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Tcl_CreateChannel(3)	     Tcl Library Procedures	    Tcl_CreateChannel(3)

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NAME
     Tcl_CreateChannel,      Tcl_GetChannelInstanceData,     Tcl_GetChannelType,
     Tcl_GetChannelName, Tcl_GetChannelHandle, Tcl_GetChannelMode,  Tcl_GetChan-
     nelBufferSize,  Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize,	Tcl_NotifyChannel,  Tcl_BadChan-
     nelOption, Tcl_ChannelName,  Tcl_ChannelVersion,  Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc,
     Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,	Tcl_ChannelInputProc,	  Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,
     Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc, Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc, Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc,
     Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc,	Tcl_ChannelWatchProc,  Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc,
     Tcl_ChannelFlushProc,  Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc, Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc,
     Tcl_IsChannelShared,	 Tcl_IsChannelRegistered,	 Tcl_CutChannel,
     Tcl_SpliceChannel,     Tcl_IsChannelExisting,     Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers,
     Tcl_GetChannelThread, Tcl_ChannelBuffered - procedures for creating and ma-
     nipulating channels

SYNOPSIS
     #include <tcl.h>

     Tcl_Channel
     Tcl_CreateChannel(typePtr, channelName, instanceData, mask)

     void *
     Tcl_GetChannelInstanceData(channel)

     const Tcl_ChannelType *
     Tcl_GetChannelType(channel)

     const char *
     Tcl_GetChannelName(channel)

     int
     Tcl_GetChannelHandle(channel, direction, handlePtr)

     Tcl_ThreadId
     Tcl_GetChannelThread(channel)

     int
     Tcl_GetChannelMode(channel)

     int									 2
     Tcl_RemoveChannelMode(interp, channel, mode)				 2

     int
     Tcl_GetChannelBufferSize(channel)

     Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize(channel, size)

     Tcl_NotifyChannel(channel, mask)

     int
     Tcl_BadChannelOption(interp, optionName, optionList)

     int
     Tcl_IsChannelShared(channel)

     int
     Tcl_IsChannelRegistered(interp, channel)

     int
     Tcl_IsChannelExisting(channelName)

     Tcl_CutChannel(channel)

     Tcl_SpliceChannel(channel)

     Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers(channel)

     int
     Tcl_ChannelBuffered(channel)

     const char *
     Tcl_ChannelName(typePtr)

     Tcl_ChannelTypeVersion
     Tcl_ChannelVersion(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverBlockModeProc *
     Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverClose2Proc *
     Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverInputProc *
     Tcl_ChannelInputProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverOutputProc *
     Tcl_ChannelOutputProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverWideSeekProc *
     Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverThreadActionProc *
     Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverTruncateProc *
     Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverSetOptionProc *
     Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverGetOptionProc *
     Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverWatchProc *
     Tcl_ChannelWatchProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverGetHandleProc *
     Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverFlushProc *
     Tcl_ChannelFlushProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverHandlerProc *
     Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc(typePtr)

ARGUMENTS
     const Tcl_ChannelType *typePtr (in)	      Points to a structure con-
						      taining the  addresses  of
						      procedures   that  can  be
						      called to perform I/O  and
						      other   functions  on  the
						      channel.

     const char *channelName (in)		      The name of this	channel,
						      such as file3; must not be
						      in  use by any other chan-
						      nel. Can be NULL, in which
						      case the channel	is  cre-
						      ated  without  a	name. If
						      the created channel is as-
						      signed to one of the stan-
						      dard channels (stdin, std-
						      out or  stderr),	the  as-
						      signed  channel  name will
						      be the name of  the  stan-
						      dard channel.

     void *instanceData (in)			      Arbitrary  one-word  value
						      to be associated with this
						      channel.	 This  value  is
						      passed  to  procedures  in
						      typePtr when they are  in-
						      voked.

     int mask (in)				      OR-ed    combination    of
						      TCL_READABLE	     and
						      TCL_WRITABLE  to	indicate
						      whether a channel is read-
						      able and writable.

     Tcl_Channel channel (in)			      The channel to operate on.

     int direction (in) 			      TCL_READABLE means the in-
						      put  handle   is	 wanted;
						      TCL_WRITABLE   means   the
						      output handle is wanted.

     void **handlePtr (out)			      Points  to  the	location
						      where  the desired OS-spe-
						      cific  handle  should   be
						      stored.

