NAME
ExtUtils::CBuilder - Compile and link C code for Perl modules
SYNOPSIS
use ExtUtils::CBuilder;
my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new(%options); $obj_file = $b->compile(source => 'MyModule.c'); $lib_file = $b->link(objects => $obj_file);
DESCRIPTION
This module can build the C portions of Perl modules by invoking the
appropriate compilers and linkers in a cross-platform manner. It was
motivated by the Module::Build
project, but may be useful for other
purposes as well. However, it is not intended as a general
cross-platform interface to all your C building needs. That would
have been a much more ambitious goal!
METHODS
- new
Returns a new
ExtUtils::CBuilder
object. Aconfig
parameter lets you overrideConfig.pm
settings for all operations performed by the object, as in the following example:# Use a different compiler than Config.pm says my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new( config => { ld => 'gcc' } );
A
quiet
parameter tellsCBuilder
to not print itssystem()
commands before executing them:# Be quieter than normal my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new( quiet => 1 );
- have_compiler
Returns true if the current system has a working C compiler and linker, false otherwise. To determine this, we actually compile and link a sample C library.
- compile
Compiles a C source file and produces an object file. The name of the object file is returned. The source file is specified in a
source
parameter, which is required; the other parameters listed below are optional.object_file
Specifies the name of the output file to create. Otherwise the
object_file()
method will be consulted, passing it the name of thesource
file.include_dirs
Specifies any additional directories in which to search for header files. May be given as a string indicating a single directory, or as a list reference indicating multiple directories.
extra_compiler_flags
Specifies any additional arguments to pass to the compiler. Should be given as a list reference containing the arguments individually, or if this is not possible, as a string containing all the arguments together.
The operation of this method is also affected by the
archlibexp
,cccdlflags
,ccflags
,optimize
, andcc
entries inConfig.pm
. - link
Invokes the linker to produce a library file from object files. In scalar context, the name of the library file is returned. In list context, the library file and any temporary files created are returned. A required
objects
parameter contains the name of the object files to process, either in a string (for one object file) or list reference (for one or more files). The following parameters are optional:- lib_file
Specifies the name of the output library file to create. Otherwise the
lib_file()
method will be consulted, passing it the name of the first entry inobjects
. - module_name
Specifies the name of the Perl module that will be created by linking. On platforms that need to do prelinking (Win32, OS/2, etc.) this is a required parameter.
- extra_linker_flags
Any additional flags you wish to pass to the linker.
On platforms where
need_prelink()
returns true,prelink()
will be called automatically.The operation of this method is also affected by the
lddlflags
,shrpenv
, andld
entries inConfig.pm
. - lib_file
- link_executable
Invokes the linker to produce an executable file from object files. In scalar context, the name of the executable file is returned. In list context, the executable file and any temporary files created are returned. A required
objects
parameter contains the name of the object files to process, either in a string (for one object file) or list reference (for one or more files). The optional parameters are the same aslink
with exception for - object_file
my $object_file = $b->object_file($source_file);
Converts the name of a C source file to the most natural name of an output object file to create from it. For instance, on Unix the source file foo.c would result in the object file foo.o.
- lib_file
my $lib_file = $b->lib_file($object_file);
Converts the name of an object file to the most natural name of a output library file to create from it. For instance, on Mac OS X the object file foo.o would result in the library file foo.bundle.
- exe_file
my $exe_file = $b->exe_file($object_file);
Converts the name of an object file to the most natural name of an executable file to create from it. For instance, on Mac OS X the object file foo.o would result in the executable file foo, and on Windows it would result in foo.exe.
- prelink
On certain platforms like Win32, OS/2, VMS, and AIX, it is necessary to perform some actions before invoking the linker. The
ExtUtils::Mksymlists
module does this, writing files used by the linker during the creation of shared libraries for dynamic extensions. The names of any files written will be returned as a list.Several parameters correspond to
ExtUtils::Mksymlists::Mksymlists()
options, as follows:Mksymlists() prelink() type -------------|-------------------|------------------- NAME | dl_name | string (required) DLBASE | dl_base | string FILE | dl_file | string DL_VARS | dl_vars | array reference DL_FUNCS | dl_funcs | hash reference FUNCLIST | dl_func_list | array reference IMPORTS | dl_imports | hash reference VERSION | dl_version | string
Please see the documentation for
ExtUtils::Mksymlists
for the details of what these parameters do. - need_prelink
Returns true on platforms where
prelink()
should be called during linking, and false otherwise. - extra_link_args_after_prelink
Returns list of extra arguments to give to the link command; the arguments are the same as for prelink(), with addition of array reference to the results of prelink(); this reference is indexed by key
prelink_res
.
TO DO
Currently this has only been tested on Unix and doesn't contain any of
the Windows-specific code from the Module::Build
project. I'll do
that next.
HISTORY
This module is an outgrowth of the Module::Build
project, to which
there have been many contributors. Notably, Randy W. Sims submitted
lots of code to support 3 compilers on Windows and helped with various
other platform-specific issues. Ilya Zakharevich has contributed
fixes for OS/2; John E. Malmberg and Peter Prymmer have done likewise
for VMS.
AUTHOR
Ken Williams, kwilliams@cpan.org
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Ken Williams. All rights reserved.
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
SEE ALSO
perl(1), Module::Build(3)