调用方和被调用方之间的ABI需要一致，以确保调用成功。堆栈使用，寄存器使用，程序结束堆栈弹出。所有这些都是ABI中最重要的部分。

让我至少回答你问题的一部分。通过一个例子说明Linux ABI如何影响系统调用，以及它为什么有用。

A systemcall is a way for a userspace program to ask the kernelspace for something. It works by putting the numeric code for the call and the argument in a certain register and triggering an interrupt. Than a switch occurs to kernelspace and the kernel looks up the numeric code and the argument, handles the request, puts the result back into a register and triggers a switch back to userspace. This is needed for example when the application wants to allocate memory or open a file (syscalls "brk" and "open").

现在系统调用有简短的名称“brk”等和相应的操作码，这些在系统特定的头文件中定义。只要这些操作码保持不变，您就可以使用不同更新的内核运行相同的已编译用户域程序，而无需重新编译。这样就有了预编译二进制文件使用的接口，因此就有了ABI。

调用方和被调用方之间的ABI需要一致，以确保调用成功。堆栈使用，寄存器使用，程序结束堆栈弹出。所有这些都是ABI中最重要的部分。

区分ABI和API的最好方法是了解它的用途和原因:

对于x86-64，通常有一个ABI(对于x86 32位，有另一组ABI):

http://www.x86-64.org/documentation/abi.pdf

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/LowLevelABI/140-x86-64_Function_Calling_Conventions/x86_64.html

http://people.freebsd.org/~obrien/amd64-elf-abi.pdf

Linux + FreeBSD + MacOSX紧随其后，略有变化。Windows x64有自己的ABI:

http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2011/09/06/stack-frame-layout-on-x86-64/

Knowing the ABI and assuming other compiler follows it as well, then the binaries theoretically know how to call each other (libraries API in particular) and pass parameters over the stack or by registers etc. Or what registers will be changed upon calling the functions etc. Essentially these knowledge will help software to integrate with one another. Knowing the order of the registers / stack layout I can easily piece together different software written in assemblies together without much problem.

但是API是不同的:

它是一个定义了参数的高级函数名，这样如果不同的软件使用这些API构建，就可以相互调用。但是必须遵守SAME ABI的附加要求。

例如，Windows曾经是POSIX API兼容的:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Services_for_UNIX

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSIX

Linux也是POSIX兼容的。但是二进制文件不能被移动并立即运行。但是因为它们在POSIX兼容的API中使用了相同的NAMES，所以您可以在C语言中使用相同的软件，在不同的操作系统中重新编译它，并立即让它运行起来。

API是为了简化软件集成-预编译阶段。所以在编译之后，如果ABI不同的话，软件看起来会完全不同。

ABI的目的是在二进制/汇编级别定义软件的精确集成。

实际上你根本不需要ABI如果

你的程序没有函数，而且—— 你的程序是一个单独运行的可执行文件(即一个嵌入式系统)，它实际上是唯一在运行的东西，它不需要与其他任何东西对话。

过度简化的总结:

API:“这里是你可以调用的所有函数。” ABI:“这是调用函数的方法。”

ABI是编译器和链接器遵守的一组规则，以便编译您的程序，使其正常工作。ABIs涵盖多个主题:

Arguably the biggest and most important part of an ABI is the procedure call standard sometimes known as the "calling convention". Calling conventions standardize how "functions" are translated to assembly code. ABIs also dictate the how the names of exposed functions in libraries should be represented so that other code can call those libraries and know what arguments should be passed. This is called "name mangling". ABIs also dictate what type of data types can be used, how they must be aligned, and other low-level details.

更深入地了解调用约定，我认为它是ABI的核心:

机器本身没有“功能”的概念。当你用高级语言(如c)编写函数时，编译器会生成一行汇编代码，如_MyFunction1:。这是一个标签，它最终将被汇编程序解析为一个地址。这个标签标记了程序集代码中“函数”的“开始”。在高级代码中，当你“调用”这个函数时，你真正做的是导致CPU跳转到那个标签的地址并继续在那里执行。

在为跳转做准备时，编译器必须做一些重要的事情。调用约定就像一个清单，编译器遵循它来完成所有这些事情:

First, the compiler inserts a little bit of assembly code to save the current address, so that when your "function" is done, the CPU can jump back to the right place and continue executing. Next, the compiler generates assembly code to pass the arguments. Some calling conventions dictate that arguments should be put on the stack (in a particular order of course). Other conventions dictate that the arguments should be put in particular registers (depending on their data types of course). Still other conventions dictate that a specific combination of stack and registers should be used. Of course, if there was anything important in those registers before, those values are now overwritten and lost forever, so some calling conventions may dictate that the compiler should save some of those registers prior to putting the arguments in them. Now the compiler inserts a jump instruction telling the CPU to go to that label it made previously (_MyFunction1:). At this point, you can consider the CPU to be "in" your "function". At the end of the function, the compiler puts some assembly code that will make the CPU write the return value in the correct place. The calling convention will dictate whether the return value should be put into a particular register (depending on its type), or on the stack. Now it's time for clean-up. The calling convention will dictate where the compiler places the cleanup assembly code. Some conventions say that the caller must clean up the stack. This means that after the "function" is done and the CPU jumps back to where it was before, the very next code to be executed should be some very specific cleanup code. Other conventions say that the some particular parts of the cleanup code should be at the end of the "function" before the jump back.

有许多不同的abi /调用约定。主要有:

x86或x86-64 CPU(32位环境): CDECL STDCALL FASTCALL VECTORCALL THISCALL x86-64(64位环境): SYSTEMV MSNATIVE VECTORCALL ARM CPU(32位) AAPCS ARM处理器(64位) AAPCS64

这里有一个很棒的页面，它实际显示了为不同的abi编译时生成的程序集的差异。

另一件需要提及的事情是，ABI不仅仅与程序的可执行模块内部相关。链接器还使用它来确保程序正确调用库函数。您的计算机上运行着多个共享库，只要编译器知道它们各自使用的ABI，它就可以正确地从它们调用函数，而不会破坏堆栈。

编译器理解如何调用库函数是非常重要的。在一个托管平台上(也就是说，一个OS加载程序的平台)，如果不调用内核，您的程序甚至不能闪烁。

答:简单地说，ABI与API的一个共同之处是它是一个接口。可重用程序公开了一个稳定的接口(API)，可用于在另一个程序中重用该程序。

B. However, an ABI is an interface issued for some specific processor-platform for some specific language. All compiler-vendors desiring to target that platform for that same language will have to ensure that not only compiled code in form of relocatable object codes comply with the interface to be able to link and cross-link with each other but also executables comply with it to be able to run on the platform at all. So, ABI is much broader set of specifications/standard than a typical function API. It may include some API objects to be enforced upon the language-users by the compiler. The compiler-vendor will have to include support for the same in their distributions. Needless to say, the platform vendor is the rightful authority to issue ABIs for its platform. Both compiler vendors and ABIs need to comply with the corresponding language-standard (e.g. ISO standard for C++).

C.平台供应商对ABI的定义是:

“1。可执行文件为了在特定的执行环境中执行而必须遵守的规范。例如，Arm架构的Linux ABI。

独立生成的可重定位文件必须遵守的规范的一个特定方面，以便静态可链接和可执行。例如，Arm架构的c++ ABI, Arm架构的运行时ABI, Arm架构的C库ABI。”

D.举例;基于Itanium架构的c++通用ABI也由一个联盟发布。平台供应商自己的c++的abi在多大程度上符合它完全取决于平台供应商。

E.作为另一个例子。Arm架构的c++ ABI在这里。

F.前面已经说过，处理器体系结构的ABI将确保一个可重用程序和另一个重用它的程序之间的API适用于该处理器体系结构。

G. That brings us to service-oriented components (e.g. SOAP-based web services). They too require an API to exist between a SOAP-based web service and client program (could be an app, front-end or another web service) for the client program to reuse the web service.The API is described in terms of standardized protocols like WSDL (interface description) and SOAP(message format) and is language-neutral and platform-neutral. It is not targeted to any specific processor-platform and thus it is not "binary" like ABI. A client-program on any one platform type and written in any language can remotely reuse a web service written in any other language and hosted on an entirely different processor-platform. This is made possible by the fact that both WSDL and SOAP are text-based (XML) protocols. In case of RESTful web services, the transport protocol http--also a text-based protocol-- itself acts as the API (CRUD methods).