ADC Home > Reference Library > Reference > Mac OS X > Mac OS X Man Pages

 

This document is a Mac OS X manual page. Manual pages are a command-line technology for providing documentation. You can view these manual pages locally using the man(1) command. These manual pages come from many different sources, and thus, have a variety of writing styles.

For more information about the manual page format, see the manual page for manpages(5).



PERLCALL(1)                           Perl Programmers Reference Guide                           PERLCALL(1)



NAME
       perlcall - Perl calling conventions from C

DESCRIPTION
       The purpose of this document is to show you how to call Perl subroutines directly from C, i.e., how
       to write callbacks.

       Apart from discussing the C interface provided by Perl for writing callbacks the document uses a
       series of examples to show how the interface actually works in practice.  In addition some techniques
       for coding callbacks are covered.

       Examples where callbacks are necessary include

       * An Error Handler
            You have created an XSUB interface to an application's C API.

            A fairly common feature in applications is to allow you to define a C function that will be
            called whenever something nasty occurs. What we would like is to be able to specify a Perl sub-routine subroutine
            routine that will be called instead.

       * An Event Driven Program
            The classic example of where callbacks are used is when writing an event driven program like for
            an X windows application.  In this case you register functions to be called whenever specific
            events occur, e.g., a mouse button is pressed, the cursor moves into a window or a menu item is
            selected.

       Although the techniques described here are applicable when embedding Perl in a C program, this is not
       the primary goal of this document.  There are other details that must be considered and are specific
       to embedding Perl. For details on embedding Perl in C refer to perlembed.

       Before you launch yourself head first into the rest of this document, it would be a good idea to have
       read the following two documents - perlxs and perlguts.

THE CALL_ FUNCTIONS
       Although this stuff is easier to explain using examples, you first need be aware of a few important
       definitions.

       Perl has a number of C functions that allow you to call Perl subroutines.  They are

           I32 call_sv(SV* sv, I32 flags);
           I32 call_pv(char *subname, I32 flags);
           I32 call_method(char *methname, I32 flags);
           I32 call_argv(char *subname, I32 flags, register char **argv);

       The key function is call_sv.  All the other functions are fairly simple wrappers which make it easier
       to call Perl subroutines in special cases. At the end of the day they will all call call_sv to invoke
       the Perl subroutine.

       All the call_* functions have a "flags" parameter which is used to pass a bit mask of options to
       Perl.  This bit mask operates identically for each of the functions.  The settings available in the
       bit mask are discussed in "FLAG VALUES".

       Each of the functions will now be discussed in turn.

       call_sv
            call_sv takes two parameters, the first, "sv", is an SV*.  This allows you to specify the Perl
            subroutine to be called either as a C string (which has first been converted to an SV) or a ref-erence reference
            erence to a subroutine. The section, Using call_sv, shows how you can make use of call_sv.

       call_pv
            The function, call_pv, is similar to call_sv except it expects its first parameter to be a C
            char* which identifies the Perl subroutine you want to call, e.g., "call_pv("fred", 0)".  If the
            subroutine you want to call is in another package, just include the package name in the string,
            e.g., "pkg::fred".

       call_method
            The function call_method is used to call a method from a Perl class.  The parameter "methname"
            corresponds to the name of the method to be called.  Note that the class that the method belongs
            to is passed on the Perl stack rather than in the parameter list. This class can be either the
            name of the class (for a static method) or a reference to an object (for a virtual method).  See
            perlobj for more information on static and virtual methods and "Using call_method" for an exam-ple example
            ple of using call_method.

       call_argv
            call_argv calls the Perl subroutine specified by the C string stored in the "subname" parameter.
            It also takes the usual "flags" parameter.  The final parameter, "argv", consists of a NULL ter-minated terminated
            minated list of C strings to be passed as parameters to the Perl subroutine.  See Using
            call_argv.

       All the functions return an integer. This is a count of the number of items returned by the Perl sub-routine. subroutine.
       routine. The actual items returned by the subroutine are stored on the Perl stack.

       As a general rule you should always check the return value from these functions.  Even if you are
       expecting only a particular number of values to be returned from the Perl subroutine, there is noth-ing nothing
       ing to stop someone from doing something unexpected--don't say you haven't been warned.

FLAG VALUES
       The "flags" parameter in all the call_* functions is a bit mask which can consist of any combination
       of the symbols defined below, OR'ed together.

       G_VOID

       Calls the Perl subroutine in a void context.

       This flag has 2 effects:

       1.   It indicates to the subroutine being called that it is executing in a void context (if it exe-cutes executes
            cutes wantarray the result will be the undefined value).

       2.   It ensures that nothing is actually returned from the subroutine.

       The value returned by the call_* function indicates how many items have been returned by the Perl
       subroutine - in this case it will be 0.

       G_SCALAR

       Calls the Perl subroutine in a scalar context.  This is the default context flag setting for all the
       call_* functions.

       This flag has 2 effects:

       1.   It indicates to the subroutine being called that it is executing in a scalar context (if it exe-cutes executes
            cutes wantarray the result will be false).

       2.   It ensures that only a scalar is actually returned from the subroutine.  The subroutine can, of
            course,  ignore the wantarray and return a list anyway. If so, then only the last element of the
            list will be returned.

       The value returned by the call_* function indicates how many items have been returned by the Perl
       subroutine - in this case it will be either 0 or 1.

       If 0, then you have specified the G_DISCARD flag.

       If 1, then the item actually returned by the Perl subroutine will be stored on the Perl stack - the
       section Returning a Scalar shows how to access this value on the stack.  Remember that regardless of
       how many items the Perl subroutine returns, only the last one will be accessible from the stack -think stackthink
       think of the case where only one value is returned as being a list with only one element.  Any other
       items that were returned will not exist by the time control returns from the call_* function.  The
       section Returning a list in a scalar context shows an example of this behavior.

       G_ARRAY

       Calls the Perl subroutine in a list context.

