X-Git-Url: http://repo.macrolet.net/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=contrib%2Fsb-posix%2FREADME;h=3f61bf559171ab9311eec05162c1471d0b48030f;hb=06c288327bb8ea3a9534c63c0a8a909445a62054;hp=0bb884afd96bcd17e6e778dd8d6fdd0c49923a45;hpb=4373334c459af4a06a08db880e613c7aeb4876f7;p=sbcl.git diff --git a/contrib/sb-posix/README b/contrib/sb-posix/README index 0bb884a..3f61bf5 100644 --- a/contrib/sb-posix/README +++ b/contrib/sb-posix/README @@ -1,5 +1,10 @@ -*- Text -*- +Note: this file's description of a POSIX binding for Common Lisp does +not necessarily describe the state of the sb-posix module. If you're +looking for a description sb-posix, look at sb-posix.texinfo in this +directory. + * Scope The scope of this interface is "operating system calls on a typical @@ -80,14 +85,21 @@ results if the stream is buffered. A filename is a string. -A pathname is a designator for a file-descriptor: the filename is -computed as if by NAMESTRING +A pathname is a designator for a filename: the filename is computed +using the same mechanism as the implementation would use to map +pathnames to OS filenames internally. + +In an implementation that supports pathnames to files on other hosts, +using mechanisms not available to the underlying OS (for example, +using an FTP or HTTP client in the Lisp implementation), the effect +of supplying this interface with a pathname to such a file is undefined. + ** buffer -A buffer is an opaque object with accessors BUFFER-START and -BUFFER-LENGTH, which represents an area of memory that system calls -may access. A buffer can be created using ALLOCATE-BUFFER or GET-BUFFER. +A buffer is an opaque object which represents an area of memory that +system calls may access. It has accessors BUFFER-START and +BUFFER-LENGTH, and can be created using ALLOCATE-BUFFER or GET-BUFFER. [ TODO: GET-BUFFER is a silly name. Come up with a better one ] @@ -159,11 +171,12 @@ is obvious. For example, (read fd buffer &optional (length (length buffer))) => bytes-read b) where C simulates "out" parameters using pointers (for instance, in -pipe() or socketpair()) we may use multiple return values instead. -This doesn't apply to data transfer functions that fill buffers. +pipe() or socketpair()) these may be optional or omitted in the Lisp +interface: if not provided, appropriate objects will be allocated and +returned (using multiple return values if necessary). c) some functions accept objects such as filenames or file -descriptors. Wherver these are specified as such in the C bindings, +descriptors. Wherever these are specified as such in the C bindings, the Lisp interface accepts designators for them as specified in the 'Types' section above @@ -184,7 +197,12 @@ of the error number] We do not automatically translate the returned value into "Lispy" objects - for example, SB-POSIX:OPEN returns a small integer, not a -stream. +stream. Exception: boolean-returning functions (or, more commonly, +macros) do not return a C integer, but instead a lisp boolean [ or +maybe "true"/"false" in CLtS parlance ]; the rationale behind this +exception is that there is nothing that can be meaningfully done with +the boolean except test for truth or falsity -- it cannot be passed +meaningfully to other POSIX functions. [ Rationale: This is an interface to POSIX, not a high-level interface that uses POSIX, and many people using it will actually want to mess @@ -212,3 +230,15 @@ See designator.lisp, add a define-designator form The use of DEFINE-CALL macro in interface.lisp should be obvious from the existing examples, if less so from the macroexpansion + + + + +GC issues + +buffers that refer to C stuff are probably not movable by GC anyway + +a buffer that refers to a Lisp object may have trouble if the Lisp +object is moved + +