perlguts - Perl's Internal Functions
This document attempts to describe some of the internal functions of the Perl executable. It is far from complete and probably contains many errors. Please refer any questions or comments to the author below.
Perl has three typedefs that handle Perl's three main data types:
SV Scalar Value AV Array Value HV Hash Value
Each typedef has specific routines that manipulate the various data types.
Perl uses a special typedef IV which is large enough to hold either an integer or a pointer.
Perl also uses two special typedefs, I32 and I16, which will always be at least 32-bits and 16-bits long, respectively.
An SV can be created and loaded with one command. There are four types of values that can be loaded: an integer value (IV), a double (NV), a string, (PV), and another scalar (SV).
The four routines are:
SV* newSViv(IV); SV* newSVnv(double); SV* newSVpv(char*, int); SV* newSVsv(SV*);
To change the value of an *already-existing* SV, there are five routines:
void sv_setiv(SV*, IV); void sv_setnv(SV*, double); void sv_setpvn(SV*, char*, int) void sv_setpv(SV*, char*); void sv_setsv(SV*, SV*);
Notice that you can choose to specify the length of the string to be assigned by using sv_setpvn or newSVpv, or you may allow Perl to calculate the length by using sv_setpv or by specifying 0 as the second argument to newSVpv. Be warned, though, that Perl will determine the string's length by using strlen, which depends on the string terminating with a NUL character.
sv_setpvn
newSVpv
sv_setpv
strlen
To access the actual value that an SV points to, you can use the macros:
SvIV(SV*) SvNV(SV*) SvPV(SV*, STRLEN len)
which will automatically coerce the actual scalar type into an IV, double, or string.
In the SvPV macro, the length of the string returned is placed into the variable len (this is a macro, so you do not use &len). If you do not care what the length of the data is, use the global variable na. Remember, however, that Perl allows arbitrary strings of data that may both contain NUL's and not be terminated by a NUL.
SvPV
len
&len
na
If you simply want to know if the scalar value is TRUE, you can use:
SvTRUE(SV*)
Although Perl will automatically grow strings for you, if you need to force Perl to allocate more memory for your SV, you can use the macro
SvGROW(SV*, STRLEN newlen)
which will determine if more memory needs to be allocated. If so, it will call the function sv_grow. Note that SvGROW can only increase, not decrease, the allocated memory of an SV.
sv_grow
SvGROW
If you have an SV and want to know what kind of data Perl thinks is stored in it, you can use the following macros to check the type of SV you have.
SvIOK(SV*) SvNOK(SV*) SvPOK(SV*)
You can get and set the current length of the string stored in an SV with the following macros:
SvCUR(SV*) SvCUR_set(SV*, I32 val)
You can also get a pointer to the end of the string stored in the SV with the macro:
SvEND(SV*)
But note that these last three macros are valid only if SvPOK() is true.
SvPOK()
If you want to append something to the end of string stored in an SV*, you can use the following functions:
SV*
void sv_catpv(SV*, char*); void sv_catpvn(SV*, char*, int); void sv_catsv(SV*, SV*);
The first function calculates the length of the string to be appended by using strlen. In the second, you specify the length of the string yourself. The third function extends the string stored in the first SV with the string stored in the second SV. It also forces the second SV to be interpreted as a string.
If you know the name of a scalar variable, you can get a pointer to its SV by using the following:
SV* perl_get_sv("varname", FALSE);
This returns NULL if the variable does not exist.
If you want to know if this variable (or any other SV) is actually defined, you can call:
defined
SvOK(SV*)
The scalar undef value is stored in an SV instance called sv_undef. Its address can be used whenever an SV* is needed.
undef
sv_undef
There are also the two values sv_yes and sv_no, which contain Boolean TRUE and FALSE values, respectively. Like sv_undef, their addresses can be used whenever an SV* is needed.
sv_yes
sv_no
Do not be fooled into thinking that (SV *) 0 is the same as &sv_undef. Take this code:
(SV *) 0
&sv_undef
SV* sv = (SV*) 0; if (I-am-to-return-a-real-value) { sv = sv_2mortal(newSViv(42)); } sv_setsv(ST(0), sv);
This code tries to return a new SV (which contains the value 42) if it should return a real value, or undef otherwise. Instead it has returned a null pointer which, somewhere down the line, will cause a segmentation violation, or just weird results. Change the zero to &sv_undef in the first line and all will be well.
To free an SV that you've created, call SvREFCNT_dec(SV*). Normally this call is not necessary. See the section on MORTALITY.
SvREFCNT_dec(SV*)
Recall that the usual method of determining the type of scalar you have is to use Sv*OK macros. Since a scalar can be both a number and a string, usually these macros will always return TRUE and calling the Sv*V macros will do the appropriate conversion of string to integer/double or integer/double to string.
Sv*OK
Sv*V
If you really need to know if you have an integer, double, or string pointer in an SV, you can use the following three macros instead:
SvIOKp(SV*) SvNOKp(SV*) SvPOKp(SV*)
These will tell you if you truly have an integer, double, or string pointer stored in your SV. The "p" stands for private.
In general, though, it's best to just use the Sv*V macros.
