
                         About the Generated C Code

   People who want or have to code part of their applications and/or
   libraries in C should really limit themselves to the clean interfaces
   provided by [1]Cecil or the [2]external mechanism. This page mentions
   some facts you should be aware of before you start.

   Generated Type Identifiers

   First and above all, SmartEiffel generates one unique numeric
   identifier for each living type[3]^1 present in the Eiffel code. A lot
   of symbols in the generated C code depend on that identifier.

   Don't depend on those identifiers! The mangling table is only valid
   for one specific compilation of one specific application with one
   specific compiler version and specific libraries...

   If xyz is the identifier, then:
     * The type of an Eiffel object is Txyz;
     * The corresponding structure is Sxyz; in that structure, the names
       of the attributes are prefixed with an underscore (there may be
       some other fields, usually the first being id used by SmartEiffel
       for bookkeeping);
     * Each reference type can be cast in T0 (but some reference type may
       not have the id field):

typedef int Tid;
typedef struct S0 T0;
struct S0{Tid id;};

     * Each method is named rxyzmethodname();
     * Each prefix method is named rxyz_px_methodname();
     * Each infix method is named rxyz_ix_methodname();
     * Each late-binding method is named Xxyzmethodname();
     * The creation procedures (which exist only if the Garbage Collector
       is used) are named newxyz().
     * The model for objects of type xyz are named Mxyz. Models are used
       for initialisation. Example:

T132 M132={132,NULL,NULL,0,0,NULL,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,NULL};
...
{T132*n=((T132*)se_malloc(sizeof(*n)));
*n=M132;
r132make(n);
...

   Some characters in method names such as "<" or "+" will be replaced
   with relative ASCII number written as decimal.

   For example: STRING has the identifier 7[4]^2. Then:
     * The object type is T7

typedef struct S7 T7;

     * The structure may be defined in S7

struct S7{Tid id;T9 _storage;T2 _count;T2 _capacity;};

     * The append is defined like this:

void r7append(se_dump_stack*caller,T7* C,T0* a1);

       (more on the dump stack below)

   When you compile your application, you can find those identifiers in a
   file name after the name of the root class, suffixed by .id; the file
   is structured in entries, each entry being separated from others by a
   hash character ('#'). This file looks like this:

4 "REAL"
#
12 "HELLO_WORLD"
class-path: "./hello_world.e"
class-name: HELLO_WORLD
parent-count: 0
c-type: T12 reference: yes
ref-status: live id-field: yes
run-time-set-count: 1
run-time-set:
        HELLO_WORLD (12)
#
9 "NATIVE_ARRAY[CHARACTER]"
class-path: "/lib/se/lib/kernel/native_array.e"
class-name: NATIVE_ARRAY
parent-count: 1 parents: 26
c-type: T9 reference: no
#
21 "COMPARABLE"
class-path: "/lib/se/lib/kernel/comparable.e"
class-name: COMPARABLE
parent-count: 1 parents: 13
#
. . .

   You must not depend on the identifiers values. Indeed, when computing
   an identifier, collisions may occur, and affect this process. Thus,
   the number (and name) corresponding to each type depends not only on
   the type name, but also on the order in which they are compiled. That
   is, on the application and libraries compiled... They also depend on
   the compilation mode used, and the version of the compiler you're
   using. So what is T145 now may become T234 the next time you
   compile...[5]^3

   Consequently, do not, ever, rely on the type numbers in the generated
   C code, because they are not constant! (Except for a few ones which
   have a fixed, hard-coded name). So don't bother writing in your own C
   code things such as new123 or T456, because the only thing we
   guarantee in this case is that your code shall break someday.

   The Naming Convention

   The previous chapter explains how method names are generated. r7append
   prototype presented above as void r7append(se_dump_stack*caller,T7*
   C,T0* a1); shows Current and argument cases. Rules are as follow:
     * Current is named C when given as parameter to the
       procedure/function. This parameter may be omitted if Current is
       not used. In some cases (when inlining is done in boost mode),
       Current is copied in local variables named C1, C2...
     * Arguments are named a1, a2...
     * Inside functions, a local variable named R is defined. This is the
       Result value.
     * Local variables names are Eiffel names prefixed with underscore
       character.

   The Mangling Table

   OK, so now you understand why you cannot use type numbers, but you
   still want to know what those things in the mangling table mean. :-)

   First, a big caveat. Although it hasn't changed a lot and has been
   very stable for quite some time now, the mangling table coding may
   change in the future! We currently have no plans to change it, and we
   prefer keeping it the way it is. But once again, we do not commit
   ourselves to the current representation.

   Let's look again at the extract of a .id file. The shown part covers
   quite all the possible cases:

4 "REAL"
#
12 "HELLO_WORLD"
class-path: "./hello_world.e"
class-name: HELLO_WORLD
parent-count: 0
c-type: T12 reference: yes
ref-status: live id-field: yes
run-time-set-count: 1
run-time-set:
        HELLO_WORLD (12)
#
9 "NATIVE_ARRAY[CHARACTER]"
class-path: "/lib/se/lib/kernel/native_array.e"
class-name: NATIVE_ARRAY
parent-count: 1 parents: 26
c-type: T9 reference: no
#
21 "COMPARABLE"
class-path: "/lib/se/lib/kernel/comparable.e"
class-name: COMPARABLE
parent-count: 1 parents: 13
#
. . .

   There is one entry per type (live or not); each entry spans on many
   lines and finished by a hash symbol ('#').

   Each entry comprises many informations. All of them are not always
   present (in that case, they have default values). Only the first line
   is compulsory.

   The first line contains the type number, and its name (as would return
   generating_type).