       As with G_SCALAR, this flag has 2 effects:

       1.   It indicates to the subroutine being called that it is executing in a list context (if it exe-cutes executes
            cutes wantarray the result will be true).

       2.   It ensures that all items returned from the subroutine will be accessible when control returns
            from the call_* function.

       The value returned by the call_* function indicates how many items have been returned by the Perl
       subroutine.

       If 0, then you have specified the G_DISCARD flag.

       If not 0, then it will be a count of the number of items returned by the subroutine. These items will
       be stored on the Perl stack.  The section Returning a list of values gives an example of using the
       G_ARRAY flag and the mechanics of accessing the returned items from the Perl stack.

       G_DISCARD

       By default, the call_* functions place the items returned from by the Perl subroutine on the stack.
       If you are not interested in these items, then setting this flag will make Perl get rid of them auto-matically automatically
       matically for you.  Note that it is still possible to indicate a context to the Perl subroutine by
       using either G_SCALAR or G_ARRAY.

       If you do not set this flag then it is very important that you make sure that any temporaries (i.e.,
       parameters passed to the Perl subroutine and values returned from the subroutine) are disposed of
       yourself.  The section Returning a Scalar gives details of how to dispose of these temporaries
       explicitly and the section Using Perl to dispose of temporaries discusses the specific circumstances
       where you can ignore the problem and let Perl deal with it for you.

       G_NOARGS

       Whenever a Perl subroutine is called using one of the call_* functions, it is assumed by default that
       parameters are to be passed to the subroutine.  If you are not passing any parameters to the Perl
       subroutine, you can save a bit of time by setting this flag.  It has the effect of not creating the
       @_ array for the Perl subroutine.

       Although the functionality provided by this flag may seem straightforward, it should be used only if
       there is a good reason to do so.  The reason for being cautious is that even if you have specified
       the G_NOARGS flag, it is still possible for the Perl subroutine that has been called to think that
       you have passed it parameters.

       In fact, what can happen is that the Perl subroutine you have called can access the @_ array from a
       previous Perl subroutine.  This will occur when the code that is executing the call_* function has
       itself been called from another Perl subroutine. The code below illustrates this

           sub fred
             { print "@_\n"  }

           sub joe
             { &fred }

           &joe(1,2,3);

       This will print

           1 2 3

       What has happened is that "fred" accesses the @_ array which belongs to "joe".

       G_EVAL

       It is possible for the Perl subroutine you are calling to terminate abnormally, e.g., by calling die
       explicitly or by not actually existing.  By default, when either of these events occurs, the process
       will terminate immediately.  If you want to trap this type of event, specify the G_EVAL flag.  It
       will put an eval { } around the subroutine call.

       Whenever control returns from the call_* function you need to check the $@ variable as you would in a
       normal Perl script.

       The value returned from the call_* function is dependent on what other flags have been specified and
       whether an error has occurred.  Here are all the different cases that can occur:

           If the call_* function returns normally, then the value returned is as specified in the previous
            sections.

           If G_DISCARD is specified, the return value will always be 0.

           If G_ARRAY is specified and an error has occurred, the return value will always be 0.

           If G_SCALAR is specified and an error has occurred, the return value will be 1 and the value on
            the top of the stack will be undef. This means that if you have already detected the error by
            checking $@ and you want the program to continue, you must remember to pop the undef from the
            stack.

       See Using G_EVAL for details on using G_EVAL.

       G_KEEPERR

       You may have noticed that using the G_EVAL flag described above will always clear the $@ variable and
       set it to a string describing the error iff there was an error in the called code.  This unqualified
       resetting of $@ can be problematic in the reliable identification of errors using the "eval {}" mech-anism, mechanism,
       anism, because the possibility exists that perl will call other code (end of block processing code,
       for example) between the time the error causes $@ to be set within "eval {}", and the subsequent
       statement which checks for the value of $@ gets executed in the user's script.

       This scenario will mostly be applicable to code that is meant to be called from within destructors,
       asynchronous callbacks, signal handlers, "__DIE__" or "__WARN__" hooks, and "tie" functions.  In such
       situations, you will not want to clear $@ at all, but simply to append any new errors to any existing
       value of $@.

       The G_KEEPERR flag is meant to be used in conjunction with G_EVAL in call_* functions that are used
       to implement such code.  This flag has no effect when G_EVAL is not used.

       When G_KEEPERR is used, any errors in the called code will be prefixed with the string "\t(in
       cleanup)", and appended to the current value of $@.  an error will not be appended if that same error
       string is already at the end of $@.

       In addition, a warning is generated using the appended string. This can be disabled using "no warn-ings warnings
       ings 'misc'".

       The G_KEEPERR flag was introduced in Perl version 5.002.

       See Using G_KEEPERR for an example of a situation that warrants the use of this flag.

       Determining the Context

       As mentioned above, you can determine the context of the currently executing subroutine in Perl with
       wantarray.  The equivalent test can be made in C by using the "GIMME_V" macro, which returns
       "G_ARRAY" if you have been called in a list context, "G_SCALAR" if in a scalar context, or "G_VOID"
       if in a void context (i.e. the return value will not be used).  An older version of this macro is
       called "GIMME"; in a void context it returns "G_SCALAR" instead of "G_VOID".  An example of using the
       "GIMME_V" macro is shown in section Using GIMME_V.

EXAMPLES
       Enough of the definition talk, let's have a few examples.

       Perl provides many macros to assist in accessing the Perl stack.  Wherever possible, these macros
       should always be used when interfacing to Perl internals.  We hope this should make the code less
       vulnerable to any changes made to Perl in the future.

       Another point worth noting is that in the first series of examples I have made use of only the
       call_pv function.  This has been done to keep the code simpler and ease you into the topic.  Wherever
       possible, if the choice is between using call_pv and call_sv, you should always try to use call_sv.
       See Using call_sv for details.

