https://github.com/lassade/c2z

C++ to Zig bindings and transpiler
https://github.com/lassade/c2z

Last synced: 29 days ago
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C++ to Zig bindings and transpiler

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/lassade/c2z
• Owner: lassade
• Created: 2023-06-08T00:40:02.000Z (over 1 year ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2024-10-17T11:49:19.000Z (about 2 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-10-19T15:40:08.103Z (about 2 months ago)
• Language: C++
• Size: 3.54 MB
• Stars: 100
• Watchers: 3
• Forks: 7
• Open Issues: 9
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md

Awesome Lists containing this project

• awesome-zig - lassade/c2z

README

        
inspeired by this [article](https://floooh.github.io/2020/08/23/sokol-bindgen.html) uses zig to create zig bindgens for c++

`zig cc -x c++ -std=c++11 -Xclang -ast-dump=json {input_file}`

## Notes

- Glue is invitable ... snap ... and needed to make the bindings cross platform

- Transpiled code can leak memory (implicit destructors aren't called)

- Manual adjustments are required, specially to make bindings idiomatic and easer to read

- Meant to work with libraries that follow the *C with classes* coding style

- No Zig side inheritance, instead create bindings of a C++ implementation

## Usage

### Setup

1. make sure `zig` in your PATH, you will need the version `0.13` and up

2. build the project and copy the `c2z` executable from `zig-out` to your desired location

3. or just run the project using `zig build run -- ARGS`

### Running it

1. `zig build run -- lib.h` or `c2z lib.h`

2. pass any clang argument like include and defines e.g. `zig build run -- -DNDEBUG -I.\include -target x86-linux -- .\include\lib.h`

4. modify the generated bindings until it works ;) you might need to import `cpp.zig` it is located in the src folder

### Misc

- `msvc` has a second tier support, just pass it as target tuple like as: `-no-glue -target x86_64-windows-msvc` to generate a target specifc binding for it. Debug builds aren't fully supported, use `ReleaseFast` or at least `-O1`, you might also wan't to find a way of define `_ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL` to something different than `2`.

## Todo

- transpile inline or constexpr constructors when the class isn't polymorphic

- use function pointers to handle varidact functions

- (hard) `#include` -> `@import`

- (easy) walk a directory tree

- transpile vector of vectors

- (easy) better input file not found error

- (easy) verbose option

- (easy) handle `BlockCommandComment` and `ParamCommandComment` in `FullComment`

- (easy) resolve return of function with a aliased return type

- (easy) fail when clang ast-bump has failed, because missing headers or wrong code

- (hard) `if (*data++ == v) { ... }` should generate `{ const __tmp0 = data; data += 1; if (__tmp0.* == v) { ... }  }`

- (hard) solve `UnresolvedMemberExpr`, maybe when integrating clang ast directly

- (hard) solve implicit destructors calls

- (easy) handle private members, class is default private, struct default public, in code is referenced as `self.public`

- (hard) handle varidact functions `myFunction(va_args) -> myFunction(args: [*c]u8) and myFunction__VA(...)`

- (hard) apply `keywordFix`

- use `@compileError` for objects that couldn't be transpiled

- write layout tests

## Test cases

### C++ libs

- [ ] fpng (99.99 %)

- [ ] xatlas (86.40 %)

- [ ] imgui (67.21 %)

- [ ] msdfgen (~80% ish)

- [ ] box2d

- [ ] basis_universal

- [ ] JoltPhysics

- [ ] astc-encoder

### C libs (or with builtin C bindings)

- [ ] SDL2

- [ ] stbi

- [ ] raylib

- [ ] meshoptimizer

- [ ] tinyexr

- [ ] minimp3