# interface99

**Repository Path**: doveyxia/interface99

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: interface99
- **Description**: No description available
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: MIT
- **Default Branch**: master
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2025-06-30
- **Last Updated**: 2025-06-30

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

<div align="center">
<h1>Interface99</h1>
<a href="https://github.com/hirrolot/interface99/actions">
<img src="https://github.com/hirrolot/interface99/workflows/C/C++%20CI/badge.svg">
</a>

Full-featured interfaces inspired by Rust and Golang. Multiple inheritance, superinterfaces, and default implementations supported. No external tools required, pure C99.

<table>
<tr>
<td><div align="center"><b>Shape</b></div></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>
<div align="left">

```c
#include <interface99.h>

#include <stdio.h>

#define Shape_IFACE                      \
    vfunc( int, perim, const VSelf)      \
    vfunc(void, scale, VSelf, int factor)

interface(Shape);
```

</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<table>
<tr>
<td><div align="center"><b>Rectangle</b></div></td>
<td><div align="center"><b>Triangle</b></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div align="left">

```c
typedef struct {
    int a, b;
} Rectangle;

int Rectangle_perim(const VSelf) {
    VSELF(const Rectangle);
    return (self->a + self->b) * 2;
}

void Rectangle_scale(VSelf, int factor) {
    VSELF(Rectangle);
    self->a *= factor;
    self->b *= factor;
}

impl(Shape, Rectangle);
```

</div>
</td>
<td>
<div align="left">

```c
typedef struct {
    int a, b, c;
} Triangle;

int Triangle_perim(const VSelf) {
    VSELF(const Triangle);
    return self->a + self->b + self->c;
}

void Triangle_scale(VSelf, int factor) {
    VSELF(Triangle);
    self->a *= factor;
    self->b *= factor;
    self->c *= factor;
}

impl(Shape, Triangle);
```

</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<table>
<tr>
<td><div align="center"><b>Test</b></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div align="left">

```c
void test(Shape shape) {
    printf("perim = %d\n", VCALL(shape, perim));
    VCALL(shape, scale, 5);
    printf("perim = %d\n", VCALL(shape, perim));
}

int main(void) {
    Shape r = DYN_LIT(Rectangle, Shape, {5, 7});
    Shape t = DYN_LIT(Triangle, Shape, {10, 20, 30});

    test(r);
    test(t);
}
```

</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

</div>

(Based on [`examples/shape.c`](examples/shape.c).)

<details>
  <summary>Output</summary>

```
perim = 24
perim = 120
perim = 60
perim = 300
```

</details>

## Highlights

 - **Minimum boilerplate.** Forget about maintaining virtual tables -- just write `impl(Shape, Rectangle)` and Interface99 will do it for you!

 - **Portable.** Everything you need is a standard-conforming C99 compiler; neither the standard library, nor compiler/platform-specific functionality or VLA are required.

 - **Predictable.** Interface99 comes with formal [code generation semantics], meaning that the generated data layout is guaranteed to always be the same.

 - **Comprehensible errors.** Interface99 is [resilient to bad code].

 - **Battle-tested.** Interface99 is used at [OpenIPC] to develop real-time streaming software for IP cameras; this includes an [RTSP 1.0 implementation] along with ~50k lines of private code.

[code generation semantics]: #semantics
[resilient to bad code]: #q-what-about-compile-time-errors
[OpenIPC]: https://openipc.org/
[RTSP 1.0 implementation]: https://github.com/OpenIPC/smolrtsp/

## Features

| Feature | Status | Description |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| [Multiple interface inheritance](examples/read_write.c) | ✅ | A type can inherit multiple interfaces at the same time. |
| [Superinterfaces](examples/airplane.c) | ✅ | One interface can require a set of other interfaces to be implemented as well. |
| [Marker interfaces](examples/marker.c) | ✅ | An interface with no functions. |
| [Single/Dynamic dispatch](examples/shape.c) | ✅ | Determine a function to be called at runtime based on `self`. |
| Multiple dispatch | ❌ | Determine a function to be called at runtime based on multiple arguments. Likely to never going to be implemented. |
| [Dynamic objects of multiple interfaces](examples/read_write_both.c)  | ✅ | Given interfaces `Foo` and `Bar`, you can construct an object of both interfaces, `FooBar obj`. |
| [Default implementations](examples/default_impl.c)  | ✅ | Some interface functions may be given default implementations. A default function can call other functions and vice versa. |
| Data and implementation separation  | ✅ | New interfaces can be implemented for existing types. |