       No Parameters, Nothing returned

       This first trivial example will call a Perl subroutine, PrintUID, to print out the UID of the
       process.

           sub PrintUID
           {
               print "UID is $<\n";
           }

       and here is a C function to call it

           static void
           call_PrintUID()
           {
               dSP;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               call_pv("PrintUID", G_DISCARD|G_NOARGS);
           }

       Simple, eh.

       A few points to note about this example.

       1.   Ignore "dSP" and "PUSHMARK(SP)" for now. They will be discussed in the next example.

       2.   We aren't passing any parameters to PrintUID so G_NOARGS can be specified.

       3.   We aren't interested in anything returned from PrintUID, so G_DISCARD is specified. Even if
            PrintUID was changed to return some value(s), having specified G_DISCARD will mean that they
            will be wiped by the time control returns from call_pv.

       4.   As call_pv is being used, the Perl subroutine is specified as a C string. In this case the sub-
            routine name has been 'hard-wired' into the code.

       5.   Because we specified G_DISCARD, it is not necessary to check the value returned from call_pv. It
            will always be 0.

       Passing Parameters

       Now let's make a slightly more complex example. This time we want to call a Perl subroutine, "Left-String", "LeftString",
       String", which will take 2 parameters--a string ($s) and an integer ($n).  The subroutine will simply
       print the first $n characters of the string.

       So the Perl subroutine would look like this

           sub LeftString
           {
               my($s, $n) = @_;
               print substr($s, 0, $n), "\n";
           }

       The C function required to call LeftString would look like this.

           static void
           call_LeftString(a, b)
           char * a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(a, 0)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               call_pv("LeftString", G_DISCARD);

               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       Here are a few notes on the C function call_LeftString.

       1.   Parameters are passed to the Perl subroutine using the Perl stack.  This is the purpose of the
            code beginning with the line "dSP" and ending with the line "PUTBACK".  The "dSP" declares a
            local copy of the stack pointer.  This local copy should always be accessed as "SP".

       2.   If you are going to put something onto the Perl stack, you need to know where to put it. This is
            the purpose of the macro "dSP"--it declares and initializes a local copy of the Perl stack
            pointer.

            All the other macros which will be used in this example require you to have used this macro.

            The exception to this rule is if you are calling a Perl subroutine directly from an XSUB func-tion. function.
            tion. In this case it is not necessary to use the "dSP" macro explicitly--it will be declared
            for you automatically.

       3.   Any parameters to be pushed onto the stack should be bracketed by the "PUSHMARK" and "PUTBACK"
            macros.  The purpose of these two macros, in this context, is to count the number of parameters
            you are pushing automatically.  Then whenever Perl is creating the @_ array for the subroutine,
            it knows how big to make it.

            The "PUSHMARK" macro tells Perl to make a mental note of the current stack pointer. Even if you
            aren't passing any parameters (like the example shown in the section No Parameters, Nothing
            returned) you must still call the "PUSHMARK" macro before you can call any of the call_* func-tions--Perl functions--Perl
            tions--Perl still needs to know that there are no parameters.

            The "PUTBACK" macro sets the global copy of the stack pointer to be the same as our local copy.
            If we didn't do this call_pv wouldn't know where the two parameters we pushed were--remember
            that up to now all the stack pointer manipulation we have done is with our local copy, not the
            global copy.

       4.   Next, we come to XPUSHs. This is where the parameters actually get pushed onto the stack. In
            this case we are pushing a string and an integer.

            See "XSUBs and the Argument Stack" in perlguts for details on how the XPUSH macros work.

       5.   Because we created temporary values (by means of sv_2mortal() calls) we will have to tidy up the
            Perl stack and dispose of mortal SVs.

            This is the purpose of

                ENTER;
                SAVETMPS;

            at the start of the function, and

                FREETMPS;
                LEAVE;

            at the end. The "ENTER"/"SAVETMPS" pair creates a boundary for any temporaries we create.  This
            means that the temporaries we get rid of will be limited to those which were created after these
            calls.

            The "FREETMPS"/"LEAVE" pair will get rid of any values returned by the Perl subroutine (see next
            example), plus it will also dump the mortal SVs we have created.  Having "ENTER"/"SAVETMPS" at
            the beginning of the code makes sure that no other mortals are destroyed.

            Think of these macros as working a bit like using "{" and "}" in Perl to limit the scope of
            local variables.

            See the section Using Perl to dispose of temporaries for details of an alternative to using
            these macros.

       6.   Finally, LeftString can now be called via the call_pv function.  The only flag specified this
            time is G_DISCARD. Because we are passing 2 parameters to the Perl subroutine this time, we have
            not specified G_NOARGS.

       Returning a Scalar

       Now for an example of dealing with the items returned from a Perl subroutine.

       Here is a Perl subroutine, Adder, that takes 2 integer parameters and simply returns their sum.

           sub Adder
           {
               my($a, $b) = @_;
               $a + $b;
           }

       Because we are now concerned with the return value from Adder, the C function required to call it is
       now a bit more complex.

           static void
           call_Adder(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               int count;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(a)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("Adder", G_SCALAR);

               SPAGAIN;

               if (count != 1)
                   croak("Big trouble\n");

               printf ("The sum of %d and %d is %d\n", a, b, POPi);

               PUTBACK;
               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       Points to note this time are

       1.   The only flag specified this time was G_SCALAR. That means the @_ array will be created and that
            the value returned by Adder will still exist after the call to call_pv.

       2.   The purpose of the macro "SPAGAIN" is to refresh the local copy of the stack pointer. This is
            necessary because it is possible that the memory allocated to the Perl stack has been reallo-cated reallocated
            cated whilst in the call_pv call.

            If you are making use of the Perl stack pointer in your code you must always refresh the local
            copy using SPAGAIN whenever you make use of the call_* functions or any other Perl internal
            function.

       3.   Although only a single value was expected to be returned from Adder, it is still good practice
            to check the return code from call_pv anyway.

