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NAME

Panda::XS - useful features and typemaps for XS modules.

DESCRIPTION

Panda::XS provides some useful features for XS modules. Also adds default configurable typemaps with most commonly used types. Panda::XS makes it possible for other modules (Perl or XS) to inherit from your XS module. To use it you must have a C++ compiler. Of course most (or all) CPAN modules have private implementation visible only via perl interface (function or method calls). But it is a much better approach to implement functionality in C/C++ classes with public API, make an XS interface, to make it usable from perl and also make you C code visible to other XS modules. This makes it possible for other users to use your C code directly from other XS modules, without perl method/function interface and therefore they can achieve much greater speeds. To make your C code visible to other XS modules when your module is installed, see Panda::Install.

SYNOPSIS

Makefile.PL:

use strict;
use Panda::Install 'write_makefile';

write_makefile(
    NAME    => 'MyXS',
    CPLUS   => 1,
    DEPENDS => 'Panda::XS',
);

mytypemap.map:

MyClass*  T_OPTR
MyClass3* T_OEXT

MyXS.xs:

#include <xs/xs.h> /* replaces #include perl.h, ppport.h, XSUB.h, etc... */

...

# C++ class based object
MyClass*
MyClass::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();
    ... // scalar-reference based object. IV value is C pointer address.

void
MyClass::somefunc ()
PPCODE:
    THIS->somefunc();
    ...

void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

# hash and C++ class based object at one time
using xs::sv_payload_attach;
using xs::rv_payload;
MODULE=... PACKAGE=MyClass2

SV*
new (const char* CLASS)
CODE:
    RETVAL = sv_bless( newRV_noinc((SV*)newHV()), gv_stashpv(CLASS,1) );
    rv_payload_attach(RETVAL, new MyClass2());
OUTPUT:
    RETVAL
    
void
somefunc (SV* OBJ)
PPCODE:
    if (!SvROK(OBJ)) croak("....");
    MyClass2* THIS = (MyClass2*) rv_payload(OBJ);
    assert(THIS);
    ...
    
void
DESTROY (SV* OBJ)
PPCODE:
    if (!SvROK(OBJ)) croak("....");
    MyClass2* THIS = (MyClass2*) rv_payload(OBJ);
    delete THIS;
    
    
# ANY-SV and C++ class based object at one time
MyClass3*
MyClass3::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass2();

void
MyClass3::somefunc ()
PPCODE:
    THIS->somefunc();
    ...

void
MyClass3::DESTROY ()

MyXS.pm:

package MyXS;
use Panda::XS;

our $VERSION = '0.1.3';
Panda::XSLoader::bootstrap(0x01); # replacement for XSLoader::load()

TYPEMAP

(u)int(8/16/32/64)_t

Mappings for integers

AV*, HV*, CV*, IO*

Array/Hash/Code/IO references.

AV*
get_list ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = newAV();
    // push values to RETVAL
    

void
merge (HV* h1, HV* h2)
PPCODE:
    ...

OSV*, OAV*, OHV*, OIO*

Scalar/Array/Hash/IO reference based objects.

OHV*
OHV::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = newHV();


int
OAV::get_count ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = *av_fetch(THIS, 1, 1);

T_OPTR

YOUR_TYPE : T_OPTR([basetype=classname], [nocast=1])

IV(SCALAR)-based object with C pointer attached.

TYPEMAP
MyClass* T_OPTR

# XS

MyClass*
MyClass::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();
    
void
MyClass::somefunc()
PPCODE:
    // use 'THIS' (MyClass*)
    
void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

The main problem of this method is that one cannot fully inherit from your module (no place to store another class' data). However you can still use inheritance XS->XS->... if your child's XS uses C++ class which inherits from parent's C++ class. In this case, set 'basetype' to the name of the most parent C++ class. See HOW TO for details.

T_OEXT

YOUR_TYPE : T_OEXT([basetype=classname], [nocast=1])

Extendable object with C pointer attached.

TYPEMAP
MyClass* T_OEXT

# XS

MyClass*
MyClass::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();
    

void
MyClass::somefunc()
PPCODE:
    // use 'THIS' (MyClass*)

void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

This method is much more flexible as it allows for inheritance and even XS -> XS inheritance where each one holds its own C++ object.

<T_OEXT C type>::new will create scalar-based object (reference to undef)

my $obj = MyClass->new; # $obj is RV to undef with C++ MyClass attached

Use obj2hv / obj2av to change the object's base to desired type.