## Installation

Interface99 consists of one header file `interface99.h` and one dependency [Metalang99]. To use it in your project, you need to:

[Metalang99]: https://github.com/hirrolot/metalang99

 1. Add `interface99` and `metalang99/include` to your include directories.
 2. Specify [`-ftrack-macro-expansion=0`] (GCC) or [`-fmacro-backtrace-limit=1`] (Clang) to avoid useless macro expansion errors.

[`-ftrack-macro-expansion=0`]: https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Preprocessor-Options.html
[`-fmacro-backtrace-limit=1`]: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangCommandLineReference.html#cmdoption-clang-fmacro-backtrace-limit

If you use CMake, the recommended way is [`FetchContent`]:

[`FetchContent`]: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FetchContent.html

```cmake
include(FetchContent)

FetchContent_Declare(
    interface99
    URL https://github.com/hirrolot/interface99/archive/refs/tags/vx.y.z.tar.gz # vx.y.z
)

FetchContent_MakeAvailable(interface99)

target_link_libraries(MyProject interface99)

# Disable full macro expansion backtraces for Metalang99.
if(CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "Clang")
  target_compile_options(MyProject PRIVATE -fmacro-backtrace-limit=1)
elseif(CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU")
  target_compile_options(MyProject PRIVATE -ftrack-macro-expansion=0)
endif()
```

(By default, `interface99/CMakeLists.txt` downloads Metalang99 [v1.13.5](https://github.com/hirrolot/metalang99/releases/tag/v1.13.5) from the GitHub releases; if you want to override this behaviour, you can do so by invoking [`FetchContent_Declare`] earlier.)

[`FetchContent_Declare`]: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FetchContent.html#command:fetchcontent_declare

Optionally, you can [precompile headers] in your project that rely on Interface99. This will decrease compilation time, because the headers will not be compiled each time they are included.

[precompile headers]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precompiled_header

Happy hacking!

## Tutorial

This section is based on a collection of well-documented [examples](examples/), each of which demonstrates one specific aspect of Interface99.

### Basic usage

 1. **Interface definition.**

Syntax: [`interface(Shape);`](#interface)

An interface definition expands to a virtual table structure and a so-called _interface object type_. In the case of [`examples/shape.c`](examples/shape.c):

```c
// interface(Shape);
typedef struct ShapeVTable ShapeVTable;
typedef struct Shape Shape;

struct ShapeVTable {
    int (*perim)(const VSelf);
    void (*scale)(VSelf, int factor);
};

struct Shape {
    void *self;
    const ShapeVTable *vptr;
};
```

Here, `Shape.self` is the pointer to an object whose type implements `Shape`, and `Shape.vptr` points to a corresponding virtual table instance. Inside `ShapeVTable`, you can observe the mysterious [`VSelf`](#vselfvself) bits -- they expand to parameters of type `void * restrict` (with extra `const` for `perim`); when calling these methods, Interface99 will substitute `Shape.self` for these parameters.

Usually, interface definitions go in `*.h` files.

 2. **Implementation definition.**

| Linkage | Syntax |
|---------|--------|
| Internal | [`impl(Shape, Rectangle);`](#impl) |
| External | [`implExtern(Shape, Rectangle);`](#implExtern) |

An implementation definition expands to nothing but a virtual table instance of a particular implementer. In the case of `examples/shape.c`:

```c
// impl(Shape, Rectangle);
static const ShapeVTable Rectangle_Shape_impl = {
    .perim = Rectangle_perim,
    .scale = Rectangle_scale,
};
```

(If you were using [`implExtern`](#implExtern), this definition would be `extern` likewise.)