            Expecting a single value is not quite the same as knowing that there will be one. If someone
            modified Adder to return a list and we didn't check for that possibility and take appropriate
            action the Perl stack would end up in an inconsistent state. That is something you really don't
            want to happen ever.

       4.   The "POPi" macro is used here to pop the return value from the stack.  In this case we wanted an
            integer, so "POPi" was used.

            Here is the complete list of POP macros available, along with the types they return.

                POPs        SV
                POPp        pointer
                POPn        double
                POPi        integer
                POPl        long

       5.   The final "PUTBACK" is used to leave the Perl stack in a consistent state before exiting the
            function.  This is necessary because when we popped the return value from the stack with "POPi"
            it updated only our local copy of the stack pointer.  Remember, "PUTBACK" sets the global stack
            pointer to be the same as our local copy.

       Returning a list of values

       Now, let's extend the previous example to return both the sum of the parameters and the difference.

       Here is the Perl subroutine

           sub AddSubtract
           {
              my($a, $b) = @_;
              ($a+$b, $a-$b);
           }

       and this is the C function

           static void
           call_AddSubtract(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               int count;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(a)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("AddSubtract", G_ARRAY);

               SPAGAIN;

               if (count != 2)
                   croak("Big trouble\n");

               printf ("%d - %d = %d\n", a, b, POPi);
               printf ("%d + %d = %d\n", a, b, POPi);

               PUTBACK;
               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       If call_AddSubtract is called like this

           call_AddSubtract(7, 4);

       then here is the output

           7 - 4 = 3
           7 + 4 = 11

       Notes

       1.   We wanted list context, so G_ARRAY was used.

       2.   Not surprisingly "POPi" is used twice this time because we were retrieving 2 values from the
            stack. The important thing to note is that when using the "POP*" macros they come off the stack
            in reverse order.

       Returning a list in a scalar context

       Say the Perl subroutine in the previous section was called in a scalar context, like this

           static void
           call_AddSubScalar(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               int count;
               int i;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(a)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("AddSubtract", G_SCALAR);

               SPAGAIN;

               printf ("Items Returned = %d\n", count);

               for (i = 1; i <= count; ++i)
                   printf ("Value %d = %d\n", i, POPi);

               PUTBACK;
               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       The other modification made is that call_AddSubScalar will print the number of items returned from
       the Perl subroutine and their value (for simplicity it assumes that they are integer).  So if
       call_AddSubScalar is called

           call_AddSubScalar(7, 4);

       then the output will be

           Items Returned = 1
           Value 1 = 3

       In this case the main point to note is that only the last item in the list is returned from the sub-
       routine, AddSubtract actually made it back to call_AddSubScalar.

       Returning Data from Perl via the parameter list

       It is also possible to return values directly via the parameter list - whether it is actually desir-able desirable
       able to do it is another matter entirely.

       The Perl subroutine, Inc, below takes 2 parameters and increments each directly.

           sub Inc
           {
               ++ $_[0];
               ++ $_[1];
           }

       and here is a C function to call it.

           static void
           call_Inc(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               int count;
               SV * sva;
               SV * svb;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               sva = sv_2mortal(newSViv(a));
               svb = sv_2mortal(newSViv(b));

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sva);
               XPUSHs(svb);
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("Inc", G_DISCARD);

               if (count != 0)
                   croak ("call_Inc: expected 0 values from 'Inc', got %d\n",
                          count);

               printf ("%d + 1 = %d\n", a, SvIV(sva));
               printf ("%d + 1 = %d\n", b, SvIV(svb));

               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       To be able to access the two parameters that were pushed onto the stack after they return from
       call_pv it is necessary to make a note of their addresses--thus the two variables "sva" and "svb".

       The reason this is necessary is that the area of the Perl stack which held them will very likely have
       been overwritten by something else by the time control returns from call_pv.

       Using G_EVAL

       Now an example using G_EVAL. Below is a Perl subroutine which computes the difference of its 2 param-eters. parameters.
       eters. If this would result in a negative result, the subroutine calls die.

           sub Subtract
           {
               my ($a, $b) = @_;

               die "death can be fatal\n" if $a < $b;

               $a - $b;
           }

       and some C to call it

           static void
           call_Subtract(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               int count;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(a)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("Subtract", G_EVAL|G_SCALAR);

               SPAGAIN;

               /* Check the eval first */
               if (SvTRUE(ERRSV))
               {
                   STRLEN n_a;
                   printf ("Uh oh - %s\n", SvPV(ERRSV, n_a));
                   POPs;
               }
               else
               {
                   if (count != 1)
                      croak("call_Subtract: wanted 1 value from 'Subtract', got %d\n",
                               count);

                   printf ("%d - %d = %d\n", a, b, POPi);
               }

               PUTBACK;
               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       If call_Subtract is called thus

           call_Subtract(4, 5)

       the following will be printed

           Uh oh - death can be fatal

       Notes

       1.   We want to be able to catch the die so we have used the G_EVAL flag.  Not specifying this flag
            would mean that the program would terminate immediately at the die statement in the subroutine
            Subtract.

       2.   The code

                if (SvTRUE(ERRSV))
                {
                    STRLEN n_a;
                    printf ("Uh oh - %s\n", SvPV(ERRSV, n_a));
                    POPs;
                }

            is the direct equivalent of this bit of Perl

                print "Uh oh - $@\n" if $@;

            "PL_errgv" is a perl global of type "GV *" that points to the symbol table entry containing the
            error.  "ERRSV" therefore refers to the C equivalent of $@.

       3.   Note that the stack is popped using "POPs" in the block where "SvTRUE(ERRSV)" is true.  This is
            necessary because whenever a call_* function invoked with G_EVAL|G_SCALAR returns an error, the
            top of the stack holds the value undef. Because we want the program to continue after detecting
            this error, it is essential that the stack is tidied up by removing the undef.