Panda::XS::obj2hv($obj); # $obj is RV to HV with C++ MyClass attached

Panda::XS::obj2av($obj); # $obj is RV to AV with C++ MyClass attached

After that you can store data in $obj->{..} or $obj->[..] as if it was a regular perl object

basetype [default is $type]: The most parent C++ class in XS hierarchy. Used as a marker(key) for storing C++ pointer in perl object's magic. Also used for auto typecasting from parent class to child class like this 'THIS = dynamic_cast<$type>(($basetype)stored_ptr)' for input typemaps and from child class to parent class in output typemaps 'stored_ptr = static_cast<$basetype>(RETVAL)'. By default $basetype = $type. If $basetype == $type, then casting is not performed. See HOW TO for details.
nocast [default is 0]: If set, disables typecasting described in 'basetype' section even if $basetype != $type. Useful for storing objects in wrappers. See HOW TO for details.

CLASS (required): Define this variable as either 'const char*' or 'SV*' and set it to a class name you want your object to be blessed to. It is done automatically for methods 'new', so that you must not define this variable in 'new' methods. However you can change it's value if you want to.
self: This variable is automatically defined for all T_OEXT outputs and is set to NULL. If you don't change its value, then a new object (reference to undef) will be created and your RETVAL will be attached to it. If you want to attach your RETVAL to an already existing object, set 'self' variable to some SV* value. Value must be a valid RV to a blessed SV, or an SV itself (in this case an RV to specified SV is created and blessed). Useful for calling super and next methods. See HOW TO for details.

T_OEXT_AV, T_OEXT_HV

HV or AV based object with C pointer attached.

TYPEMAP
MyClass* T_OEXT_HV

# XS

MyClass*
new (const char* CLASS)
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();

void
MyClass::somefunc()
PPCODE:
    // use THIS (MyClass*)

void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

# in perl code
my $obj = MyClass->new; # $obj is a blessed HASHREF
$obj->somefunc;

the above works like

TYPEMAP
MyClass* T_OEXT

# XS

MyClass*
new (const char* CLASS)
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();
    
void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

# in perl code
my $obj = MyClass->new; # $obj is a blessed SCALARREF (ref to undef)
Panda::XS::obj2hv($obj); # $obj is a blessed HASHREF

and exactly like

TYPEMAP
MyClass* MY_TYPE

OUTPUT
MY_TYPE : T_OEXT
     if (!self && $var) self = (SV*)newHV();
     
INPUT
MY_TYPE : T_OEXT

# XS

MyClass*
new (const char* CLASS)
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();

# in perl code
my $obj = MyClass->new; # $obj is a blessed HASHREF

HOW TO

CREATE AN XS CLASS HOLDING C++ CLASS OR C STRUCTURE

Here and below by 'XS CLASS' i mean not just XS code with functions, i mean class, objects of which hold a C struct or class.

Create your TYPE in typemap using one of existing typemap classes.

Either classic pointer-based object

MyClass* T_OPTR

or more flexible "attached pointer" object

MyClass* T_OEXT

Use your type in XS code

MyClass*
MyClass::new ()
CODE:
    RETVAL = new MyClass();
OUTPUT:
    RETVAL

void
MyClass::somefunc ()
PPCODE:
    THIS->somefunc(); // THIS is a variable of type MyClass*
    ...

void
MyClass::DESTROY ()

Use your XS class from perl

my $obj = new MyClass();
$obj->somefunc();

Note how your object looks like inside with T_OPTR

DB<2> x $obj
  0  MyClass=SCALAR(0x8179dc4e0)
     -> 34732484608

or with T_OEXT

DB<5> x $obj
  0  MyClass=SCALAR(0x8179e16a8)
     -> undef

CREATE AN EXTENDABLE XS CLASS HOLDING C++ CLASS OR C STRUCTURE

'Extendable' means that we can create child class in perl and hold additional data in $self as it was a regular perl object. It's impossible to implement that using T_OPTR as it makes perl object not applicable for holding anything but C pointer. To do this, we must use T_OEXT typemap class. By default, T_OEXT creates reference to undef as an object base. Most of the time we want it to be a hash reference. There are 2 ways we can achieve that - either use T_OEXT_HV as typemap class (it creates RV to HV as an object base instead of RV to undef) or upgrade already created object to RV/HV from perl.

