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ExtUtils::CBuilder

NAME

ExtUtils::CBuilder - Compile and link C code for Perl modules

SYNOPSIS

use ExtUtils::CBuilder;

my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new(%options);
$obj_file = $b->compile(source => 'MyModule.c');
$lib_file = $b->link(objects => $obj_file);

DESCRIPTION

This module can build the C portions of Perl modules by invoking the appropriate compilers and linkers in a cross-platform manner. It was motivated by the Module::Build project, but may be useful for other purposes as well. However, it is not intended as a general cross-platform interface to all your C building needs. That would have been a much more ambitious goal!

METHODS

  • new

    Returns a new ExtUtils::CBuilder object. A config parameter lets you override Config.pm settings for all operations performed by the object, as in the following example:

    # Use a different compiler than Config.pm says
    my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new( config =>
                                     { ld => 'gcc' } );
    

    A quiet parameter tells CBuilder to not print its system() commands before executing them:

    # Be quieter than normal
    my $b = ExtUtils::CBuilder->new( quiet => 1 );
    
  • have_compiler

    Returns true if the current system has a working C compiler and linker, false otherwise. To determine this, we actually compile and link a sample C library. The sample will be compiled in the system tempdir or, if that fails for some reason, in the current directory.

  • have_cplusplus

    Just like have_compiler but for C++ instead of C.

  • compile

    Compiles a C source file and produces an object file. The name of the object file is returned. The source file is specified in a source parameter, which is required; the other parameters listed below are optional.

    • object_file

      Specifies the name of the output file to create. Otherwise the object_file() method will be consulted, passing it the name of the source file.

    • include_dirs

      Specifies any additional directories in which to search for header files. May be given as a string indicating a single directory, or as a list reference indicating multiple directories.

    • extra_compiler_flags

      Specifies any additional arguments to pass to the compiler. Should be given as a list reference containing the arguments individually, or if this is not possible, as a string containing all the arguments together.

    • C++

      Specifies that the source file is a C++ source file and sets appropriate compiler flags

    The operation of this method is also affected by the archlibexp , cccdlflags , ccflags , optimize , and cc entries in Config.pm .

  • object_file
    my $object_file = $b->object_file($source_file);
    

    Converts the name of a C source file to the most natural name of an output object file to create from it. For instance, on Unix the source file foo.c would result in the object file foo.o.

  • lib_file
    my $lib_file = $b->lib_file($object_file);
    

    Converts the name of an object file to the most natural name of a output library file to create from it. For instance, on Mac OS X the object file foo.o would result in the library file foo.bundle.

  • exe_file
    my $exe_file = $b->exe_file($object_file);
    

    Converts the name of an object file to the most natural name of an executable file to create from it. For instance, on Mac OS X the object file foo.o would result in the executable file foo, and on Windows it would result in foo.exe.

TO DO

Currently this has only been tested on Unix and doesn't contain any of the Windows-specific code from the Module::Build project. I'll do that next.

HISTORY

This module is an outgrowth of the Module::Build project, to which there have been many contributors. Notably, Randy W. Sims submitted lots of code to support 3 compilers on Windows and helped with various other platform-specific issues. Ilya Zakharevich has contributed fixes for OS/2; John E. Malmberg and Peter Prymmer have done likewise for VMS.

SUPPORT

ExtUtils::CBuilder is maintained as part of the Perl 5 core. Please submit any bug reports via the perlbug tool included with Perl 5. Bug reports will be included in the Perl 5 ticket system at http://rt.perl.org.

The Perl 5 source code is available at <http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git> and ExtUtils-CBuilder may be found in the dist/ExtUtils-CBuilder directory of the repository.

AUTHOR

Ken Williams, [email protected]

Additional contributions by The Perl 5 Porters.

Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Ken Williams. All rights reserved.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

SEE ALSO

perl(1), Module::Build(3)

© 1993–2016 Larry Wall and others
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 1 or later, or the Artistic License.
The Perl logo is a trademark of the Perl Foundation.
https://perldoc.perl.org/5.26.0/ExtUtils/CBuilder.html