       Using G_KEEPERR

       Consider this rather facetious example, where we have used an XS version of the call_Subtract example
       above inside a destructor:

           package Foo;
           sub new { bless {}, $_[0] }
           sub Subtract {
               my($a,$b) = @_;
               die "death can be fatal" if $a < $b;
               $a - $b;
           }
           sub DESTROY { call_Subtract(5, 4); }
           sub foo { die "foo dies"; }

           package main;
           eval { Foo->new->foo };
           print "Saw: $@" if $@;             # should be, but isn't

       This example will fail to recognize that an error occurred inside the "eval {}".  Here's why: the
       call_Subtract code got executed while perl was cleaning up temporaries when exiting the eval block,
       and because call_Subtract is implemented with call_pv using the G_EVAL flag, it promptly reset $@.
       This results in the failure of the outermost test for $@, and thereby the failure of the error trap.

       Appending the G_KEEPERR flag, so that the call_pv call in call_Subtract reads:

               count = call_pv("Subtract", G_EVAL|G_SCALAR|G_KEEPERR);

       will preserve the error and restore reliable error handling.

       Using call_sv

       In all the previous examples I have 'hard-wired' the name of the Perl subroutine to be called from C.
       Most of the time though, it is more convenient to be able to specify the name of the Perl subroutine
       from within the Perl script.

       Consider the Perl code below

           sub fred
           {
               print "Hello there\n";
           }

           CallSubPV("fred");

       Here is a snippet of XSUB which defines CallSubPV.

           void
           CallSubPV(name)
               char *  name
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               call_pv(name, G_DISCARD|G_NOARGS);

       That is fine as far as it goes. The thing is, the Perl subroutine can be specified as only a string.
       For Perl 4 this was adequate, but Perl 5 allows references to subroutines and anonymous subroutines.
       This is where call_sv is useful.

       The code below for CallSubSV is identical to CallSubPV except that the "name" parameter is now
       defined as an SV* and we use call_sv instead of call_pv.

           void
           CallSubSV(name)
               SV *    name
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               call_sv(name, G_DISCARD|G_NOARGS);

       Because we are using an SV to call fred the following can all be used

           CallSubSV("fred");
           CallSubSV(\&fred);
           $ref = \&fred;
           CallSubSV($ref);
           CallSubSV( sub { print "Hello there\n" } );

       As you can see, call_sv gives you much greater flexibility in how you can specify the Perl subrou-tine. subroutine.
       tine.

       You should note that if it is necessary to store the SV ("name" in the example above) which corre-sponds corresponds
       sponds to the Perl subroutine so that it can be used later in the program, it not enough just to
       store a copy of the pointer to the SV. Say the code above had been like this

           static SV * rememberSub;

           void
           SaveSub1(name)
               SV *    name
               CODE:
               rememberSub = name;

           void
           CallSavedSub1()
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               call_sv(rememberSub, G_DISCARD|G_NOARGS);

       The reason this is wrong is that by the time you come to use the pointer "rememberSub" in "CallSaved-Sub1", "CallSavedSub1",
       Sub1", it may or may not still refer to the Perl subroutine that was recorded in "SaveSub1".  This is
       particularly true for these cases

           SaveSub1(\&fred);
           CallSavedSub1();

           SaveSub1( sub { print "Hello there\n" } );
           CallSavedSub1();

       By the time each of the "SaveSub1" statements above have been executed, the SV*s which corresponded
       to the parameters will no longer exist.  Expect an error message from Perl of the form

           Can't use an undefined value as a subroutine reference at ...

       for each of the "CallSavedSub1" lines.

       Similarly, with this code

           $ref = \&fred;
           SaveSub1($ref);
           $ref = 47;
           CallSavedSub1();

       you can expect one of these messages (which you actually get is dependent on the version of Perl you
       are using)

           Not a CODE reference at ...
           Undefined subroutine &main::47 called ...

       The variable $ref may have referred to the subroutine "fred" whenever the call to "SaveSub1" was made
       but by the time "CallSavedSub1" gets called it now holds the number 47. Because we saved only a
       pointer to the original SV in "SaveSub1", any changes to $ref will be tracked by the pointer "remem-berSub". "rememberSub".
       berSub". This means that whenever "CallSavedSub1" gets called, it will attempt to execute the code
       which is referenced by the SV* "rememberSub".  In this case though, it now refers to the integer 47,
       so expect Perl to complain loudly.

       A similar but more subtle problem is illustrated with this code

           $ref = \&fred;
           SaveSub1($ref);
           $ref = \&joe;
           CallSavedSub1();

       This time whenever "CallSavedSub1" get called it will execute the Perl subroutine "joe" (assuming it
       exists) rather than "fred" as was originally requested in the call to "SaveSub1".

       To get around these problems it is necessary to take a full copy of the SV.  The code below shows
       "SaveSub2" modified to do that

           static SV * keepSub = (SV*)NULL;

           void
           SaveSub2(name)
               SV *    name
               CODE:
               /* Take a copy of the callback */
               if (keepSub == (SV*)NULL)
                   /* First time, so create a new SV */
                   keepSub = newSVsv(name);
               else
                   /* Been here before, so overwrite */
                   SvSetSV(keepSub, name);

           void
           CallSavedSub2()
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               call_sv(keepSub, G_DISCARD|G_NOARGS);

       To avoid creating a new SV every time "SaveSub2" is called, the function first checks to see if it
       has been called before.  If not, then space for a new SV is allocated and the reference to the Perl
       subroutine, "name" is copied to the variable "keepSub" in one operation using "newSVsv".  Thereafter,
       whenever "SaveSub2" is called the existing SV, "keepSub", is overwritten with the new value using
       "SvSetSV".

       Using call_argv

       Here is a Perl subroutine which prints whatever parameters are passed to it.

           sub PrintList
           {
               my(@list) = @_;

               foreach (@list) { print "$_\n" }
           }

       and here is an example of call_argv which will call PrintList.

           static char * words[] = {"alpha", "beta", "gamma", "delta", NULL};

           static void
           call_PrintList()
           {
               dSP;

               call_argv("PrintList", G_DISCARD, words);
           }

       Note that it is not necessary to call "PUSHMARK" in this instance.  This is because call_argv will do
       it for you.

