, SV* sv2)
sv_dec

Auto-decrement of the value in the SV.

void	sv_dec(SV* sv)
sv_derived_from

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is derived from the specified class. This is the function that implements UNIVERSAL::isa. It works for class names as well as for objects.

bool	sv_derived_from(SV* sv, const char* name)
sv_eq

Returns a boolean indicating whether the strings in the two SVs are identical.

I32	sv_eq(SV* sv1, SV* sv2)
sv_free

Free the memory used by an SV.

void	sv_free(SV* sv)
sv_gets

Get a line from the filehandle and store it into the SV, optionally appending to the currently-stored string.

char*	sv_gets(SV* sv, PerlIO* fp, I32 append)
sv_grow

Expands the character buffer in the SV. This will use sv_unref and will upgrade the SV to SVt_PV. Returns a pointer to the character buffer. Use SvGROW.

char*	sv_grow(SV* sv, STRLEN newlen)
sv_inc

Auto-increment of the value in the SV.

void	sv_inc(SV* sv)
sv_insert

Inserts a string at the specified offset/length within the SV. Similar to the Perl substr() function.

void	sv_insert(SV* bigsv, STRLEN offset, STRLEN len, char* little, STRLEN littlelen)
sv_isa

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is blessed into the specified class. This does not check for subtypes; use sv_derived_from to verify an inheritance relationship.

int	sv_isa(SV* sv, const char* name)
sv_isobject

Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is an RV pointing to a blessed object. If the SV is not an RV, or if the object is not blessed, then this will return false.

int	sv_isobject(SV* sv)
sv_len

Returns the length of the string in the SV. See also SvCUR.

STRLEN	sv_len(SV* sv)
sv_len_utf8

Returns the number of characters in the string in an SV, counting wide UTF8 bytes as a single character.

STRLEN	sv_len_utf8(SV* sv)
sv_magic

Adds magic to an SV.

void	sv_magic(SV* sv, SV* obj, int how, const char* name, I32 namlen)
sv_mortalcopy

Creates a new SV which is a copy of the original SV. The new SV is marked as mortal.

SV*	sv_mortalcopy(SV* oldsv)
sv_newmortal

Creates a new SV which is mortal. The reference count of the SV is set to 1.

SV*	sv_newmortal()
sv_pvn_force

Get a sensible string out of the SV somehow.

char*	sv_pvn_force(SV* sv, STRLEN* lp)
sv_pvutf8n_force

Get a sensible UTF8-encoded string out of the SV somehow. See "sv_pvn_force".

char*	sv_pvutf8n_force(SV* sv, STRLEN* lp)
sv_reftype

Returns a string describing what the SV is a reference to.

char*	sv_reftype(SV* sv, int ob)
sv_replace

Make the first argument a copy of the second, then delete the original.

void	sv_replace(SV* sv, SV* nsv)
sv_rvweaken

Weaken a reference.

SV*	sv_rvweaken(SV *sv)
sv_setiv

Copies an integer into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setiv_mg.

void	sv_setiv(SV* sv, IV num)
sv_setiv_mg

Like sv_setiv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setiv_mg(SV *sv, IV i)
sv_setnv

Copies a double into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setnv_mg.

void	sv_setnv(SV* sv, NV num)
sv_setnv_mg

Like sv_setnv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setnv_mg(SV *sv, NV num)
sv_setpv

Copies a string into an SV. The string must be null-terminated. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setpv_mg.

void	sv_setpv(SV* sv, const char* ptr)
sv_setpvf

Processes its arguments like sprintf and sets an SV to the formatted output. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setpvf_mg.

void	sv_setpvf(SV* sv, const char* pat, ...)
sv_setpvf_mg

Like sv_setpvf, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setpvf_mg(SV *sv, const char* pat, ...)
sv_setpviv

Copies an integer into the given SV, also updating its string value. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setpviv_mg.

void	sv_setpviv(SV* sv, IV num)
sv_setpviv_mg

Like sv_setpviv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setpviv_mg(SV *sv, IV iv)
sv_setpvn

Copies a string into an SV. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to be copied. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setpvn_mg.

void	sv_setpvn(SV* sv, const char* ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_setpvn_mg

Like sv_setpvn, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setpvn_mg(SV *sv, const char *ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_setpv_mg

Like sv_setpv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setpv_mg(SV *sv, const char *ptr)
sv_setref_iv

Copies an integer into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The rv argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to the new SV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.

SV*	sv_setref_iv(SV* rv, const char* classname, IV iv)
sv_setref_nv

Copies a double into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The rv argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to the new SV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.

SV*	sv_setref_nv(SV* rv, const char* classname, NV nv)
sv_setref_pv

Copies a pointer into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The rv argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to the new SV. If the pv argument is NULL then PL_sv_undef will be placed into the SV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.

Do not use with other Perl types such as HV, AV, SV, CV, because those objects will become corrupted by the pointer copy process.

Note that sv_setref_pvn copies the string while this copies the pointer.

SV*	sv_setref_pv(SV* rv, const char* classname, void* pv)
sv_setref_pvn

Copies a string into a new SV, optionally blessing the SV. The length of the string must be specified with n. The rv argument will be upgraded to an RV. That RV will be modified to point to the new SV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a reference count of 1.

