Short: Tools to simplify shared libraries Author: wiedmann@zdv.uni-tuebingen.de Uploader: wiedmann zdv uni-tuebingen de Type: dev/misc Architecture: m68k-amigaos This is EasyLibs 1.0, a package of tools and sources to create a shared library. Programming shared libraries is often somewhat nasty: You have to create the library header which is done in Assembler (until now :-), you have to maintain FD files, prototypes, pragmas, autodocs and all that kind of stuff. EasyLibs is my try to do this with less work, even more: Most parts are created automatically. EasyLibs consists of the following parts: - LibHeader.c 1.0, a complete and universal library header which can be used for any type of library you want. Never again edit the header, just change some preprocessor symbols! LibHeader.c is written in C completely. LibHeader.c, however, can be used by the Dice compiler only. To be precise: You need a possibility to put the resident structure into the code segment. Dice allows this by declaring the struct as "const". - Xtract 1.1, a small tool which extracts prototypes, FD files and Autodocs from source files. (I personally prefer "autodoc" from the NDU for the latter purpose, however.) - fd2pragma 2.2, a program which can read FD files and convert them into either pragma files for different compilers (Aztec, SAS, Dice, Maxon), LVO files to be read by assemblers or function tables to be read by LibHeader.c. - HelloWorld.library 40.1, a small shared library which shows how to use these tools. Some notes on using LibHeader.c. (Some of them hold true for any library regardless of using LibHeader.c) - You might well use global data; either initialized or uninitialized, but keep in mind that this is a *shared* library: Your data will be shared by different tasks. In general one uses only things like library base pointers or similar stuff in global data. - The startup code of LibHeader.c does *not* zero the BSS segment. Unlike usual C programming you can not expect that variables are 0 or NULL, respectively, except if you force this by using something like struct IntuitionBase *IntuitionBase = NULL; - It is possible to use the small data model. However, you need to setup the a4 register when entering the library. Best way to ensure this is declaring all library functions which are visible to the outside world as SAVEDS. (See HelloWorldLib.c) - Dice has the peculiarity to precede function names with an '@' instead of the usual '_', if they expect arguments in registers. If they don't expect arguments, however, Dice will use the '_' too. So always let your library functions expect at least one argument, (The library base pointer in a6 is a good choice.) even if you don't need it. The linker will claim missing symbols otherwise. EasyLibs is in the public domain, use it as you want, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY. Bugs, suggestions, notes and beer bottles to Jochen Wiedmann Am Eisteich 9 72555 Metzingen Germany Phone: 07123 / 14881 Internet: wiedmann@zdv.uni-tuebingen.de