There are two ways to create and load an AV. The first method just creates an empty AV:
AV* newAV();
The second method both creates the AV and initially populates it with SV's:
AV* av_make(I32 num, SV **ptr);
The second argument points to an array containing num SV*'s. Once the AV has been created, the SV's can be destroyed, if so desired.
num
Once the AV has been created, the following operations are possible on AV's:
void av_push(AV*, SV*); SV* av_pop(AV*); SV* av_shift(AV*); void av_unshift(AV*, I32 num);
These should be familiar operations, with the exception of av_unshift. This routine adds num elements at the front of the array with the undef value. You must then use av_store (described below) to assign values to these new elements.
av_unshift
av_store
Here are some other functions:
I32 av_len(AV*); /* Returns highest index value in array */ SV** av_fetch(AV*, I32 key, I32 lval); /* Fetches value at key offset, but it stores an undef value at the offset if lval is non-zero */ SV** av_store(AV*, I32 key, SV* val); /* Stores val at offset key */
Take note that av_fetch and av_store return SV**'s, not SV*'s.
av_fetch
SV**
void av_clear(AV*); /* Clear out all elements, but leave the array */ void av_undef(AV*); /* Undefines the array, removing all elements */ void av_extend(AV*, I32 key); /* Extend the array to a total of key elements */
If you know the name of an array variable, you can get a pointer to its AV by using the following:
AV* perl_get_av("varname", FALSE);
To create an HV, you use the following routine:
HV* newHV();
Once the HV has been created, the following operations are possible on HV's:
SV** hv_store(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, SV* val, U32 hash); SV** hv_fetch(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, I32 lval);
The klen parameter is the length of the key being passed in. The val argument contains the SV pointer to the scalar being stored, and hash is the pre-computed hash value (zero if you want hv_store to calculate it for you). The lval parameter indicates whether this fetch is actually a part of a store operation.
klen
val
hash
hv_store
lval
Remember that hv_store and hv_fetch return SV**'s and not just SV*. In order to access the scalar value, you must first dereference the return value. However, you should check to make sure that the return value is not NULL before dereferencing it.
hv_fetch
These two functions check if a hash table entry exists, and deletes it.
bool hv_exists(HV*, char* key, U32 klen); SV* hv_delete(HV*, char* key, U32 klen, I32 flags);
And more miscellaneous functions:
void hv_clear(HV*); /* Clears all entries in hash table */ void hv_undef(HV*); /* Undefines the hash table */
Perl keeps the actual data in linked list of structures with a typedef of HE. These contain the actual key and value pointers (plus extra administrative overhead). The key is a string pointer; the value is an SV*. However, once you have an HE*, to get the actual key and value, use the routines specified below.
HE*
I32 hv_iterinit(HV*); /* Prepares starting point to traverse hash table */ HE* hv_iternext(HV*); /* Get the next entry, and return a pointer to a structure that has both the key and value */ char* hv_iterkey(HE* entry, I32* retlen); /* Get the key from an HE structure and also return the length of the key string */ SV* hv_iterval(HV*, HE* entry); /* Return a SV pointer to the value of the HE structure */ SV* hv_iternextsv(HV*, char** key, I32* retlen); /* This convenience routine combines hv_iternext, hv_iterkey, and hv_iterval. The key and retlen arguments are return values for the key and its length. The value is returned in the SV* argument */
If you know the name of a hash variable, you can get a pointer to its HV by using the following:
HV* perl_get_hv("varname", FALSE);
The hash algorithm, for those who are interested, is:
i = klen; hash = 0; s = key; while (i--) hash = hash * 33 + *s++;
References are a special type of scalar that point to other data types (including references).
To create a reference, use the following command:
SV* newRV((SV*) thing);
The thing argument can be any of an SV*, AV*, or HV*. Once you have a reference, you can use the following macro to dereference the reference:
thing
AV*
HV*
SvRV(SV*)
then call the appropriate routines, casting the returned SV* to either an AV* or HV*, if required.
To determine if an SV is a reference, you can use the following macro:
SvROK(SV*)
To actually discover what the reference refers to, you must use the following macro and then check the value returned.
SvTYPE(SvRV(SV*))
The most useful types that will be returned are:
SVt_IV Scalar SVt_NV Scalar SVt_PV Scalar SVt_PVAV Array SVt_PVHV Hash SVt_PVCV Code SVt_PVMG Blessed Scalar
References are also used to support object-oriented programming. In the OO lexicon, an object is simply a reference that has been blessed into a package (or class). Once blessed, the programmer may now use the reference to access the various methods in the class.
A reference can be blessed into a package with the following function:
SV* sv_bless(SV* sv, HV* stash);
The sv argument must be a reference. The stash argument specifies which class the reference will belong to. See the section on Stashes for information on converting class names into stashes.
sv
stash
/* Still under construction */
Upgrades rv to reference if not already one. Creates new SV for rv to point to. If classname is non-null, the SV is blessed into the specified class. SV is returned.
SV* newSVrv(SV* rv, char* classname);
Copies integer or double into an SV whose reference is rv. SV is blessed if classname is non-null.
SV* sv_setref_iv(SV* rv, char* classname, IV iv); SV* sv_setref_nv(SV* rv, char* classname, NV iv);
Copies pointer (not a string!) into an SV whose reference is rv. SV is blessed if classname is non-null.
SV* sv_setref_pv(SV* rv, char* classname, PV iv);
Copies string into an SV whose reference is rv. Set length to 0 to let Perl calculate the string length. SV is blessed if classname is non-null.
SV* sv_setref_pvn(SV* rv, char* classname, PV iv, int length); int sv_isa(SV* sv, char* name); int sv_isobject(SV* sv);
To create a new Perl variable, which can be accessed from your Perl script, use the following routines, depending on the variable type.
SV* perl_get_sv("varname", TRUE); AV* perl_get_av("varname", TRUE); HV* perl_get_hv("varname", TRUE);
Notice the use of TRUE as the second parameter. The new variable can now be set, using the routines appropriate to the data type.
There are additional bits that may be OR'ed with the TRUE argument to enable certain extra features. Those bits are:
0x02 Marks the variable as multiply defined, thus preventing the "Indentifier <varname> used only once: possible typo" warning. 0x04 Issues a "Had to create <varname> unexpectedly" warning if the variable didn't actually exist. This is useful if you expected the variable to already exist and want to propagate this warning back to the user.
If the varname argument does not contain a package specifier, it is created in the current package.
varname
The XSUB mechanism is a simple way for Perl programs to access C subroutines. An XSUB routine will have a stack that contains the arguments from the Perl program, and a way to map from the Perl data structures to a C equivalent.
