Imagine you are implementing a calculator application and want users to be able to extend the application with their own functionality. For example, imagine a user wants to provide a random() function that generates true random numbers using random.org instead of the pseudo-random numbers that a crate like rand would provide.

The Rust language gives you a lot of really powerful tools for adding flexibility and extensibility to your applications (e.g. traits, enums, macros), but all of these happen at compile time. Unfortunately, to get the flexibility that we’re looking we’ll need to be able to add new functionalty at runtime.

This can be achieved using a technique called Dynamic Loading.

The code written in this article is available on GitHub. Feel free to browse through and steal code or inspiration. If you found this useful or spotted a bug, let me know on the blog’s issue tracker!

What Is Dynamic Loading?

Dynamic loading is a mechanism provided by all mainstream Operating Systems where a library can be loaded at runtime so the user can retrieve addresses of functions or variables. The address of these functions and variables can then be used just like any other pointer.

On *nix platforms, the dlopen() function is used to load a library into memory and dlsym() lets you get a pointer to something via its symbol name. Something to remember is that symbols don’t contain any type information so the caller has to ( unsafe -ly) cast the pointer to the right type.

This is normally done by having some sort of contract with the library being loaded ahead of time (e.g. a header file declares the "cos" function is fn(f64) -> f64 ).

Example usage from man dlopen :

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <dlfcn.h> // Defines LIBM_SO (which will be a string such as "libm.so.6") #include <gnu/lib-names.h> // the type signature used by our cosine function typedef double ( * trig_func)( double ); int main () { char * error; // load the libm library into memory void * handle = dlopen(LIBM_SO, RTLD_LAZY); // handle loading failures if ( ! handle) { fprintf(stderr, "unable to load libm: %s

" , dlerror()); return EXIT_FAILURE; } // Clear any existing errors dlerror(); // get a pointer to the "cos" symbol and cast it to the right type trig_func cosine = (trig_func) dlsym(handle, "cos" ); // were we able to find the symbol? error = dlerror(); if (error != NULL ) { fprintf(stderr, "cos not found: %s

" , error); return EXIT_FAILURE; } // use our cosine function printf( "cos(2.0) = %f

" , ( * cosine)( 2.0 )); // cleanup and exit dlclose(handle); return EXIT_SUCCESS; }

The story is almost identical for Windows, except LoadLibraryA() , GetProcAddress() , and FreeLibrary() are used instead of dlopen() , dlsym() , and dlclose() , respectively.

The libloading crate provides a high quality Rust interface to the underlying platform’s dynamic loading mechanism.

Determining the Plugin Interface

The first step is to define a common interface that all plugins should satisfy. This should be placed in some sort of “core” crate that both plugins and the main application depend on.

This will usually take the form of a trait.

// core/src/lib.rs pub trait Function { fn call ( & self, args: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > ; /// Help text that may be used to display information about this function. fn help ( & self) -> Option <& str > { None } } pub enum InvocationError { InvalidArgumentCount { expected: usize , found: usize }, Other { msg: String }, }

Now we’ve defined the application-level API, we also need a way to declare plugins so they’re accessible when dynamically loading. This isn’t difficult, but there are a couple gotchas to keep in mind to prevent undesired behaviour (UB, crashes, etc.).

Some things to keep in mind:

Rust doesn’t have a stable ABI, meaning different compiler versions can generate incompatible code, and

Different versions of the core crate may have different definitions of the Function trait

crate may have different definitions of the trait Each plugin will need to have some sort of register() function so it can construct a Function instance and give the application a Box<dyn Function> (we need dynamic dispatch because plugin registration happens at runtime and static dispatch requires knowing types at compile time)

function so it can construct a instance and give the application a (we need dynamic dispatch because plugin registration happens at runtime and static dispatch requires knowing types at compile time) To avoid freeing memory allocated by a different allocator, each plugin will need to provide an explicit free_plugin() function, or the plugin and application both need to be using the same allocator

To prevent plugin authors from needing to deal with this themselves, we’ll provide a export_plugin!() macro that populates some PluginDeclaration struct with version numbers and a pointer to the register() function provided by a user.

The PluginDeclaration struct itself is quite simple:

// core/src/lib.rs pub struct PluginDeclaration { pub rustc_version: & 'static str , pub core_version: & 'static str , pub register: unsafe extern "C" fn ( & mut dyn PluginRegistrar), }

With the PluginRegistrar being a trait that has a single method.

// core/src/lib.rs pub trait PluginRegistrar { fn register_function ( & mut self, name: & str , function: Box < dyn Function > ); }

To get the version of rustc , we’ll add a build.rs script to the core crate and pass the version number through as an environment variable.

