FFI, an abbreviation for "Foreign Function Interface," refers to a mechanism or software library that enables programming languages to call and use functions from a different programming language or a foreign code written in another language. It acts as an interface or bridge between two programming languages, facilitating communication and interaction between them.
FFI allows programmers to seamlessly incorporate functions or methods from external libraries or codebases written in different languages into their primary programming language. By providing a language-specific API or wrapper around foreign code, FFI simplifies the process of linking and executing code from different languages. This enables developers to take advantage of existing libraries, tools, or functionalities available in other programming languages without having to rewrite everything from scratch.
FFI is commonly used in scenarios where developers want to combine the benefits of different languages, leverage the performance and efficiency of low-level code, or extend the capabilities of their primary language. It allows for interoperability and integration between languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, and others. FFI often includes features like dynamic type checks, automatic data conversion, memory management, and error handling to ensure reliable and secure communication between languages.
In summary, FFI is a mechanism that enables programmers to use functions or code written in a different programming language within their primary language, promoting code reusability, interoperability, and broadening the range of available functionalities.
