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PERLIOL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLIOL(1)
NAME
perliol - C API for Perl's implementation of IO in Layers.
SYNOPSIS
/* Defining a layer ... */
#include
DESCRIPTION
This document describes the behavior and implementation of the PerlIO
abstraction described in perlapio when "USE_PERLIO" is defined (and
"USE_SFIO" is not).
History and Background
The PerlIO abstraction was introduced in perl5.003_02 but languished as
just an abstraction until perl5.7.0. However during that time a number
of perl extensions switched to using it, so the API is mostly fixed to
maintain (source) compatibility.
The aim of the implementation is to provide the PerlIO API in a flexi-
ble and platform neutral manner. It is also a trial of an "Object Ori-
ented C, with vtables" approach which may be applied to perl6.
Basic Structure
PerlIO is a stack of layers.
The low levels of the stack work with the low-level operating system
calls (file descriptors in C) getting bytes in and out, the higher lay-
ers of the stack buffer, filter, and otherwise manipulate the I/O, and
return characters (or bytes) to Perl. Terms above and below are used
to refer to the relative positioning of the stack layers.
A layer contains a "vtable", the table of I/O operations (at C level a
table of function pointers), and status flags. The functions in the
vtable implement operations like "open", "read", and "write".
When I/O, for example "read", is requested, the request goes from Perl
first down the stack using "read" functions of each layer, then at the
bottom the input is requested from the operating system services, then
the result is returned up the stack, finally being interpreted as Perl
data.
The requests do not necessarily go always all the way down to the oper-
ating system: that's where PerlIO buffering comes into play.
When you do an open() and specify extra PerlIO layers to be deployed,
the layers you specify are "pushed" on top of the already existing
default stack. One way to see it is that "operating system is on the
left" and "Perl is on the right".
What exact layers are in this default stack depends on a lot of things:
your operating system, Perl version, Perl compile time configuration,
and Perl runtime configuration. See PerlIO, "PERLIO" in perlrun, and
open for more information.
binmode() operates similarly to open(): by default the specified layers
are pushed on top of the existing stack.
However, note that even as the specified layers are "pushed on top" for
open() and binmode(), this doesn't mean that the effects are limited to
the "top": PerlIO layers can be very 'active' and inspect and affect
layers also deeper in the stack. As an example there is a layer called
"raw" which repeatedly "pops" layers until it reaches the first layer
that has declared itself capable of handling binary data. The "pushed"
layers are processed in left-to-right order.
sysopen() operates (unsurprisingly) at a lower level in the stack than
open(). For example in UNIX or UNIX-like systems sysopen() operates
directly at the level of file descriptors: in the terms of PerlIO lay-
ers, it uses only the "unix" layer, which is a rather thin wrapper on
top of the UNIX file descriptors.
Layers vs Disciplines
Initial discussion of the ability to modify IO streams behaviour used
the term "discipline" for the entities which were added. This came (I
believe) from the use of the term in "sfio", which in turn borrowed it
from "line disciplines" on Unix terminals. However, this document (and
the C code) uses the term "layer".
This is, I hope, a natural term given the implementation, and should
avoid connotations that are inherent in earlier uses of "discipline"
for things which are rather different.
Data Structures
The basic data structure is a PerlIOl:
typedef struct _PerlIO PerlIOl;
typedef struct _PerlIO_funcs PerlIO_funcs;
typedef PerlIOl *PerlIO;
struct _PerlIO
{
PerlIOl * next; /* Lower layer */
PerlIO_funcs * tab; /* Functions for this layer */
IV flags; /* Various flags for state */
};
A "PerlIOl *" is a pointer to the struct, and the application level
"PerlIO *" is a pointer to a "PerlIOl *" - i.e. a pointer to a pointer
to the struct. This allows the application level "PerlIO *" to remain
constant while the actual "PerlIOl *" underneath changes. (Compare
perl's "SV *" which remains constant while its "sv_any" field changes
as the scalar's type changes.) An IO stream is then in general repre-
sented as a pointer to this linked-list of "layers".
It should be noted that because of the double indirection in a "PerlIO
*", a "&(perlio->next)" "is" a "PerlIO *", and so to some degree at
least one layer can use the "standard" API on the next layer down.