// core/build.rs fn main () { let version = rustc_version::version().unwrap(); println ! ( "cargo:rustc-env=RUSTC_VERSION={}" , version); }

We’re using the rustc_version crate to fetch rustc 's version number. Don’t forget to add it to core/Cargo.toml as a build dependency:

$ cd core $ cargo add rustc_version Updating 'https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index' index Adding rustc_version v0.2.3 to build-dependencies

Now all we need to do is embed the version numbers as static strings.

// core/src/lib.rs pub static CORE_VERSION: & str = env ! ( "CARGO_PKG_VERSION" ); pub static RUSTC_VERSION: & str = env ! ( "RUSTC_VERSION" );

Our export_plugin!() macro now becomes almost trivial:

// core/src/lib.rs #[macro_export] macro_rules ! export_plugin { ( $register : expr ) => { #[doc(hidden)] #[no_mangle] pub static plugin_declaration: $crate ::PluginDeclaration = $crate ::PluginDeclaration { rustc_version: $crate ::RUSTC_VERSION, core_version: $crate ::CORE_VERSION, register: $register , }; }; }

Creating a Plugin

Now we have a public plugin interface and a mechanism for registering new plugins, lets actually create one.

First we’ll need to create a plugins_random crate and add it to the workspace.

$ cargo new --lib random --name plugins_random Created library `plugins_random` package $ cat Cargo.toml [workspace] members = ["core", "random"]

Next, make sure the plugins_random crate pulls in plugins_core .

$ cd random $ cargo add ../core Updating 'https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index' index Adding plugins_core (unknown version) to dependencies

This crate will need to be compiled as a dynamic library ( *.so in *nix, *.dll on Windows) so it can be loaded at runtime.

# random/Cargo.toml [package] name = "plugins_random" version = "0.1.0" authors = [ "Michael Bryan <michaelfbryan@gmail.com>" ] edition = "2018" [lib] crate - type = [ "cdylib" ] [dependencies] plugins_core = { path = "../core" }

Recompiling should show a libplugins_random.so file in the target/ directory.

$ cargo build --all Compiling semver-parser v0.7.0 Compiling semver v0.9.0 Compiling rustc_version v0.2.3 Compiling plugins_core v0.1.0 (/home/michael/Documents/plugins/core) Compiling plugins_random v0.1.0 (/home/michael/Documents/plugins/random) Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 1.32s $ ls ../target/debug build deps examples incremental libplugins_core.d libplugins_core.rlib libplugins_random.d libplugins_random.so

Now things are set up, we can start implementing our random() plugin.

Looking at the Random Integer Generator page, retrieving a set of random integers is just a case of sending a GET request to https://www.random.org/integers/ .

For example, to get 10 numbers from 1 to 6 in base 10 and one number per line:

$ curl 'https://www.random.org/integers/?num=10&min=1&max=6&col=1&base=10&format=plain' 5 2 6 4 5 2 1 4 1 3

This turns out to be almost trivial to implement thanks to the reqwest crate.

First we’ll create a helper struct for the arguments to pass to random.org.

// random/src/lib.rs struct RequestInfo { min: i32 , max: i32 , } impl RequestInfo { pub fn format ( & self) -> String { format ! ( "https://www.random.org/integers/?num=1&min={}&max={}&col=1&base=10&format=plain" , self.min, self.max ) } }

Then write a function that calls reqwest::get() using the formatted URL and parses the response body.

// random/src/lib.rs fn fetch (request: RequestInfo ) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > { let url = request.format(); let response_body = reqwest::get( & url) ? .text() ? ; response_body.trim().parse().map_err( Into ::into) }

To make ? work nicely, I’ve also added a From impl which lets us create an InvocationError from anything that is ToString (which all std::error::Error types implement).

// core/src/lib.rs impl < S: ToString > From < S > for InvocationError { fn from (other: S ) -> InvocationError { InvocationError::Other { msg: other .to_string(), } } }

Finally, we just need to create a Random struct which will implement our Function interface.

// random/src/lib.rs pub struct Random ; impl Function for Random { fn call ( & self, _args: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > { fetch(RequestInfo { min: 0 , max: 100 }) } }

Ideally our random() function should have a couple overloads so users can tweak the random number’s properties.

// get a random number between 0 and 100 fn random () -> f64 ; // get a random number between 0 and max fn random (max: f64 ) -> f64 ; // get a random number between min and max fn random (min: f64 , max: f64 ) -> f64 ;

The logic for turning the &[f64] args into a RequestInfo can be neatly extracted into its own function.