   The next lines contain different fields, marked as a keyword, a colon
   and a value. There may be one or more fields on one line. Those fields
   are:

   class-path The path to the file containing the source of the class.
   May be omitted if the class has no associated file (e.g., TUPLE or
   PROCEDURE).
   class-name The name of the class, as would return generator.
   parent-count The number of parents.
   parents On the same line as parent-count if the latter is not null; it
   gives the parent class identifiers.
   c-type The C type, usually in the form Txyz. If omitted, the class has
   no runnable type.
   In that case, the following fields do not appear either.
   reference On the same line as c-type, yes for a reference type or no
   for an expanded type.
   ref-status Either live for a living type (i.e. whether instances of
   this type are ever created at run-time), or dead otherwise.
   id-field On the same line as ref-status, yes if the id field is in the
   generated C structure (as its first element), no otherwise. This field
   is present if one of these confitions is true:
     * some late binding may occur on targets of that type,
     * or the struct may be accessed by external or Cecil code.

   Note that a lot of calls are statically computed; the type inference
   algorithm used in SmartEiffel increases the number of such types that
   don't need the id field.
   run-time-set-count The number of concrete, live descendants of the
   type (including itself). It is thus the number of items in the
   run-time-set below.
   run-time-set Contains the live heirs with their identifier. There is
   one such class per line.

   The Dump Stack

   When not in boost mode, a stack is managed by the SmartEiffel runtime.
   This stack can be displayed when an exception not caught is raised. It
   is also used by the debugger ([6]sedb).

   Technically, the SmartEiffel stack is built upon the native (C) stack.
   It is a se_dump_stack[7]^4 usually allocated on the stack. It is made
   up of several parts:
     * a frame descriptor, of type se_frame_descriptor[8]^4 which is a
       static description of the feature: run type, does it use Current,
       number and type of the locals (parameters and local variables),
       and an anti-recursion flag (when testing contracts);
     * a pointer to Current (i.e. either a pointer to an expanded object,
       or a pointer to a reference object, it being a pointer to the
       object itself). That's why the type of the current field is
       Void**. This field will be NULL if Current is not used by the
       feature;
     * the position (used mainly by [9]sedb);
     * a pointer to the caller (i.e. the se_dump_stack of the calling
       function);
     * a pointer to the exception origin: if not NULL, it means that this
       se_dump_stack is not in the stack, but was malloc'ed to preserve
       the exception stack trace;
     * an array of locals (with double indirection as for Current), hence
       the type void***.

   One macro handles the linking and unlinking of the dump stack frames
   by setting the caller field of the dump stack top, then changing that
   top.
     * Normally, the dump stack top is a global se_dst defined in
       SmartEiffel/sys/runtime/no_check.c. The set_dump_stack_top just
       affects the given argument to se_dst.
     * In SCOOP mode, things are a bit different since each processor has
       its own stack. set_dump_stack_top has two arguments: the processor
       and the new dump stack top.

   The Basic Subsystem

   That "basic" subsystem is used by SmartEiffel libraries to provide, at
   the same time, facility of extension and independance from the backend
   (C, Java).

   Features named basic_something and declared as external "SmartEiffel"
   are handled by the basic subsystem.

   The naming scheme is thus:
feature

   basic_topic_my_feature(args) is
      external "SmartEiffel"
      end

   The C backend[10]^5 will then search for basic_topic.c and
   basic_topic.h (those found will be included in good place, one in the
   generated .c, other in the .h). In those files, a function (or a
   macro) must be named basic_topic_my_feature() (like the Eiffel
   feature), and accept the same arguments as its Eiffel counterpart
   (that is, written the C way). Current is never passed.

   Indeed this is a kind of "plugin" system for the SmartEiffel
   libraries. Some extensions may be foreseen in the future.

   For some examples, one may look at BASIC_DIRECTORY and so on.

   Notes

   [11]1

     There is a bijection between the number and the name of the type,
     including its parameters in the case of generic types. (My_Feature
     details about this in our [12]research papers).

   [13]2

     There are some identifiers that are reserved for "basic" types.
     They are:
     * 0 is the type any other can cast to;
     * 1 is INTEGER_8;
     * 2 is INTEGER_32;
     * 3 is CHARACTER;
     * 4 is REAL;
     * 5 is DOUBLE;
     * 6 is BOOLEAN;
     * 7 is STRING;
     * 8 is POINTER;
     * 9 is NATIVE_ARRAY[CHARACTER] (used by STRING);
     * 10 is INTEGER_16;
     * 11 is INTEGER_64.

     The root class of the system will then have the 12. Don't rely on
     that, though (before all those INTEGERs revolution, it was 11).

   [14]3

     The compiler will do its best not to change the identifiers
     uselessly. The .id file is loaded at the beginning of the
     compilation process, and saved again at its end. But clean erases
     that file.

   [15]4

     You may find the definition of those structures in the
     SmartEiffel/sys/runtime/c/no_check.h file.

   [16]5

     The Java backend is similar. It looks for the class
     fr.loria.SmartEiffelBasicTopic and the static function
     basic_topic_my_feature() with the arguments quite similar to the C
     ones.

                                   [Line]
             Copyright © Dominique COLNET and Suzanne COLLIN -
                         [17]<SmartEiffel@loria.fr>
                Last modified: Thu Jun 12 10:50:08 CEST 2003
                                      

References

   1. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/cecil.html
   2. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/external.html
   3. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note1
   4. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note2
   5. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note3
   6. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/sedb.html
   7. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note4
   8. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note4
   9. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/sedb.html
  10. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#note5
  11. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#ref_note1
  12. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/papers/papers.html
  13. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#ref_note2
  14. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#ref_note3
  15. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#ref_note4
  16. file://localhost/home/dmoisset/src/SmartEiffel/release/SmartEiffel12/man/c_code.html#ref_note5
  17. mailto:SmartEiffel@loria.fr