Solution with T_OEXT_HV

In typemap change T_OEXT to T_OEXT_HV:

MyClass* T_OEXT_HV

That's all! Lets see the results

DB<6> x new MyClass()
  0  MyClass=HASH(0x81794bf48)
       empty hash

Solution with object upgrading

Lets do the upgrade in child class.

package MyClassChild;
use parent 'MyClass';

sub new {
    my $self = shift->SUPER::new(@_);
    Panda::XS::obj2hv($self);
    return $self;
}

Lets see the results

DB<5> x new MyClass()
  0  MyClass=SCALAR(0x81794bd80)
     -> undef
DB<6> x new MyClassChild()
  0  MyClassChild=HASH(0x81794a318)
       empty hash

CREATE XS CLASS HIERARCHY THAT CORRESPONDS TO C++ CLASS HIERARCHY

Image that you need to port a C framework to perl and you want to leave it's classes structure transparent. For example, there is a C framework Foo that we need to port to perl. It has 2 classes ClassA and ClassB.

class ClassA {
private:
    int _propA;
public:
    ClassA (int propA = 0) : _propA(propA) {}
    
    int  propA ()        { return _propA; }
    void propA (int val) { _propA = val; }
    
    virtual ClassA* clone () { return new ClassA(_propA); }
}

class ClassB : public ClassA {
private:
    int _propB;
public:
    ClassB (int propA = 0, int propB = 0) : ClassA(propA), _propB(propB) {}

    int  propB ()        { return _propB; }
    void propB (int val) { _propB = val; }

    ClassB* clone () { return new ClassB(_propA, _propB); }
}

We want to create 2 perl classes - Foo::A which holds C ClassA class and Foo::B which holds C ClassB class. Of course Foo::B should inherit from Foo::A. What do we have to do? Almost nothing!

At first, create a custom typemap class for ClassA/ClassB hierarchy, inherit it from T_OEXT and set parameter basetype to the most parent class which will be visible in perl. In our case it is ClassA (visible via Foo::A).

ClassA* T_FOO
ClassB* T_FOO

OUTPUT
T_FOO : T_OEXT(basetype=ClassA*)
INPUT
T_FOO : T_OEXT(basetype=ClassA*)

Remember that basetype is required in case of C++ inheritance, otherwise you won't be able to call Foo::A methods on a Foo::B object.

Then lets create an XS code.

Foo.xs (Here and after we use extended Panda::Install XS syntax to make XS functions look like C functions)

MODULE = Foo                PACKAGE = Foo::A
PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

ClassA* ClassA::new (int propA) {
    RETVAL = new ClassA(propA);
}

int ClassA::propA (SV* newval = NULL) { // 'THIS' is a ClassA* pointer, even if real perl object is of Foo::B class.
    if (newval) THIS->propA(SvIV(newval));
    RETVAL = THIS->propA();
}

ClassA* ClassA::clone () {
    const char* CLASS = HvNAME(SvSTASH(ST(0)));
    RETVAL = THIS->clone();
}

void ClassA::DESTROY ()

MODULE = Foo                PACKAGE = Foo::B
PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

ClassB* ClassB::new (int propA, int propB) {
    RETVAL = new ClassB(propA, propB);
}

int ClassB::propB (SV* newval = NULL) { // 'THIS' is a ClassB* pointer
    if (newval) THIS->propB(SvIV(newval));
    RETVAL = THIS->propB();
}

Somewhere in Perl

my $a = new Foo::A(123);
say $a->propA;
$a->propA(321);
say ref $a->clone; # Foo::A

my $b = new Foo::B(1,2);
say $b->propA;
say $b->propB;
say ref $b->clone; # Foo::B

Using these technics you can port any C++ framework saving its original OOP structure, keeping your XS wrapper as thin as possible and therefore get maximum perfomance.

PASSING C CLASSES/STRUCTURES AS A PARAMETERS TO FUNCTIONS OF OTHER CLASSES.

It works out of the box. Lets add a third class to previous example, ClassC:

class ClassC {
public:
    ClassC () {}
    
    int calculate (ClassA* arg) { return arg->propA * arg->propA; }
}

Add it to a typemap

ClassC* T_OEXT

Add XS for ClassC

MODULE = Foo                PACKAGE = Foo::C
PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

ClassC* ClassC::new ()

int ClassC::calculate (ClassA* arg)

void ClassC::DESTROY ()

Just do it in perl as you would in C++, typemaps will do all the work for you

my $a = new Foo::A(10);
my $b = new Foo::B(20, 30);
my $c = new Foo::C;
say $c->calculate($a); # 100;
say $c->calculate($b); # 400;

Remember, everywhere you pass/receive Foo::A, Foo::B etc, in XS you receive/return ClassA*, ClassB*, etc

INHERITING XS CLASS FROM ANOTHER WITH DIFFERENT UNDERLYING DATA.

