(guile-tut.info.gz) What is libguile

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 4.2 What is libguile
 ====================
 
 "Libguile" is the library which allows C programs to start a Scheme
 interpreter and execute Scheme code.  There are also facilities in
 libguile to make C data structures available to Scheme, and vice versa.
 
   The interface provided by the libguile C library is somewhat specific
 to the implementation of the Scheme interpreter.  This low-level
 libguile interface is usually referred to as the `scm_' interface,
 since its public calls (API) all have the `scm_' prefix.
 
   There is also a higher-level libguile interface, which is usually
 referred to as the `gh_' interface (libGuile High).  Its public calls
 all have the `gh_' prefix.  The `gh_' library interface is designed to
 hide the implementation details, thus making it easier to assimilate
 and portable to other underlying Scheme implementations.
 
   People extending Guile by adding bindings to C libraries (like OpenGL
 or Rx) are encouraged to use the `gh_' interface, so their work will be
 portable to other Scheme systems.  The `gh_' interface should be more
 stable, because it is simpler.
 
   The `scm_' interface is necessary if you want to poke into the
 innards of Scheme data structures, or do anything else that is not
 offered by the `gh_' interface.  It is not covered in this tutorial,
 but is covered extensively in  Guile Reference Manual (Guile
 Reference Manual)Scheme data representation.
 
   This chapter gives a gentle introduction to the `gh_' interface,
 presenting some _hello world_-style programs which I wrote while
 teaching myself to use libguile.  
 
   The `Guile Programmer's Manual' gives more examples of programs
 written using libguile, illustrating diverse applications.  You can also
 consult my _Gnudl_ documentation at
 `http://nis-www.lanl.gov/~rosalia/mydocs/' to see a large scale project
 that uses C and Scheme code together.
 

Info Catalog

(guile-tut.info.gz) Two world views

(guile-tut.info.gz) Guile in a Library

(guile-tut.info.gz) How to get started with libguile