CVM

CVM is an interpreter for CHance .cclib packages.

What it does

• Loads .cclib files.
• Reads embedded .ccbin module payloads.
• Executes an entry function (default: main) without assembly generation.
• Resolves extern calls through dynamic imports (dlopen/dlsym).

Build

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build

Windows notes

By default, the build pulls prebuilt libffi binaries from GitHub releases (CVM_BUNDLED_LIBFFI=ON) and links against those local files instead of a globally installed libffi.

The archive is selected by target architecture:

• x64: libffi-3.5.2-x86-64bit-msvc-binaries.zip
• x86: libffi-3.5.2-x86-32bit-msvc-binaries.zip

The matching libffi-8.dll is copied next to the built cvm executable after build.

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --config Release

If you want to use a preinstalled libffi instead, disable bundled mode and pass its prefix:

cmake -S . -B build -DCVM_BUNDLED_LIBFFI=OFF -DLIBFFI_ROOT=C:/path/to/libffi

Run

./build/cvm path/to/program.cclib
./build/cvm path/to/program.cclib --entry main --import /path/to/libsomething.so
./build/cvm path/to/program.cclib --entry main --import C:/path/to/something.dll
./build/cvm path/to/program.cclib --import-cclib /path/to/stdlib.cclib --import-cclib /path/to/runtime.cclib
./build/cvm path/to/program.cclib --jit
./build/cvm --version

Notes

• Extern calls currently support up to 8 integer/pointer arguments.
• Dynamic imports include process symbols by default.
• CVM attempts to auto-load a platform C runtime (libSystem/libc/ucrt family) for common libc-style symbols.
• CVM auto-loads stdlib.cclib and runtime.cclib when found next to the cvm executable or under /usr/local/share/chance/....
• Interpreter support is focused on core instruction flow (const, locals, arithmetic, compare, jumps, calls, returns, globals).
• --jit compiles embedded bytecode to native code via chancecodec and links a temporary shared object, then runs the entrypoint.
• JIT tool discovery uses CHANCEC_HOME, CHANCECODEC_HOME, CLD_HOME, and CHS_HOME when set.