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jeremybenn |
This directory contains the libffi package, which is not part of GCC but
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shipped with GCC as convenience.
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Status
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======
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libffi-3.0.9 was released on December 31, 2009. Check the libffi web
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page for updates: .
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What is libffi?
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===============
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Compilers for high level languages generate code that follow certain
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conventions. These conventions are necessary, in part, for separate
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compilation to work. One such convention is the "calling
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convention". The "calling convention" is essentially a set of
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assumptions made by the compiler about where function arguments will
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be found on entry to a function. A "calling convention" also specifies
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where the return value for a function is found.
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Some programs may not know at the time of compilation what arguments
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are to be passed to a function. For instance, an interpreter may be
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told at run-time about the number and types of arguments used to call
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a given function. Libffi can be used in such programs to provide a
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bridge from the interpreter program to compiled code.
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The libffi library provides a portable, high level programming
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interface to various calling conventions. This allows a programmer to
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call any function specified by a call interface description at run
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time.
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FFI stands for Foreign Function Interface. A foreign function
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interface is the popular name for the interface that allows code
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written in one language to call code written in another language. The
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libffi library really only provides the lowest, machine dependent
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layer of a fully featured foreign function interface. A layer must
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exist above libffi that handles type conversions for values passed
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between the two languages.
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Supported Platforms
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===================
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Libffi has been ported to many different platforms.
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For specific configuration details and testing status, please
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refer to the wiki page here:
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http://www.moxielogic.org/wiki/index.php?title=Libffi_3.0.9
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At the time of release, the following basic configurations have been
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tested:
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|--------------+------------------|
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| Architecture | Operating System |
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|--------------+------------------|
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| Alpha | Linux |
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| ARM | Linux |
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| AVR32 | Linux |
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| HPPA | HPUX |
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| IA-64 | Linux |
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| MIPS | IRIX |
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| MIPS | Linux |
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| MIPS64 | Linux |
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| PowerPC | Linux |
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| PowerPC | Mac OSX |
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| PowerPC | FreeBSD |
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| PowerPC64 | Linux |
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| S390 | Linux |
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| S390X | Linux |
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| SPARC | Linux |
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| SPARC | Solaris |
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| SPARC64 | Linux |
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| SPARC64 | FreeBSD |
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| X86 | FreeBSD |
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| X86 | kFreeBSD |
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| X86 | Linux |
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| X86 | Mac OSX |
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| X86 | OpenBSD |
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| X86 | OS/2 |
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| X86 | Solaris |
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| X86 | Windows/Cygwin |
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| X86 | Windows/MingW |
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| X86-64 | FreeBSD |
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| X86-64 | Linux |
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| X86-64 | OpenBSD |
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|--------------+------------------|
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Please send additional platform test results to
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libffi-discuss@sourceware.org and feel free to update the wiki page
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above.
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Installing libffi
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=================
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First you must configure the distribution for your particular
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system. Go to the directory you wish to build libffi in and run the
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"configure" program found in the root directory of the libffi source
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distribution.
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You may want to tell configure where to install the libffi library and
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header files. To do that, use the --prefix configure switch. Libffi
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will install under /usr/local by default.
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If you want to enable extra run-time debugging checks use the the
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--enable-debug configure switch. This is useful when your program dies
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mysteriously while using libffi.
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Another useful configure switch is --enable-purify-safety. Using this
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will add some extra code which will suppress certain warnings when you
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are using Purify with libffi. Only use this switch when using
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Purify, as it will slow down the library.
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It's also possible to build libffi on Windows platforms with
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Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler. In this case, use the msvcc.sh
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wrapper script during configuration like so:
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path/to/configure --enable-shared --enable-static \
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CC=path/to/msvcc.sh LD=link \
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CPP=\"cl -nologo -EP\"
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Configure has many other options. Use "configure --help" to see them all.
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Once configure has finished, type "make". Note that you must be using
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GNU make. You can ftp GNU make from prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu.
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To ensure that libffi is working as advertised, type "make check".
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This will require that you have DejaGNU installed.
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To install the library and header files, type "make install".
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History
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=======
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See the ChangeLog files for details.
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3.0.10 ???-??-??
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Fix the N64 build on mips-sgi-irix6.5.
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Testsuite fixes for Tru64 Unix.
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Enable builds with Microsoft's compiler.
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Enable x86 builds with Sun's compiler.
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3.0.9 Dec-31-09
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Add AVR32 and win64 ports. Add ARM softfp support.
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Many fixes for AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, *BSD.
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Several PowerPC and x86-64 bug fixes.
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Build DLL for windows.
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3.0.8 Dec-19-08
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Add *BSD, BeOS, and PA-Linux support.
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3.0.7 Nov-11-08
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Fix for ppc FreeBSD.
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(thanks to Andreas Tobler)
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3.0.6 Jul-17-08
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Fix for closures on sh.
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Mark the sh/sh64 stack as non-executable.
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(both thanks to Kaz Kojima)
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3.0.5 Apr-3-08
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Fix libffi.pc file.
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Fix #define ARM for IcedTea users.