The stack arguments are accessible through the ST(n) macro, which returns the n'th stack argument. Argument 0 is the first argument passed in the Perl subroutine call. These arguments are SV*, and can be used anywhere an SV* is used.
ST(n)
n
Most of the time, output from the C routine can be handled through use of the RETVAL and OUTPUT directives. However, there are some cases where the argument stack is not already long enough to handle all the return values. An example is the POSIX tzname() call, which takes no arguments, but returns two, the local timezone's standard and summer time abbreviations.
To handle this situation, the PPCODE directive is used and the stack is extended using the macro:
EXTEND(sp, num);
where sp is the stack pointer, and num is the number of elements the stack should be extended by.
sp
Now that there is room on the stack, values can be pushed on it using the macros to push IV's, doubles, strings, and SV pointers respectively:
PUSHi(IV) PUSHn(double) PUSHp(char*, I32) PUSHs(SV*)
And now the Perl program calling tzname, the two values will be assigned as in:
tzname
($standard_abbrev, $summer_abbrev) = POSIX::tzname;
An alternate (and possibly simpler) method to pushing values on the stack is to use the macros:
XPUSHi(IV) XPUSHn(double) XPUSHp(char*, I32) XPUSHs(SV*)
These macros automatically adjust the stack for you, if needed.
For more information, consult perlxs.
In Perl, values are normally "immortal" -- that is, they are not freed unless explicitly done so (via the Perl undef call or other routines in Perl itself).
Add cruft about reference counts. int SvREFCNT(SV* sv); void SvREFCNT_inc(SV* sv); void SvREFCNT_dec(SV* sv);
In the above example with tzname, we needed to create two new SV's to push onto the argument stack, that being the two strings. However, we don't want these new SV's to stick around forever because they will eventually be copied into the SV's that hold the two scalar variables.
An SV (or AV or HV) that is "mortal" acts in all ways as a normal "immortal" SV, AV, or HV, but is only valid in the "current context". When the Perl interpreter leaves the current context, the mortal SV, AV, or HV is automatically freed. Generally the "current context" means a single Perl statement.
To create a mortal variable, use the functions:
SV* sv_newmortal() SV* sv_2mortal(SV*) SV* sv_mortalcopy(SV*)
The first call creates a mortal SV, the second converts an existing SV to a mortal SV, the third creates a mortal copy of an existing SV.
The mortal routines are not just for SV's -- AV's and HV's can be made mortal by passing their address (and casting them to SV*) to the sv_2mortal or sv_mortalcopy routines.
sv_2mortal
sv_mortalcopy
>From Ilya: Beware that the sv_2mortal() call is eventually equivalent to svREFCNT_dec(). A value can happily be mortal in two different contexts, and it will be svREFCNT_dec()ed twice, once on exit from these contexts. It can also be mortal twice in the same context. This means that you should be very careful to make a value mortal exactly as many times as it is needed. The value that go to the Perl stack should be mortal.
You should be careful about creating mortal variables. It is possible for strange things to happen should you make the same value mortal within multiple contexts.
A stash is a hash table (associative array) that contains all of the different objects that are contained within a package. Each key of the stash is a symbol name (shared by all the different types of objects that have the same name), and each value in the hash table is called a GV (for Glob Value). This GV in turn contains references to the various objects of that name, including (but not limited to) the following:
Scalar Value Array Value Hash Value File Handle Directory Handle Format Subroutine
Perl stores various stashes in a separate GV structure (for global variable) but represents them with an HV structure. The keys in this larger GV are the various package names; the values are the GV*'s which are stashes. It may help to think of a stash purely as an HV, and that the term "GV" means the global variable hash.
GV*
To get the stash pointer for a particular package, use the function:
HV* gv_stashpv(char* name, I32 create) HV* gv_stashsv(SV*, I32 create)
The first function takes a literal string, the second uses the string stored in the SV. Remember that a stash is just a hash table, so you get back an HV*. The create flag will create a new package if it is set.
create
The name that gv_stash*v wants is the name of the package whose symbol table you want. The default package is called main. If you have multiply nested packages, pass their names to gv_stash*v, separated by :: as in the Perl language itself.
gv_stash*v
main
::
Alternately, if you have an SV that is a blessed reference, you can find out the stash pointer by using:
HV* SvSTASH(SvRV(SV*));
then use the following to get the package name itself:
char* HvNAME(HV* stash);
If you need to return a blessed value to your Perl script, you can use the following function:
SV* sv_bless(SV*, HV* stash)
where the first argument, an SV*, must be a reference, and the second argument is a stash. The returned SV* can now be used in the same way as any other SV.
For more information on references and blessings, consult perlref.
[This section still under construction. Ignore everything here. Post no bills. Everything not permitted is forbidden.]
# Version 6, 1995/1/27
Any SV may be magical, that is, it has special features that a normal SV does not have. These features are stored in the SV structure in a linked list of struct magic's, typedef'ed to MAGIC.
struct magic
MAGIC
struct magic { MAGIC* mg_moremagic; MGVTBL* mg_virtual; U16 mg_private; char mg_type; U8 mg_flags; SV* mg_obj; char* mg_ptr; I32 mg_len; };
Note this is current as of patchlevel 0, and could change at any time.
Perl adds magic to an SV using the sv_magic function:
void sv_magic(SV* sv, SV* obj, int how, char* name, I32 namlen);
The sv argument is a pointer to the SV that is to acquire a new magical feature.
If sv is not already magical, Perl uses the SvUPGRADE macro to set the SVt_PVMG flag for the sv. Perl then continues by adding it to the beginning of the linked list of magical features. Any prior entry of the same type of magic is deleted. Note that this can be overriden, and multiple instances of the same type of magic can be associated with an SV.
