Installation & Linking

NextStd is designed to be installed globally on your Unix-like system, allowing you to include its memory-safe data structures and I/O functions in any C project just like the standard library.

Here is how to get your environment set up in under two minutes.

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure your system has the required build tools:

1. Rust & Cargo: To compile the safe back end. Run the official installer in your terminal:

   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
   

   👉 Note for beginners: The script will pause. Press 1 and hit Enter to proceed with the default installation.

   Important

   Once the installation finishes, you must tell your current terminal where Rust is installed. Run this command:

   source $HOME/.cargo/env
   

   (Alternatively, you can just close your terminal and open a new one).

2. GCC or Clang: For the C front-end and macro expansion.

3. Make: For build automation.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Grab the latest version of the NextStd source code from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/NextStd/nextstd.git
cd nextstd

Step 2: System-Wide Installation (Recommended)

To make NextStd available to all your C projects, you need to build the optimized Rust binaries and install them globally.

First, build the core libraries (this runs safely as your normal user):

make rust

Then, install the headers and static archives into your system’s standard /usr/local directories (this requires root privileges to copy the files):

sudo make install

What is happening behind the scenes?

• The C headers (ns.h, ns_data.h, etc.) are securely placed in /usr/local/include/nextstd/.
• The compiled Rust static archives (libns_io.a, libns_data.a, etc.) are placed in /usr/local/lib/.

(To completely remove the library from your system later, simply run sudo make uninstall from the repository root).

Step 3: Linking in Your Projects

Now that NextStd is installed globally, you can include it in any standalone C file across your machine using standard angle brackets:

#include <nextstd/ns.h>
#include <nextstd/ns_data.h>

When compiling your standalone program, you need to tell GCC to link the specific NextStd modules you are using, as well as the standard system libraries that the Rust standard library depends on.

Because the library is in /usr/local/lib, you no longer need complex -L paths. A typical compilation command looks like this:

gcc main.c -lns_data -lns_io -lns_string -lns_error -lpthread -ldl -lm -o my_safe_program

• -lns_*: Links your modular NextStd archives.
• -lpthread, -ldl, -lm: Standard system libraries required by the Rust backend on standard Linux/macOS environments.

Alternative: Local Testing

If you want to test the library, develop new modules, or run the built-in examples without installing it system-wide, you can build the backend locally without sudo:

make rust

Then, run one of the pre-configured examples (do not include the .c extension):

To list all the examples use:

make list

And then you can use the example names as given below.

Note

Note the absence of the .c extension

make 01_print_integer

This commands your compiler to grab the example, link it against your local target/release/ directory, and execute the resulting binary.