Note that inside function implementations, we use [`VSELF`](#vselfvself), which simply casts the parameter introduced by `VSelf` to a user-defined type (`const Rectangle` or `Rectangle` in our case):

```c
int Rectangle_perim(const VSelf) {
    VSELF(const Rectangle);
    return (self->a + self->b) * 2;
}

void Rectangle_scale(VSelf, int factor) {
    VSELF(Rectangle);
    self->a *= factor;
    self->b *= factor;
}
```

 3. **Dynamic dispatch.**

Once an interface and its implementations are both generated, it is time to instantiate an interface object and invoke some functions upon it.

First of all, to instantiate `Shape`, use the [`DYN_LIT`](#DYN_LIT) macro:

```с
Shape r = DYN_LIT(Rectangle, Shape, {5, 7});
test(r);
```

Here, `DYN_LIT(Rectangle, Shape, {5, 7})` creates `Shape` by assigning `Shape.self` to `&(Rectangle){5, 7}` and `Shape.vptr` to the aforementioned `&Rectangle_Shape_impl`. Eventually, you can accept `Shape` as a function parameter and perform dynamic dispatch through the [`VCALL`](#vcall_) macro:

```c
void test(Shape shape) {
    printf("perim = %d\n", VCALL(shape, perim));
    VCALL(shape, scale, 5);
    printf("perim = %d\n", VCALL(shape, perim));
}
```

Finally, just a few brief notes:

 - Besides `VCALL`, you also have `VCALL_OBJ`, `VCALL_SUPER`, and `VCALL_SUPER_OBJ`. They all serve a different purpose; for more information, please refer to [their documentation](#vcall_).
 - In practice, [`DYN`](#DYN) is used more often than [`DYN_LIT`](#DYN_LIT); it just accepts an ordinary pointer instead of an initialiser list, which means that you can `malloc` it beforehand.
 - If your virtual function does not accept `self`, you can invoke it as `obj.vptr->foo(...)`.
 - If you want to call an interface function on some concrete type, just write `VTABLE(T, Iface).foo(...)`.

Congratulations, this is all you need to know to write most of the stuff!

### Superinterfaces

Interface99 has the feature called superinterfaces, or interface requirements. [`examples/airplane.c`](examples/airplane.c) demonstrates how to extend interfaces with new functionality:

```c
#define Vehicle_IFACE                              \
    vfunc(void, move_forward, VSelf, int distance) \
    vfunc(void,    move_back, VSelf, int distance)

interface(Vehicle);

#define Airplane_IFACE                          \
    vfunc(void,   move_up, VSelf, int distance) \
    vfunc(void, move_down, VSelf, int distance)

#define Airplane_EXTENDS (Vehicle)

interface(Airplane);
```

(Note that `#define Airplane_EXTENDS` must appear prior to `interface(Airplane);`.)

Here, `Airplane` extends `Vehicle` with the new functions `move_up` and `move_down`. Everywhere you have `Airplane`, you can also operate `Vehicle`:

```c
Airplane my_airplane = DYN_LIT(MyAirplane, Airplane, {.x = 0, .y = 0});

VCALL_SUPER(my_airplane, Vehicle, move_forward, 10);
VCALL_SUPER(my_airplane, Vehicle, move_back, 3);
```

Internally, Interface99 embeds superinterfaces' virtual tables into those of subinterfaces, thereby forming a _virtual table hierarchy_. For example, you can specify `Repairable` and `Armoured` along with `Vehicle`, and they all will be included into `AirplaneVTable` like so:

```c
// #define Airplane_EXTENDS (Vehicle, Repairable, Armoured)
typedef struct AirplaneVTable {
    void (*move_up)(VSelf, int distance);
    void (*move_down)(VSelf, int distance);
    const VehicleVTable *Vehicle;
    const RepairableVTable *Repairable;
    const ArmouredVTable *Armoured;
} AirplaneVTable;
```

### Default implementations

Sometimes we wish to define default behaviour for several implementers; this is supported by _default implementations_.

