Feature request: Generate Microsoft `proxy` (v4) facades for C++ dynamic polymorphism & DI integration

[DannyBaobei]

Hi, thanks for the great work on autocxx — it’s been instrumental in reducing C++/Rust FFI boilerplate.

I’d like to propose a feature to extend autocxx to generate Microsoft proxy (v4) facades, enabling seamless integration with modern C++ dynamic polymorphism and dependency injection (DI) patterns.

🎯 Motivation

Many large-scale C++ codebases (e.g.,HPC middleware) are adopting:

• Microsoft proxy v4 for zero-overhead dynamic dispatch, facade composition, and DI-friendly design (e.g., pro::v4::proxy<IMyService>).
• Rust for performance-critical kernels (e.g., geometry processing, spatial indexing), with C++ as the integration layer (UI, DI, callbacks).

Current workflow requires manual:

1. Writing cxx bridges for each method
2. Hand-coding proxy interface + bridge class
3. Managing DI registration separately

This reintroduces error-prone duplication and hinders maintainability.

✨ Proposed Solution

Add opt-in support to generate proxy-compatible artifacts from C++ interface declarations:

Input (C++)

// In some header #include <proxy.h> PROXY_INTERFACE(IMyService) { virtual std::vector<uint8_t> process(std::span) = 0; };

Desired autocxx Output

• ✅ Rust trait (for implementation):

  #[cxx::bridge]
  mod ffi {
      unsafe extern "C++" {
          include!("my_service.h");
          type IMyService;
      }
  }
  trait MyService {
      fn process(&self,  &[u8]) -> Vec<u8>;
  }
  
  

• 📦 So that we can use a service implemented by rust in c++ side

// autocxx_gen/my_service.proxy.h
struct MyServiceBridge final : IMyService {
  rust::Box<MyServiceImpl> impl_;  // ← held Rust impl
  std::vector<uint8_t> process(std::span<const uint8_t> data) override;
};
extern "C" IMyService* autocxx_create_my_service();

✅ DI registration hook (e.g., for facade_builder or custom containers) 🔧 Design Considerations Zero-copy: Use std::span ↔ &[u8] where possible (already supported via cxx’s CxxVector + custom typemaps). Ownership: Prefer rust::Box<T> for Rust-side impl lifetime tied to proxy. Opt-in: Controlled by #[autocxx::proxy] attribute or config flag (e.g., autocxx_integration::Config::enable_proxy(true)). Compatibility: Target proxy v4.x (current stable); avoid v3 legacy. 📦 Use Case Alignment This would directly enable:

Rust-native performance kernels (e.g., rbush, kdbush, zarr processing) C++-hosted DI graphs (e.g., Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, custom facade_builder) Dual-stack architectures with single-source-of-truth interface definitions 🙏 Would this fit autocxx’s scope? If yes, I’m happy to contribute a prototype (e.g., extend autocxx-gen with a ProxyGenerator pass). Let me know if you’d like a design sketch or PoC.

Thanks for considering!