ADC Home > Reference Library > Reference > Mac OS X > Mac OS X Man Pages

 

This document is a Mac OS X manual page. Manual pages are a command-line technology for providing documentation. You can view these manual pages locally using the man(1) command. These manual pages come from many different sources, and thus, have a variety of writing styles.

This manual page is associated with the Mac OS X developer tools. The software or headers described may not be present on your Mac OS X installation until you install the developer tools package. This package is available on your Mac OS X installation DVD, and the latest versions can be downloaded from developer.apple.com.

For more information about the manual page format, see the manual page for manpages(5).



Tcl_CreateChannel(3)                       Tcl Library Procedures                       Tcl_CreateChannel(3)



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NAME
       Tcl_CreateChannel,  Tcl_GetChannelInstanceData,  Tcl_GetChannelType, Tcl_GetChannelName, Tcl_GetChan-nelHandle, Tcl_GetChannelHandle,
       nelHandle, Tcl_GetChannelMode, Tcl_GetChannelBufferSize, Tcl_SetChannelBufferSize, Tcl_NotifyChannel,
       Tcl_BadChannelOption,  Tcl_ChannelName,  Tcl_ChannelVersion,  Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc,  Tcl_Channel-CloseProc, Tcl_ChannelCloseProc,
       CloseProc, Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc, Tcl_ChannelInputProc,  Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,  Tcl_ChannelSeekProc,
       Tcl_ChannelWideSeekProc,  Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc,  Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc,  Tcl_ChannelWatchProc,
       Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc,    Tcl_ChannelFlushProc,    Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc,    Tcl_IsChannelShared,
       Tcl_IsChannelRegistered,  Tcl_CutChannel, Tcl_SpliceChannel, Tcl_IsChannelExisting, Tcl_ClearChannel-Handlers, Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers,
       Handlers, Tcl_GetChannelThread, Tcl_ChannelBuffered - procedures for creating and manipulating  chan-nels channels
       nels

SYNOPSIS
       #include <tcl.h>

       Tcl_Channel
       Tcl_CreateChannel(typePtr, channelName, instanceData, mask)

       ClientData
       Tcl_GetChannelInstanceData(channel)

       Tcl_ChannelType *
       Tcl_GetChannelType(channel)

       CONST char *
       Tcl_GetChannelName(channel)

       int
       Tcl_GetChannelHandle(channel, direction, handlePtr)

       Tcl_ThreadId                                                                                          |
       Tcl_GetChannelThread(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_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
       Tcl_ChannelType   *typePtr       (in)      Points  to  a structure containing the addresses of proce-dures procedures
                                                  dures that can be called to perform I/O  and  other  func-tions functions
                                                  tions on the channel.

       CONST char        *channelName   (in)      The  name  of  this channel, such as file3; must not be in
                                                  use by any other channel. Can be NULL, in which  case  the
                                                  channel is created without a name.

       ClientData        instanceData   (in)      Arbitrary  one-word value to be associated with this chan-nel. channel.
                                                  nel.  This value is passed to procedures in  typePtr  when
                                                  they are invoked.

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

       Tcl_Channel       channel        (in)      The channel to operate on.

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

       ClientData        *handlePtr     (out)     Points  to the location where the desired OS-specific han-dle handle
                                                  dle should be stored.

       int               size           (in)      The size, in bytes, of buffers to allocate in  this  chan-nel. channel.
                                                  nel.

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

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

       CONST char        *optionName    (in)      Name of the invalid option.

       CONST char        *optionList    (in)      Specific options list (space separated words, without "-")
                                                  to append to the standard generic options  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 device 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 providing
       viding new channel drivers.

       Channel drivers consist of a number of components: First, each channel driver provides a Tcl_Channel-Type Tcl_ChannelType
       Type  structure  containing  pointers  to  functions  implementing the various operations used by the
       generic layer to communicate with the channel driver. The Tcl_ChannelType structure and the functions
       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_Cre-ateChannel Tcl_CreateChannel
       ateChannel 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_GetStdChannel 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 stan-dard standard
       dard channel too. See Tcl_StandardChannels for a general treatise about standard channels and the be-haviour behaviour
       haviour 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 argument in the call to Tcl_CreateChannel that cre-ated created
       ated 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  specified 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 deter-mine determine
       mine 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 ten and one
       million, allowing buffers of ten bytes  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.  See WATCHPROC below for
       more details.

       Tcl_BadChannelOption is called from driver specific set or get option procs 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 returns 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.       |

       Tcl_SpliceChannel  adds the specified channel to the (thread)global list of all channels (of the cur- |
       rent thread).  Application to a channel registered in some interpreter is not allowed.                |

       Tcl_ClearChannelHandlers removes all channelhandlers and event scripts associated with the  specified |
       channel, thus shutting down all event processing for this channel.