SvUPGRADE
SVt_PVMG
The name and namlem arguments are used to associate a string with the magic, typically the name of a variable. namlem is stored in the mg_len field and if name is non-null and namlem >= 0 a malloc'd copy of the name is stored in mg_ptr field.
name
namlem
mg_len
mg_ptr
The sv_magic function uses how to determine which, if any, predefined "Magic Virtual Table" should be assigned to the mg_virtual field. See the "Magic Virtual Table" section below. The how argument is also stored in the mg_type field.
how
mg_virtual
mg_type
The obj argument is stored in the mg_obj field of the MAGIC structure. If it is not the same as the sv argument, the reference count of the obj object is incremented. If it is the same, or if the how argument is "#", or if it is a null pointer, then obj is merely stored, without the reference count being incremented.
obj
mg_obj
There is also a function to add magic to an HV:
HV
void hv_magic(HV *hv, GV *gv, int how);
This simply calls sv_magic and coerces the gv argument into an SV.
sv_magic
gv
SV
To remove the magic from an SV, call the function sv_unmagic:
void sv_unmagic(SV *sv, int type);
The type argument should be equal to the how value when the SV was initially made magical.
type
The mg_virtual field in the MAGIC structure is a pointer to a MGVTBL, which is a structure of function pointers and stands for "Magic Virtual Table" to handle the various operations that might be applied to that variable.
MGVTBL
The MGVTBL has five pointers to the following routine types:
int (*svt_get)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg); int (*svt_set)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg); U32 (*svt_len)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg); int (*svt_clear)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg); int (*svt_free)(SV* sv, MAGIC* mg);
This MGVTBL structure is set at compile-time in perl.h and there are currently 19 types (or 21 with overloading turned on). These different structures contain pointers to various routines that perform additional actions depending on which function is being called.
perl.h
Function pointer Action taken ---------------- ------------ svt_get Do something after the value of the SV is retrieved. svt_set Do something after the SV is assigned a value. svt_len Report on the SV's length. svt_clear Clear something the SV represents. svt_free Free any extra storage associated with the SV.
For instance, the MGVTBL structure called vtbl_sv (which corresponds to an mg_type of '\0') contains:
vtbl_sv
{ magic_get, magic_set, magic_len, 0, 0 }
Thus, when an SV is determined to be magical and of type '\0', if a get operation is being performed, the routine magic_get is called. All the various routines for the various magical types begin with magic_.
magic_get
magic_
The current kinds of Magic Virtual Tables are:
mg_type MGVTBL Type of magicalness ------- ------ ------------------- \0 vtbl_sv Regexp??? A vtbl_amagic Operator Overloading a vtbl_amagicelem Operator Overloading c 0 Used in Operator Overloading B vtbl_bm Boyer-Moore??? E vtbl_env %ENV hash e vtbl_envelem %ENV hash element g vtbl_mglob Regexp /g flag??? I vtbl_isa @ISA array i vtbl_isaelem @ISA array element L 0 (but sets RMAGICAL) Perl Module/Debugger??? l vtbl_dbline Debugger? P vtbl_pack Tied Array or Hash p vtbl_packelem Tied Array or Hash element q vtbl_packelem Tied Scalar or Handle S vtbl_sig Signal Hash s vtbl_sigelem Signal Hash element t vtbl_taint Taintedness U vtbl_uvar ??? v vtbl_vec Vector x vtbl_substr Substring??? * vtbl_glob GV??? # vtbl_arylen Array Length . vtbl_pos $. scalar variable ~ Reserved for extensions, but multiple extensions may clash
When an upper-case and lower-case letter both exist in the table, then the upper-case letter is used to represent some kind of composite type (a list or a hash), and the lower-case letter is used to represent an element of that composite type.
MAGIC* mg_find(SV*, int type); /* Finds the magic pointer of that type */
This routine returns a pointer to the MAGIC structure stored in the SV. If the SV does not have that magical feature, NULL is returned. Also, if the SV is not of type SVt_PVMG, Perl may core-dump.
NULL
int mg_copy(SV* sv, SV* nsv, char* key, STRLEN klen);
This routine checks to see what types of magic sv has. If the mg_type field is an upper-case letter, then the mg_obj is copied to nsv, but the mg_type field is changed to be the lower-case letter.
nsv
Scalar variables normally contain only one type of value, an integer, double, pointer, or reference. Perl will automatically convert the actual scalar data from the stored type into the requested type.
Some scalar variables contain more than one type of scalar data. For example, the variable $! contains either the numeric value of errno or its string equivalent from either strerror or sys_errlist[].
$!
errno
strerror
sys_errlist[]
To force multiple data values into an SV, you must do two things: use the sv_set*v routines to add the additional scalar type, then set a flag so that Perl will believe it contains more than one type of data. The four macros to set the flags are:
sv_set*v
SvIOK_on SvNOK_on SvPOK_on SvROK_on
The particular macro you must use depends on which sv_set*v routine you called first. This is because every sv_set*v routine turns on only the bit for the particular type of data being set, and turns off all the rest.
For example, to create a new Perl variable called "dberror" that contains both the numeric and descriptive string error values, you could use the following code:
extern int dberror; extern char *dberror_list; SV* sv = perl_get_sv("dberror", TRUE); sv_setiv(sv, (IV) dberror); sv_setpv(sv, dberror_list[dberror]); SvIOK_on(sv);
If the order of sv_setiv and sv_setpv had been reversed, then the macro SvPOK_on would need to be called instead of SvIOK_on.
sv_setiv
SvPOK_on
SvIOK_on
There are four routines that can be used to call a Perl subroutine from within a C program. These four are:
I32 perl_call_sv(SV*, I32); I32 perl_call_pv(char*, I32); I32 perl_call_method(char*, I32); I32 perl_call_argv(char*, I32, register char**);
The routine most often used is perl_call_sv. The SV* argument contains either the name of the Perl subroutine to be called, or a reference to the subroutine. The second argument consists of flags that control the context in which the subroutine is called, whether or not the subroutine is being passed arguments, how errors should be trapped, and how to treat return values.
perl_call_sv
All four routines return the number of arguments that the subroutine returned on the Perl stack.
