Nim C Interop
Nim C Interop
Introduction
Nim compiles to C, enabling seamless interoperability with C code and libraries. This bi-directional integration allows Nim developers to leverage decades of C libraries while exposing Nim code to C applications. Understanding C interop is essential for systems programming and library wrapping.
The interop mechanism uses pragmas like importc, exportc, and header to declare foreign functions and types. Nim's type system maps naturally to C, with explicit control over memory layout and calling conventions. This enables zero-overhead abstraction while maintaining C ABI compatibility.
This skill covers importing C functions and types, wrapping C libraries, header file generation, memory layout control, callback handling, and patterns for safe type-safe C interop in systems programming.