Take a look at [`examples/default_impl.c`](examples/default_impl.c). In this example, we define the interface `Droid`:

```c
#define Droid_IFACE                         \
    vfunc(const char *, name, void)         \
    vfuncDefault(void, turn_on, Droid droid)

interface(Droid);
```

The macro `vfuncDefault` tells Interface99 to use the default implementation for `turn_on` automatically. But where is it located? Here:

```c
void Droid_turn_on(Droid droid) {
    printf("Turning on %s...\n", droid.vptr->name());
}
```

As you can see, default implementations follow a strict naming convention, `<iface>_<default-func-name>` , which provides Interface99 with sufficient information to generate a virtual table. Additionally, as a developer, you can also rely on this convention and call a default function of a third-party interface. For `C_3PO`, we use the default implementation of `turn_on`, and the resulting virtual table would look like this:

```c
static const DroidVTable C_3PO_Droid_impl = {
    .name = C_3PO_name,
    .turn_on = Droid_turn_on,
};
```

But for `R2_D2`, we use a custom implementation `R2_D2_turn_on`:

```c
void R2_D2_turn_on(Droid droid) {
    Droid_turn_on(droid);
    puts("Waaaaoow!");
}

#define R2_D2_turn_on_CUSTOM ()
impl(Droid, R2_D2);
```

(`R2_D2_turn_on_CUSTOM` tells Interface99 to use the custom implementation instead of the default one; this is because it is impossible to detect at compile-time whether a specific function is defined or not.)

And the virtual table would be:

```c
static const DroidVTable R2_D2_Droid_impl = {
    .name = R2_D2_name,
    .turn_on = R2_D2_turn_on,
};
```

Please, note that you have to specify `()` for the `*_CUSTOM` attribute; do not leave it empty.

## Syntax and semantics

Having a well-defined semantics of the macros, you can write an FFI which is quite common in C.

### EBNF syntax

```ebnf
<iface-def>       ::= "interface(" <iface> ")" ;
<iface>           ::= <ident> ;

<func>            ::= <regular-func> | <default-func> ;
<regular-func>    ::= "vfunc("        <func-ret-ty> "," <func-name> "," <func-params> ")" ;
<default-func>    ::= "vfuncDefault(" <func-ret-ty> "," <func-name> "," <func-params> ")" ;
<func-ret-ty>     ::= <type> ;
<func-name>       ::= <ident> ;
<func-params>     ::= <parameter-type-list> ;

<impl>            ::= "impl("           <iface> "," <implementer> ")" ;
<implExtern>      ::= "implExtern("     <iface> "," <implementer> ")" ;
<declImpl>        ::= "declImpl("       <iface> "," <implementer> ")" ;
<declImplExtern>  ::= "declImplExtern(" <iface> "," <implementer> ")" ;
<implementer>     ::= <ident> ;

<dyn>             ::= "DYN("     <implementer> "," <iface> "," <ptr> ")" ;
<dyn-lit>         ::= "DYN_LIT(" <implementer> "," <iface> "," "{" <initializer-list> "}" ")" ;
<vtable>          ::= "VTABLE("  <implementer> "," <iface> ")" ;

<vself-params>    ::= "VSelf" ;
<vself-cast>      ::= "VSELF(" <type> ")" ;

(* <expr> must be an expression of an interface object type. *)
<vcall>           ::= "VCALL("           <expr> "," <func-name> <vcall-args> ")" ;
<vcall-obj>       ::= "VCALL_OBJ("       <expr> "," <func-name> <vcall-args> ")" ;
<vcall-super>     ::= "VCALL_SUPER("     <expr> "," <iface> "," <func-name> <vcall-args> ")" ;
<vcall-super-obj> ::= "VCALL_SUPER_OBJ(" <expr> "," <iface> "," <func-name> <vcall-args> ")" ;
<vcall-args>      ::= [ "," <argument-expression-list> ] ;

<requirement>     ::= <iface> ;
```

<details>
  <summary>Note: shortened vs. postfixed versions</summary>

  Each listed identifier in the above grammar corresponds to a macro name defined by default -- these are called _shortened versions_. On the other hand, there are also _postfixed versions_ (`interface99`, `impl99`, `vfunc99`, etc.), which are defined unconditionally. If you want to avoid name clashes caused by shortened versions, define `IFACE99_NO_ALIASES` before including `interface99.h`. Library headers are strongly advised to use the postfixed macros, but without resorting to `IFACE99_NO_ALIASES`.
</details>

Notes:

 - For every interface `<iface>`, the macro `<iface>_IFACE` must expand to `{ <func> }*`.
 - For any interface, a macro `<iface>_EXTENDS` can be defined, which must expand to `"(" <requirement> { "," <requirement> }* ")"`.
 - For any interface function implementation, a macro `<implementer>_<func-name>_CUSTOM` can be defined, which must expand to `"()"`.

