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'In [[computer software]], an '''application binary interface''' ('''ABI''') describes the low-level [[interface (computing)|interface]] between an application (or any type of) program and the [[operating system]] or another application. == Description == ABIs cover details such as data [[data type|type]], size, and [[Data structure alignment|alignment]]; the [[calling convention]], which controls how [[function (programming)|function]]s' arguments are passed and return values retrieved; the [[system call]] numbers and how an application should make system calls to the operating system; and in the case of a complete operating system ABI, the binary format of [[object file]]s, program libraries and so on. A complete ABI, such as the [[Intel]] Binary Compatibility Standard (iBCS),<ref>[http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=iBCS Intel Binary Compatibility Standard (iBCS)]</ref> allows a program from one operating system supporting that ABI to run without modifications on any other such system, provided that necessary shared libraries are present, and similar prerequisites are fulfilled. Other ABIs standardize details such as the [[name mangling#Name mangling in C++|C++ name mangling]],<ref>[http://www.codesourcery.com/cxx-abi/abi.html Itanium C++ ABI] (compatible with multiple architectures)</ref> [[exception handling|exception]] propagation,<ref>[http://www.codesourcery.com/cxx-abi/abi-eh.html Itanium C++ ABI: Exception Handling] (compatible with multiple architectures)</ref> and calling convention between compilers on the same platform, but do not require cross-platform compatibility. An ABI should not be confused with an [[application programming interface]] (API) which defines a library of routines to call, data structures to manipulate, and/or object classes to use in the construction of an application using that particular (often language specific) API. == EABI == An '''embedded-application binary interface''' (EABI) specifies standard conventions for [[file format]]s, data types, register usage, stack frame organization, and function parameter passing of an [[Embedded system|embedded]] software program. [[Compiler]]s that support the EABI create [[object code]] that is compatible with code generated by other such compilers, thus allowing developers to link libraries generated with one compiler with object code generated with a different compiler. Developers writing their own [[assembly language]] code may also use the EABI to interface with assembly generated by a compliant compiler. The main differences of an EABI with respect to an ABI for general purpose operating systems are that privileged instructions are allowed in application code, dynamic linking is not required (sometimes it is completely disallowed), and a more compact stack frame organization to save memory.<ref>{{cite book | title = PowerPC Embedded Application Binary Interface &mdash; 32-Bit Implementation | date = 1995-10-01 | edition = Version 1.0 | chapter = EABI Summary | pages = 28&ndash;30 | publisher = Motorola | url = http://ftp.twaren.net/Unix/Sourceware/binutils/ppc-docs/ppc-eabi-1995-01.pdf }}</ref> Widely used EABIs include [[PowerPC]]<ref>[http://www.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/852569B20050FF77852569970071B0D6/$file/eabi_app.pdf "PowerPC Embedded Processors Application Note"]</ref> and [[ARM architecture|ARM]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Debian ARM accelerates via EABI port | date = 2007-01-19 | publisher = Linuxdevices.com | url = http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9048137234.html | accessdate = 2007-10-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author = Andrés Calderón and Nelson Castillo | title = Why ARM's EABI matters | date = 2007-03-14 | publisher = Linuxdevices.com | url = http://linuxdevices.com/articles/AT5920399313.html | accessdate = 2007-10-11 }}</ref> ==See also== * [[ABI Compliance Checker]] * [[Calling convention]] * [[Libffi]] * [[Opaque pointer]] * [[PowerOpen Environment]] * [[Programming]] * [[System call]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://wiki.debian.org/ArmEabiPort Debian ARM EABI port] * [http://www.uclibc.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/trunk/docs/psABI-m8-16.pdf?rev=10808 Motorola 8 and 16 bit Embedded ABI] * [http://www.x86-64.org/documentation.html AMD64(x86_64) Application Binary Interface] * [http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.ihi0036a/index.html Application Binary Interface (ABI) for the ARM Architecture] * [http://www.cygwin.com/ml/binutils/2003-06/msg00436.html MIPS EABI documentation] * [http://developers.sun.com/solaris/articles/about_amd64_abi.html Sun Studio 10 Compilers and the AMD64 ABI] Good summary and comparison about some popular ABIs * [http://www.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/ref_manual/MCOREABISM.pdf "M•CORE Applications Binary Interface Standards Manual"] for the Freescale [[M·CORE]] processors [[Category:Application programming interfaces]] [[Category:Operating system technology]] [[cs:ABI]] [[de:Binärschnittstelle]] [[fr:Application binary interface]] [[ko:응용 프로그램 2진 인터페이스]] [[it:Application binary interface]] [[ja:Application Binary Interface]] [[no:Binærkompatibilitet]] [[pl:Application Binary Interface]] [[pt:Interface binária de aplicação]] [[ru:Двоичный интерфейс приложений]] [[fi:ABI]] [[zh:应用二进制接口]]'