     Tcl_Size size (in) 			      The  size,  in  bytes,  of
						      buffers  to  allocate   in
						      this channel.

     int mask (in)				      An  OR-ed  combination  of
						      TCL_READABLE, TCL_WRITABLE
						      and TCL_EXCEPTION that in-
						      dicates events  that  have
						      occurred on this channel.

     Tcl_Interp *interp (in)			      Current  interpreter. (can
						      be NULL)

     const char *optionName (in)		      Name of  the  invalid  op-
						      tion.

     const char *optionList (in)		      Specific	  options   list
						      (space  separated   words,
						      without  "-") to append to
						      the standard  generic  op-
						      tions  list.   Can be NULL
						      for generic options  error
						      message only.
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DESCRIPTION
     Tcl  uses	a  two-layered channel architecture. It provides a generic upper
     layer to enable C and Tcl programs to perform input and  output  using  the
     same  APIs for a variety of files, devices, sockets etc. The generic C APIs
     are described in the manual entry for Tcl_OpenFileChannel.

     The lower layer provides type-specific channel drivers for each type of de-
     vice supported on each platform.  This manual entry describes  the  C  APIs
     used to communicate between the generic layer and the type-specific channel
     drivers.	It  also explains how new types of channels can be added by pro-
     viding new channel drivers.

     Channel drivers consist of a number of components: First, each channel dri-
     ver provides a Tcl_ChannelType structure containing pointers  to  functions
     implementing  the	various operations used by the generic layer to communi-
     cate with the channel driver. The Tcl_ChannelType structure and  the  func-
     tions referenced by it are described in the section TCL_CHANNELTYPE, below.

     Second,  channel  drivers usually provide a Tcl command to create instances
     of that type of channel. For example, the Tcl open command creates channels
     that use the file and command channel drivers, and the Tcl  socket  command
     creates channels that use TCP sockets for network communication.

     Third,  a	channel  driver optionally provides a C function to open channel
     instances of that type. For example, Tcl_OpenFileChannel  opens  a  channel
     that  uses  the  file channel driver, and Tcl_OpenTcpClient opens a channel
     that uses the TCP network protocol.  These creation functions typically use
     Tcl_CreateChannel internally to open the channel.

     To add a new type of channel you must implement a C API or  a  Tcl  command
     that opens a channel by invoking Tcl_CreateChannel.  When your driver calls
     Tcl_CreateChannel	it  passes in a Tcl_ChannelType structure describing the
     driver's I/O procedures.  The generic layer will then invoke the  functions
     referenced in that structure to perform operations on the channel.

     Tcl_CreateChannel	opens  a new channel and associates the supplied typePtr
     and instanceData with it. The channel is opened in the  mode  indicated  by
     mask.   For  a  discussion  of  channel  drivers,	their operations and the
     Tcl_ChannelType structure, see the section TCL_CHANNELTYPE, below.

     Tcl_CreateChannel interacts with the code managing the  standard  channels.
     Once a standard channel was initialized either through a call to Tcl_GetSt-
     dChannel  or a call to Tcl_SetStdChannel closing this standard channel will
     cause the next call to Tcl_CreateChannel to make the new  channel	the  new
     standard channel too. See Tcl_StandardChannels for a general treatise about
     standard channels and the behavior of the Tcl library with regard to them.

     Tcl_GetChannelInstanceData  returns  the  instance data associated with the
     channel in channel. This is the same as the instanceData  argument  in  the
     call to Tcl_CreateChannel that created this channel.

     Tcl_GetChannelType  returns a pointer to the Tcl_ChannelType structure used
     by the channel in the channel argument. This is the same as the typePtr ar-
     gument in the call to Tcl_CreateChannel that created this channel.

     Tcl_GetChannelName returns a string containing the name associated with the
     channel, or NULL if the channelName argument to Tcl_CreateChannel was NULL.

     Tcl_GetChannelHandle places the OS-specific device handle	associated  with
     channel  for the given direction in the location specified by handlePtr and
     returns TCL_OK.  If the channel does not have a device handle for the spec-
     ified direction, then TCL_ERROR is  returned  instead.   Different  channel
     drivers will return different types of handle.  Refer to the manual entries
     for each driver to determine what type of handle is returned.

