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Ffikdb function reference

.ffi FFI interface

Call function bind bind function to be called callFunction one-off function call

Utility cvar read global variable from the library extension file extension of a shared object os operating system ptrsize size of void* setErrno get or set error number

KxSystems/ffi

Argument and result types

Throughout the library, characters are used to encode the types of data provided and expected as a result. These are based on the c column of primitive data types for atoms, with upper case for vectors. The sz column is useful to work out what type can hold enough data passing to and from C.

The argument types are derived from data passed to the function (in case of callFunction) or explicitly specified (in case of bind). The number of character types provided must match the number of arguments expected by the C function.

The return type is specified as a single character and can be " " (space), which means to discard the result (i.e. void). If not provided, defaults to int.

char C type FFI type
b, c, x unsigned int8 ffi_type_uint8
h signed int16 ffi_type_sint16
i, m, d, u, v, t signed int32 ffi_type_sint32
j, p, n signed int64 ffi_type_sint64
e float ffi_type_float
f, z double ffi_type_double
g, s uint8* ffi_type_pointer
" " (space) void (only as return type) ffi_type_void
r raw pointer ffi_type_pointer
l size of pointer (size_t) ffi_type_sint32 or ffi_type_sint64
k callback function/closure (only argument type) ffi_type_pointer
uppercase letter pointer to the same type ffi_type_pointer

To pass a q function to C code as a callback (see qsort example below) make the argument type "k" and represent the function as a mixed list:

(func;argument_types;return_type)

where

  • func is a q function (type 100h)
  • argument_types is the types of the arguments the function expects (string)
  • return_type is the return type of the function (char atom)

As callbacks can have unbounded life in C code, they are not deleted after the function completes

.ffi.bind

Create a projection with the function resolved to call with arguments

bind[fname;argument_types;return_type]
bind[lfname;argument_types;return_type]

Where

  • fname is name of function to look for (symbol atom)
  • lfname is shared object library and function name (2-item symbol vector)
  • argument_types is types of arguments (string)
  • return_type is type of returned value (char atom)

returns a q function, bound to the specifed C function for future calls.

Useful for multiple calls to the C library.

.ffi.callFunction

A simple function call, intended for one-off calls.

callFunction[fname;args]
callFunction[(return_type;fname);args]
callFunction[(return_type;lfname);args]

Where

  • fname is name of function to look for (symbol atom)
  • lfname is shared object library and function name (2-item symbol vector)
  • argument_types is types of arguments (string)
  • return_type is type of returned value (char atom)
  • args: mixed list of arguments to pass to the foreign function; the last item must be the generic null (::)

calls the identified function with the arguments and returns the result.

callFunction performs function lookup on each call and has significant overhead.

For hot-path functions use .ffi.bind

.ffi.cvar

Read global variable from the library.

.ffi.cvar vname
.ffi.cvar (return_type;lfname)

Where

  • vname is a variable name (symbol atom)
  • return_type is type of returned value (char atom)
  • lfname is shared object library and function name (2-item symbol vector)

In the second example it is assumed that libsampleparser.so is exposing a global variable CHUNK_SIZE_THRESHOLD, i.e. the result of nm is as below:

$ nm -D l64/libsampleparser.so | grep CHUNK
0000000000054a10 D CHUNK_SIZE_THRESHOLD

Examples:

q).ffi.cvar`timezone
-32400i
q).ffi.cvar ("j"; `libsampleparser.so`CHUNK_SIZE_THRESHOLD)
25000

.ffi.extension

File extension of a shared object for a platform

.ffi.extension[]

Returns symbol atom identifying the file extension for a shared object on the current platform. 

q).ffi.extension[]
`so
q)` sv `libRmath, .ffi.extension[]
`libRmath.so

.ffi.os

Identify operating system

.ffi.os[]

Returns char atom identifying the operating system. 

q).ffi.os[]
"l"

.ffi.ptrsize

Size of void*

.ffi.ptrsize[]

Returns the size of void* as an int.

q).ffi.ptrsize[]
8i

.ffi.setErrno

Get or set error number

.ffi.setErrno n
.ffi.setErrno[]

Returns the current value of errno; if an argument n is passed it is set as the new value.

q)// No such file or directory
q).ffi.setErrno[]
2i

q)// No such process
q).ffi.setErrno[3i]
2i
q).ffi.setErrno[]
3i
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