NAME
Inline::SLang - Write Perl subs in S-Lang.
SYNOPSIS
print "9 + 16 = ", add(9,16), "\n";
print "9 - 16 = ", subtract(9,16), "\n";
print JAxH('Inline'), "\n";
use Inline SLang;
__END__
__SLang__
define add (a,b) { return a + b; }
define subtract (a,b) { return a - b; }
define JAxH () {
variable type = ();
return "Just Another " + string(type) + " Hacker!";
}DESCRIPTION
***
*** This is currently a pre alpha release.
*** Use at your own risk
***The Inline::SLang module allows you to put S-Lang source code directly "inline" in a Perl script or module. It sets up an in-process S-Lang interpreter, runs your code, and then examines the interpreter's symbol table, looking for things to bind to Perl.
The process of interrogating the S-Lang interpreter only occurs the first time you run your S-Lang code. The namespaces are cached, and subsequent calls use the cached version. Of course, your S-Lang code must still be run every time your run the Perl script -- but Inline::S-Lang already knows the results of running it.
What is S-Lang?
From the S-Lang library home page at http://www.s-lang.org/
S-Lang is a multi-platform programmer's library designed to allow a developer to create robust multi-platform software. It provides facilities required by interactive applications such as display/screen management, keyboard input, keymaps, and so on. The most exciting feature of the library is the slang interpreter that may be easily embedded into a program to make it extensible.
Programs using version 1.X of the S-Lang library must be distributed either under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or under the terms of the Artistic License.
Using the Inline::SLang Module
Using Inline::SLang will seem very similar to using any other Inline language, thanks to Inline's consistent look and feel.
This section will explain the different ways to use Inline::SLang. For more details on Inline, see 'perldoc Inline'.
Importing Functions
***
*** currently only user-defined functions in the 'Global' namespace
*** are bound to Perl
***Using functions defined in S-Lang is just like using Perl subs. You just supply the source code to Inline::SLang, and then use them.
use Inline SLang => <<'END';
define doit() {
...
}
END
doit();Issues are:
- do we bind the intrinsic functions?
- do we bind functions in namespaces other than "Global"?
If so, how do we access them from perl ?
* as namespace::function()
* as $object->function()Importing Variables
Should we bind S-Lang variables, and if so as read-only or read-write?
Supported Data Types
***
*** Guess what, it's not seamless at the moment!
***Inline::S-Lang seamlessly converts between most types of Perl and S-Lang data types. See the Inline::SLang::Types document for more information on how the various data types are supported.
The module currently assumes that yor S-Lang library has been compiled with support for both floating-point and complex numbers.
SUPPORTED PLATFORMS
***
*** requirements not yet fixed in stone
***The module is designed to work with version 1.4.x of the S-Lang library, although I make no promises for anything earlier than 1.4.4.
S-Lang versions tested: 1.4.0 (linux), 1.4.4 (solaris), 1.4.7 (linux & solaris)
Inline::S-Lang has so far been tested on Linux and Solaris 2.8 only. It should work on UNIX platforms; I would be surprised if it works without tweaking on other systems.
Perl versions tested: 5.6.1 (solaris), 5.8.0 (linux)
It is intended to support Perl versions >= 5.6.0 only (at least the release versions rather than the development releases). It is not clear yet whether we really need any >= 5.6.0 functionality, but this restriction does make testing/developing a lot easier for me.
S-Lang Configuration Options
***
*** Currently there are no options for S-Lang
*** (ie only the standard Inline ones)
***For information on how to specify Inline configuration options, see Inline. This section describes each of the configuration options available for S-Lang.
One possible option would be to allow the S-Lang code to be byte-compiled, which may provide a speed-improvement when loading.
SEE ALSO
For information about using Inline, see Inline.
For information about other Inline languages, see Inline-Support.
For information about S-Lang see http://www.s-lang.org/.
BUGS AND DEFICIENCIES
This is pre-alpha release code. So there will be lots of bugs and deficiencies by design...
WARRANTY
There is no warranty. I take no responsibility for anything that might happen if you try to install and/or use this module.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
John Davis (for S-Lang), Brian Ingerson (for the Inline framework), and Neil Watkiss since I stole virtually everything from his Inline::Python and Inline::Ruby modules.
However, please do not assume that any errors in this module are in any way related to the above people.
AUTHOR
Doug Burke <djburke@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2003, Doug Burke.
All Rights Reserved. This module is free software. It may be used, redistributed and/or modified under the same terms as Perl itself.
See http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html.