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crubybigdecimalruby-c-extension

Using ruby's BigDecimal in the C API

In order to create a BigDecimal from a C string in a Ruby extension, I'm doing this:

rb_funcall(rb_path2class("BigDecimal"), rb_intern("new"), 1, rb_str_new("0.0777", 6));
// => BigDecimal.new("0.0777")

Is there a shorter way to do this?

Also, stupid question, but is there an 'official' documentation for the C API (ruby 1.9.3), or does it just come down to reading the headers?

Solution

  • Unfortunately, the initialize function, and pretty much the entire BigDecimal C API, is declared as static and is thus not exposed.

    The best way to learn about the C implementation of Ruby, and its API, is to browse the source, especially the ext directory. There is also the README.EXT file, which describes the general API.