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git-svn-id: https://swig.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/swig/trunk@517 626c5289-ae23-0410-ae9c-e8d60b6d4f22
77 lines
3.3 KiB
Text
77 lines
3.3 KiB
Text
Executive Summary
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<p>
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<img src="images/exec.png" alt="Executive Summary">
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<p>
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SWIG is an interface compiler that connects programs written in C,
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C++, and Objective-C with scripting languages including <a href="http://www.perl.org">Perl</a>,
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<a href="http://www.python.org">Python</a>, and
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<a href="http://www.scriptics.com">Tcl/Tk</a>. It works by taking the declarations commonly found in C/C++ header
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files and using them to generate the glue code (wrappers) that scripting
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languages need to access the underlying C/C++ code.
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<p>
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John Ousterhout has written a
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<a href="http://www.scriptics.com/people/john.ousterhout/scripting.html">paper</a>
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that describes the
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benefits of scripting languages. SWIG makes it fairly easy to connect scripting
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languages with C/C++ code.
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<p>You might use SWIG in a number of ways:
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<ul>
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<li><b>Building more interesting C/C++ programs</b>. Using SWIG, you can replace the main()
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function of a C program with a scripting interpreter from which you can control your
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application. This adds quite a lot of flexibility and makes it easier to build
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extensible programs. When combined with Tk, you can also build graphical user interfaces.
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<p>
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<li><b>Rapid prototyping and debugging</b>. SWIG allows C/C++ programs to be placed in
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a scripting environment that can be used for testing and debugging.
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For example, you might test a library with a collection of scripts or use the scripting
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interpreter as an interactive debugger. Since SWIG requires no modifications to the
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underlying C code, it can be used even if the final product does not rely upon scripting.
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<p>
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<li><b>Systems integration</b>. Scripting languages work fairly well for controlling and gluing
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software components together. With SWIG, different C/C++ programs can be turned into
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scripting language extension modules. These modules can then be combined together
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to create new and interesting applications.
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</ul>
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SWIG is sometimes compared to interface definition language (IDL)
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compilers such as those you would find with systems such as CORBA and
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COM. Although there are a few similarities, the whole point of SWIG
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is to make it so you don't have to screw around with that stuff. If
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anything, it's much more of a rapid application development and
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prototyping tool. Specifically:
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<p>
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<ul>
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<li><b>ANSI C/C++ syntax</b>. SWIG parses a form of ANSI C
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syntax that has been extended with a number of special directives.
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As a result, interfaces are usually built by grabbing a header file
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and tweaking it a little bit.
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<p>
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<li><b>SWIG is not a stub generator</b>. SWIG produces code that you
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simply compile and run. You don't have to fill in any stubs or write
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special code as you do with RPC-like systems.
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<p>
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<li><b>Designed to work with existing C/C++ code</b>. SWIG requires little, if any, modifications
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to existing code. For the most part, it encourages you to keep a clean separation between
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C/C++ and its scripting interface.
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<p>
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<li><b>Extensibility</b>. SWIG provides a variety of customization options that
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allow you to blow your whole leg off. SWIG does not enforce any rules related to programming
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morality.
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</ul>
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A number of <a href="doc.html">papers and tutorials</a> describing SWIG are available.
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You can also view a simple <a href="tutorial.html">tutorial</a> to see an
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example of SWIG in action.
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