From ab610edb1652ee5e07392798a4b1f824aeb1d526 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "rick.chan" <chenyang@autoai.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2021 11:37:52 +0800
Subject: [PATCH] Build and Use Go Packages as C Libraries

Signed-off-by: rick.chan <chenyang@autoai.com>
---
 ...uild_and_Use_Go_Packages_as_C_Libraries.md | 82 +++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 82 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 Software/Development/Language/Go/Basic/Build_and_Use_Go_Packages_as_C_Libraries.md

diff --git a/Software/Development/Language/Go/Basic/Build_and_Use_Go_Packages_as_C_Libraries.md b/Software/Development/Language/Go/Basic/Build_and_Use_Go_Packages_as_C_Libraries.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2ba9ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Software/Development/Language/Go/Basic/Build_and_Use_Go_Packages_as_C_Libraries.md
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# Build and Use Go Packages as C Libraries
+
+CGO is an official builtin feature of Go, it enables the creation of Go packages that reference to C libraries. But it isn’t just that, it is achievable in the opposite direction, too. It enables creation of C libraries from Go packages so that C code can reference to Go, which is mind-blowing.
+
+## 1.How to
+
+### 1.1.Build Go package as C shared library (or shared object)
+
+Every Go **main** package can be built as a C shared library.
+
+```bash
+go build -go build -buildmode c-shared -o <c-lib>.so <go-package>
+```
+
+Executing above command builds target Go **main** package and all of its dependencies as a single C shared library, which can be distributed, installed and linked to every C application and applications in other programming languages that can reference C shared libraries (C++, Python, Javascript, etc).
+
+Note: Output C shared libraries should be named in standard form **lib\*.so**.
+
+### 1.2.Generate C header and export Go functions as C functions
+
+Building a Go **main** package as C shared library doesn’t automatically neither generate C header nor expose any Go function as C symbol. Developers have to explicitly indicate which Go functions to be exposed.
+
+To export a Go function as a C symbol:
+
+* Add comment **//export FuncName** on top of the Go function.
+* The Go code file containing the function has to **import "C"**.
+* The function must belong to **main** package.
+* The function signature must not include neither Go struct nor* Go interface nor Go array nor variadic argument.
+
+```go
+package main
+
+import "C"
+
+import (
+    "math/rand"
+    "time"
+)
+
+//export cgoCurrentMillis
+func cgoCurrentMillis() C.long {
+    return C.long(time.Now().Unix())
+}
+
+//export cgoSeed
+func cgoSeed(m C.long) {
+    rand.Seed(int64(m))
+}
+
+//export cgoRandom
+func cgoRandom(m C.int) C.int {
+    return C.int(rand.Intn(int(m)))
+}
+```
+
+Building above Go **main** package generates a C header file **\<output\>**.h along with a C shared object **\<output\>**.so.
+
+```cpp
+// Other stuff.
+
+extern long int cgoCurrentMillis();
+extern void cgoSeed(long int p0);
+extern int cgoRandom(int p0);
+```
+
+**cgoCurrentMilli**, **cgoSeed** and **cgoRandom** are exposed as C symbols in **\<output\>**.so, too.
+
+Now, every C application can include the generated C header, link to the output C shared library and use exposed C symbols.
+
+```cpp
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <cgo-random.h>
+
+int main() {
+    cgoSeed(cgoCurrentMilli());
+    
+    printf("Hello World from C!\n");
+    printf("cgoRandom() -> %d\n", cgoRandom(256));
+    
+    return 0;
+}
+```