[Clang-Format]: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.html

### Semantics

(It might be helpful to look at the [generated output](https://godbolt.org/z/Gr6f7TM83) of [`examples/shape.c`](examples/shape.c).)

#### `interface`

Expands to

```
typedef struct <iface>VTable <iface>VTable;
typedef struct <iface> <iface>;

struct <iface>VTable {
    // Only if <iface> is a marker interface without superinterfaces:
    char dummy;

    <func-ret-ty>0 (*<func-name>0)(<func-params>0);
    ...
    <func-ret-ty>N (*<func-name>N)(<func-params>N);

    const <requirement>0VTable *<requirement>;
    ...
    const <requirement>NVTable *<requirement>;
};

struct <iface> {
    void *self;
    const <iface>VTable *vptr;
}
```

(`char dummy;` is needed for an empty `<iface>VTable` because a structure must have at least one member, according to C99.)

I.e., this macro defines a virtual table structure for `<iface>`, as well as the structure `<iface>` that is polymorphic over `<iface>` implementers. This is generated in two steps:

 - **Function pointers**. For each `<func-name>I` specified in the macro `<iface>_IFACE`, the corresponding function pointer is generated.
 - **Requirements obligation.** If the macro `<iface>_EXTENDS` is defined, then the listed requirements are generated to obligate `<iface>` implementers to satisfy them.

#### `impl`

Expands to

```
static const <iface>VTable VTABLE(<implementer>, <iface>) = {
    // Only if <iface> is a marker interface without superinterfaces:
    .dummy = '\0',

    <func-name>0 = either <implementer>_<func-name>0 or <iface>_<func-name>0,
    ...
    <func-name>N = either <implementer>_<func-name>N or <iface>_<func-name>N,

    <requirement>0 = &VTABLE(<implementer>, <requirement>0),
    ...
    <requirement>N = &VTABLE(<implementer>, <requirement>N),
}
```

I.e., this macro defines a virtual table instance of type `<iface>VTable` for `<implementer>`. It is generated in two steps:

 - **Function implementations.** If `<func-name>I` is defined via `vfuncDefault` and `<implementer>_<func-name>I_CUSTOM` is **not** defined, `<iface>_<func-name>I` is generated (default implementation). Otherwise, `<implementer>_<func-name>I` is generated (custom implementation).
 - **Requirements satisfaction.** If the macro `<iface>_EXTENDS` is defined, then the listed requirements are generated to satisfy `<iface>`.

#### `implExtern`

The same as [`impl`](#impl) but generates an `extern` definition instead of `static`.

#### `declImpl`

Expands to `static const <iface>VTable VTABLE(<implementer>, <iface>)`, i.e., it declares a virtual table instance of `<implementer>` of type `<iface>VTable`.

#### `declImplExtern`

The same as [`declImpl`](#declImpl) but generates an `extern` declaration instead of `static`.

#### `DYN`

Expands to an expression of type `<iface>`, with `.self` initialised to `<ptr>` and `.vptr` initialised to `&VTABLE(<implementer>, <iface>)`.

`<ptr>` is guaranteed to be evaluated only once.

#### `DYN_LIT`

`DYN_LIT(<implementer>, <iface>, ...)` expands to `DYN(<implementer>, <iface>, &(<implementer>)...)`. The `...` must take the form of an initialiser list in [compound literals].

[compound literals]: https://en.cppreference.com/w/c/language/compound_literal

#### `VTABLE`

Expands to `<implementer>_<iface>_impl`, i.e., a virtual table instance of `<implementer>` of type `<iface>VTable`.

#### `VSelf`/`VSELF`

`VSelf` is an object-like macro that expands to a function parameter of type `void * restrict`, with an implementation-defined name. In order to downcast this parameter to an implementer type, there exists a function-like macro `VSELF`. `VSELF(T)` which brings a variable `self` of type `T * restrict` into the scope, and initialises it to the `VSelf`-produced parameter name casted to `T * restrict`.