     Tcl_GetChannelThread  returns  the  id of the thread currently managing the
     specified channel. This allows channel drivers to send their file events to
     the correct event queue even for a multi-threaded core.

     Tcl_GetChannelMode  returns  an  OR-ed  combination  of  TCL_READABLE   and
     TCL_WRITABLE, indicating whether the channel is open for input and output.

     Tcl_RemoveChannelMode  removes an access privilege from the channel, either 2
     TCL_READABLE or TCL_WRITABLE,  and  returns  a  regular  Tcl  result  code, 2
     TCL_OK,  or  TCL_ERROR.  The  function throws an error if either an invalid 2
     mode is specified or the result of the removal  would  be	an  inaccessible 2
     channel.  In  that case an error message is left in the interp argument, if 2
     not NULL.

     Tcl_GetChannelBufferSize returns the size, in bytes, of  buffers  allocated
     to store input or output in channel. If the value was not set by a previous
     call  to  Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize, described below, then the default value
     of 4096 is returned.

     Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize sets the size, in bytes, of buffers that	will  be
     allocated in subsequent operations on the channel to store input or output.
     The  size	argument should be between one and one million, allowing buffers
     of one  byte  to  one  million  bytes.  If  size  is  outside  this  range,
     Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize sets the buffer size to 4096.

     Tcl_NotifyChannel	is called by a channel driver to indicate to the generic
     layer that the events specified by  mask  have  occurred  on  the	channel.
     Channel  drivers  are  responsible  for invoking this function whenever the
     channel handlers need to be called for the channel (or other pending  tasks
     like  a write flush should be performed).	See WATCHPROC below for more de-
     tails.

     Tcl_BadChannelOption is called from driver specific setOptionProc or getOp-
     tionProc to generate a complete error message.

     Tcl_ChannelBuffered returns the number of bytes of input currently buffered
     in the internal buffer (push back area) of the channel itself. It does  not
     report  about the data in the overall buffers for the stack of channels the
     supplied channel is part of.

     Tcl_IsChannelShared checks the refcount of the specified  channel	and  re-
     turns whether the channel was shared among multiple interpreters (result ==
     1) or not (result == 0).

     Tcl_IsChannelRegistered  checks whether the specified channel is registered
     in the given interpreter (result == 1) or not (result == 0).

     Tcl_IsChannelExisting checks whether a channel with the specified	name  is
     registered in the (thread)-global list of all channels (result == 1) or not
     (result == 0).

     Tcl_CutChannel  removes  the specified channel from the (thread)global list
     of all channels (of the current thread).  Application to  a  channel  still
     registered in some interpreter is not allowed.  Also notifies the driver if
     Tcl_DriverThreadActionProc is defined for it.

     Tcl_SpliceChannel	adds the specified channel to the (thread)global list of
     all channels (of the current thread).  Application to a channel  registered
     in  some  interpreter is not allowed.  Also notifies the driver if Tcl_Dri-
     verThreadActionProc is defined for it.

     Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers removes all channel handlers and event scripts as-
     sociated with the specified channel, thus shutting down all event	process-
     ing for this channel.

TCL_CHANNELTYPE
     A	channel driver provides a Tcl_ChannelType structure that contains point-
     ers to functions that implement the various operations on a channel;  these
     operations  are  invoked as needed by the generic layer.  The structure was
     versioned starting in Tcl 8.3.2/8.4 to correct a problem with stacked chan-
     nel drivers.  See the OLD CHANNEL TYPES section below for details about the
     old structure.

