Foreign function interface
A foreign function interface is a mechanism that enables code in one programming language to call functions or access data provided by another language through compatible conventions.
Code Like a Pro in Rust
A foreign function interface is a mechanism that allows code in one programming language to call functions or use data types defined in another language.
- How it is used
- Connects Rust applications to existing C libraries and accelerates other languages with native Rust components.
- How deep it goes
- Demonstrates declarations, linking, unsafe calls, wrappers, struct layout, and binding generation without exhaustively covering complex C APIs.
- Examples
- Uses zlib compression, decompression, gzip-file reading, C headers, and bindings for Python, Ruby, Elixir, Erlang, and Node.js.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch by declaring C interfaces, linking native libraries, mapping compatible types, and wrapping unsafe calls.
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Refactoring to Rust
A foreign function interface based on the C calling and binary interface that enables programs in different languages to call C-compatible functions and exchange compatible data.
- How it is used
- Supports incremental refactoring by embedding Rust components in existing applications and allowing other languages to call them.
- How deep it goes
- Explains calling conventions, value exchange, memory sharing, wrappers, linking, strings, and unsafe operations, while deferring detailed techniques.
- Examples
- Uses Rust libraries called from Python-like applications, Rust embedded in C, cdylib linking, CStr conversion, and raw-pointer wrappers.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch by exposing Rust functions to C-compatible callers and containing unsafe boundary code in wrappers.
Read how Refactoring to Rust explains foreign function interface →
Related concepts
- C++uses · C++ is a statically typed, general-purpose programming language supporting procedural, object-oriented, generic, and low-level systems programming.
- Rustuses · Rust is a statically typed systems programming language designed for performance, concurrency, and memory safety without requiring garbage collection.
- trust boundaryequivalent to · A trust boundary is a separation across which assumptions about the trust, authority, control, or security of components, data, or actions change.
- unsafe Rustuses · Unsafe Rust is Rust code that permits operations whose safety conditions the compiler cannot fully verify and that therefore require the programmer to uphold the relevant invariants.
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