// random/src/lib.rs fn parse_args (args: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < RequestInfo, InvocationError > { match args.len() { 0 => Ok (RequestInfo { min: 0 , max: 100 }), 1 => Ok (RequestInfo { min: 0 , max: args [ 0 ].round() as i32 , }), 2 => Ok (RequestInfo { min: args [ 0 ].round() as i32 , max: args [ 1 ].round() as i32 , }), _ => Err ( "0, 1, or 2 arguments are required" .into()), } }

And then we just need to update the Function impl accordingly.

// random/src/lib.rs impl Function for Random { fn call ( & self, args: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > { parse_args(args).and_then(fetch) } }

Now our random() function is fully implemented, we just need to make a register() function and call plugins_core::export_plugin!() .

// random/src/lib.rs plugins_core::export_plugin ! (register); extern "C" fn register (registrar: & mut dyn PluginRegistrar) { registrar.register_function( "random" , Box ::new(Random)); }

Loading Plugins

Now we’ve defined a plugin we need a way to load it into memory and use it as part of our application.

The first step is to create a new crate and add some dependencies.

$ cargo new --lib --name plugins_app app $ cat Cargo.toml [workspace] members = ["core", "random", "app"] $ cd app $ cargo add libloading ../core Updating 'https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index' index Adding libloading v0.5.2 to dependencies Adding plugins_core (unknown version) to dependencies

When a library is loaded into memory, we need to make sure that it outlives anything created from it. For example, a trait object’s vtable (and all the functions it points to) is embedded in the library’s code. If we tried to invoke a plugin object’s methods after its parent library was unloaded from memory, we’d try to execute garbage and crash the entire application.

This means we need a way to make sure plugins can’t outlive the library they were loaded from.

We’ll do this using the Proxy Pattern.

// app/src/main.rs /// A proxy object which wraps a [`Function`] and makes sure it can't outlive /// the library it came from. pub struct FunctionProxy { function: Box < dyn Function > , _lib: Rc < Library > , } impl Function for FunctionProxy { fn call ( & self, args: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > { self.function.call(args) } fn help ( & self) -> Option <& str > { self.function.help() } }

We also need something which can contain all loaded plugins.

// app/src/main.rs pub struct ExternalFunctions { functions: HashMap < String , FunctionProxy > , libraries: Vec < Rc < Library >> , } impl ExternalFunctions { pub fn new () -> ExternalFunctions { ExternalFunctions::default() } pub fn load < P: AsRef < OsStr >> ( & mut self, library_path: P ) -> io :: Result < () > { unimplemented ! () } }

The ExternalFunctions::load() method is the real meat and potatoes of our plugin system. It’s where we:

Load the library into memory Get a reference to the static PluginDeclaration Check the rustc and plugins_core versions match Create a PluginRegistrar which will create FunctionProxy s associated with the library Pass the PluginRegistrar to the plugin’s register() function Add any loaded plugins to the internal functions map

The PluginRegistrar type itself is almost trivial:

// app/src/main.rs struct PluginRegistrar { functions: HashMap < String , FunctionProxy > , lib: Rc < Library > , } impl PluginRegistrar { fn new (lib: Rc < Library > ) -> PluginRegistrar { PluginRegistrar { lib, functions: HashMap ::default(), } } } impl plugins_core::PluginRegistrar for PluginRegistrar { fn register_function ( & mut self, name: & str , function: Box < dyn Function > ) { let proxy = FunctionProxy { function, _lib: Rc ::clone( & self.lib), }; self.functions.insert(name.to_string(), proxy); } }

And now our PluginRegistrar helper is implemented, we have everything required to complete ExternalFunctions::load() .

// app/src/main.rs impl ExternalFunctions { ... /// Load a plugin library and add all contained functions to the internal /// function table. /// /// # Safety /// /// A plugin library **must** be implemented using the /// [`plugins_core::plugin_declaration!()`] macro. Trying manually implement /// a plugin without going through that macro will result in undefined /// behaviour. pub unsafe fn load < P: AsRef < OsStr >> ( & mut self, library_path: P , ) -> io :: Result < () > { // load the library into memory let library = Rc::new(Library::new(library_path) ? ); // get a pointer to the plugin_declaration symbol. let decl = library .get:: <* mut PluginDeclaration > ( b"plugin_declaration \0 " ) ? .read(); // version checks to prevent accidental ABI incompatibilities if decl.rustc_version != plugins_core::RUSTC_VERSION || decl.core_version != plugins_core::CORE_VERSION { return Err (io::Error::new( io::ErrorKind::Other, "Version mismatch" , )); } let mut registrar = PluginRegistrar::new(Rc::clone( & library)); (decl.register)( & mut registrar); // add all loaded plugins to the functions map self.functions.extend(registrar.functions); // and make sure ExternalFunctions keeps a reference to the library self.libraries.push(library); Ok (()) } }

Note the Safety section in the function’s doc-comments. The process of loading a plugin is inherently unsafe (the compiler can’t guarantee whatever is behind the plugin_declaration symbol is a PluginDeclaration ) and this section documents the contract that must be upheld.