Note that sv_setref_pv copies the pointer while this copies the string.

SV*	sv_setref_pvn(SV* rv, const char* classname, char* pv, STRLEN n)
sv_setsv

Copies the contents of the source SV ssv into the destination SV dsv. The source SV may be destroyed if it is mortal. Does not handle 'set' magic. See the macro forms SvSetSV, SvSetSV_nosteal and sv_setsv_mg.

void	sv_setsv(SV* dsv, SV* ssv)
sv_setsv_mg

Like sv_setsv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setsv_mg(SV *dstr, SV *sstr)
sv_setuv

Copies an unsigned integer into the given SV. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_setuv_mg.

void	sv_setuv(SV* sv, UV num)
sv_setuv_mg

Like sv_setuv, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_setuv_mg(SV *sv, UV u)
sv_true

Returns true if the SV has a true value by Perl's rules.

I32	sv_true(SV *sv)
sv_unmagic

Removes magic from an SV.

int	sv_unmagic(SV* sv, int type)
sv_unref

Unsets the RV status of the SV, and decrements the reference count of whatever was being referenced by the RV. This can almost be thought of as a reversal of newSVrv. See SvROK_off.

void	sv_unref(SV* sv)
sv_upgrade

Upgrade an SV to a more complex form. Use SvUPGRADE. See svtype.

bool	sv_upgrade(SV* sv, U32 mt)
sv_usepvn

Tells an SV to use ptr to find its string value. Normally the string is stored inside the SV but sv_usepvn allows the SV to use an outside string. The ptr should point to memory that was allocated by malloc. The string length, len, must be supplied. This function will realloc the memory pointed to by ptr, so that pointer should not be freed or used by the programmer after giving it to sv_usepvn. Does not handle 'set' magic. See sv_usepvn_mg.

void	sv_usepvn(SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_usepvn_mg

Like sv_usepvn, but also handles 'set' magic.

void	sv_usepvn_mg(SV *sv, char *ptr, STRLEN len)
sv_utf8_downgrade

Attempt to convert the PV of an SV from UTF8-encoded to byte encoding. This may not be possible if the PV contains non-byte encoding characters; if this is the case, either returns false or, if fail_ok is not true, croaks.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

bool	sv_utf8_downgrade(SV *sv, bool fail_ok)
sv_utf8_encode

Convert the PV of an SV to UTF8-encoded, but then turn off the SvUTF8 flag so that it looks like bytes again. Nothing calls this.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

void	sv_utf8_encode(SV *sv)
sv_utf8_upgrade

Convert the PV of an SV to its UTF8-encoded form.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

void	sv_utf8_upgrade(SV *sv)
sv_vcatpvfn

Processes its arguments like vsprintf and appends the formatted output to an SV. Uses an array of SVs if the C style variable argument list is missing (NULL). When running with taint checks enabled, indicates via maybe_tainted if results are untrustworthy (often due to the use of locales).

void	sv_vcatpvfn(SV* sv, const char* pat, STRLEN patlen, va_list* args, SV** svargs, I32 svmax, bool *maybe_tainted)
sv_vsetpvfn

Works like vcatpvfn but copies the text into the SV instead of appending it.

void	sv_vsetpvfn(SV* sv, const char* pat, STRLEN patlen, va_list* args, SV** svargs, I32 svmax, bool *maybe_tainted)
THIS

Variable which is setup by xsubpp to designate the object in a C++ XSUB. This is always the proper type for the C++ object. See CLASS and "Using XS With C++" in perlxs.

(whatever)	THIS
toLOWER

Converts the specified character to lowercase.

char	toLOWER(char ch)
toUPPER

Converts the specified character to uppercase.

char	toUPPER(char ch)
utf8_distance

Returns the number of UTF8 characters between the UTF-8 pointers a and b.

WARNING: use only if you *know* that the pointers point inside the same UTF-8 buffer.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

IV	utf8_distance(U8 *a, U8 *b)
utf8_hop

Return the UTF-8 pointer s displaced by off characters, either forward or backward.

WARNING: do not use the following unless you *know* off is within the UTF-8 data pointed to by s *and* that on entry s is aligned on the first byte of character or just after the last byte of a character.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

U8*	utf8_hop(U8 *s, I32 off)
utf8_length

Return the length of the UTF-8 char encoded string s in characters. Stops at e (inclusive). If e < s or if the scan would end up past e, croaks.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

STRLEN	utf8_length(U8* s, U8 *e)
utf8_to_bytes

Converts a string s of length len from UTF8 into byte encoding. Unlike bytes_to_utf8, this over-writes the original string, and updates len to contain the new length. Returns zero on failure, setting len to -1.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

U8*	utf8_to_bytes(U8 *s, STRLEN *len)
utf8_to_uv

Returns the character value of the first character in the string s which is assumed to be in UTF8 encoding and no longer than curlen; retlen will be set to the length, in bytes, of that character.