     The Tcl_ChannelType structure contains the following fields:

	    typedef struct {
		    const char *typeName;
		    Tcl_ChannelTypeVersion version;
		    void *closeProc; /* Not used any more*/
		    Tcl_DriverInputProc *inputProc;
		    Tcl_DriverOutputProc *outputProc;
		    void *seekProc; /* Not used any more */
		    Tcl_DriverSetOptionProc *setOptionProc;
		    Tcl_DriverGetOptionProc *getOptionProc;
		    Tcl_DriverWatchProc *watchProc;
		    Tcl_DriverGetHandleProc *getHandleProc;
		    Tcl_DriverClose2Proc *close2Proc;
		    Tcl_DriverBlockModeProc *blockModeProc;
		    Tcl_DriverFlushProc *flushProc;
		    Tcl_DriverHandlerProc *handlerProc;
		    Tcl_DriverWideSeekProc *wideSeekProc;
		    Tcl_DriverThreadActionProc *threadActionProc;
		    Tcl_DriverTruncateProc *truncateProc;
	    } Tcl_ChannelType;

     It is not necessary to provide implementations for all channel  operations.
     Those  which are not necessary may be set to NULL in the struct: blockMode-
     Proc,   seekProc,	 setOptionProc,   getOptionProc,   getHandleProc,    and
     close2Proc,  in  addition	to flushProc, handlerProc, threadActionProc, and
     truncateProc.  Other functions that cannot be implemented in  a  meaningful
     way  should return EINVAL when called, to indicate that the operations they
     represent are not available. Also note that wideSeekProc  can  be	NULL  if
     seekProc is.

     The user should only use the above structure for Tcl_ChannelType instantia-
     tion.   When referencing fields in a Tcl_ChannelType structure, the follow-
     ing functions  should  be	used  to  obtain  the  values:	Tcl_ChannelName,
     Tcl_ChannelVersion,     Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc,	  Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,
     Tcl_ChannelInputProc,    Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,	Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc,
     Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc, Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc, Tcl_ChannelSetOption-
     Proc,   Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc,	 Tcl_ChannelWatchProc,	Tcl_ChannelGetH-
     andleProc, Tcl_ChannelFlushProc, or Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc.

     The change to the structures was made in such a way that  standard  channel
     types are binary compatible.  However, channel types that use stacked chan-
     nels  (i.e.  TLS,	Trf) have new versions to correspond to the above change
     since the previous code for stacked channels had problems.

   TYPENAME
     The typeName field contains a null-terminated string  that  identifies  the
     type of the device implemented by this driver, e.g.  file or socket.

     This  value  can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelName, which returns a pointer
     to the string.

   VERSION
     The version field should be set to the version of the  structure  that  you
     require. TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_5 is the minimum supported.

     This value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelVersion.

   BLOCKMODEPROC
     The  blockModeProc  field	contains the address of a function called by the
     generic layer to set blocking and nonblocking mode on the	device.   Block-
     ModeProc should match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverBlockModeProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    int mode);

     The  instanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when
     this channel was created.	The mode argument is either TCL_MODE_BLOCKING or
     TCL_MODE_NONBLOCKING to set the device into blocking or  nonblocking  mode.
     The  function  should  return  zero  if  the operation was successful, or a
     nonzero POSIX error code if the operation failed.

     If the operation is successful, the function can modify  the  supplied  in-
     stanceData  to record that the channel entered blocking or nonblocking mode
     and to implement the blocking or nonblocking  behavior.   For  some  device
     types,  the blocking and nonblocking behavior can be implemented by the un-
     derlying operating system; for other device types, the behavior must be em-
     ulated in the channel driver.

     This value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc, which returns  a
     pointer to the function.

     A	channel  driver not supplying a blockModeProc has to be very, very care-
     ful. It has to tell the generic layer exactly which blocking  mode  is  ac-
     ceptable  to  it,	and  should  this also document for the user so that the
     blocking mode of the channel is not changed to an unacceptable  value.  Any
     confusion	here  may lead the interpreter into a (spurious and difficult to
     find) deadlock.

   CLOSE2PROC
     The close2Proc field contains the address	of  a  function  called  by  the
     generic  layer  to  clean up driver-related information when the channel is
     closed. Close2Proc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverClose2Proc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    Tcl_Interp *interp,
		    int flags);

     If flags is 0, the instanceData argument is the same as the value	provided
     to  Tcl_CreateChannel when the channel was created. The function should re-
     lease any storage maintained by the channel driver for  this  channel,  and
     close the input and output devices encapsulated by this channel. All queued
     output will have been flushed to the device before this function is called,
     and  no  further  driver  operations will be invoked on this instance after
     calling the closeProc. If the close operation is successful, the  procedure
     should  return zero; otherwise it should return a nonzero POSIX error code.
     In addition, if an error occurs and  interp  is  not  NULL,  the  procedure
     should store an error message in the interpreter's result.