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Fix x86 closure bug.
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3.0.4 Feb-24-08
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Fix x86 OpenBSD configury.
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3.0.3 Feb-22-08
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Enable x86 OpenBSD thanks to Thomas Heller, and
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x86-64 FreeBSD thanks to Björn König and Andreas Tobler.
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Clean up test instruction in README.
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3.0.2 Feb-21-08
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Improved x86 FreeBSD support.
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Thanks to Björn König.
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3.0.1 Feb-15-08
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Fix instruction cache flushing bug on MIPS.
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Thanks to David Daney.
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3.0.0 Feb-15-08
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Many changes, mostly thanks to the GCC project.
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Cygnus Solutions is now Red Hat.
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[10 years go by...]
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1.20 Oct-5-98
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Raffaele Sena produces ARM port.
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1.19 Oct-5-98
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Fixed x86 long double and long long return support.
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m68k bug fixes from Andreas Schwab.
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Patch for DU assembler compatibility for the Alpha from Richard
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Henderson.
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1.18 Apr-17-98
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Bug fixes and MIPS configuration changes.
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1.17 Feb-24-98
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Bug fixes and m68k port from Andreas Schwab. PowerPC port from
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Geoffrey Keating. Various bug x86, Sparc and MIPS bug fixes.
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1.16 Feb-11-98
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Richard Henderson produces Alpha port.
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1.15 Dec-4-97
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Fixed an n32 ABI bug. New libtool, auto* support.
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1.14 May-13-97
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libtool is now used to generate shared and static libraries.
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Fixed a minor portability problem reported by Russ McManus
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.
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1.13 Dec-2-96
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Added --enable-purify-safety to keep Purify from complaining
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about certain low level code.
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Sparc fix for calling functions with < 6 args.
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Linux x86 a.out fix.
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1.12 Nov-22-96
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Added missing ffi_type_void, needed for supporting void return
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types. Fixed test case for non MIPS machines. Cygnus Support
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is now Cygnus Solutions.
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1.11 Oct-30-96
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Added notes about GNU make.
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1.10 Oct-29-96
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Added configuration fix for non GNU compilers.
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1.09 Oct-29-96
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Added --enable-debug configure switch. Clean-ups based on LCLint
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feedback. ffi_mips.h is always installed. Many configuration
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fixes. Fixed ffitest.c for sparc builds.
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1.08 Oct-15-96
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Fixed n32 problem. Many clean-ups.
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1.07 Oct-14-96
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Gordon Irlam rewrites v8.S again. Bug fixes.
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1.06 Oct-14-96
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Gordon Irlam improved the sparc port.
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1.05 Oct-14-96
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Interface changes based on feedback.
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1.04 Oct-11-96
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Sparc port complete (modulo struct passing bug).
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1.03 Oct-10-96
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Passing struct args, and returning struct values works for
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all architectures/calling conventions. Expanded tests.
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1.02 Oct-9-96
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Added SGI n32 support. Fixed bugs in both o32 and Linux support.
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Added "make test".
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1.01 Oct-8-96
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Fixed float passing bug in mips version. Restructured some
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of the code. Builds cleanly with SGI tools.
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1.00 Oct-7-96
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First release. No public announcement.
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Authors & Credits
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=================
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libffi was originally written by Anthony Green .
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The developers of the GNU Compiler Collection project have made
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innumerable valuable contributions. See the ChangeLog file for
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details.
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Some of the ideas behind libffi were inspired by Gianni Mariani's free
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gencall library for Silicon Graphics machines.
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The closure mechanism was designed and implemented by Kresten Krab
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Thorup.
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Major processor architecture ports were contributed by the following
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developers:
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alpha Richard Henderson
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arm Raffaele Sena
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cris Simon Posnjak, Hans-Peter Nilsson
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frv Anthony Green
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ia64 Hans Boehm
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m32r Kazuhiro Inaoka
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m68k Andreas Schwab
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mips Anthony Green, Casey Marshall
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mips64 David Daney
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pa Randolph Chung, Dave Anglin, Andreas Tobler
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powerpc Geoffrey Keating, Andreas Tobler,
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David Edelsohn, John Hornkvist
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powerpc64 Jakub Jelinek
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s390 Gerhard Tonn, Ulrich Weigand
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sh Kaz Kojima
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sh64 Kaz Kojima
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sparc Anthony Green, Gordon Irlam
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x86 Anthony Green, Jon Beniston
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x86-64 Bo Thorsen
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Jesper Skov and Andrew Haley both did more than their fair share of
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stepping through the code and tracking down bugs.
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Thanks also to Tom Tromey for bug fixes, documentation and
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configuration help.
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Thanks to Jim Blandy, who provided some useful feedback on the libffi
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interface.
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Andreas Tobler has done a tremendous amount of work on the testsuite.
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Alex Oliva solved the executable page problem for SElinux.
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The list above is almost certainly incomplete and inaccurate. I'm
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happy to make corrections or additions upon request.
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If you have a problem, or have found a bug, please send a note to
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green@redhat.com.
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