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Tcl_CreateChannel(3)	     Tcl Library Procedures	    Tcl_CreateChannel(3)

________________________________________________________________________________

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_ChannelCloseProc,	Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,	   Tcl_ChannelInputProc,
     Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,    Tcl_ChannelSeekProc,	Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc,
     Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc,	Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc,  Tcl_ChannelGetOption-
     Proc, Tcl_ChannelWatchProc, Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc, Tcl_ChannelFlushProc,
     Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc,  Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc,  Tcl_IsChannelShared,
     Tcl_IsChannelRegistered,	Tcl_CutChannel,  Tcl_SpliceChannel,  Tcl_IsChan-
     nelExisting, Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers,  Tcl_GetChannelThread,  Tcl_Channel-
     Buffered - procedures for creating and manipulating channels

SYNOPSIS
     #include <tcl.h>

     Tcl_Channel
     Tcl_CreateChannel(typePtr, channelName, instanceData, mask)

     ClientData
     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
     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)

     void
     Tcl_CutChannel(channel)

     void
     Tcl_SpliceChannel(channel)

     void
     Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers(channel)

     int
     Tcl_ChannelBuffered(channel)

     const char *
     Tcl_ChannelName(typePtr)

     Tcl_ChannelTypeVersion
     Tcl_ChannelVersion(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverBlockModeProc *
     Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverCloseProc *
     Tcl_ChannelCloseProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverClose2Proc *
     Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverInputProc *
     Tcl_ChannelInputProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverOutputProc *
     Tcl_ChannelOutputProc(typePtr)

     Tcl_DriverSeekProc *
     Tcl_ChannelSeekProc(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.

     ClientData 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.

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

     int 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.
________________________________________________________________________________

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_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
     the  Tcl_ChannelType  version  is	TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_4  (or  higher), and
     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  the
     Tcl_ChannelType  version is TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_4 (or higher), and 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 Tcl_ChannelType {
		    const char *typeName;
		    Tcl_ChannelTypeVersion version;
		    Tcl_DriverCloseProc *closeProc;
		    Tcl_DriverInputProc *inputProc;
		    Tcl_DriverOutputProc *outputProc;
		    Tcl_DriverSeekProc *seekProc;
		    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_ChannelCloseProc,
     Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,	Tcl_ChannelInputProc,	  Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,
     Tcl_ChannelSeekProc,  Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc, Tcl_ChannelThreadActionProc,
     Tcl_ChannelTruncateProc,  Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc,   Tcl_ChannelGetOption-
     Proc, Tcl_ChannelWatchProc, Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc, 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_2  is  the  minimum	recommended.   TCL_CHAN-
     NEL_VERSION_3  must  be  set to specify the wideSeekProc member.  TCL_CHAN-
     NEL_VERSION_4 must be set to specify the threadActionProc member  (includes
     wideSeekProc).   TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_5  must  be  set  to specify the trun-
     cateProc members (includes wideSeekProc and threadActionProc).   If  it  is
     not  set  to any of these, then this Tcl_ChannelType is assumed to have the
     original structure.  See OLD CHANNEL TYPES for  more  details.   While  Tcl
     will  recognize  and function with either structures, stacked channels must
     be of at least TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_2 to function correctly.

     This value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelVersion, which returns  one  of
     TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_5,	TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_4,	  TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_3,
     TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_2 or TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_1.

   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(
		    ClientData 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.

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

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverCloseProc(
		    ClientData instanceData,
		    Tcl_Interp *interp);

     The  instanceData argument is the same as the value provided to Tcl_Create-
     Channel when the channel was created. The function should release any stor-
     age 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 fur-
     ther driver operations will be invoked on this instance after  calling  the
     closeProc.  If  the close operation is successful, the procedure should re-
     turn zero; otherwise it should return a nonzero POSIX error code. In  addi-
     tion, 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 set closeProc to TCL_CLOSE2PROC and set close2Proc to the ad-
     dress of a function that matches the following prototype:

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

     The  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 in-
     voked to perform additional operations on the channel after  close2Proc  is
     called  to  close	one or both sides of the channel.  If flags is 0 (zero),
     the driver should close the channel  in  the  manner  described  above  for
     closeProc.   No  further  operations will be invoked on this instance after
     close2Proc is called with all flags cleared.  In all cases, the  close2Proc
     function  should  return zero if the close operation was successful; other-
     wise 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 closeProc and close2Proc values can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelClose-
     Proc or Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc, which return a  pointer  to  the  respective
     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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData 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.

   SEEKPROC AND WIDESEEKPROC
     The seekProc field contains the address of a function called by the generic
     layer to move the access point at which subsequent input or  output  opera-
     tions will be applied. SeekProc must match the following prototype:

	    typedef int Tcl_DriverSeekProc(
		    ClientData instanceData,
		    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.

     If there is a non-NULL seekProc field, the wideSeekProc field  may  contain
     the  address  of  an  alternative	function to use which handles wide (i.e.
     larger than 32-bit) offsets, so allowing seeks  within  files  larger  than
     2GB.   The  wideSeekProc  will be called in preference to the seekProc, but
     both must be defined if the wideSeekProc  is  defined.   WideSeekProc  must
     match the following prototype:

	    typedef Tcl_WideInt Tcl_DriverWideSeekProc(
		    ClientData instanceData,
		    Tcl_WideInt offset,
		    int seekMode,
		    int *errorCodePtr);

     The arguments and return values mean the same thing as with seekProc above,
     except that the type of offsets and the return type are different.

     The seekProc value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelSeekProc, which returns
     a	pointer to the function, and similarly the wideSeekProc can be retrieved
     with Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc.

   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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData instanceData,
		    int direction,
		    ClientData *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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData 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(
		    ClientData instanceData,
		    Tcl_WideInt 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.

OLD CHANNEL TYPES
     The original (8.3.1 and below) Tcl_ChannelType structure contains the  fol-
     lowing fields:

	    typedef struct Tcl_ChannelType {
		const char *typeName;
		Tcl_DriverBlockModeProc *blockModeProc;
		Tcl_DriverCloseProc *closeProc;
		Tcl_DriverInputProc *inputProc;
		Tcl_DriverOutputProc *outputProc;
		Tcl_DriverSeekProc *seekProc;
		Tcl_DriverSetOptionProc *setOptionProc;
		Tcl_DriverGetOptionProc *getOptionProc;
		Tcl_DriverWatchProc *watchProc;
		Tcl_DriverGetHandleProc *getHandleProc;
		Tcl_DriverClose2Proc *close2Proc;
	    } Tcl_ChannelType;

     It  is  still possible to create channel with the above structure.  The in-
     ternal channel code will determine the version.  It is  imperative  to  use
     the  new  Tcl_ChannelType	structure  if you are creating a stacked channel
     driver, due to problems with the earlier stacked channel implementation (in
     8.2.0 to 8.3.1).

     Prior to 8.4.0 (i.e. during the later releases of 8.3 and early part of the
     8.4 development cycle) the Tcl_ChannelType structure contained the  follow-
     ing fields:

	    typedef struct Tcl_ChannelType {
		const char *typeName;
		Tcl_ChannelTypeVersion version;
		Tcl_DriverCloseProc *closeProc;
		Tcl_DriverInputProc *inputProc;
		Tcl_DriverOutputProc *outputProc;
		Tcl_DriverSeekProc *seekProc;
		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_DriverTruncateProc *truncateProc;
	    } Tcl_ChannelType;

     When the above structure is registered as a channel type, the version field
     should always be TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_2.

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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