Re: Is it possible/acceptable to create a component in Gambas that depends on a shared library?

[gbWilly <gbWilly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Friday, February 13th, 2026 at 15:40, Lee <t.lee.davidson@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On 2/12/26 1:04 PM, gbWilly wrote:
> > You did use Exec "getuid" for the first 4 functions in your example.
> > I changed this, because, even though the result happens to be the same, it seems you need to Exec 3 other functions from the library instead for the last 3 functions (see red marked section on screenshot). Is my assumption there correct?
> 
> Yes, your assumption is correct. I goofed. I had typed in the first Extern declaration and then copied and pasted it three
> times. I changed the Gambas function name on those three but not the library's function name. Good catch.

I suspected copy/paste was the culprit somehow :-)
 
> > I also managed to use a simple function like basename and interface with it (see yellow marked section on screenshot).
> 
> It's good to see that you successfully implemented a different external function call. You see that it /can/ be quite simple. It
> will get more complex when you need to use pointers.

You happen to have an example function from the same library for a demonstration?
Seeing the C library documentation and a translate to Gambas really helps me a lot in forming an understanding.

> One thing to keep in mind, for future reference, is that Gambas can interface only with libraries written in C and not in C++
> (unless the library does not use any C++ structures or capabilities that are not C compatible). If there is a particular library
> with which you'd like to interface and it is written in C++, look to see if it has a C-wrapper.
> 
> 

Good to know.

> If you have any questions, feel free to ask here. Have fun!

See above :-)

Thanks again,

gbWilly

GambOS
Gambas3 for Debian/Ubuntu

...there is always a Catch if things go wrong!