Calling Cicada from a C program

Before we can use Cicada, we have to install it as a C library. Go to the download directory and run:

    ./configure && make && make install
   

Once installed, Cicada can be called from any C program. Here’s how:

• Load the Cicada header file into any source file that needs it:

  
      #include <cicada.h>
     

• Add the following linker flag:

  
      -lcicada
     

• The actual function call to run Cicada is:

  
      runCicada(fs, myScript, runTerminal);
     

The three arguments to runCicada() are:

1. fs is an array of const Cfunction variables, each corresponding to a C function in our code that Cicada will need to call. Each Cfunction is 1) a string which is the function’s name in Cicada, followed by 2) a pointer to a function in our C code of type ccInt f(argsType). For example:

   
       ccInt f1_in_C(argsType args) { ... }
       ccInt f2(argsType args) { ... }
       const Cfunction fs[] = { { "f1_in_Cicada", &f1_in_C }, { "f2", &f2 } };
      

   The C/Cicada names may be the same or different. Cfunction and argsType are defined in cicada.h.

2. myScript is a C string that gives a script to run when Cicada starts up. For example:

   
       char *myScript = "run(\"ThingsToDo\")";    // i.e. ThingsToDo.cicada
      

   If we don’t want to run a predefined script, we can just pass an empty string or NULL.

3. runTerminal is a bool value and determines whether to run an interactive terminal. If it’s true, Cicada will open an interactive prompt after running myScript. If false, Cicada will exit after running myScript.

• C function declaration
• A generic wrapper

Last update: November 12, 2025