Elektra: elektra-libs(7) -- libs overview

Elektra 0.8.24

elektra-libs(7) -- libs overview

Since version 0.8.15 libelektra is split into following libraries:

Overview of Libraries

### Loader

loader contains source files that implement the plugin loader functionality. The files are linked to libelektra.

### Libease

    libelektra-ease.so

libease contains data-structure operations on top of libcore which do not depend on internals. Applications and plugins can choose to not link against it if they want to stay minimal.

### Libplugin

    libelektra-plugin.so

libplugin contains `elektraPlugin*` symbols and plugins should link against it.

### Libpluginprocess

    libelektra-pluginprocess.so

libpluginprocess contains functions aiding in executing plugins in a separate process and communicating with those child processes. This child process is forked from Elektra's main process each time such plugin is used and gets closed again afterwards. It uses a simple communication protocol based on a KeySet that gets serialized through a pipe via the dump plugin to orchestrate the processes.

This is useful for plugins which cause memory leaks to be isolated in an own process. Furthermore this is useful for runtimes or libraries that cannot be reinitialized in the same process after they have been used.

### Libproposal

    libelektra-proposal.so

libproposal contains functions that are proposed for libcore. Depends on internas of libcore and as such must always fit to the exact same version.

### Libmeta

    libelektra-meta.so

libmeta contains metadata operations as described in METADATA.ini. Will be code-generated in the future, so methods should be mechanical reflections of the contents in METADATA.ini.

### Libcore

    libelektra-core.so
    <kdbhelper.h>
    <kdb.h> (key* and ks*)

Contains the fundamental data-structures every participant of Elektra needs to link against. It should be the only part that access the internal data structures.

### Libtools

libtools is a high-level C++ shared-code for tools. It includes:

- plugin interface
- backend interface
- 3-way merge

### Utility

libutility provides utility functions to be used in plugins.

### Libinvoke

    libelektra-invoke.so

libinvoke provides a simple API allowing us to call functions exported by plugins.

### IO

    libelektra-io.so

io provides the common API for using asynchronous I/O bindings.

### Notification

    libelektra-notification.so

notification provides the notification API. Usage examples:

- Basic notifications using polling
- Using asynchronous I/O bindings
- Reload KDB when Elektra's configuration has changed