huntedbytheirs
180c1107b6
Establish the repository layout per Vox guidelines (layouts/C.md, building/C.md): Autotools build (GCC-only, C23), five compatibility profiles (--enable-onlyposix/--enable-muslmimic/--enable-muslext/ --enable-spoof, default vlibc), alongside/overwrite install methods, vlibc-gcc/vlibc-clang drivers, static-linking requirement (except spoof), benchmark harness, and tooling (.clang-format/.clang-tidy/ .clangd + compile_commands.json).
1.9 KiB
Overview
vlibc is Vox's replacement for glibc: a C and POSIX library that is modern, standard-conforming, and fast. The behavior of the software and its differences from glibc are documented here so they can be understood without reading optimized source.
Goals
- Replace glibc for the programs that want a lighter, faster, and cleaner libc, while retaining high compatibility.
- Be benchmarkable: every component is measured against glibc (and musl);
a component slower than what it replaces is considered failing
(
musts/BENCHMARKING.md). - Static-linking first: fully static linking is a hard requirement for
every profile except
spoof. - Honor user flags:
CFLAGSandLDFLAGSare respected; the build uses exactly one compiler (GCC) with no fallback.
Compatibility profiles
See docs/compatibility.md for the five profiles (onlyposix, muslmimic,
muslext, spoof, vlibc) and their differences from glibc.
Install methods
See docs/install.md for the alongside and overwrite install methods and
the vlibc-gcc / vlibc-clang drivers.
Compiler intent
Static linking pulls a whole library into every binary, which is expensive in
size. To offset this, the public API declares intent to the compiler via
attributes such as __attribute__((const)) and __attribute__((pure)). When
the compiler knows a call has no side effects and a predictable result, it can
fold or eliminate it during optimization, shrinking the final binary even when
vlibc is statically linked in full.
This is a deliberate design constraint: every public function carries the
tightest correct intent attribute (see STYLEGUIDE.md).
Status
This repository is currently a stub — the layout, build system, documentation,
and a minimal public API (vlibc_version()) are in place. Individual library
components are added incrementally, each with benchmarks.