       Using call_method

       Consider the following Perl code

           {
               package Mine;

               sub new
               {
                   my($type) = shift;
                   bless [@_]
               }

               sub Display
               {
                   my ($self, $index) = @_;
                   print "$index: $$self[$index]\n";
               }

               sub PrintID
               {
                   my($class) = @_;
                   print "This is Class $class version 1.0\n";
               }
           }

       It implements just a very simple class to manage an array.  Apart from the constructor, "new", it
       declares methods, one static and one virtual. The static method, "PrintID", prints out simply the
       class name and a version number. The virtual method, "Display", prints out a single element of the
       array.  Here is an all Perl example of using it.

           $a = new Mine ('red', 'green', 'blue');
           $a->Display(1);
           PrintID Mine;

       will print

           1: green
           This is Class Mine version 1.0

       Calling a Perl method from C is fairly straightforward. The following things are required

           a reference to the object for a virtual method or the name of the class for a static method.

           the name of the method.

           any other parameters specific to the method.

       Here is a simple XSUB which illustrates the mechanics of calling both the "PrintID" and "Display"
       methods from C.

           void
           call_Method(ref, method, index)
               SV *    ref
               char *  method
               int             index
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(ref);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(index)));
               PUTBACK;

               call_method(method, G_DISCARD);

           void
           call_PrintID(class, method)
               char *  class
               char *  method
               CODE:
               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(class, 0)));
               PUTBACK;

               call_method(method, G_DISCARD);

       So the methods "PrintID" and "Display" can be invoked like this

           $a = new Mine ('red', 'green', 'blue');
           call_Method($a, 'Display', 1);
           call_PrintID('Mine', 'PrintID');

       The only thing to note is that in both the static and virtual methods, the method name is not passed
       via the stack--it is used as the first parameter to call_method.

       Using GIMME_V

       Here is a trivial XSUB which prints the context in which it is currently executing.

           void
           PrintContext()
               CODE:
               I32 gimme = GIMME_V;
               if (gimme == G_VOID)
                   printf ("Context is Void\n");
               else if (gimme == G_SCALAR)
                   printf ("Context is Scalar\n");
               else
                   printf ("Context is Array\n");

       and here is some Perl to test it

           PrintContext;
           $a = PrintContext;
           @a = PrintContext;

       The output from that will be

           Context is Void
           Context is Scalar
           Context is Array

       Using Perl to dispose of temporaries

       In the examples given to date, any temporaries created in the callback (i.e., parameters passed on
       the stack to the call_* function or values returned via the stack) have been freed by one of these
       methods

           specifying the G_DISCARD flag with call_*.

           explicitly disposed of using the "ENTER"/"SAVETMPS" - "FREETMPS"/"LEAVE" pairing.

       There is another method which can be used, namely letting Perl do it for you automatically whenever
       it regains control after the callback has terminated.  This is done by simply not using the

           ENTER;
           SAVETMPS;
           ...
           FREETMPS;
           LEAVE;

       sequence in the callback (and not, of course, specifying the G_DISCARD flag).

       If you are going to use this method you have to be aware of a possible memory leak which can arise
       under very specific circumstances.  To explain these circumstances you need to know a bit about the
       flow of control between Perl and the callback routine.

       The examples given at the start of the document (an error handler and an event driven program) are
       typical of the two main sorts of flow control that you are likely to encounter with callbacks.  There
       is a very important distinction between them, so pay attention.

       In the first example, an error handler, the flow of control could be as follows.  You have created an
       interface to an external library.  Control can reach the external library like this

           perl --> XSUB --> external library

       Whilst control is in the library, an error condition occurs. You have previously set up a Perl call-back callback
       back to handle this situation, so it will get executed. Once the callback has finished, control will
       drop back to Perl again.  Here is what the flow of control will be like in that situation

           perl --> XSUB --> external library
                             ...
                             error occurs
                             ...
                             external library --> call_* --> perl
                                                                 |
           perl <-- XSUB <-- external library <-- call_* <----+

       After processing of the error using call_* is completed, control reverts back to Perl more or less
       immediately.

       In the diagram, the further right you go the more deeply nested the scope is.  It is only when con-
       trol is back with perl on the extreme left of the diagram that you will have dropped back to the
       enclosing scope and any temporaries you have left hanging around will be freed.

       In the second example, an event driven program, the flow of control will be more like this

           perl --> XSUB --> event handler
                             ...
                             event handler --> call_* --> perl
                                                              |
                             event handler <-- call_* <----+
                             ...
                             event handler --> call_* --> perl
                                                              |
                             event handler <-- call_* <----+
                             ...
                             event handler --> call_* --> perl
                                                              |
                             event handler <-- call_* <----+

       In this case the flow of control can consist of only the repeated sequence

           event handler --> call_* --> perl

       for practically the complete duration of the program.  This means that control may never drop back to
       the surrounding scope in Perl at the extreme left.

       So what is the big problem? Well, if you are expecting Perl to tidy up those temporaries for you, you
       might be in for a long wait.  For Perl to dispose of your temporaries, control must drop back to the
       enclosing scope at some stage.  In the event driven scenario that may never happen.  This means that
       as time goes on, your program will create more and more temporaries, none of which will ever be
       freed. As each of these temporaries consumes some memory your program will eventually consume all the
       available memory in your system--kapow!

       So here is the bottom line--if you are sure that control will revert back to the enclosing Perl scope
       fairly quickly after the end of your callback, then it isn't absolutely necessary to dispose explic-itly explicitly
       itly of any temporaries you may have created. Mind you, if you are at all uncertain about what to do,
       it doesn't do any harm to tidy up anyway.

       Strategies for storing Callback Context Information

       Potentially one of the trickiest problems to overcome when designing a callback interface can be fig-uring figuring
       uring out how to store the mapping between the C callback function and the Perl equivalent.