Using the Plugin

At this point we’ve actually completed the plugin system. The only thing left is to demonstrate it works and start using the thing.

For our purposes, it should be good enough to create a command-line app that loads a library then invokes a function by name, passing in any specified arguments.

Usage: app <plugin-path> <function> <args>...

First we’ll create a quick Args struct to parse our command-line arguments into.

// app/src/main.rs struct Args { plugin_library: PathBuf , function: String , arguments: Vec < f64 > , }

Then hack together a quick’n’dirty command-line parser. Real applications should prefer to use something like clap or structopt instead.

// app/src/main.rs impl Args { fn parse ( mut args: impl Iterator < Item = String > ) -> Option < Args > { let plugin_library = PathBuf::from(args.next() ? ); let function = args.next() ? ; let mut arguments = Vec ::new(); for arg in args { arguments.push(arg.parse().ok() ? ); } Some (Args { plugin_library, function, arguments, }) } }

We’ll also need a way to call() a function by name.

// app/src/main.rs impl ExternalFunctions { ... pub fn call ( & self, function: & str , arguments: & [ f64 ]) -> Result < f64 , InvocationError > { self.functions .get(function) .ok_or_else( || format ! ( "\"{}\" not found" , function)) ? .call(arguments) } }

By default a cdylib will use the system allocator, but executables aren’t guaranteed to use

According to the docs from std::alloc ,

Currently the default global allocator is unspecified. Libraries, however, like cdylib s and staticlib s are guaranteed to use the System by default.

To make sure there’s no chance of allocator mismatch (i.e. a plugin allocates a String using the System allocator and we try to free it using Jemalloc) we need to explicitly declare that the app uses the System allocator.

// app/src/main.rs use std::alloc::System; #[global_allocator] static ALLOCATOR: System = System;

And finally, we can write main() 's body.

// app/src/main.rs fn main () { // parse arguments let args = env::args().skip( 1 ); let args = Args::parse(args) .expect( "Usage: app <plugin-path> <function> <args>..." ); // create our functions table and load the plugin let mut functions = ExternalFunctions::new(); unsafe { functions .load( & args.plugin_library) .expect( "Function loading failed" ); } // then call the function let result = functions .call( & args.function, & args.arguments) .expect( "Invocation failed" ); // print out the result println ! ( "{}({}) = {}" , args.function, args.arguments .iter() .map( ToString ::to_string) .collect:: < Vec < _ >> () .join( ", " ), result ); }

If everything goes to plan, the app tool should Just Work.

$ cargo run -- ../target/release/libplugins_random.so random random() = 40 $ cargo run -- ../target/release/libplugins_random.so random 42 random(42) = 15 $ cargo run -- ../target/release/libplugins_random.so random 42 64 random(42, 64) = 54 # Note: the function doesn't support 3 arguments $ cargo run -- ../target/release/libplugins_random.so random 1 2 3 thread 'main' panicked at 'Invocation failed: Other { msg: "0, 1, or 2 arguments are required" }', src/libcore/result.rs:1165:5 note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace.

If a plugin author forgot to invoke the export_plugin!() macro, they may see an error like this:

$ cargo run -- ../target/debug/libplugins_random.so random Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.02s Running `/home/michael/Documents/plugins/target/debug/plugins_app ../target/debug/libplugins_random.so random` thread 'main' panicked at 'Function loading failed: Custom { kind: Other, error: "../target/debug/libplugins_random.so: undefined symbol: plugin_declaration" }', src/libcore/result.rs:1165:5 note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace.

This is saying we couldn’t find the plugin_declaration symbol. You can use the nm tool to help with troubleshooting, it shows all symbols exported by a library.

nm ../target/release/libplugins_random.so | grep plugin 00000000004967b0 D plugin_declaration 0000000000056c60 t _ZN12plugins_core8Function4help17hc92b9e8d4917f964E 0000000000057f60 t _ZN14plugins_random8register17hd43ebfdd726021a4E 0000000000057f80 t _ZN65_$LT$plugins_random..Random$u20$as$u20$plugins_core..Function$GT$4call17h7434ef9b1f1ca59eE 00000000000590f0 t _ZN78_$LT$plugins_core..InvocationError$u20$as$u20$core..convert..From$LT$S$GT$$GT$4from17h3a759bcd267b48a1E

And there you have it, a relatively simple, yet safe and robust, plugin system which you can use in your own projects.

See Also