Comments on: Depressing http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/ Lisp Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:56:50 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Alastair Bridgewater http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-19 Alastair Bridgewater Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:52:33 +0000 http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-19 For what it's worth, SBCL can call stdcall functions with the exact same syntax as it uses to call cdecl functions, which means that the same CFFI definitions should work for both. (cdecl and stdcall use the same argument order, the only question is who removes the arguments from the stack, and there's a way for the caller to always remove the arguments without screwing up if the callee has also removed them.) Callbacks, however, are an entirely different matter, and have the same problem as Luis mentioned with CFFI: How do you add information about calling convention without breaking the existing syntax? For what it’s worth, SBCL can call stdcall functions with the exact same syntax as it uses to call cdecl functions, which means that the same CFFI definitions should work for both. (cdecl and stdcall use the same argument order, the only question is who removes the arguments from the stack, and there’s a way for the caller to always remove the arguments without screwing up if the callee has also removed them.)

Callbacks, however, are an entirely different matter, and have the same problem as Luis mentioned with CFFI: How do you add information about calling convention without breaking the existing syntax?

]]> By: dispossessed http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-18 dispossessed Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:38:55 +0000 http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-18 Just for the record, I had already offered to help in any way possible before the comment was made. Just for the record, I had already offered to help in any way possible before the comment was made.

]]> By: Christophe Rhodes http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-17 Christophe Rhodes Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:32:25 +0000 http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-17 I feel a little bit bad too, but in my grumpy old age I've come to recognize that I cannot both provide for all my own needs and everyone else's wishlist too: and that this is unlikely to change in the near future. The best that I think can be done by a purely volunteer community is to make available what they have, and not to attempt to hide missing elements or problems; but for that to be part of a solution, the rest of the volunteers, when they find that there's something that they need, have to participate in that. I find it depressing when programmers admit defeat without even trying to adapt what is out there to their needs, as it seems to show that making (for example, though I had nothing to do with it) cffi freely available for all to use and modify was a waste of time. I hope you don't think I'm picking on you: really I'm hoping to encourage you not to admit defeat when something out there doesn't quite serve your need, but instead to shape it to make it what you need (and then, optionally, to allow others with similar needs to use it too). Good luck. I feel a little bit bad too, but in my grumpy old age I’ve come to recognize that I cannot both provide for all my own needs and everyone else’s wishlist too: and that this is unlikely to change in the near future. The best that I think can be done by a purely volunteer community is to make available what they have, and not to attempt to hide missing elements or problems; but for that to be part of a solution, the rest of the volunteers, when they find that there’s something that they need, have to participate in that. I find it depressing when programmers admit defeat without even trying to adapt what is out there to their needs, as it seems to show that making (for example, though I had nothing to do with it) cffi freely available for all to use and modify was a waste of time.

I hope you don’t think I’m picking on you: really I’m hoping to encourage you not to admit defeat when something out there doesn’t quite serve your need, but instead to shape it to make it what you need (and then, optionally, to allow others with similar needs to use it too).

Good luck.

]]> By: Luis Oliveira http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-16 Luis Oliveira Tue, 30 Jan 2007 07:53:35 +0000 http://dispossessed.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/depressing/#comment-16 Oh man. You're making me feel bad. What can I tell you? stdcall support is in the TODO list. It's just a matter of figuring out the best syntax really since DEFCFUN's syntax doesn't have an obvious place to fit options such as calling convention. :-) Anyway, I just brought that issue up in the cffi-devel mailing list. Your comments are welcome. Oh man. You’re making me feel bad. What can I tell you? stdcall support is in the TODO list. It’s just a matter of figuring out the best syntax really since DEFCFUN’s syntax doesn’t have an obvious place to fit options such as calling convention. :-)

Anyway, I just brought that issue up in the cffi-devel mailing list. Your comments are welcome.

]]>