#9656: Process and thread init/deinit hooks for C libraries -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Reporter: 3noch | Owner: Type: feature request | Status: new Priority: normal | Milestone: Component: Compiler | Version: 7.8.3 Keywords: FFI | Operating System: Architecture: Unknown/Multiple | Unknown/Multiple Difficulty: Unknown | Type of failure: Blocked By: | None/Unknown Related Tickets: | Test Case: | Blocking: | Differential Revisions: -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Haskell's FFI for C seems geared toward C as an optimization. But in many cases, we use the C FFI merely hook into a 3rd-party library. In this case, the FFI seems a bit lacking. In my specific case, I want to link against libmysqlclient_r to perform MySQL queries. However, the library requires global init and deinit. Worse, it requires init/deinit for *each* thread that wishes to interact with its API. This type of thing is not entirely uncommon among C libraries. Of course, we can bend over backward to inter-operate with such libraries (e.g. wrap the C API with our own versions that ensure proper initialization), but the process is painstaking and often requires decent performance overhead. I would like to request some sort of hook registration where the FFI can be used to accomplish these common tasks. Perhaps it's too difficult, but it doesn't hurt to ask! -- Ticket URL: http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/9656 GHC http://www.haskell.org/ghc/ The Glasgow Haskell Compiler