Sometimes source code of parent class is unavailable, and therefore you can't make a C++ child class as described above. However you can still provide such inheritance on perl level. All you need to do is to call SUPER in constructor.

Suppose we have two C++ classes Bow and Milk. And we already have an XS class for Bow. We want to implement XS for Milk and inherit it from Bow. As want 2 different C data pointers in one perl object, we should either not provide a basetype parameter in typemap, or set it to something different from Bow*. By default (if not provided), basetype is set to the value of final type name. However we need to call SUPER::new, and attach our data to existing SV, rather than creating new one (otherwise Bow's data would be lost). To do this, set 'self' variable to SV object to attach to. Unfortunately, as of current perl (5.21.5), it's impossible to call SUPER/next from XS. To call SUPER/next, use the API provided by Panda::XS C++ interface - call_super.

Typemap:

Bow*  T_OEXT
Milk* T_OEXT

Milk.pm:

package Foo::Milk;
use parent 'Some::Bow';

XS:

MODULE = Foo                PACKAGE = Foo::Milk
PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

Milk* Milk::new (...) {
    self = xs::call_super(cv, &ST(0), items);
    RETVAL = new Milk();
}

void Milk::something () {
    // 'THIS' is a Milk* pointer
}

Milk* Milk::clone () { // cloning just Milk* without Bow* does NOT make sense. So we must call SUPER::clone
    const char* CLASS = HvNAME(SvSTASH(SvRV(ST(0))));
    self = xs::call_super(cv, &ST(0), items);
    RETVAL = THIS->clone();
} // new Foo::Milk object returned containing cloned Milk* and Bow* classes.

void Milk::DESTROY () {
    xs::call_super(cv, &ST(0), items, G_DISCARD);
    delete THIS;
}

CREATE AN XS CLASS WHICH IS SUITABLE FOR MULTIPLE IHERITANCE / C3 CLASS MIXIN

All you need to do is to call next::method or maybe::next::method from your construtor. To do this, use call_next_method() or call_next_maybe() from xs:: namespace.

Typemap:

MyPlugin*  T_OEXT

Perl:

package Foo::MyPlugin;
use mro 'c3';

XS:

MODULE = Foo                PACKAGE = Foo::MyPlugin
PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

MyPlugin* MyPlugin::new (...) {
    self = xs::call_next_maybe(cv, &ST(0), items);
    RETVAL = new MyPlugin();
}

uint32_t MyPlugin::something () {
    // 'THIS' is a MyPlugin* pointer
    RETVAL = THIS->something;
}

MyPlugin* MyPlugin::clone () {
    const char* CLASS = HvNAME(SvSTASH(ST(0)));
    self = xs::call_next_maybe(cv, &ST(0), items);
    RETVAL = THIS->clone();
} // new Foo::MyPlugin object returned containing cloned MyPlugin* and all data of other classes

void MyPlugin::DESTROY () {
    xs::call_next_maybe(cv, &ST(0), items, G_DISCARD);
    delete THIS;
}

Perl:

package MyServer;
use parent qw/Foo::MyPlugin Foo::Milk/;

my $obj = new MyServer();

CREATE AN XS CLASS HOLDING C++ CLASS AND ADDITIONAL C INFO

Sometimes you need to hold additional info in XS class, but you can't or don't want to create additional fields in your C++ class. Let's see an example. Assume we have a 'Driver' C++ class that we want to port. We'll make Foo::Driver perl class.

#TYPEMAP
Driver* T_OEXT

#XS

Driver* Driver::new (int arg1, char* arg2) {
    RETVAL = new Driver(arg1, arg2);
}

int Driver::category () {
    RETVAL = THIS->category;
}

char* Driver::name () {
    RETVAL = THIS->name;
}

void Driver::ban (int why) {
    THIS->ban(why);
}

HV* Driver::get_history () {
    DriverHistory* history = THIS->get_history();
    RETVAL = newHV();
    // fill RETVAL with data from DriverHistory*
}

void
Driver::DESTROY ()

Now imagine that we want to count, how many times a driver has been banned for particular object. But Driver class doesn't have any field to hold this value. Adding it to Driver, even if you can, would be a bad decision as it shouldn't know anything about your XS class behaviour. Also filling up HV every time 'get_history' is called, could be quite expensive, so that we also would like to cache once built result somewhere. How to do that?

