Idris2/docs/source/backends/gambit.rst

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Gambit Scheme Code Generator
****************************

The Gambit Scheme code generator can be accessed via the REPL command:

::

    Main> :set cg gambit

Alternatively, you can set it via the ``IDRIS2_CG`` environment variable:

::

    $ export IDRIS2_CG=gambit

To run Idris programs with this generator, you will need to install
`Gambit Scheme <https://gambitscheme.org>`_. Gambit Scheme is free software,
and available via most package managers.

You can compile an expression ``expr`` of type ``IO ()`` to an executable as
follows, at the REPL:

::

    Main> :c execname expr

...where ``execname`` is the name of the executable file. This will generate
the following:

* An executable binary ``build/exec/execname`` of the program.
* A Gambit Scheme source file ``build/exec/execname.scm``, from which the
  binary is generated.

You can also execute an expression directly:

::

    Main> :exec expr

Again, ``expr`` must have type ``IO ()``. This will generate a temporary
Scheme file, and execute the Gambit interpreter on it.


Gambit Directives
=================

* ``--directive extraRuntime=<path>``

  Embed Scheme source from ``<path>`` directly into generated output. Can be specified more than
  once, in which case all given files will be included in the order specified.

  .. code-block:: scheme

    ; extensions.scm
    (define (my-mul a b)
      (* a b))


  .. code-block:: idris

    -- Main.idr
    %foreign "scheme:my-mul"
    myMul : Int -> Int -> Int

  .. code-block::

    $ idris2 --codegen chez --directive extraRuntime=/path/to/extensions.scm -o main Main.idr

* ``--directive C``

  Compile to C.

Gambit Environment Configurations
=================================

* ``GAMBIT_GSC_BACKEND``

  The ``GAMBIT_GSC_BACKEND`` variable controls which C compiler Gambit will use during compilation. E.g. to use clang:

  ::

    $ export GAMBIT_GSC_BACKEND=clang

  Gambit after version v4.9.3 supports the ``-cc`` option, which configures
  the compiler backend Gambit will use to build the binary. Currently to
  get this functionality Gambit needs to be built from source, since it is
  not yet available in a released version.