Extension modules

Two ways to do it: XS and SWIG.
SWIG is easy, but limited. When you want to do something SWIG doesn't support (e.g., binary data in strings) but Perl does, you're screwed.
http://www.swig.org/
XS is powerful, but more complicated.
You're making wrappers for C functions so that a Perl program can call them as though they were Perl functions.
Three big problems: converting data types, managing the argument and return stack, and correctly managing reference counts.
h2xs can build skeletal wrapper modules for you.
perlguts, perlxs, and perlxstut manpages.
Don't overlook Dean Roehrich's XS Cookbook in his DMR directory on CPAN.
perl-xs mailing list on perl.org (mail perl-xs-subscribe@perl.org)

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