gistfile1.txt

11:57   nicksieger >> compile time to get the field names, yes
11:57   evan >> well sort of
11:57   evan >> i'd like that to work
11:57   nicksieger >> assuming they don't change betw. platforms
11:58   evan >> but it doesn't work all the time
11:58   wycats >> evan: in what case doesn't it work?
11:58   evan >> some platforms put fields of different names in structs
11:58   brixen >> yep
11:58   wycats >> wot
11:58   evan >> sounds stupid, but it happens
11:58   wycats >> like what?
11:58   evan >> well, stat is a good example
11:58   nicksieger >> struct MyWackyStruct { int a; \n #ifdef MACOSX int b; #endif  } etc
11:58   brixen >> wycats: you should just make the gem have a build step on install
11:58   evan >> fields appear and disappear from stat
11:58   brixen >> dirent too iirc
11:58   evan >> probably
11:58   wycats >> brixen: gccxml isn't always available
11:58   nicksieger >> brixen: right
11:59   wycats >> maybe it could be installed with libffi?
11:59   evan >> gccxml is a huge depedency
11:59   evan >> HUGE.
11:59   evan >> better to use gccxml at dev time
11:59   evan >> to write an initial version of the FFI::Struct layout
11:59   evan >> then you prune it
11:59   brixen >> wycats: basic point is, this is platform dependent. you can wriggle and squirm, 
                  but that's not going away
11:59   evan >> to remove fields you don't want
11:59   evan >> or you know won't be available elsewhere
12:00   brixen >> that's why our struct gen is that way
12:00   brixen >> you say which fields you want sizes and offsets for
12:00 ::: wycats1 [n=Adium@rrcs-67-79-18-46.sw.biz.rr.com] has joined #eyimps
12:00   nicksieger >> wycats: http://cast.rubyforge.org/  
                      http://github.com/jameskilton/rbgccxml/tree/master
12:00   wycats1 >> that's why I want it to be compile time
12:01   wycats1 >> it uses libxml-ruby :(
12:01   evan >> gccxml usage should be dev time only
12:01   evan >> and it should simply assist in writing your FFI::Struct layout
12:01   evan >> like an IDE giving you an initial version
12:01   brixen >> like a template generator
12:01   wycats1 >> evan: you just said that wouldn't work
12:01   wycats1 >> because of the different platform ifdef problem
12:02   brixen >> it won't work without some manual intervention in some cases
12:03   evan >> wycats1: you must have missed some things
12:03   evan >> with your reconnect.
12:03   wycats1 >> yeah
12:03   wycats1 >> plz repeat?
12:03   brixen >> wycats1: sec..
12:03   evan >> gccxml could be a nice way to generate a first cut at an FFI::Struct layout