@@ -4,23 +4,32 @@ ## entry when using libk, your program's entry point will not be the `int main(int,char**)` function that libc opens into. libk will call the function `stat entry(kenv)` instead. like libc, the value returned by `entry` will be returned to the host platform. ## types -kcore contains fixed-width integer types (in ). note that the availability of each depends on your platform; compilation will fail if e.g. you try to use a u64 or a u128 on a 32-bit platform, so where exact lengths are not required, you may wish to use the built-in C types instead. +kcore contains fixed-width integer types (in ``). these types are present on every platform. if a platform has a type with a given bit length, it will be used, otherwise, the type will round to the largest available type (except `u8` and `s8`). if you need to be absolutely certain that a type is the appropriate bit length, use sizeof to check its length in a conditional or static assert, for instance `if (sizeof(u16) == 16 / kc_byte_bits)`. - * `u8` - an unsigned 8-bit integer - * `s8` - a signed 8-bit integer + * `u8` - an unsigned 8-bit integer, or the smallest available unsigned type + * `s8` - a signed 8-bit integer, or the smallest available signed type * `u16` - an unsigned 16-bit integer * `s16` - a signed 16-bit integer * `u32` - an unsigned 32-bit integer * `s32` - a signed 32-bit integer * `u64` - an unsigned 64-bit integer * `s64` - a signed 64-bit integer - * `u128` - an unsigned 128-bit integer - * `s128` - a signed 128-bit integer - * `word` - an unsigned integer of platform word-length (e.g. 32 bits on x86.32; 64 on x86.64) - * `sword` - a signed integer of platform word-length (e.g. 32 bits on x86.32; 64 on x86.64) + * `u128` - an unsigned 128-bit integer (uses GCC and clang extensions to offer 128-bit integer support on x86-64) + * `s128` - a signed 128-bit integer (ibid) + * `ubig` - the largest available unsigned integer type + * `sbig` - the largest available signed integer type. note: ubig and sbig really are the *largest* possible integer types not just the largest native types - if your compiler has extensions for 128-bit types on your arch (as GCC and clang do on x86-64), ubig and sbig will be 128 bits long even if your system word length is less than 128. so only use ubig/sbig if you really, really mean it. + * `ubyte` - the smallest available unsigned integer type besides \_Bool + * `sbyte` - the smallest available signed integer type besides \_Bool * `stat` - the type of process return values expected by the platform (usually u8 on linux) + * `sz` - a type large enough to cover a platform's entire address space (libc equivalent size_t) + * `offset` - a type that can contain the difference between two pointers (libc equivalent ptrdiff_t) + +## constants +in ``, every type has an associated min and max constant, containing the smallest and largest value that type can hold on your system. these can be access by suffixing a type with `_min` and `_max`, respectively. min and max values of native types can be accessed with the `kc_[us]` prefix - for instance, the minimum value of `signed long` is `kc_slong_min`. (`long long` can be referenced as `llong`). + + * `byte_bits` - the bit length of ubyte, sbyte, and char; that is, the number of bits in the type `sizeof` measures things in terms of. `sizeof(type) * byte_bits` will always return the number of bits in a type. ### struct kenv `kenv` is a struct that encompasses the environment the program was launched in. * `kiochan std` - a stereo IO channel for reading and writing to and from stdout. @@ -36,9 +45,9 @@ ## functions ### kstop() -`noreturn void kstop(stat)` terminates the program immediately, returning the specified integer to the OS as an exit status. the type of integer it takes depends on your operating system. consider using the `enum kbad` defines in ``, which are designed to standardize exit statuses across different software and are synchronized with a FreeBSD effort to do the same (``, which are designed to standardize exit statuses across different software and are synchronized with a FreeBSD effort to do the same (``). ## definitions kcore is the only module that defines any terms outside the k- namespace. the only terms it so defines are native C terms like `noreturn`, which are implemented as keywords in a reserved namespace (`_` followed by an uppercase letter; in this case, `_Noreturn`). macros are then defined in new headers for the "natural" version of the term in order to avoid breaking older code. examples of this technique are `` and ``. since libk is designed for new, modern code, breaking old code isn't a concern, and we turn on all these new keywords as soon as you load ``.