Solution 1: create Driver's child class.

class DriverXS : public Driver {
    public:
    
    int counter;
    HV* cached_history;
    
    DriverXS (int arg1, char* arg2) : counter(0), cached_history(NULL), Driver(arg1, arg2) {}
    
    ~DriverXS () {
        SvREFCNT_dec(cached_history);
    }
}

Now use your child class instead of Driver

#TYPEMAP
DriverXS* T_OEXT

#XS

DriverXS* DriverXS::new (int arg1, char* arg2) {
    RETVAL = new DriverXS(arg1, arg2);
}

int DriverXS::category () {
    RETVAL = THIS->category;
}

char* DriverXS::name () {
    RETVAL = THIS->name;
}

void DriverXS::ban (int why) {
    THIS->counter++;
    THIS->ban(why);
}

HV* DriverXS::get_history () {
    if (!THIS->cached_history) {
        DriverHistory* history = THIS->get_history();
        THIS->cached_history = newHV();
        // fill cached_history with data from DriverHistory*
    }
    RETVAL = THIS->cached_history;
}

void
DriverXS::DESTROY ()

Although this will work out for our case, this approach may be unacceptable. For example imagine we have DriverStorage in C++ lib and class method get_driver_by_id. How can we port it? Lets create XS class Foo::DriverStorage. And method get_driver_by_id:

DriverXS* DriverStorage::get_driver_by_id (int id) {
    RETVAL = THIS->get_driver_by_id(id);
}

But wait a minute, our c++ lib's get_driver_by_id returns Driver* of course, as it doesn't know anything about DriverXS. And even if we stored only DriverXS* objects in DriverStorage, some C++ code might have created a simple Driver* object and store it in DriverStorage. So the example above won't even compile. The only way is to create a copy DriverXS* from Driver*.

DriverXS* DriverStorage::get_driver_by_id (int id) {
    Driver* driver = THIS->get_driver_by_id(id);
    if (!driver) XSRETURN_UNDEF;
    RETVAL = new DriverXS(driver->category, driver->name); // or new DriverXS(driver) if have such constructor
}

But it might be expensive and not every object can be copied (for example, socket handle classes).

Solution 2: create a wrapper, and wrap Driver objects into it.

class DriverXS {
    public:
    
    Driver* obj;
    int counter;
    HV* cached_history;
    
    DriverXS (Driver* driver) : counter(0), cached_history(NULL), obj(driver) {}
    
    ~DriverXS () {
        SvREFCNT_dec(cached_history);
        delete obj;
    }
}

#TYPEMAP
DriverXS* T_OEXT

#XS
DriverXS* DriverXS::new (int arg1, char* arg2) {
    RETVAL = new DriverXS(new Driver(arg1, arg2));
}

int DriverXS::category () {
    RETVAL = THIS->obj->category;
}

char* DriverXS::name () {
    RETVAL = THIS->obj->name;
}

void DriverXS::ban (int why) {
    THIS->counter++;
    THIS->obj->ban(why);
}

HV* DriverXS::get_history () {
    if (!THIS->cached_history) {
        DriverHistory* history = THIS->obj->get_history();
        THIS->cached_history = newHV();
        // fill cached_history with data from DriverHistory*
    }
    RETVAL = THIS->cached_history;
}

void
DriverXS::DESTROY ()

...
DriverXS* DriverStorage::get_driver_by_id (int id) {
    Driver* driver = THIS->get_driver_by_id(id);
    if (!driver) XSRETURN_UNDEF;
    RETVAL = new DriverXS(driver);
}

This approach is much more flexible as it allows you to return perl objects even for c++ objects who wasn't created in XS class. But our code is not good enough for now, because it's very annoying to write THIS->obj. Moreover, if you share your module with someone, they will have to know about your wrapper to work with your XS objects. For example, image you've uploaded Foo to CPAN. Someone is using it:

write_makefile(
    ...
    DEPENDS => ['Foo'], # make C headers, and typemaps of Foo visible to my XS/C code
);

# some user's XS

void
change_drivers_name (DriverXS* driverxs, const char* newname)
PPCODE:
    Driver* driver = driverxs->obj;
    driver->set_name(newname);
    
    
# perl code
my $driver = Foo::Driver->new(1, "vasya");
Bar::change_drivers_name($driver, "petya");
say $driver->name;

No one should know the details of your XS module (about the fact that you wrap real Driver into DriverXS). To do that, we need to implement all the details in typemap, not in XS functions itself. We will need to create our own typemap class.