When using any of these routines (except perl_call_argv), the programmer must manipulate the Perl stack. These include the following macros and functions:
perl_call_argv
dSP PUSHMARK() PUTBACK SPAGAIN ENTER SAVETMPS FREETMPS LEAVE XPUSH*() POP*()
For more information, consult perlcall.
It is strongly suggested that you use the version of malloc that is distributed with Perl. It keeps pools of various sizes of unallocated memory in order to more quickly satisfy allocation requests. However, on some platforms, it may cause spurious malloc or free errors.
New(x, pointer, number, type); Newc(x, pointer, number, type, cast); Newz(x, pointer, number, type);
These three macros are used to initially allocate memory. The first argument x was a "magic cookie" that was used to keep track of who called the macro, to help when debugging memory problems. However, the current code makes no use of this feature (Larry has switched to using a run-time memory checker), so this argument can be any number.
x
The second argument pointer will point to the newly allocated memory. The third and fourth arguments number and type specify how many of the specified type of data structure should be allocated. The argument type is passed to sizeof. The final argument to Newc, cast, should be used if the pointer argument is different from the type argument.
pointer
number
sizeof
Newc
cast
Unlike the New and Newc macros, the Newz macro calls memzero to zero out all the newly allocated memory.
New
Newz
memzero
Renew(pointer, number, type); Renewc(pointer, number, type, cast); Safefree(pointer)
These three macros are used to change a memory buffer size or to free a piece of memory no longer needed. The arguments to Renew and Renewc match those of New and Newc with the exception of not needing the "magic cookie" argument.
Renew
Renewc
Move(source, dest, number, type); Copy(source, dest, number, type); Zero(dest, number, type);
These three macros are used to move, copy, or zero out previously allocated memory. The source and dest arguments point to the source and destination starting points. Perl will move, copy, or zero out number instances of the size of the type data structure (using the sizeof function).
source
dest
This is a listing of functions, macros, flags, and variables that may be useful to extension writers or that may be found while reading other extensions.
See av_len.
av_len
Clears an array, making it empty.
void av_clear _((AV* ar));
Pre-extend an array. The key is the index to which the array should be extended.
key
void av_extend _((AV* ar, I32 key));
Returns the SV at the specified index in the array. The key is the index. If lval is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Check that the return value is non-null before dereferencing it to a SV*.
SV** av_fetch _((AV* ar, I32 key, I32 lval));
Returns the highest index in the array. Returns -1 if the array is empty.
I32 av_len _((AV* ar));
Creats a new AV and populates it with a list of SVs. The SVs are copied into the array, so they may be freed after the call to av_make.
AV* av_make _((I32 size, SV** svp));
Pops an SV off the end of the array. Returns &sv_undef if the array is empty.
SV* av_pop _((AV* ar));
Pushes an SV onto the end of the array.
void av_push _((AV* ar, SV* val));
Shifts an SV off the beginning of the array.
SV* av_shift _((AV* ar));
Stores an SV in an array. The array index is specified as key. The return value will be null if the operation failed, otherwise it can be dereferenced to get the original SV*.
SV** av_store _((AV* ar, I32 key, SV* val));
Undefines the array.
void av_undef _((AV* ar));
Unshift an SV onto the beginning of the array.
void av_unshift _((AV* ar, I32 num));
Variable which is setup by xsubpp to indicate the class name for a C++ XS constructor. This is always a char*. See THIS and perlxs.
xsubpp
char*
THIS
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memcpy function. The s is the source, d is the destination, n is the number of items, and t is the type.
memcpy
s
d
t
(void) Copy( s, d, n, t );
This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's die function. Use this function the same way you use the C printf function. See warn.
die
printf
warn
Returns the stash of the CV.
HV * CvSTASH( SV* sv )
When Perl is run in debugging mode, with the -d switch, this SV is a boolean which indicates whether subs are being single-stepped. Single-stepping is automatically turned on after every step. See DBsub.
DBsub
When Perl is run in debugging mode, with the -d switch, this GV contains the SV which holds the name of the sub being debugged. See DBsingle. The sub name can be found by
DBsingle
SvPV( GvSV( DBsub ), na )
Declare a stack marker for the XSUB. See MARK and dORIGMARK.
MARK
dORIGMARK
Saves the original stack mark for the XSUB. See ORIGMARK.
ORIGMARK
Declares a stack pointer for the XSUB. See SP.
SP
Sets up stack and mark pointers for an XSUB, calling dSP and dMARK. This is usually handled automatically by xsubpp. Declares the items variable to indicate the number of items on the stack.
items
Opening bracket on a callback. See LEAVE and perlcall.
LEAVE
ENTER;
Used to extend the argument stack for an XSUB's return values.
EXTEND( sp, int x );
Closing bracket for temporaries on a callback. See SAVETMPS and perlcall.
SAVETMPS
FREETMPS;
Used to indicate array context. See GIMME and perlcall.
GIMME
Indicates that arguments returned from a callback should be discarded. See perlcall.
Used to force a Perl eval wrapper around a callback. See perlcall.
eval
The XSUB-writer's equivalent to Perl's wantarray. Returns G_SCALAR or G_ARRAY for scalar or array context.
wantarray
G_SCALAR
G_ARRAY
Indicates that no arguments are being sent to a callback. See perlcall.
Used to indicate scalar context. See GIMME and perlcall.
Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package. If create is set then the package will be created if it does not already exist. If create is not set and the package does not exist then NULL is returned.
HV* gv_stashpv _((char* name, I32 create));
Returns a pointer to the stash for a specified package. See gv_stashpv.
gv_stashpv
HV* gv_stashsv _((SV* sv, I32 create));
Return the SV from the GV.