       To help understand why this can be a real problem first consider how a callback is set up in an all C
       environment.  Typically a C API will provide a function to register a callback.  This will expect a
       pointer to a function as one of its parameters.  Below is a call to a hypothetical function "regis-ter_fatal" "register_fatal"
       ter_fatal" which registers the C function to get called when a fatal error occurs.

           register_fatal(cb1);

       The single parameter "cb1" is a pointer to a function, so you must have defined "cb1" in your code,
       say something like this

           static void
           cb1()
           {
               printf ("Fatal Error\n");
               exit(1);
           }

       Now change that to call a Perl subroutine instead

           static SV * callback = (SV*)NULL;

           static void
           cb1()
           {
               dSP;

               PUSHMARK(SP);

               /* Call the Perl sub to process the callback */
               call_sv(callback, G_DISCARD);
           }

           void
           register_fatal(fn)
               SV *    fn
               CODE:
               /* Remember the Perl sub */
               if (callback == (SV*)NULL)
                   callback = newSVsv(fn);
               else
                   SvSetSV(callback, fn);

               /* register the callback with the external library */
               register_fatal(cb1);

       where the Perl equivalent of "register_fatal" and the callback it registers, "pcb1", might look like
       this

           # Register the sub pcb1
           register_fatal(\&pcb1);

           sub pcb1
           {
               die "I'm dying...\n";
           }

       The mapping between the C callback and the Perl equivalent is stored in the global variable "call-back". "callback".
       back".

       This will be adequate if you ever need to have only one callback registered at any time. An example
       could be an error handler like the code sketched out above. Remember though, repeated calls to "reg-ister_fatal" "register_fatal"
       ister_fatal" will replace the previously registered callback function with the new one.

       Say for example you want to interface to a library which allows asynchronous file i/o.  In this case
       you may be able to register a callback whenever a read operation has completed. To be of any use we
       want to be able to call separate Perl subroutines for each file that is opened.  As it stands, the
       error handler example above would not be adequate as it allows only a single callback to be defined
       at any time. What we require is a means of storing the mapping between the opened file and the Perl
       subroutine we want to be called for that file.

       Say the i/o library has a function "asynch_read" which associates a C function "ProcessRead" with a
       file handle "fh"--this assumes that it has also provided some routine to open the file and so obtain
       the file handle.

           asynch_read(fh, ProcessRead)

       This may expect the C ProcessRead function of this form

           void
           ProcessRead(fh, buffer)
           int fh;
           char *      buffer;
           {
                ...
           }

       To provide a Perl interface to this library we need to be able to map between the "fh" parameter and
       the Perl subroutine we want called.  A hash is a convenient mechanism for storing this mapping.  The
       code below shows a possible implementation

           static HV * Mapping = (HV*)NULL;

           void
           asynch_read(fh, callback)
               int     fh
               SV *    callback
               CODE:
               /* If the hash doesn't already exist, create it */
               if (Mapping == (HV*)NULL)
                   Mapping = newHV();

               /* Save the fh -> callback mapping */
               hv_store(Mapping, (char*)&fh, sizeof(fh), newSVsv(callback), 0);

               /* Register with the C Library */
               asynch_read(fh, asynch_read_if);

       and "asynch_read_if" could look like this

           static void
           asynch_read_if(fh, buffer)
           int fh;
           char *      buffer;
           {
               dSP;
               SV ** sv;

               /* Get the callback associated with fh */
               sv =  hv_fetch(Mapping, (char*)&fh , sizeof(fh), FALSE);
               if (sv == (SV**)NULL)
                   croak("Internal error...\n");

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(fh)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(buffer, 0)));
               PUTBACK;

               /* Call the Perl sub */
               call_sv(*sv, G_DISCARD);
           }

       For completeness, here is "asynch_close".  This shows how to remove the entry from the hash "Map-ping". "Mapping".
       ping".

           void
           asynch_close(fh)
               int     fh
               CODE:
               /* Remove the entry from the hash */
               (void) hv_delete(Mapping, (char*)&fh, sizeof(fh), G_DISCARD);

               /* Now call the real asynch_close */
               asynch_close(fh);

       So the Perl interface would look like this

           sub callback1
           {
               my($handle, $buffer) = @_;
           }

           # Register the Perl callback
           asynch_read($fh, \&callback1);

           asynch_close($fh);

       The mapping between the C callback and Perl is stored in the global hash "Mapping" this time. Using a
       hash has the distinct advantage that it allows an unlimited number of callbacks to be registered.

       What if the interface provided by the C callback doesn't contain a parameter which allows the file
       handle to Perl subroutine mapping?  Say in the asynchronous i/o package, the callback function gets
       passed only the "buffer" parameter like this

           void
           ProcessRead(buffer)
           char *      buffer;
           {
               ...
           }

       Without the file handle there is no straightforward way to map from the C callback to the Perl sub-routine. subroutine.
       routine.

       In this case a possible way around this problem is to predefine a series of C functions to act as the
       interface to Perl, thus

           #define MAX_CB              3
           #define NULL_HANDLE -1
           typedef void (*FnMap)();

           struct MapStruct {
               FnMap    Function;
               SV *     PerlSub;
               int      Handle;
             };

           static void  fn1();
           static void  fn2();
           static void  fn3();

           static struct MapStruct Map [MAX_CB] =
               {
                   { fn1, NULL, NULL_HANDLE },
                   { fn2, NULL, NULL_HANDLE },
                   { fn3, NULL, NULL_HANDLE }
               };

           static void
           Pcb(index, buffer)
           int index;
           char * buffer;
           {
               dSP;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(buffer, 0)));
               PUTBACK;