#TYPEMAP
DriverXS* XT_FOO_DRIVERXS
Driver*   XT_FOO_DRIVER

OUTPUT
XT_FOO_DRIVERXS : T_OEXT(basetype=DriverXS*)

XT_FOO_DRIVER : XT_FOO_DRIVERXS(nocast=1)
    $var = ($type)new DriverXS($var);
    
INPUT
XT_FOO_DRIVERXS : T_OEXT(basetype=DriverXS*)

XT_FOO_DRIVER : XT_FOO_DRIVERXS(nocast=1)
    $var = dynamic_cast<$type>(((DriverXS*)$var)->obj);

Note that dynamic_cast is not needed in this case, but it would be needed in more complex cases, for example if you had several Driver::A, Driver::B, Driver::C classes extending basic Driver, and you made corresponding XS classes Foo::Driver::A, etc, you would need this typecast to properly handle pointers.

Ok now our code looks much better:

Driver* Driver::new (int arg1, char* arg2) {
    RETVAL = new Driver(arg1, arg2);
}

int Driver::category () {
    RETVAL = THIS->category;
}

char* Driver::name () {
    RETVAL = THIS->name;
}

void DriverXS::ban (int why) {
    THIS->counter++;
    THIS->obj->ban(why);
}

HV* DriverXS::get_history () {
    if (!THIS->cached_history) {
        DriverHistory* history = THIS->obj->get_history();
        THIS->cached_history = newHV();
        // fill cached_history with data from DriverHistory*
    }
    RETVAL = THIS->cached_history;
}

void
DriverXS::DESTROY ()

...
Driver* DriverStorage::get_driver_by_id (int id) {
    RETVAL = THIS->get_driver_by_id(id);
}

Note how we use Driver:: and DriverXS:: typemaps. DriverXS is a private typemap and only needed in Driver XS class module itself, and only in functions which need those additional fields (counter and cached_history). Most of the time, Driver:: is in use. Now the implementation details are hidden from users of your module. And the third-party example above will now look much clearer:

void
change_drivers_name (Driver* driver, const char* newname)
PPCODE:
    driver->set_name(newname);

Users of your module no longer see DriverXS wrapper.

Important! In such cases destructor (DESTROY) MUST always be defined for DriverXS:: typemap. If you define it for Driver:: typemap

void
Driver::DESTROY ()

only Driver* object will be destroyed, leaving DriverXS* object inaccessible.

REFERENCE COUNTING PROBLEM

While you only have single XS classes without any relationships with each other, everything's ok. Problems begin in the following example (we use simple (without wrapper) Driver* class and XS from previous examples):

class Insurance {
    private:
    Driver* _first_driver;
    Driver* _second_driver;
    
    public:
    Insurance () {
        _first_driver = new Driver(1, "john");
        _second_driver = new Driver(2, "mike");
    }
    
    Driver* first_driver  ()            { return _first_driver; }
    Driver* second_driver ()            { return _second_driver; }
    void    first_driver  (Driver* val) { _first_driver = val; }
    void    second_driver (Driver* val) { _second_driver = val; }
    
    ~Insurance () {
        delete _first_driver;
        delete _second_driver;
    }
}

#XS

Insurance* Insurance::new () {
    RETVAL = new Insurance();
}

Driver* Insurance::first_driver (Driver* newval = NULL) : ALIAS(second_driver=1) {
    if (newval) {
        if (ix == 0) THIS->first_driver(newval);
        else         THIS->second_driver(newval);
        XSRETURN_UNDEF;
    }
    if (ix == 0) RETVAL = THIS->first_driver();
    else         RETVAL = THIS->second_driver();
}

void Insurance::DESTROY ()

So where is the problem? Right here:

#perl code
my $insurance = new Foo::Insurance;
say $insurance->first_driver->name; # prints "john"
say $insurance->first_driver->name; # OOPS. core dump or undefined behaviour

When first_driver() is called for the first time, it creates perl object and attaches Driver* object to it. After first say(), the temporary perl variable holding Driver perl object no longer needed and destroyed. Destructor (DESTROY) of Driver's XS class destroys Driver* object as well. Pointer to that freed object still remains in Insurance* object and bad things happen. Ok, lets stop deleting Driver* object from Driver::DESTROY(), i.e. remove this function:

void
Driver::DESTROY ()

In this case we get a memory leak for this type of code:

for (1..1000) {
    my $driver = new Foo::Driver(1, "myname");
}

How can we avoid deletion in first case and memory leak in second? With current design - we can't. To fix that we need to add a reference counter to our objects.

