1 /*****************************************************************************
2 * RRDtool 1.2.16 Copyright by Tobi Oetiker, 1997-2006
3 *****************************************************************************
4 * rrd_datalang A system for passing named and typed parameters between
5 * the different parts of rrdtool
6 *
7 * In rrdtool thre are a number of places where large and complex
8 * data structures have to be passed from one function to another
9 * eg when rrd_info returns its findings, but also when a function like
10 * rrd_graph get called.
11 *
12 * At the moment function calling is done with an argc/argv type interface
13 * it's special property is that all data is passed as strings, which can lead
14 * to unnecessary conversions being performed when rrdtool functions are called
15 * from a typed language
16 *
17 * Data returns from functions is not standardized at all, which is
18 * efficient in the sense that the data return interface can be tailord to
19 * the specific needs of the function at hand, but it also leads to
20 * increassed probability for implementation errors as things have to be
21 * reinvented for each function. Also adding new functions into all the
22 * language bindings is quite cumbersom.
23 *
24 * Therefore I want to develop a standardized interface for passing named
25 * and typed data into functions and for returning data from functions to
26 * their callers. I am thinking about working of the code in rrd_info.c ...
27 *
28 * Does anyone have experiance in this field or any pointers to read up on
29 * related work ? Or maybe even an existing library for this ?
30 *
31 * Cheers
32 * tobi / 2001-03-10
33 *
34 *****************************************************************************/