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Update the documentation according to the latest discussions
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abique committed Jan 8, 2024
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Showing 1 changed file with 21 additions and 30 deletions.
51 changes: 21 additions & 30 deletions include/clap/entry.h
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -31,42 +31,33 @@ extern "C" {
// Each directory should be recursively searched for files and/or bundles as appropriate in your OS
// ending with the extension `.clap`.
//
// As detailed in the respective functions' documentations below, the host is forbidden from calling
// either init() or deinit() multiple times, without calling the other first. This is to enforce
// a "normal" initialization pattern, where one can't construct or destroy an object multiple times.
// init and deinit in most cases are called once, in a matched pair, when the dso is loaded / unloaded.
// In some rare situations it may be called multiple times in a process, so the functions must be defensive,
// mutex locking and counting calls if undertaking non trivial non idempotent actions.
//
// However, there are a few cases where the host may not be able to reliably prevent this from
// happening, such as when multiple, separate hosts co-exist within the same address space (e.g.
// Meta-Plugins, plugins that can host other plugins inside them). It may also happen when a VST
// compatibility layer is used to wrap a CLAP plugin, for instance.
// Rationale:
//
// In those cases, the init() and deinit() pair of functions can happen to be called multiple times,
// either in a row or even simultaneously, from different threads, by multiple non-synchronized
// hosts, or by a single host that is presented multiple interfaces to a same DSO. This can happen
// even though this is forbidden behavior from the host by this specification, and despite a
// compliant host's best efforts.
// The intent of the init() and deinit() functions is to provide a "normal" initialization patterh
// which occurs when the shared object is loaded or unloaded. As such, hosts will call each once and
// in matched pairs. In clap specifications prior to 1.1.11, this single-call was documented as a
// requirement.
//
// Despite those issues, hosts *must* ensure that each successful call to init() is only followed by
// a single call to deinit() at most. As long as a single successful init() call did not have its
// matching deinit() called, the DSO *must* remain in a fully operational state, as if deinit() had
// not yet been called.
// We realized, though, that this is not a requirement hosts can meet. If hosts load a plugin
// which itself wraps another CLAP for instance, while also loading that same clap in its memory
// space, both the host and the wrapper will call init() and deinit() and have no means to communicate
// the state.
//
// Therefore, init() and deinit() functions *should* be implemented in a way that allows for init()
// to be called any number of times in a row (possibly simultaneously, from multiple threads), and
// for deinit() to be called at most that same number of times (also simultaneously, from multiple,
// possibly different threads from the init() called). As of CLAP 1.11, this *must* be the case for
// all plugin implementations.
// With clap 1.1.11 and beyond we are changing the spec to indicate that a host should make an
// absolute best effort to call init() and deinit() once, and always in matched pairs (for every
// init() which returns true, one deinit() should be called).
//
// This is already trivially the case if there is no (de)initialization work in the entry at all,
// or if the initialization work is thread safe and idempotent, and there is no de-initialization
// work to be done. Those implementations already are and remain valid, and require no additional
// consideration.
// This takes the de-facto burden on plugin writers to deal with multiple calls into a hard requirement.
//
// If that is not the case, then using a global, refcount-like locked initialization counter can be
// used to keep track of init() and deinit() calls. Then the initialization work can be done only
// when the counter goes from 0 to 1 in init(), and de-initialization can be done when the counter
// goes to 0 in deinit(). Any subsequent calls to init() and deinit() can just increase or decrease
// the counter, respectively.
// Most init() / deinit() pairs we have seen are the relatively trivial {return true;} and {}. But
// if your init() function does non-trivial one time work, the plugin author must maintain a counter
// and must manage a mutex lock. The most obvious implementation will maintain a static counter and a
// global mutex, increment the counter on each init, decrement it on each deinit, and only undertake
// the init or deinit action when the counter is zero.
typedef struct clap_plugin_entry {
clap_version_t clap_version; // initialized to CLAP_VERSION

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