If s does not point to a well-formed UTF8 character, the behaviour is dependent on the value of flags: if it contains UTF8_CHECK_ONLY, it is assumed that the caller will raise a warning, and this function will silently just set retlen to -1 and return zero. If the flags does not contain UTF8_CHECK_ONLY, warnings about malformations will be given, retlen will be set to the expected length of the UTF-8 character in bytes, and zero will be returned.

The flags can also contain various flags to allow deviations from the strict UTF-8 encoding (see utf8.h).

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

UV	utf8_to_uv(U8 *s, STRLEN curlen, STRLEN* retlen, U32 flags)
utf8_to_uv_simple

Returns the character value of the first character in the string s which is assumed to be in UTF8 encoding; retlen will be set to the length, in bytes, of that character.

If s does not point to a well-formed UTF8 character, zero is returned and retlen is set, if possible, to -1.

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

UV	utf8_to_uv_simple(U8 *s, STRLEN* retlen)
uv_to_utf8

Adds the UTF8 representation of the Unicode codepoint uv to the end of the string d; d should be have at least UTF8_MAXLEN+1 free bytes available. The return value is the pointer to the byte after the end of the new character. In other words,

d = uv_to_utf8(d, uv);

is the recommended Unicode-aware way of saying

*(d++) = uv;

NOTE: this function is experimental and may change or be removed without notice.

U8*	uv_to_utf8(U8 *d, UV uv)
warn

This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's warn function. Use this function the same way you use the C printf function. See croak.

void	warn(const char* pat, ...)
XPUSHi

Push an integer onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Handles 'set' magic. See PUSHi.

void	XPUSHi(IV iv)
XPUSHn

Push a double onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Handles 'set' magic. See PUSHn.

void	XPUSHn(NV nv)
XPUSHp

Push a string onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. The len indicates the length of the string. Handles 'set' magic. See PUSHp.

void	XPUSHp(char* str, STRLEN len)
XPUSHs

Push an SV onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. Does not handle 'set' magic. See PUSHs.

void	XPUSHs(SV* sv)
XPUSHu

Push an unsigned integer onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. See PUSHu.

void	XPUSHu(UV uv)
XS

Macro to declare an XSUB and its C parameter list. This is handled by xsubpp.

XSRETURN

Return from XSUB, indicating number of items on the stack. This is usually handled by xsubpp.

void	XSRETURN(int nitems)
XSRETURN_EMPTY

Return an empty list from an XSUB immediately.

XSRETURN_EMPTY;
XSRETURN_IV

Return an integer from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mIV.

void	XSRETURN_IV(IV iv)
XSRETURN_NO

Return &PL_sv_no from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mNO.

XSRETURN_NO;
XSRETURN_NV

Return an double from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mNV.

void	XSRETURN_NV(NV nv)
XSRETURN_PV

Return a copy of a string from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mPV.

void	XSRETURN_PV(char* str)
XSRETURN_UNDEF

Return &PL_sv_undef from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mUNDEF.

XSRETURN_UNDEF;
XSRETURN_YES

Return &PL_sv_yes from an XSUB immediately. Uses XST_mYES.

XSRETURN_YES;
XST_mIV

Place an integer into the specified position pos on the stack. The value is stored in a new mortal SV.

void	XST_mIV(int pos, IV iv)
XST_mNO

Place &PL_sv_no into the specified position pos on the stack.

void	XST_mNO(int pos)
XST_mNV

Place a double into the specified position pos on the stack. The value is stored in a new mortal SV.

void	XST_mNV(int pos, NV nv)
XST_mPV

Place a copy of a string into the specified position pos on the stack. The value is stored in a new mortal SV.

void	XST_mPV(int pos, char* str)
XST_mUNDEF

Place &PL_sv_undef into the specified position pos on the stack.

void	XST_mUNDEF(int pos)
XST_mYES

Place &PL_sv_yes into the specified position pos on the stack.

void	XST_mYES(int pos)
XS_VERSION

The version identifier for an XS module. This is usually handled automatically by ExtUtils::MakeMaker. See XS_VERSION_BOOTCHECK.

XS_VERSION_BOOTCHECK

Macro to verify that a PM module's $VERSION variable matches the XS module's XS_VERSION variable. This is usually handled automatically by xsubpp. See "The VERSIONCHECK: Keyword" in perlxs.

XS_VERSION_BOOTCHECK;
Zero

The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memzero function. The dest is the destination, nitems is the number of items, and type is the type.

void	Zero(void* dest, int nitems, type)

AUTHORS

Until May 1997, this document was maintained by Jeff Okamoto <okamoto@corp.hp.com>. It is now maintained as part of Perl itself.

With lots of help and suggestions from Dean Roehrich, Malcolm Beattie, Andreas Koenig, Paul Hudson, Ilya Zakharevich, Paul Marquess, Neil Bowers, Matthew Green, Tim Bunce, Spider Boardman, Ulrich Pfeifer, Stephen McCamant, and Gurusamy Sarathy.

API Listing originally by Dean Roehrich <roehrich@cray.com>.

Updated to be autogenerated from comments in the source by Benjamin Stuhl.

SEE ALSO

perlguts(1), perlxs(1), perlxstut(1), perlintern(1)