     Alternatively, channels that support closing the read and write sides inde-
     pendently	may  accept  other  flag values than 0.  Then close2Proc will be
     called with  flags  set  to  an  OR'ed  combination  of  TCL_CLOSE_READ  or
     TCL_CLOSE_WRITE  to  indicate  that the driver should close the read and/or
     write side of the channel.  The channel driver may be  invoked  to  perform
     additional  operations  on  the channel after close2Proc is called to close
     one or both sides of the channel.	In all cases,  the  close2Proc	function
     should  return  zero  if  the  close operation was successful; otherwise it
     should return a nonzero POSIX error code.	In addition, if an error  occurs
     and  interp is not NULL, the procedure should store an error message in the
     interpreter's result.

     The close2Proc value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc, which re-
     turns a pointer to the function.

   INPUTPROC
     The inputProc field contains the  address	of  a  function  called  by  the
     generic  layer  to read data from the file or device and store it in an in-
     ternal buffer. InputProc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverInputProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    char *buf,
		    int bufSize,
		    int *errorCodePtr);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when  the
     channel was created.  The buf argument points to an array of bytes in which
     to store input from the device, and the bufSize argument indicates how many
     bytes are available at buf.

     The  errorCodePtr	argument  points  to an integer variable provided by the
     generic layer. If an error occurs, the function should set the variable  to
     a POSIX error code that identifies the error that occurred.

     The  function  should  read  data from the input device encapsulated by the
     channel and store it at buf.  On success, the function should return a non-
     negative integer indicating how many bytes were read from the input  device
     and stored at buf. On error, the function should return -1. If an error oc-
     curs after some data has been read from the device, that data is lost.

     If  inputProc  can  determine that the input device has some data available
     but less than requested by the bufSize argument, the function  should  only
     attempt  to  read as much data as is available and return without blocking.
     If the input device has no data available whatsoever and the channel is  in
     nonblocking  mode, the function should return an EAGAIN error. If the input
     device has no data available whatsoever and  the  channel	is  in	blocking
     mode,  the  function  should  block for the shortest possible time until at
     least one byte of data can be read from the device; then, it should  return
     as much data as it can read without blocking.

     This  value  can  be  retrieved  with Tcl_ChannelInputProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

   OUTPUTPROC
     The outputProc field contains the address	of  a  function  called  by  the
     generic  layer  to  transfer data from an internal buffer to the output de-
     vice.  OutputProc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverOutputProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    const char *buf,
		    int toWrite,
		    int *errorCodePtr);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when  the
     channel  was  created.  The  buf  argument contains an array of bytes to be
     written to the device, and the toWrite argument indicates	how  many  bytes
     are to be written from the buf argument.

     The  errorCodePtr	argument  points  to an integer variable provided by the
     generic layer. If an error occurs, the function should set this variable to
     a POSIX error code that identifies the error.

     The function should write the data at buf to the output device encapsulated
     by the channel. On success, the function should return a nonnegative  inte-
     ger  indicating  how many bytes were written to the output device.  The re-
     turn value is normally the same as toWrite, but may be less in  some  cases
     such as if the output operation is interrupted by a signal. If an error oc-
     curs  the	function should return -1.  In case of error, some data may have
     been written to the device.

     If the channel is nonblocking and the output device is unable to absorb any
     data whatsoever, the function should return -1 with an EAGAIN error without
     writing any data.

     This value can be retrieved with  Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,  which  returns  a
     pointer to the function.

   WIDESEEKPROC
     The  wideSeekProc	field  contains  the address of a function called by the
     generic layer to move the access point at which subsequent input or  output
     operations  will  be  applied. WideSeekProc must match the following proto-
     type:

	    typedef long long Tcl_DriverWideSeekProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    long long offset,
		    int seekMode,
		    int *errorCodePtr);

     The instanceData argument is the same as the value given to Tcl_CreateChan-
     nel when this channel was created.  Offset and seekMode have the same mean-
     ing as for the Tcl_Seek  procedure  (described  in  the  manual  entry  for
     Tcl_OpenFileChannel).

