Re: FFI

[Zajcev Evgeny <lg.zevlg@gmail.com>]

Florian Weimer <fw@deneb.enyo.de> writes:

> * Zajcev Evgeny:
>
>> As you can see there are only strings, and numbers (boolean type is
>> done via dinamic type/value translators implemented in ffi)
>
> Numbers are problematic because SQLite can return 64 bit signed
> integers.  AFAICS, those are readily represented on SXEmacs, but not
> on Emacs.

that won't be a problem to get it working after all, you can represent
ffi data on lisp level as you want it to, using types translators.
Types translator is lisp level thingie..

my interest is to have compatible FFI in GNU Emacs and (S)XEmacs (at
least on high level, read lisp level), so two communities could reuse
bindings.  SXEmacs already have working and pretty tested interfaces
to:

 - Xlib
 - curl
 - sqlite
 - Wand        
 - libgcrypt

and few others.

Wand bindings enabled us to implement pretty astonishing image
viewer/editor inside SXEmacs, it can even do red-eye reduction on
production level and mordern liquid rescale :) - to get more about, it
click on:

http://sxemacs-en.blogspot.com/2009/12/wand-mode-image-viewer.html
and
http://sxemacs-en.blogspot.com/2009/12/wand-mode-new-features_27.html

bindings implementations mostly does not use any SXEmacs specials, the
code is very common and I'm pretty sure it can be used in GNU Emacs
without much problems.

We are also working on some complex, but interesting bindings to
libtelepathy in order to create tool for multiprotocol IM and
collaborative editing in SXEmacs.  This is pretty time consuming task
and we surely need a help, if GNU Emacs community will have same FFI
API then we could unite our efforts to enhance Emacsen..

As I noticed before, I can port and maintain FFI implementation for
GNU Emacs, but i need some kind of guaranties that community will
accept it, so my work won't be a waste of time..

thanks

-- 
lg