KinoSearch::Docs::DevGUser(Contributed Perl DocumKinoSearch::Docs::DevGuide(3)NAMEKinoSearch::Docs::DevGuide - Quick-start guide to hacking on
KinoSearch.
DESCRIPTION
The KinoSearch code base is organized into roughly four layers:
* Charmonizer - compiler and OS configuration probing.
* Clownfish - header files.
* C - implementation files.
* Host - binding language.
Charmonizer is a configuration prober which writes a single header
file, "charmony.h", describing the build environment and facilitating
cross-platform development. It's similar to Autoconf or Metaconfig,
but written in pure C.
The ".cfh" files within the KinoSearch core are Clownfish header files.
Clownfish is a purpose-built, declaration-only language which
superimposes a single-inheritance object model on top of C which is
specifically designed to co-exist happily with variety of "host"
languages and to allow limited run-time dynamic subclassing. For more
information see the Clownfish docs, but if there's one thing you should
know about Clownfish OO before you start hacking, it's that method
calls are differentiated from functions by capitalization:
Indexer_Add_Doc <-- Method, typically uses dynamic dispatch.
Indexer_add_doc <-- Function, always a direct invocation.
The C files within the KinoSearch core are where most of KinoSearch's
low-level functionality lies. They implement the interface defined by
the Clownfish header files.
The C core is intentionally left incomplete, however; to be usable, it
must be bound to a "host" language. (In this context, even C is
considered a "host" which must implement the missing pieces and be
"bound" to the core.) Some of the binding code is autogenerated by
Clownfish on a spec customized for each language. Other pieces are
hand-coded in either C (using the host's C API) or the host language
itself.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2005-2010 Marvin Humphrey
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
perl v5.14.1 2011-06-20 KinoSearch::Docs::DevGuide(3)