     The  errorCodePtr	argument  points  to an integer variable provided by the
     generic layer for returning errno values from the function.   The	function
     should  set  this	variable  to a POSIX error code if an error occurs.  The
     function should store an EINVAL error code if the channel type does not im-
     plement seeking.

     The return value is the new access point or -1 in case of error. If an  er-
     ror occurred, the function should not move the access point.

     The  wideSseekProc  value	can  be  retrieved with Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc,
     which returns a pointer to the function.

   SETOPTIONPROC
     The setOptionProc field contains the address of a function  called  by  the
     generic  layer  to set a channel type specific option on a channel.  setOp-
     tionProc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverSetOptionProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    Tcl_Interp *interp,
		    const char *optionName,
		    const char *newValue);

     optionName is the name of an option to set, and newValue is the  new  value
     for  that	option,  as  a string. The instanceData is the same as the value
     given to Tcl_CreateChannel when this  channel  was  created.  The	function
     should  do  whatever  channel type specific action is required to implement
     the new value of the option.

     Some options are handled by the generic code and  this  function  is  never
     called  to  set  them,  e.g. -blockmode. Other options are specific to each
     channel type and the setOptionProc procedure of the channel driver will get
     called to implement them. The setOptionProc field can be NULL, which  indi-
     cates that this channel type supports no type specific options.

     If the option value is successfully modified to the new value, the function
     returns  TCL_OK.	It should call Tcl_BadChannelOption which itself returns
     TCL_ERROR if the optionName is unrecognized.  If newValue specifies a value
     for the option that is not supported or if a system call error occurs,  the
     function should leave an error message in the result of interp if interp is
     not  NULL. The function should also call Tcl_SetErrno to store an appropri-
     ate POSIX error code.

     This value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc, which returns  a
     pointer to the function.

   GETOPTIONPROC
     The  getOptionProc  field	contains the address of a function called by the
     generic layer to get the value of a channel type specific option on a chan-
     nel. getOptionProc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverGetOptionProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    Tcl_Interp *interp,
		    const char *optionName,
		    Tcl_DString *optionValue);

     OptionName is the name of an option supported by this type of  channel.  If
     the  option  name	is not NULL, the function stores its current value, as a
     string, in the Tcl dynamic string optionValue.  If optionName is NULL,  the
     function stores in optionValue an alternating list of all supported options
     and  their  current  values.   On success, the function returns TCL_OK.  It
     should call Tcl_BadChannelOption which itself returns TCL_ERROR if the  op-
     tionName  is  unrecognized.  If  a  system  call error occurs, the function
     should leave an error message in the result of  interp  if  interp  is  not
     NULL.  The  function  should also call Tcl_SetErrno to store an appropriate
     POSIX error code.

     Some options are handled by the generic code and  this  function  is  never
     called to retrieve their value, e.g. -blockmode. Other options are specific
     to  each channel type and the getOptionProc procedure of the channel driver
     will get called to implement them. The getOptionProc  field  can  be  NULL,
     which indicates that this channel type supports no type specific options.

     This  value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

   WATCHPROC
     The watchProc field contains the  address	of  a  function  called  by  the
     generic  layer  to  initialize  the  event notification mechanism to notice
     events of interest on this channel.  WatchProc should match  the  following
     prototype:

	    typedef void Tcl_DriverWatchProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    int mask);

     The  instanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when
     this channel was created. The mask argument  is  an  OR-ed  combination  of
     TCL_READABLE,  TCL_WRITABLE  and  TCL_EXCEPTION;  it  indicates  events the
     caller is interested in noticing on this channel.

     The function should initialize device type specific  mechanisms  to  notice
     when  an  event of interest is present on the channel.  When one or more of
     the designated events occurs on the channel, the channel driver is  respon-
     sible  for  calling Tcl_NotifyChannel to inform the generic channel module.
     The driver should take care not to starve other channel drivers or  sources
     of callbacks by invoking Tcl_NotifyChannel too frequently.  Fairness can be
     insured  by  using  the  Tcl  event  queue to allow the channel event to be
     scheduled	in  sequence  with  other  events.   See  the	description   of
     Tcl_QueueEvent for details on how to queue an event.