Releases a hash entry from an iterator. See hv_iternext.
hv_iternext
Clears a hash, making it empty.
void hv_clear _((HV* tb));
Deletes a key/value pair in the hash. The value SV is removed from the hash and returned to the caller. The lken is the length of the key. The flags value will normally be zero; if set to G_DISCARD then null will be returned.
lken
flags
SV* hv_delete _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, I32 flags));
Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified hash key exists. The lken is the length of the key.
bool hv_exists _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen));
Returns the SV which corresponds to the specified key in the hash. The lken is the length of the key. If lval is set then the fetch will be part of a store. Check that the return value is non-null before dereferencing it to a SV*.
SV** hv_fetch _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, I32 lval));
Prepares a starting point to traverse a hash table.
I32 hv_iterinit _((HV* tb));
Returns the key from the current position of the hash iterator. See hv_iterinit.
hv_iterinit
char* hv_iterkey _((HE* entry, I32* retlen));
Returns entries from a hash iterator. See hv_iterinit.
HE* hv_iternext _((HV* tb));
Performs an hv_iternext, hv_iterkey, and hv_iterval in one operation.
hv_iterkey
hv_iterval
SV * hv_iternextsv _((HV* hv, char** key, I32* retlen));
Returns the value from the current position of the hash iterator. See hv_iterkey.
SV* hv_iterval _((HV* tb, HE* entry));
Adds magic to a hash. See sv_magic.
void hv_magic _((HV* hv, GV* gv, int how));
Returns the package name of a stash. See SvSTASH, CvSTASH.
SvSTASH
CvSTASH
char *HvNAME (HV* stash)
Stores an SV in a hash. The hash key is specified as key and klen is the length of the key. The hash parameter is the pre-computed hash value; if it is zero then Perl will compute it. The return value will be null if the operation failed, otherwise it can be dereferenced to get the original SV*.
SV** hv_store _((HV* tb, char* key, U32 klen, SV* val, U32 hash));
Undefines the hash.
void hv_undef _((HV* tb));
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ascii alphanumeric character or digit.
char
int isALNUM (char c)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ascii alphanumeric character.
int isALPHA (char c)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an ascii digit.
int isDIGIT (char c)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is a lowercase character.
int isLOWER (char c)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is whitespace.
int isSPACE (char c)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the C char is an uppercase character.
int isUPPER (char c)
Variable which is setup by xsubpp to indicate the number of items on the stack. See perlxs.
Closing bracket on a callback. See ENTER and perlcall.
ENTER
LEAVE;
Stack marker for the XSUB. See dMARK.
dMARK
Clear something magical that the SV represents. See sv_magic.
int mg_clear _((SV* sv));
Copies the magic from one SV to another. See sv_magic.
int mg_copy _((SV *, SV *, char *, STRLEN));
Finds the magic pointer for type matching the SV. See sv_magic.
MAGIC* mg_find _((SV* sv, int type));
Free any magic storage used by the SV. See sv_magic.
int mg_free _((SV* sv));
Do magic after a value is retrieved from the SV. See sv_magic.
int mg_get _((SV* sv));
Report on the SV's length. See sv_magic.
U32 mg_len _((SV* sv));
Turns on the magical status of an SV. See sv_magic.
void mg_magical _((SV* sv));
Do magic after a value is assigned to the SV. See sv_magic.
int mg_set _((SV* sv));
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memmove function. The s is the source, d is the destination, n is the number of items, and t is the type.
memmove
(void) Move( s, d, n, t );
A variable which may be used with SvPV to tell Perl to calculate the string length.
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function.
malloc
void * New( x, void *ptr, int size, type )
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function, with cast.
void * Newc( x, void *ptr, int size, type, cast )
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C malloc function. The allocated memory is zeroed with memzero.
void * Newz( x, void *ptr, int size, type )
Creates a new AV. The refcount is set to 1.
AV* newAV _((void));
Creates a new HV. The refcount is set to 1.
HV* newHV _((void));
Creates an RV wrapper for an SV. The refcount for the original SV is incremented.
SV* newRV _((SV* ref));
Creates a new SV. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes of pre-allocated string space the SV should have. The refcount for the new SV is set to 1.
SV* newSV _((STRLEN len));
Creates a new SV and copies an integer into it. The refcount for the SV is set to 1.
SV* newSViv _((IV i));
Creates a new SV and copies a double into it. The refcount for the SV is set to 1.
SV* newSVnv _((NV i));
Creates a new SV and copies a string into it. The refcount for the SV is set to 1. If len is zero then Perl will compute the length.
SV* newSVpv _((char* s, STRLEN len));
Creates a new SV for the RV, rv, to point to. If rv is not an RV then it will be upgraded one. If classname is non-null then the new SV will be blessed in the specified package. The new SV is returned and its refcount is 1.
rv
classname
SV* newSVrv _((SV* rv, char* classname));
Creates a new SV which is an exact duplicate of the orignal SV.
SV* newSVsv _((SV* old));
Used by xsubpp to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs.
Used by xsubpp to hook up XSUBs as Perl subs. Adds Perl prototypes to the subs.
Null AV pointer.
Null character pointer.
Null CV pointer.
Null HV pointer.
Null SV pointer.
The original stack mark for the XSUB. See dORIGMARK.
Allocates a new Perl interpreter. See perlembed.
Performs a callback to the specified Perl sub. See perlcall.
I32 perl_call_argv _((char* subname, I32 flags, char** argv));
Performs a callback to the specified Perl method. The blessed object must be on the stack. See perlcall.
I32 perl_call_method _((char* methname, I32 flags));
I32 perl_call_pv _((char* subname, I32 flags));
Performs a callback to the Perl sub whose name is in the SV. See perlcall.
I32 perl_call_sv _((SV* sv, I32 flags));
Initializes a new Perl interpreter. See perlembed.
Shuts down a Perl interpreter. See perlembed.
Tells Perl to eval the string in the SV.
I32 perl_eval_sv _((SV* sv, I32 flags));
Releases a Perl interpreter. See perlembed.
Returns the AV of the specified Perl array. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then null is returned.
AV* perl_get_av _((char* name, I32 create));
Returns the CV of the specified Perl sub. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then null is returned.