class Driver {
    private:
    mutable int _refcnt;
    ....
    Driver (...) : _refcnt(0) ... { ... }
    void retain () const { _refcnt++; }
    void release  () const { if (--_refcnt <= 0) delete this; }
    virtual ~Driver () {...}
}

class Insurance {
    ...
    void first_driver  (Driver* val) {
        if (_first_driver) _first_driver->release();
        _first_driver = val;
        if (_first_driver) _first_driver->retain();
    }
}

#XS

Driver* Driver::new (...) {
    RETVAL = new Driver(...);
    RETVAL->retain();
    ...
}

void Driver::DESTROY () {
    THIS->release();
}

Driver* Insurance::first_driver (Driver* newval = NULL) : ALIAS(second_driver=1) {
    ...
    if (ix == 0) RETVAL = THIS->first_driver();
    else         RETVAL = THIS->second_driver();
    if (RETVAL) RETVAL->retain();
}

We can implement it in typemap to hide these details from XS code.

#TYPEMAP
Driver* XT_FOO_DRIVER

OUTPUT

XT_FOO_DRIVER : T_OEXT
    $var->retain();
    
INPUT

XT_FOO_DRIVER : T_OEXT

#XS

Driver* Driver::new (...) {
    RETVAL = new Driver(...);
    ...
}

void Driver::DESTROY () {
    THIS->release();
}

Driver* Insurance::first_driver (Driver* newval = NULL) : ALIAS(second_driver=1) {
    ...
    if (ix == 0) RETVAL = THIS->first_driver();
    else         RETVAL = THIS->second_driver();
}

Note, however, that you still need to ->release() object on Driver::DESTROY() as typemap can't do it. Also you need to ->retain() and ->release() objects in C++ classes code itself properly as in any other refcounted system.

See also Panda::Lib, it has T_OEXT_REFCNT typemap class which does ->retain() for output and a base C++ class 'Refcounted'.

C FUNCTIONS

All functions and types are in 'xs' namespace so that you will actually need C++ to use them.

PAYLOAD FUNCTIONS

void sv_payload_attach (SV* sv, void* ptr, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Attach payload ptr to sv. Markers allow you to store multiple payloads in a single SV. Marker doesn't need to be initialized somehow, its just a valid memory pointer. Usually its a static global variable. If no marker provided, default one is used (global to the whole program).

bool sv_payload_exists (const SV* sv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Returns true if sv has any payload for marker.

void* sv_payload (const SV* sv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Returns payload attached to sv.

int sv_payload_detach (SV* sv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Removes payload from sv and returns number of payloads removed.

void rv_payload_attach (const SV* rv, void* ptr, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

bool rv_payload_exists (const SV* rv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

void* rv_payload (const SV* rv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

int rv_payload_detach (const SV* rv, const payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Same as sv_* but operates on sv referenced by a given rv. Doesn't check if a given RV is valid.

SUPER/NEXT METHOD FUNCTIONS

SV* call_super (CV* cv, SV** args, I32 items, I32 flags = 0)

Calls super method from inside XS method. 'cv' is a pointer to currently running XS function (every XS function has this variable). 'args' and 'items' describes perl variables to pass to super method. If you want to passthrough all the arguments your XS function received, pass '&ST(0)' and 'items'. 'flags' is passed to Perl's API call_method / call_sv as is. SUPER is always called in SCALAR context. Returned SV* has its refcounter increased. If you don't need it, decrement it. If you don't need return value at all, pass G_DISCARD in flags.

SV* call_next_method (CV* cv, SV** args, I32 items, I32 flags = 0)

Calls next method (C3 MRO). See "call_super" for argument details.

SV* call_next_maybe (CV* cv, SV** args, I32 items, I32 flags = 0)

Calls next method (C3 MRO). Return undef if no next method. See "call_super" for argument details.

SV* call_next (CV* cv, SV** args, I32 items, next_t type, I32 flags = 0)

Generic form of call_super/call_next_method/call_next_maybe. 'type' is either xs::NEXT_SUPER or xs::NEXT_METHOD or xs::NEXT_MAYBE.

SV* typemap_out_ref (SV* var)

Does what AV*, HV*, etc OUTPUT typemaps do. Creates RV to SV and returns it. If var is NULL, returns undef variable.

SV* typemap_out_oref (SV* var, const char* CLASS)

SV* typemap_out_oref (SV* var, SV* CLASS)

Does what OAV*, OHV*, etc OUTPUT typemaps do. Creates RV to SV, blesses it into CLASS and returns it. If var is NULL, returns undef variable.

