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Guy Harris (talk | contribs) →{{Anchor|EABI}}Embedded ABI: Speak of the PowerPC, Arm, and MIPS EABIs rather than of PowerPC, the Arm EABI, and the MIPS EABI, omitting "EABI" from "PowerPC". |
Guy Harris (talk | contribs) Multiple compilers for the *same* language, presumably; multiple compilers for multiple languages is usually the case. |
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An ABI is at a relatively low-level of [[abstraction (computer science)|abstraction]]. Interface compatibility depends on the target [[computer hardware|hardware]] and the [[software build]] [[toolchain]]. In contrast, an [[application programming interface]] (API) defines access in [[source code]] which is a relatively high-level, hardware-independent, and [[human-readable]] format. An API defines interface at the source code level, before compilation, whereas an ABI defines an interface to compiled code.
API compatibility is generally the concern for [[system design]] and of the toolchain. However, a [[programmer]] may have to deal with an ABI directly when writing a program in
A complete ABI
== Description ==
Interface aspects covered by an ABI include:
* [[Processor (computing)|Processor]] [[instruction set]], with details like register file structure
* Size, layout, and [[Data structure alignment|alignment]] of basic [[data type]]s that the processor can directly access
* [[Calling convention]], which controls how the arguments of [[function (programming)|function]]s are passed, and return values retrieved; for example, it controls the following:
** How the [[call stack]] is organized
** Whether all parameters are passed on the call stack, or some are passed in registers ** Which registers are used for which function parameters
** Whether the first function parameter passed on the call stack is pushed first or last
** Whether the caller or callee is responsible for cleaning up the call stack after the function call
* [[Name mangling]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itanium-cxx-abi.github.io/cxx-abi/|title=Itanium C++ ABI}} (compatible with multiple architectures)</ref>
* [[exception handling|Exception]] propagation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://itanium-cxx-abi.github.io/cxx-abi/abi-eh.html|title=Itanium C++ ABI: Exception Handling}} (compatible with multiple architectures)</ref>
* How an application should make [[system call]]s to the operating system, and if the ABI specifies direct system calls rather than procedure calls to system call [[Method stub|stubs]], the system call numbers
* In the case of a complete operating system ABI, the binary format of [[object file]]s, program libraries, etc.
ABIs include the [[Intel Binary Compatibility Standard]] (iBCS)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=iBCS |title=Intel Binary Compatibility Standard (iBCS)}}</ref> and the [[System V Release 4]] ABIs for various instruction sets.
== {{Anchor|EABI}}Embedded ABI ==
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