Application binary interface: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:12, 17 August 2023

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In [[computer software]], an '''application binary interface''' ('''ABI''') is an [[interface (computing)|interface]] between two binary program modules. Often, one of these modules is a [[Library (computing)|library]] or [[operating system]] facility, and the other is a program that is being run by a user.

An ABI defines how data structures or computational routines are accessed in [[machine code]], which is a low-level, hardware-dependent format. In contrast, an [[Applicationapplication programming interface|''API'']] (API) defines this access in [[source code]], which is a relatively high-level, hardware-independent, often [[human-readable]] format. A common aspect of an ABI is the [[calling convention]], which determines how data is provided as input to, or read as output from, computational routines. Examples of this are the [[x86 calling conventions]].

Adhering to an ABI (which may or may not be officially standardized) is usually the job of a [[compiler]], operating system, or library author. However, an application programmer may have to deal with an ABI directly when writing a program in a mix of programming languages, or even compiling a program written in the same language with different compilers.