SV* typemap_out_optr (void* var, const char* CLASS)

SV* typemap_out_optr (void* var, SV* CLASS)

Does what T_OPTR OUTPUT typemap does. Creates IV from var's address, creates RV to IV, blesses it into CLASS and returns it. If var is NULL, returns undef variable.

SV* typemap_out_oext (SV* self, void* var, const char* CLASS, payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

SV* typemap_out_oext (SV* self, void* var, SV* CLASS, payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

If self is an RV to a bless SV, just attaches var to it using marker as a key. If self is not NULL, but not an RV, then before attaching, blesses it into CLASS, and creates an RV. If self is NULL, creates RV to undef. If marker is NULL, uses global default marker (&xs::sv_payload_default_marker). That means you are not able to store two or more pointers in an SV without passing markers.

Marker can be created by defining it as a global variable in your translation unit for example:

static payload_marker_t my_marker;

...

SV* object = xs::typemap_out_oext(NULL, new MyClass(), "My::Class", &my_marker);

If you want to have named markers, use 'sv_payload_marker'.

SV* create_object (int arg) {
    MyClass* var = new MyClass(arg);
    static payload_marker_t* marker = xs::sv_payload_marker("MarkerForMyClass");
    return xs::typemap_out_oext(NULL, var, "My::Class", &marker);
}

payload_marker_t* sv_payload_marker (const char* class_name)

Returns a marker for specified key. If no marker exists for that key, creates and returns it.

AV* typemap_in_av (SV* arg)

HV* typemap_in_hv (SV* arg)

IO* typemap_in_io (SV* arg)

CV* typemap_in_cv (SV* arg)

Treats arg as an RV to AV/HV/IO/CV and returns AV/HV/IO/CV*. If arg is NULL or arg is not an RV to AV/HV/IO/CV, returns NULL.

SV* typemap_in_osv (SV* arg)

AV* typemap_in_oav (SV* arg)

HV* typemap_in_ohv (SV* arg)

IO* typemap_in_oio (SV* arg)

Treats arg as an RV to a blessed AV/HV/IO/SV and returns AV/HV/IO/SV*. If arg is NULL or arg is not an RV to a blessed AV/HV/IO/SV, returns NULL.

void* typemap_in_optr (SV* arg)

Treats arg as an RV to a blessed IV and returns an object stored in IV as void*. If arg is NULL or arg is not an RV to a blessed IV, returns NULL.

void* typemap_in_oext (SV* arg, payload_marker_t* marker = NULL)

Treats arg as an RV to a blessed SV(any) and returns an object attached to SV with marker 'marker' as void*. If arg is NULL or arg is not an RV to a blessed SV(any), or nothing attached with specified marker, returns NULL. If marker is NULL, uses global default marker.

PERL FUNCTIONS

obj2hv ($obj)

obj2av ($obj)

Upgrades $obj to HASHREF or ARRAYREF.

$obj must be a valid reference to something lower than array or hash (undef, number, string, etc). Otherwise will croak. If $obj is already of desired type, nothing is done.

sv_payload_attach ($target, $payload)

Attach $payload to $target. $target can be any l-value scalar. If $target has any $payload, it gets removed.

sv_payload ($target)

Returns payload attached to $target if any, otherwise undef.

sv_payload_exists ($target)

Returns true if $target has any payload.

sv_payload_detach ($target)

Removes payload from $target. Returns true if any payload has been removed.

CAVEATS

If module A binary depends on module B and module B updates and becomes binary incompatible, undefined behaviour may happen. To solve this problem, one need to reinstall (rebuild) all modules that depend on module B. To help solving this problem, Panda::Install automatically tracks these depedencies, warns and croaks if any binary depedencies became incompatible and prints the list of modules to reinstall (rebuild).

AUTHOR

Pronin Oleg <syber@crazypanda.ru>, Crazy Panda, CP Decision LTD

LICENSE

You may distribute this code under the same terms as Perl itself.

4 POD Errors

The following errors were encountered while parsing the POD:

Around line 121:: =over should be: '=over' or '=over positive_number'
Around line 160:: =over should be: '=over' or '=over positive_number'
Around line 231:: =over should be: '=over' or '=over positive_number'
Around line 247:: =over should be: '=over' or '=over positive_number'

To install Panda::XS, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.

cpanm

cpanm Panda::XS

CPAN shell

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install Panda::XS

For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.

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