TCL_CHANNELTYPE
       A channel driver provides a Tcl_ChannelType structure that contains pointers to functions that imple-ment implement
       ment 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 channel
       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 {
                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_ChannelType;

       The driver must provide implementations for all functions except blockModeProc, seekProc,  setOption-Proc, setOptionProc,
       Proc, getOptionProc, and close2Proc, which may be specified as NULL.  Other functions that can not be
       implemented for this type of device should return EINVAL when invoked to indicate that they  are  not
       implemented,  except  in the case of flushProc and handlerProc, which should specified as NULL if not
       otherwise defined.

       The user should only use the above structure for  Tcl_ChannelType  instantiation.   When  referencing
       fields  in  a Tcl_ChannelType structure, the following functions should be used to obtain the values:
       Tcl_ChannelName,  Tcl_ChannelVersion,  Tcl_ChannelBlockModeProc,  Tcl_ChannelCloseProc,  Tcl_Channel-Close2Proc, Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,
       Close2Proc,    Tcl_ChannelInputProc,    Tcl_ChannelOutputProc,    Tcl_ChannelSeekProc,   Tcl_Channel- |
       WideSeekProc, Tcl_ChannelSetOptionProc, Tcl_ChannelGetOptionProc, Tcl_ChannelWatchProc,  Tcl_Channel-GetHandleProc, Tcl_ChannelGetHandleProc,
       GetHandleProc, Tcl_ChannelFlushProc, or Tcl_ChannelHandlerProc.

       The  change  to the structures was made in such a way that standard channel types are binary compati-ble. compatible.
       ble.  However, channel types that use stacked channels (ie: 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 imple-mented implemented
       mented 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 TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_2.  If it is not set to this  value  TCL_CHAN-NEL_VERSION_3, TCL_CHANNEL_VERSION_3,
       NEL_VERSION_3,  then  this  Tcl_ChannelType  is assumed to have the older structure.  See OLD CHANNEL
       TYPES for more details.  While Tcl will recognize and function with either structure,  stacked  chan-nels channels
       nels 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_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  block-ing blocking
       ing and nonblocking mode on the device.  BlockModeProc 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 instanceData 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  underlying
       operating system; for other device types, the behavior must be emulated 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 careful. It has to tell the
       generic layer exactly which blocking mode is acceptable to it, and should this also document for  the
       user  so that the blocking mode of the channel is not changed to an inacceptable 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_CreateChannel when the channel was
       created. The function should release 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 pro-cedure procedure
       cedure 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 independently may set closeProc
       to  TCL_CLOSE2PROC  and set close2Proc to the address of a function that matches the following proto-type: prototype:
       type:

              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 invoked 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; 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.

       These value can be retrieved with Tcl_ChannelCloseProc  or  Tcl_ChannelClose2Proc,  which  returns  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 internal 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 nonnegative 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 occurs 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  avail-able available
       able  whatsoever and the channel is in blocking mode, the function should block for the shortest pos-sible possible
       sible 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 device.  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 indi-cates indicates
       cates 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 suc-cess, success,
       cess, the function should return a nonnegative integer indicating how many bytes were written to  the
       output  device.  The return 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 occurs 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 operations will be applied. SeekProc must match the follow-ing following
       ing 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_CreateChannel when this  channel  was
       created.   Offset  and seekMode have the same meaning 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  implement
       seeking.

       The  return  value is the new access point or -1 in case of error. If an error 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  alterna- |
       tive  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  func- |
       tion, 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 chan-nel channel
       nel type specific option on a channel.  setOptionProc 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 indicates
       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 field of interp if interp is not NULL. The
       function should also call Tcl_SetErrno to store an appropriate 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 channel. getOptionProc must match the following proto-type: prototype:
       type:

              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_BadChannelOp-tion Tcl_BadChannelOption
       tion which itself returns TCL_ERROR if the optionName 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 func-tion function
       tion 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 proce-dure procedure
       dure 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  indi-cates indicates
       cates 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 responsible 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_Notify-Channel Tcl_NotifyChannel
       Channel  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.  GetHandleProc 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 retrieve 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 appropri-ate appropriate
       ate  handle  associated  with  the  channel,  according 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 fol-lowing following
       lowing 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_READABLE 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.


TCL_BADCHANNELOPTION
       This procedure generates a "bad option" error message in an (optional) interpreter.  It  is  used  by
       channel drivers when a 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 return TCL_ERROR

       An error message is generated in interp's result object to indicate that a command was  invoked  with
       the 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="peername sockname"
       ``blah''  is the optionName argument and ``<specific options>'' is a space separated list of specific
       option words.  The function takes good care of inserting  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 following fields:

              typedef struct Tcl_ChannelType {
                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 internal 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 following fields:                                         |

              typedef struct Tcl_ChannelType {                                                               |
                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_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                                                  8.3                                Tcl_CreateChannel(3)

Did this document help you?
Yes: Tell us what works for you.
It’s good, but: Report typos, inaccuracies, and so forth.
It wasn’t helpful: Tell us what would have helped.