`VSelf` can be used on any position for any virtual function, however, it only makes sense to use it as a first parameter. `VSELF(T)` can be used everywhere inside a function with the `VSelf` parameter.

#### `VCALL_*`

The `VCALL_*` macros are meant to **call** a **v**irtual method, which is a `vfunc`/`vfuncDefault` that accepts either `VSelf` or an interface object (of a containing interface type) as a first parameter.

For methods accepting `VSelf`, there exist `VCALL` and `VCALL_SUPER`:

 - `VCALL(obj, func)` => `obj.vptr->func(obj.self)`.
 - `VCALL(obj, func, args...)` => `obj.vptr->func(obj.self, args...)`.
 - `VCALL_SUPER(obj, superiface, func)` => `obj.vptr->superiface->func(obj.self)`.
 - `VCALL_SUPER(obj, superiface, func, args...)` => `obj.vptr->superiface->func(obj.self, args...)`.

For methods accepting an interface object, there are `VCALL_OBJ` and `VCALL_SUPER_OBJ`:

 - `VCALL_OBJ` is the same as `VCALL` except that it passes `obj` to `func` instead of `obj.self`.
 - `VCALL_SUPER_OBJ` is the same as `VCALL_SUPER` except that it passes `(superiface){obj.self, obj.vptr->superiface}` to `func` instead of `obj.self`.

## Miscellaneous

 - The macros `IFACE99_MAJOR`, `IFACE99_MINOR`, `IFACE99_PATCH`, `IFACE99_VERSION_COMPATIBLE(x, y, z)`, and `IFACE99_VERSION_EQ(x, y, z)` have the [same semantics as of Metalang99](https://metalang99.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#version-manipulation-macros).

 - For each macro using `ML99_EVAL`, Interface99 provides its [Metalang99-compliant](https://metalang99.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#definitions) counterpart which can be used inside derivers and other Metalang99-compliant macros:

| Macro | Metalang99-compliant counterpart |
|----------|----------|
| `interface` | `IFACE99_interface` |
| `impl` | `IFACE99_impl` |
| `implExtern` | `IFACE99_implExtern` |

(An [arity specifier] and [desugaring macro] are provided for each of the above macros.)

[arity specifier]: https://hirrolot.gitbook.io/metalang99/partial-application
[desugaring macro]: https://metalang99.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#definitions

## Guidelines

 - Write `impl(...)`/`implExtern(...)` right after all functions are implemented; do not gather all implementation definitions in a single place.
 - If you use [Clang-Format], it can be helpful to add `vfunc` and `vfuncDefault` to the `StatementMacros` vector (see [our `.clang-format`](.clang-format)). It will instruct the formatter to place them onto different lines.

## Pitfalls

 - Both interfaces that you implement for a single type can have a function with the same name, thus resulting in a name collision. However, you can elegantly workaround like this:

```c
// `MyType_Iface1_foo` function definition here...

#define Iface1_foo MyType_Iface1_foo
impl(Iface1, MyType);
#undef Iface1_foo

// `MyType_Iface2_foo` function definition here...

#define Iface2_foo MyType_Iface2_foo
impl(Iface2, MyType);
#undef Iface2_foo
```

The same holds for custom implementations:

```c
// Use a custom implementation for `Iface1::bar`.
#define MyType_bar_CUSTOM ()
impl(Iface1, MyType);
#undef MyType_bar_CUSTOM

// Use the default `Iface2::bar`.
impl(Iface2, MyType);
```

## Design choices

The design of Interface99 may raise some questions. In this section, you may find answers why it was designed in this way.

### `VCALL_*`

Instead of using the `VCALL_*` macros, we could instead generate functions that accept an interface object as a first parameter, with the rest of parameters being arguments to a particular method:

```c
void Shape_scale(Shape shape, int factor) {
    shape.vptr->scale(shape.self, factor);
}
```

But this approach does not work for superinterfaces' methods, as well as for methods accepting an interface object instead of `VSelf` or a combination thereof. For this reason, I decided to stick to more expressive `VCALL_*` macros, although at the cost of some IDE support.

