From: Tony Smith <tony@...>
Date: 2002-02-07T21:44:01+09:00
Subject: Re: API questions

Andy Neagu wrote:

> Hi everybody,
> 
> 
> I'm working on an extension to ruby that will allow me to work directly
> with Orca (a dll that allows you to work directly with pbls - Powerbuilder
> libraries). I'm not familiar with the ruby API's and I have some problems
> (like documentation I'm using "Programming Ruby").
> 
> 
> Then:
> 
> How can I know the size of an ruby array?

The same way you would if you were using Ruby. i.e. call Array#length.

  NUM2INT( rb_funcall( ary, rb_intern( "length" ), 0 ) )

> STR2CSTR makes a copy? Or gets only a pointer to?

Looks like it gets a pointer to the C string.

> If I want to pass to a function a pointer array of C strings and the
> strings are in a ruby array of strings, how can I do??

You have to build the C array dynamically. I'd call Array#flatten() in case 
any of the members of the array are arrays themselves. Then allocate a C 
array of the appropriate length, and populate it from the flattened ruby 
array.

Tony
-- 
Tony Smith
tony at perforce dot com