CV* perl_get_cv _((char* name, I32 create));
Returns the HV of the specified Perl hash. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then null is returned.
HV* perl_get_hv _((char* name, I32 create));
Returns the SV of the specified Perl scalar. If create is set and the Perl variable does not exist then it will be created. If create is not set and the variable does not exist then null is returned.
SV* perl_get_sv _((char* name, I32 create));
Tells a Perl interpreter to parse a Perl script. See perlembed.
Tells Perl to require a module.
require
void perl_require_pv _((char* pv));
Tells a Perl interpreter to run. See perlembed.
Pops an integer off the stack.
int POPi();
Pops a long off the stack.
long POPl();
Pops a string off the stack.
char * POPp();
Pops a double off the stack.
double POPn();
Pops an SV off the stack.
SV* POPs();
Opening bracket for arguments on a callback. See PUTBACK and perlcall.
PUTBACK
PUSHMARK(p)
Push an integer onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. See XPUSHi.
XPUSHi
PUSHi(int d)
Push a double onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. See XPUSHn.
XPUSHn
PUSHn(double d)
Push a string onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. The len indicates the length of the string. See XPUSHp.
XPUSHp
PUSHp(char *c, int len )
Push an SV onto the stack. The stack must have room for this element. See XPUSHs.
XPUSHs
PUSHs(sv)
Closing bracket for XSUB arguments. This is usually handled by xsubpp. See PUSHMARK and perlcall for other uses.
PUSHMARK
PUTBACK;
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C realloc function.
realloc
void * Renew( void *ptr, int size, type )
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C realloc function, with cast.
void * Renewc( void *ptr, int size, type, cast )
Variable which is setup by xsubpp to hold the return value for an XSUB. This is always the proper type for the XSUB. See perlxs.
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C free function.
free
Copy a string to a safe spot. This does not use an SV.
char* savepv _((char* sv));
Copy a string to a safe spot. The len indicates number of bytes to copy. This does not use an SV.
char* savepvn _((char* sv, I32 len));
Opening bracket for temporaries on a callback. See FREETMPS and perlcall.
FREETMPS
SAVETMPS;
Stack pointer. This is usually handled by xsubpp. See dSP and SPAGAIN.
dSP
SPAGAIN
Refetch the stack pointer. Used after a callback. See perlcall.
SPAGAIN;
Used to access elements on the XSUB's stack.
SV* ST(int x)
Test two strings to see if they are equal. Returns true or false.
int strEQ( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is greater than or equal to the second, s2. Returns true or false.
s1
s2
int strGE( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is greater than the second, s2. Returns true or false.
int strGT( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is less than or equal to the second, s2. Returns true or false.
int strLE( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if the first, s1, is less than the second, s2. Returns true or false.
int strLT( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if they are different. Returns true or false.
int strNE( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if they are equal. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false.
int strnEQ( char *s1, char *s2 )
Test two strings to see if they are different. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to compare. Returns true or false.
int strnNE( char *s1, char *s2, int len )
Marks an SV as mortal. The SV will be destroyed when the current context ends.
SV* sv_2mortal _((SV* sv));
Blesses an SV into a specified package. The SV must be an RV. The package must be designated by its stash (see gv_stashpv()). The refcount of the SV is unaffected.
gv_stashpv()
SV* sv_bless _((SV* sv, HV* stash));
Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV.
void sv_catpv _((SV* sv, char* ptr));
Concatenates the string onto the end of the string which is in the SV. The len indicates number of bytes to copy.
void sv_catpvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
Concatentates the string from SV ssv onto the end of the string in SV dsv.
ssv
dsv
void sv_catsv _((SV* dsv, SV* ssv));
Returns the length of the string which is in the SV. See SvLEN.
SvLEN
int SvCUR (SV* sv)
Set the length of the string which is in the SV. See SvCUR.
SvCUR
SvCUR_set (SV* sv, int val )
Returns a pointer to the last character in the string which is in the SV. See SvCUR. Access the character as
*SvEND(sv)
Expands the character buffer in the SV.
char * SvGROW( SV* sv, int len )
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer.
int SvIOK (SV* SV)
Unsets the IV status of an SV.
SvIOK_off (SV* sv)
Tells an SV that it is an integer.
SvIOK_on (SV* sv)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains an integer. Checks the private setting. Use SvIOK.
SvIOK
int SvIOKp (SV* SV)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is blessed into the specified class. This does not know how to check for subtype, so it doesn't work in an inheritance relationship.
int sv_isa _((SV* sv, char* name));
Returns the integer which is in the SV.
int SvIV (SV* sv)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV is an RV pointing to a blessed object. If the SV is not an RV, or if the object is not blessed, then this will return false.
int sv_isobject _((SV* sv));
Returns the integer which is stored in the SV.
int SvIVX (SV* sv);
Returns the size of the string buffer in the SV. See SvCUR.
int SvLEN (SV* sv)
Adds magic to an SV.
void sv_magic _((SV* sv, SV* obj, int how, char* name, I32 namlen));
Creates a new SV which is a copy of the original SV. The new SV is marked as mortal.
SV* sv_mortalcopy _((SV* oldsv));
Returns a boolean indicating whether the value is an SV.
int SvOK (SV* sv)
Creates a new SV which is mortal. The refcount of the SV is set to 1.
SV* sv_newmortal _((void));
This is the false SV. See sv_yes. Always refer to this as &sv_no.
false
&sv_no
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or double.
int SvNIOK (SV* SV)
Unsets the NV/IV status of an SV.
SvNIOK_off (SV* sv)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a number, integer or double. Checks the private setting. Use SvNIOK.
SvNIOK
int SvNIOKp (SV* SV)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double.
int SvNOK (SV* SV)
Unsets the NV status of an SV.
SvNOK_off (SV* sv)
Tells an SV that it is a double.
SvNOK_on (SV* sv)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a double. Checks the private setting. Use SvNOK.
