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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 subroutine that will
            be called instead.

       ·    An Event-Driven Program

            The classic example of where callbacks are used is when writing an event driven program, such as for an
            X11 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

            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 example 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-terminated 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 subroutine.
       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 nothing 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 one of G_VOID, G_SCALAR, or G_ARRAY, which indicate the
       call context, OR'ed together with a bit mask of any combination of the other G_* symbols defined below.

   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 executes
            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 executes
            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 of the case where
       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 automatically 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
       ·    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
       Using the G_EVAL flag described above will always set $@: clearing it if there was no error, and setting it to
       describe the error if there was an error in the called code.  This is what you want if your intention is to
       handle possible errors, but sometimes you just want to trap errors and stop them interfering with the rest of
       the program.

       This scenario will mostly be applicable to code that is meant to be called from within destructors,
       asynchronous callbacks, and signal handlers.  In such situations, where the code being called has little
       relation to the surrounding dynamic context, the main program needs to be insulated from errors in the called
       code, even if they can't be handled intelligently.  It may also be useful to do this with code for "__DIE__"
       or "__WARN__" hooks, and "tie" functions.

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

       When G_KEEPERR is used, any error in the called code will terminate the call as usual, and the error will not
       propagate beyond the call (as usual for G_EVAL), but it will not go into $@.  Instead the error will be
       converted into a warning, prefixed with the string "\t(in cleanup)".  This can be disabled using "no warnings
       'misc'".  If there is no error, $@ will not be cleared.

       Note that the G_KEEPERR flag does not propagate into inner evals; these may still set $@.

       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

           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 subroutine
            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, "LeftString",
       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);

       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 function. 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_* functions--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 "{" and "}" in Perl to limit the scope of local variables.


           {
               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 that 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 reallocated during 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

                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);

   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 subroutine.
       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 desirable to do
       it is another matter entirely.

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

           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 parameters. 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)

               PUTBACK;

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

               SPAGAIN;

               /* Check the eval first */
               if (SvTRUE(ERRSV))
               {
                   printf ("Uh oh - %s\n", SvPV_nolen(ERRSV));
                   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))
                {
                    printf ("Uh oh - %s\n", SvPV_nolen(ERRSV));
                    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 $@.


               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;
           {
               my $foo = Foo->new;
               eval { $foo->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 outer braced 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.

           $ref = \&fred;
           CallSubSV($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 subroutine.

       You should note that, if it is necessary to store the SV ("name" in the example above) which corresponds 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 "CallSavedSub1", 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 has 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 ...


       This time whenever "CallSavedSub1" gets 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);
           }


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

       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);


           $a = Mine->new('red', 'green', 'blue');
           call_Method($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 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
       Whilst control is in the library, an error condition occurs. You have previously set up a Perl callback 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 control 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 explicitly 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

           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 "callback".

       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 "register_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
       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);
           }

       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 subroutine.

       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
           }

           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

                   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)

               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 us.

       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 example 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.

LIGHTWEIGHT CALLBACKS
       Sometimes you need to invoke the same subroutine repeatedly.  This usually happens with a function that acts
       The pattern of macro calls is like this:

           dMULTICALL;                 /* Declare local variables */
           I32 gimme = G_SCALAR;       /* context of the call: G_SCALAR,
                                        * G_ARRAY, or G_VOID */

           PUSH_MULTICALL(cv);         /* Set up the context for calling cv,
                                          and set local vars appropriately */

           /* loop */ {
               /* set the value(s) af your parameter variables */
               MULTICALL;              /* Make the actual call */
           } /* end of loop */

           POP_MULTICALL;              /* Tear down the calling context */

       For some concrete examples, see the implementation of the first() and reduce() functions of List::Util 1.18.
       There you will also find a header file that emulates the multicall API on older versions of perl.

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 v5.16.3                                          2013-03-04                                          PERLCALL(1)