lualike_ffi

lualike_ffi is the native backend used by lualike's runtime-declared FFI. It loads ordinary shared libraries, resolves exported C symbols, and calls them through signatures supplied at runtime.

The package deliberately has no dependency on the lualike interpreter. It can therefore own the native build hook and libffi bridge without creating a dependency cycle with the scripting runtime.

Current support

• Linux hosts
• void, bool, signed and unsigned integers, f32, f64, pointers, and UTF-8 strings
• Explicit library close and closed-handle validation
• Runtime symbol signatures backed by libffi

The host must provide the libffi development library when building this prototype. Structs, callbacks, variadic calls, and direct memory access are not yet supported.

The backend calls ordinary C exports. It does not emulate Lua's C API or supply a lua_State, so stock libraries exporting luaopen_* need a plain-C adapter.

Safety

Native FFI executes code in the host process. Incorrect signatures, invalid pointers, or untrusted libraries can corrupt memory or terminate the process. The lualike CLI therefore keeps FFI disabled unless --allow-ffi is present.