SvNOK
int SvNOKp (SV* SV)
Returns the double which is stored in the SV.
double SvNV (SV* sv);
double SvNVX (SV* sv);
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string.
int SvPOK (SV* SV)
Unsets the PV status of an SV.
SvPOK_off (SV* sv)
Tells an SV that it is a string.
SvPOK_on (SV* sv)
Returns a boolean indicating whether the SV contains a character string. Checks the private setting. Use SvPOK.
SvPOK
int SvPOKp (SV* SV)
Returns a pointer to the string in the SV, or a stringified form of the SV if the SV does not contain a string. If len is na then Perl will handle the length on its own.
char * SvPV (SV* sv, int len )
Returns a pointer to the string in the SV. The SV must contain a string.
char * SvPVX (SV* sv)
Returns the value of the object's refcount.
int SvREFCNT (SV* sv);
Decrements the refcount of the given SV.
void SvREFCNT_dec (SV* sv)
Increments the refcount of the given SV.
void SvREFCNT_inc (SV* sv)
Tests if the SV is an RV.
int SvROK (SV* sv)
Unsets the RV status of an SV.
SvROK_off (SV* sv)
Tells an SV that it is an RV.
SvROK_on (SV* sv)
Dereferences an RV to return the SV.
SV* SvRV (SV* sv);
Copies an integer into the given SV.
void sv_setiv _((SV* sv, IV num));
Copies a double into the given SV.
void sv_setnv _((SV* sv, double num));
Copies a string into an SV. The string must be null-terminated.
void sv_setpv _((SV* sv, char* ptr));
Copies a string into an SV. The len parameter indicates the number of bytes to be copied.
void sv_setpvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
Copies an integer into an SV, optionally blessing the SV. The SV must be an RV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a refcount of 1.
Nullch
SV* sv_setref_iv _((SV *rv, char *classname, IV iv));
Copies a double into an SV, optionally blessing the SV. The SV must be an RV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a refcount of 1.
SV* sv_setref_nv _((SV *rv, char *classname, double nv));
Copies a pointer into an SV, optionally blessing the SV. The SV must be an RV. If the pv argument is NULL then sv_undef will be placed into the SV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a refcount of 1.
pv
SV* sv_setref_pv _((SV *rv, char *classname, void* pv));
Do not use with integral Perl types such as HV, AV, SV, CV, because those objects will become corrupted by the pointer copy process.
Note that sv_setref_pvn copies the string while this copies the pointer.
sv_setref_pvn
Copies a string into an SV, optionally blessing the SV. The lenth of the string must be specified with n. The SV must be an RV. The classname argument indicates the package for the blessing. Set classname to Nullch to avoid the blessing. The new SV will be returned and will have a refcount of 1.
SV* sv_setref_pvn _((SV *rv, char *classname, char* pv, I32 n));
Note that sv_setref_pv copies the pointer while this copies the string.
sv_setref_pv
Copies the contents of the source SV ssv into the destination SV dsv.
void sv_setsv _((SV* dsv, SV* ssv));
Returns the stash of the SV.
HV * SvSTASH (SV* sv)
Integer type flag for scalars. See svtype.
svtype
Pointer type flag for scalars. See svtype.
Type flag for arrays. See svtype.
Type flag for code refs. See svtype.
Type flag for hashes. See svtype.
Type flag for blessed scalars. See svtype.
Double type flag for scalars. See svtype.
Returns a boolean indicating whether Perl would evaluate the SV as true or false, defined or undefined.
int SvTRUE (SV* sv)
Returns the type of the SV. See svtype.
svtype SvTYPE (SV* sv)
An enum of flags for Perl types. These are found in the file sv.h in the svtype enum. Test these flags with the SvTYPE macro.
SvTYPE
Used to upgrade an SV to a more complex form. See svtype.
This is the undef SV. Always refer to this as &sv_undef.
Tells an SV to use ptr to find its string value. Normally the string is stored inside the SV; this allows the SV to use an outside string. The string length, len, must be supplied. This function will realloc the memory pointed to by ptr, so that pointer should not be freed or used by the programmer after giving it to sv_usepvn.
ptr
void sv_usepvn _((SV* sv, char* ptr, STRLEN len));
This is the true SV. See sv_no. Always refer to this as &sv_yes.
true
&sv_yes
Variable which is setup by xsubpp to designate the object in a C++ XSUB. This is always the proper type for the C++ object. See CLASS and perlxs.
CLASS
Converts the specified character to lowercase.
int toLOWER (char c)
Converts the specified character to uppercase.
int toUPPER (char c)
This is the XSUB-writer's interface to Perl's warn function. Use this function the same way you use the C printf function. See croak().
croak()
Push an integer onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. See PUSHi.
PUSHi
XPUSHi(int d)
Push a double onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. See PUSHn.
PUSHn
XPUSHn(double d)
Push a string onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. The len indicates the length of the string. See PUSHp.
PUSHp
XPUSHp(char *c, int len)
Push an SV onto the stack, extending the stack if necessary. See PUSHs.
PUSHs
XPUSHs(sv)
Return from XSUB, indicating number of items on the stack. This is usually handled by xsubpp.
XSRETURN(x);
Return from an XSUB immediately.
XSRETURN_EMPTY;
Return false from an XSUB immediately.
XSRETURN_NO;
Return undef from an XSUB immediately.
XSRETURN_UNDEF;
Return true from an XSUB immediately.
XSRETURN_YES;
The XSUB-writer's interface to the C memzero function. The d is the destination, n is the number of items, and t is the type.
(void) Zero( d, n, t );
Jeff Okamoto <okamoto@corp.hp.com>
With lots of help and suggestions from Dean Roehrich, Malcolm Beattie, Andreas Koenig, Paul Hudson, Ilya Zakharevich, Paul Marquess, Neil Bowers, Matthew Green, Tim Bunce, and Spider Boardman.
API Listing by Dean Roehrich <roehrich@cray.com>.
Version 20: 1995/12/14
To install lib, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm lib
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install lib
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.