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CCL uses a set of database files which contain
foreign type, record, constant, and function definitions
derived from the operating system's header files, be that
Linux or Darwin. An archive containing these database files
(and the shell scripts which were used in their creation) is
available; see the Distributions page for information about
obtaining current interface database files.
Not surprisingly, different platforms use different database files.
CCL defines reader macros that consult these databases:
#$foo looks up the value of the constant definition of foo
#_foo looks up the foreign function definition for foo
In both cases, the symbol foo is interned in the "OS" package. The #$ reader macro has the side-effect of defining foo as a constant (as if via DEFCONSTANT); the #_ reader macro has the side effect of defining foo as a macro which will expand into an (EXTERNAL-CALL form.)
It's important to remember that the side-effect happens when the form containing the reader macro is read. Macroexpansion functions that expand into forms which contain instances of those reader macros don't do what one might think that they do, unless the macros are expanded in the same lisp session as the reader macro was read in.
In addition, references to foreign type, structure/union, and field names (when used in the RREF/PREF and RLET macros) will cause these database files to be consulted.
Since the CCL sources contain instances of these
reader macros (and references to foreign record types and
fields), compiling CCL from those sources depends on the
ability to find and use (see Section 3.6, “Building the Heap Image”).
CCL now preserves the case of external symbols in
its database
files. See Case-sensitivity
of foreign names in CCL for information about
case in foreign symbol names.
The Linux databases are derived from a somewhat arbitrary set of Linux header files. Linux is enough of a moving target that it may be difficult to define a standard, reference set of interfaces from which to derive a standard, reference set of database files.This seems to be less of an issue with Darwin and FreeBSD.
For information about building the database files, see Section 13.7, “The Interface Translator”.
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