### `self` type safety

Since there can be many specific implementations of a virtual method (like `Rectangle_scale` or `Triangle_scale`), `self` **must** be of type `void *`. But the problem is that in concrete implementations, we still want `self` to be of some concrete type; and since `void *` and `T *` may be incompatible types, assigning a concrete method accepting `T *` to a virtual method field [results in UB](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/559581/casting-a-function-pointer-to-another-type).

To solve the problem, we may want to generate untyped wrapper functions that accept `void *restrict self` and pass the downcasted version to the underlying method:

```c
void Rectangle_scale_wrapper(void *restrict self, int factor) {
    Rectangle_scale((Rectangle * restrict)self, factor);
}
```

But the reason we do **not** do this is that in C99, it is impossible to differentiate `void` from other types; if the return type is `void`, we must not emit `return` with an expression, otherwise, we **must**. We could come up with something like `vfuncVoid` and `vfuncDefaultVoid` but this would increase the learning curve and complicate the design and implementation of Interface99.

However, casting untyped `self` to a particular type is still quite unpleasant. The best thing I came up with is the `VSelf` and `VSELF(T)` mechanism, which nonetheless works quite well.

## Credits

Thanks to Rust and Golang for their implementations of traits/interfaces.

## Blog posts

 - [_Comparing Golang and Interface99_](https://www.reddit.com/r/C_Programming/comments/tgm5ft/comparing_golang_and_interface99/)
 - [_What’s the Point of the C Preprocessor, Actually?_](https://hirrolot.github.io/posts/whats-the-point-of-the-c-preprocessor-actually.html)
 - [_Macros on Steroids, Or: How Can Pure C Benefit From Metaprogramming_](https://hirrolot.github.io/posts/macros-on-steroids-or-how-can-pure-c-benefit-from-metaprogramming.html)
 - [_Extend Your Language, Don’t Alter It_](https://hirrolot.github.io/posts/extend-your-language-dont-alter-it.html)

## Release procedure

 1. Update `IFACE99_MAJOR`, `IFACE99_MINOR`, and `IFACE99_PATCH` in `interface99.h`.
 2. Update `CHANGELOG.md`.
 3. Release the project in [GitHub Releases].

[GitHub Releases]: https://github.com/hirrolot/interface99/releases

## FAQ

### Q: Why use C instead of Rust/Zig/whatever else?

A: See [Datatype99's README >>](https://github.com/hirrolot/datatype99#q-why-use-c-instead-of-rustzigwhatever-else).

### Q: Why not third-party code generators?

A: See [Metalang99's README >>](https://github.com/hirrolot/metalang99#q-why-not-third-party-code-generators).

### Q: How does it work?

A: Interface99 is implemented upon [Metalang99], a preprocessor metaprogramming library that allows enriching pure C with some custom syntax sugar.

### Q: Does it work on C++?

A: Yes, C++11 and onwards is supported.

### Q: How Interface99 differs from similar projects?

A:

 - **Less boilerplate.** In particular, Interface99 deduces function implementations from the context, thus improving code maintenance. To my knowledge, no other alternative can do this.

 - **Small.** Interface99 only features the software interface concept, no less and no more -- it does not bring all the other fancy OOP stuff, unlike [GObject] or [COS].

 - **Depends on Metalang99.** Interface99 is built upon [Metalang99], the underlying metaprogramming framework. With Metalang99, you can also use [Datatype99].

Other worth-mentioning projects:

 - [typeclass-interface-pattern], though it is rather a general idea than a ready-to-use implementation.
 - [OOC] -- a book about OO programming in ANSI C.

[`obj.h`]: https://github.com/small-c/obj.h
[GObject]: https://developer.gnome.org/gobject/stable/
[COS]: http://ldeniau.web.cern.ch/ldeniau/cos.html
[Datatype99]: https://github.com/hirrolot/datatype99
[typeclass-interface-pattern]: https://github.com/TotallyNotChase/typeclass-interface-pattern
[OOC]: https://www.cs.rit.edu/~ats/books/ooc.pdf

### Q: What about compile-time errors?

#### Error: missing interface implementation

[`playground.c`]
```c
#define Foo_IFACE vfunc(void, foo, int x, int y)
interface(Foo);

typedef struct {
    char dummy;
} MyFoo;

// Missing `void MyFoo_foo(int x, int y)`.

impl(Foo, MyFoo);
```