               /* Call the Perl sub */
               call_sv(Map[index].PerlSub, G_DISCARD);
           }

           static void
           fn1(buffer)
           char * buffer;
           {
               Pcb(0, buffer);
           }

           static void
           fn2(buffer)
           char * buffer;
           {
               Pcb(1, buffer);
           }

           static void
           fn3(buffer)
           char * buffer;
           {
               Pcb(2, buffer);
           }

           void
           array_asynch_read(fh, callback)
               int             fh
               SV *    callback
               CODE:
               int index;
               int null_index = MAX_CB;

               /* Find the same handle or an empty entry */
               for (index = 0; index < MAX_CB; ++index)
               {
                   if (Map[index].Handle == fh)
                       break;

                   if (Map[index].Handle == NULL_HANDLE)
                       null_index = index;
               }

               if (index == MAX_CB && null_index == MAX_CB)
                   croak ("Too many callback functions registered\n");

               if (index == MAX_CB)
                   index = null_index;

               /* Save the file handle */
               Map[index].Handle = fh;

               /* Remember the Perl sub */
               if (Map[index].PerlSub == (SV*)NULL)
                   Map[index].PerlSub = newSVsv(callback);
               else
                   SvSetSV(Map[index].PerlSub, callback);

               asynch_read(fh, Map[index].Function);

           void
           array_asynch_close(fh)
               int     fh
               CODE:
               int index;

               /* Find the file handle */
               for (index = 0; index < MAX_CB; ++ index)
                   if (Map[index].Handle == fh)
                       break;

               if (index == MAX_CB)
                   croak ("could not close fh %d\n", fh);

               Map[index].Handle = NULL_HANDLE;
               SvREFCNT_dec(Map[index].PerlSub);
               Map[index].PerlSub = (SV*)NULL;

               asynch_close(fh);

       In this case the functions "fn1", "fn2", and "fn3" are used to remember the Perl subroutine to be
       called. Each of the functions holds a separate hard-wired index which is used in the function "Pcb"
       to access the "Map" array and actually call the Perl subroutine.

       There are some obvious disadvantages with this technique.

       Firstly, the code is considerably more complex than with the previous example.

       Secondly, there is a hard-wired limit (in this case 3) to the number of callbacks that can exist
       simultaneously. The only way to increase the limit is by modifying the code to add more functions and
       then recompiling.  None the less, as long as the number of functions is chosen with some care, it is
       still a workable solution and in some cases is the only one available.

       To summarize, here are a number of possible methods for you to consider for storing the mapping
       between C and the Perl callback

       1. Ignore the problem - Allow only 1 callback
            For a lot of situations, like interfacing to an error handler, this may be a perfectly adequate
            solution.

       2. Create a sequence of callbacks - hard wired limit
            If it is impossible to tell from the parameters passed back from the C callback what the context
            is, then you may need to create a sequence of C callback interface functions, and store pointers
            to each in an array.

       3. Use a parameter to map to the Perl callback
            A hash is an ideal mechanism to store the mapping between C and Perl.

       Alternate Stack Manipulation

       Although I have made use of only the "POP*" macros to access values returned from Perl subroutines,
       it is also possible to bypass these macros and read the stack using the "ST" macro (See perlxs for a
       full description of the "ST" macro).

       Most of the time the "POP*" macros should be adequate, the main problem with them is that they force
       you to process the returned values in sequence. This may not be the most suitable way to process the
       values in some cases. What we want is to be able to access the stack in a random order. The "ST"
       macro as used when coding an XSUB is ideal for this purpose.

       The code below is the example given in the section Returning a list of values recoded to use "ST"
       instead of "POP*".

           static void
           call_AddSubtract2(a, b)
           int a;
           int b;
           {
               dSP;
               I32 ax;
               int count;

               ENTER;
               SAVETMPS;

               PUSHMARK(SP);
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(a)));
               XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSViv(b)));
               PUTBACK;

               count = call_pv("AddSubtract", G_ARRAY);

               SPAGAIN;
               SP -= count;
               ax = (SP - PL_stack_base) + 1;

               if (count != 2)
                   croak("Big trouble\n");

               printf ("%d + %d = %d\n", a, b, SvIV(ST(0)));
               printf ("%d - %d = %d\n", a, b, SvIV(ST(1)));

               PUTBACK;
               FREETMPS;
               LEAVE;
           }

       Notes

       1.   Notice that it was necessary to define the variable "ax".  This is because the "ST" macro
            expects it to exist.  If we were in an XSUB it would not be necessary to define "ax" as it is
            already defined for you.

       2.   The code

                    SPAGAIN;
                    SP -= count;
                    ax = (SP - PL_stack_base) + 1;

            sets the stack up so that we can use the "ST" macro.

       3.   Unlike the original coding of this example, the returned values are not accessed in reverse
            order.  So ST(0) refers to the first value returned by the Perl subroutine and "ST(count-1)"
            refers to the last.

       Creating and calling an anonymous subroutine in C

       As we've already shown, "call_sv" can be used to invoke an anonymous subroutine.  However, our exam-
       ple showed a Perl script invoking an XSUB to perform this operation.  Let's see how it can be done
       inside our C code:

        ...

        SV *cvrv = eval_pv("sub { print 'You will not find me cluttering any namespace!' }", TRUE);

        ...

        call_sv(cvrv, G_VOID|G_NOARGS);

       "eval_pv" is used to compile the anonymous subroutine, which will be the return value as well (read
       more about "eval_pv" in "eval_pv" in perlapi).  Once this code reference is in hand, it can be mixed
       in with all the previous examples we've shown.

SEE ALSO
       perlxs, perlguts, perlembed

AUTHOR
       Paul Marquess

       Special thanks to the following people who assisted in the creation of the document.

       Jeff Okamoto, Tim Bunce, Nick Gianniotis, Steve Kelem, Gurusamy Sarathy and Larry Wall.

DATE
       Version 1.3, 14th Apr 1997



perl v5.8.8                                      2006-01-07                                      PERLCALL(1)

Did this document help you?
Yes: Tell us what works for you.
It’s good, but: Report typos, inaccuracies, and so forth.
It wasn’t helpful: Tell us what would have helped.