libGimbal

C17-Based Extended Standard Library and Cross-Language Type System

LibGimbal is a cross-platform, general-purpose core applications framework written in C17 with C++20 bindings, inspired by GLib, QtCore, and the Objective-C Foundation framework. It is composed of a series of modules providing a core application layer, specialized string types, generic STL-style containers, sorting and searching algorithms, custom allocators, preprocessor metaprogramming constructs, miscellaneous utility structures, and a full-fledged dynamic type system bringing object-oriented constructs such as classes, signals, and properties to C and bindable languages. Additionally, it includes a C-based OO unit-testing framework built upon its type system and object model. LibGimbal originated as the core of the Elysian Shadows tech stack, and as such supports a myriad of embedded devices and video game consoles such as the Sega Dreamcast and Sony PSP. It places a strong emphasis on performance and language interoperability, with the core being written in standard C17 for easily binding to languages such as Rust, Swift, Go, Lua, and any other C-compatible language. The library is currently being tested and validated via the included suite of unit tests for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Sega Dreamcast, Sony PSVita, and WebAssembly targets. ## Documentation ## The official documentation for the project can be found at http://libgimbal.elysianshadows.com. This documentation is still a work in progress. ## Features ## ### Core Framework ### - platform-specific macros and utilities - error handling and propagation - debug and verification utilities - structured logging with filtering ### Strings ### - specialized, optimized custom string types - interned strings - reference counted strings - string builders - implicitly shared string lists - pattern matching ### Containers ### - STL-style abstract data types with both C and C++ APIs - dynamic arrays, lists, ring buffers - sets, trees, hash tables, byte arrays - support for custom allocators ### Algorithms ### - hashing algorithms (Murmur, Sip, Fnv1, SuperFast) - sorting algorithms, searching algorithms - random data generators and utilities - CRC, parity, LCM, GCD, prime numbers ### Allocators ### - allocation trackers with leak detection - paged arena allocators with state rewinding - stack-based scope allocator with destructor chains - efficient pool-based, arena-backed allocator ### Preprocessor ### - function overloading support for C - macro compositon, variadic argument handling - cross-language C/C++ generic selection - meta macro programming constructs ### Meta Type System ### - cross-language, extensible object-oriented type system - generic, polymorphic variant types with type conversions - virtual functions, inheritance, private members for C - mixins, interfaces, abstract classes - generic FFI with cross-language closures and marshals - property system - Qt/GTk style signal system - object hierarchy management, parenting, traversals - event handling, filtering, propagation - plugin and module system ### Utilities ### - generic reference-counted types - command-line option and argument parsing - version, UUID, date-time utilities ### Unit Testing Framework ### - cross-platform object-oriented C-based unit test framework - test scenarios, suites, cases - generic verification macros with source context capture - automatic timing and performance measurements - memory utilization and leak detection - dynamic/run-time test-plan construction and management