     This  value  can  be  retrieved  with Tcl_ChannelWatchProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

   GETHANDLEPROC
     The getHandleProc field contains the address of a function  called  by  the
     generic layer to retrieve a device-specific handle from the channel.  GetH-
     andleProc should match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverGetHandleProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    int direction,
		    void **handlePtr);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when this
     channel  was  created. The direction argument is either TCL_READABLE to re-
     trieve the handle used for input, or TCL_WRITABLE to  retrieve  the  handle
     used for output.

     If  the  channel  implementation  has device-specific handles, the function
     should retrieve the appropriate handle associated with the channel, accord-
     ing the direction argument.  The handle should be stored  in  the	location
     referred to by handlePtr, and TCL_OK should be returned.  If the channel is
     not open for the specified direction, or if the channel implementation does
     not use device handles, the function should return TCL_ERROR.

     This  value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

   FLUSHPROC
     The flushProc field is currently reserved for future use.	It should be set
     to NULL.  FlushProc should match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverFlushProc(
		    void *instanceData);

     This value can be retrieved  with	Tcl_ChannelFlushProc,  which  returns  a
     pointer to the function.

   HANDLERPROC
     The  handlerProc  field  contains	the  address of a function called by the
     generic layer to notify the channel that an event occurred.  It  should  be
     defined for stacked channel drivers that wish to be notified of events that
     occur  on	the  underlying (stacked) channel.  HandlerProc should match the
     following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverHandlerProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    int interestMask);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when this
     channel was created.  The interestMask is an OR-ed combination of TCL_READ-
     ABLE or TCL_WRITABLE; it indicates what type  of  event  occurred	on  this
     channel.

     This  value  can  be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

   THREADACTIONPROC
     The threadActionProc field contains the address of the function  called  by
     the  generic layer when a channel is created, closed, or going to move to a
     different thread, i.e. whenever thread-specific driver state might have  to
     initialized  or updated. It can be NULL.  The action TCL_CHANNEL_THREAD_RE-
     MOVE is used to notify the driver that  it  should  update  or  remove  any
     thread-specific data it might be maintaining for the channel.

     The  action  TCL_CHANNEL_THREAD_INSERT is used to notify the driver that it
     should update or initialize any thread-specific data it might be  maintain-
     ing  using  the  calling  thread  as  the associate. See Tcl_CutChannel and
     Tcl_SpliceChannel for more detail.

	    typedef void Tcl_DriverThreadActionProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    int action);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when this
     channel was created.

     These values can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc,  which  re-
     turns a pointer to the function.

   TRUNCATEPROC
     The  truncateProc	field contains the address of the function called by the
     generic layer when a channel is truncated to some length. It can be NULL.

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverTruncateProc(
		    void *instanceData,
		    long long length);

     InstanceData is the same as the value passed to Tcl_CreateChannel when this
     channel was created, and length is the new length of the  underlying  file,
     which should not be negative. The result should be 0 on success or an errno
     code (suitable for use with Tcl_SetErrno) on failure.

     These values can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc, which returns a
     pointer to the function.

TCL_BADCHANNELOPTION
     This  procedure generates a "bad option" error message in an (optional) in-
     terpreter.  It is used by channel drivers when an invalid Set/Get option is
     requested. Its purpose is to concatenate the generic options  list  to  the
     specific ones and factorize the generic options error message string.

     It always returns TCL_ERROR

     An  error	message is generated in interp's result value to indicate that a
     command was invoked with a bad option.  The message has the form
		bad option "blah": should be one of
		<...generic options...>+<...specific options...>
     so you get for instance:
		bad option "-blah": should be one of -blocking,
		-buffering, -buffersize, -eofchar, -translation,
		-peername, or -sockname
     when called with optionList equal to "peername sockname"

     "blah" is the optionName argument and "<specific options>" is a space sepa-
     rated list of specific option words.  The function takes good care  of  in-
     serting  minus  signs  before each option, commas after, and an "or" before
     the last option.

SEE ALSO
     Tcl_Close(3), Tcl_OpenFileChannel(3),  Tcl_SetErrno(3),  Tcl_QueueEvent(3),
     Tcl_StackChannel(3), Tcl_GetStdChannel(3)

KEYWORDS
     blocking, channel driver, channel registration, channel type, nonblocking

Tcl				       8.4		    Tcl_CreateChannel(3)

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