[`/bin/sh`]
```
playground.c:12:1: error: ‘MyFoo_foo’ undeclared here (not in a function)
   12 | impl(Foo, MyFoo);
      | ^~~~
```

----------

#### Error: improperly typed interface implementation

[`playground.c`]
```c
#define Foo_IFACE vfunc(void, foo, int x, int y)
interface(Foo);

typedef struct {
    char dummy;
} MyFoo;

void MyFoo_foo(const char *str) {}

impl(Foo, MyFoo);
```

[`/bin/sh`]
```
playground.c:12:1: warning: initialization of ‘void (*)(int,  int)’ from incompatible pointer type ‘void (*)(const char *)’ [-Wincompatible-pointer-types]
   12 | impl(Foo, MyFoo);
      | ^~~~
playground.c:12:1: note: (near initialization for ‘MyFoo_Foo_impl.foo’)
```

----------

#### Error: unsatisfied interface requirement

[`playground.c`]
```c
#define Foo_IFACE vfunc(void, foo, int x, int y)
interface(Foo);

#define Bar_IFACE   vfunc(void, bar, void)
#define Bar_EXTENDS (Foo)

interface(Bar);

typedef struct {
    char dummy;
} MyBar;

void MyBar_bar(void) {}

// Missing `impl(Foo, MyBar)`.

impl(Bar, MyBar);
```

[`/bin/sh`]
```
playground.c:19:1: error: ‘MyBar_Foo_impl’ undeclared here (not in a function); did you mean ‘MyBar_Bar_impl’?
   19 | impl(Bar, MyBar);
      | ^~~~
      | MyBar_Bar_impl
```

----------

#### Error: typo in `DYN`

[`playground.c`]
```c
#define Foo_IFACE vfunc(void, foo, void)
interface(Foo);

typedef struct {
    char dummy;
} MyFoo;

void MyFoo_foo(void) {}

impl(Foo, MyFoo);

int main(void) { Foo foo = DYN(MyFoo, /* Foo */ Bar, &(MyFoo){0}); }
```

[`/bin/sh`]
```
playground.c: In function ‘main’:
playground.c:14:28: error: ‘Bar’ undeclared (first use in this function)
   14 | int main(void) { Foo foo = DYN(MyFoo, /* Foo */ Bar, &(MyFoo){0}); }
      |                            ^~~
playground.c:14:28: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in
playground.c:14:31: error: expected ‘)’ before ‘{’ token
   14 | int main(void) { Foo foo = DYN(MyFoo, /* Foo */ Bar, &(MyFoo){0}); }
      |                            ~~~^
      |                               )
```

----------

#### Error: typo in `VTABLE`

[`playground.c`]
```c
#define Foo_IFACE vfunc(void, foo, void)
interface(Foo);

typedef struct {
    char dummy;
} MyFoo;

void MyFoo_foo(void) {}

impl(Foo, MyFoo);

int main(void) { FooVTable foo = VTABLE(/* MyFoo */ MyBar, Foo); }
```

[`/bin/sh`]
```
playground.c: In function ‘main’:
playground.c:14:34: error: ‘MyBar_Foo_impl’ undeclared (first use in this function); did you mean ‘MyFoo_Foo_impl’?
   14 | int main(void) { FooVTable foo = VTABLE(/* MyFoo */ MyBar, Foo); }
      |                                  ^~~~~~
      |                                  MyFoo_Foo_impl
```

----------

From my experience, nearly 95% of errors make sense.

If an error is not comprehensible at all, try to look at generated code (`-E`). Hopefully, the [code generation semantics] is formally defined so normally you will not see something unexpected.

### Q: What about IDE support?

![Suggestion](images/suggestion.png)

A: VS Code automatically enables suggestions of generated types but, of course, it does not support macro syntax highlighting. The sad part is that `VCALL` and its friends break go-to definitions and do not highlight function signatures, so we do intentionally [trade some IDE support for syntax conciseness](#vcall_-1).

### Q: Which compilers are tested?

A: Interface99 is known to work on these compilers:

 - GCC
 - Clang
 - MSVC
 - TCC