### 9.1 Introduction

The foreign code interface allows the use to link Prolog and C in both directions.

A Prolog predicate can call a C function passing different kinds of arguments (input, output or input/output). The interface performs implicit Prolog ↔ C data conversions for simple types (for instance a Prolog integer is automatically converted into a C integer) and provides a set of API (Application Programming Interface) functions to convert more complex types (lists or structures). The interface also performs automatic error detection depending on the actual type of the passed argument. An important feature is the ability to write non-deterministic code in C.

It is also possible to call (or callback) a Prolog predicate from a C function and to manage Prolog non-determinism: the C code can ask for next solutions, remove all remaining solutions or terminate and keep alternatives for the calling Prolog predicate).

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