A "layer" is composed of two parts:
1. The functions and attributes of the "layer class".
2. The per-instance data for a particular handle.
Functions and Attributes
The functions and attributes are accessed via the "tab" (for table)
member of "PerlIOl". The functions (methods of the layer "class") are
fixed, and are defined by the "PerlIO_funcs" type. They are broadly the
same as the public "PerlIO_xxxxx" functions:
struct _PerlIO_funcs
{
Size_t fsize;
char * name;
Size_t size;
IV kind;
IV (*Pushed)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,const char *mode,SV *arg, PerlIO_funcs *tab);
IV (*Popped)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
PerlIO * (*Open)(pTHX_ PerlIO_funcs *tab,
AV *layers, IV n,
const char *mode,
int fd, int imode, int perm,
PerlIO *old,
int narg, SV **args);
IV (*Binmode)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
SV * (*Getarg)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, CLONE_PARAMS *param, int flags)
IV (*Fileno)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
PerlIO * (*Dup)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, PerlIO *o, CLONE_PARAMS *param, int flags)
/* Unix-like functions - cf sfio line disciplines */
SSize_t (*Read)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, void *vbuf, Size_t count);
SSize_t (*Unread)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, const void *vbuf, Size_t count);
SSize_t (*Write)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, const void *vbuf, Size_t count);
IV (*Seek)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, Off_t offset, int whence);
Off_t (*Tell)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
IV (*Close)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
/* Stdio-like buffered IO functions */
IV (*Flush)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
IV (*Fill)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
IV (*Eof)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
IV (*Error)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
void (*Clearerr)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
void (*Setlinebuf)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
/* Perl's snooping functions */
STDCHAR * (*Get_base)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Size_t (*Get_bufsiz)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
STDCHAR * (*Get_ptr)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
SSize_t (*Get_cnt)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
void (*Set_ptrcnt)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,STDCHAR *ptr,SSize_t cnt);
};
The first few members of the struct give a function table size for com-
patibility check "name" for the layer, the size to "malloc" for the
per-instance data, and some flags which are attributes of the class as
whole (such as whether it is a buffering layer), then follow the func-
tions which fall into four basic groups:
1. Opening and setup functions
2. Basic IO operations
3. Stdio class buffering options.
4. Functions to support Perl's traditional "fast" access to the
buffer.
A layer does not have to implement all the functions, but the whole ta-
ble has to be present. Unimplemented slots can be NULL (which will
result in an error when called) or can be filled in with stubs to
"inherit" behaviour from a "base class". This "inheritance" is fixed
for all instances of the layer, but as the layer chooses which stubs to
populate the table, limited "multiple inheritance" is possible.
Per-instance Data
The per-instance data are held in memory beyond the basic PerlIOl
struct, by making a PerlIOl the first member of the layer's struct
thus:
typedef struct
{
struct _PerlIO base; /* Base "class" info */
STDCHAR * buf; /* Start of buffer */
STDCHAR * end; /* End of valid part of buffer */
STDCHAR * ptr; /* Current position in buffer */
Off_t posn; /* Offset of buf into the file */
Size_t bufsiz; /* Real size of buffer */
IV oneword; /* Emergency buffer */
} PerlIOBuf;
In this way (as for perl's scalars) a pointer to a PerlIOBuf can be
treated as a pointer to a PerlIOl.
Layers in action.
table perlio unix
| |
+-----------+ +----------+ +--------+
PerlIO ->| |--->| next |--->| NULL |
+-----------+ +----------+ +--------+
| | | buffer | | fd |
+-----------+ | | +--------+
| | +----------+
The above attempts to show how the layer scheme works in a simple case.
The application's "PerlIO *" points to an entry in the table(s) repre-
senting open (allocated) handles. For example the first three slots in
the table correspond to "stdin","stdout" and "stderr". The table in
turn points to the current "top" layer for the handle - in this case an
instance of the generic buffering layer "perlio". That layer in turn
points to the next layer down - in this case the lowlevel "unix" layer.
The above is roughly equivalent to a "stdio" buffered stream, but with
much more flexibility:
o If Unix level "read"/"write"/"lseek" is not appropriate for (say)
sockets then the "unix" layer can be replaced (at open time or even
dynamically) with a "socket" layer.
o Different handles can have different buffering schemes. The "top"
layer could be the "mmap" layer if reading disk files was quicker
using "mmap" than "read". An "unbuffered" stream can be implemented
simply by not having a buffer layer.
o Extra layers can be inserted to process the data as it flows
through. This was the driving need for including the scheme in
perl 5.7.0+ - we needed a mechanism to allow data to be translated
between perl's internal encoding (conceptually at least Unicode as
UTF-8), and the "native" format used by the system. This is pro-
vided by the ":encoding(xxxx)" layer which typically sits above the
buffering layer.
o A layer can be added that does "\n" to CRLF translation. This layer
can be used on any platform, not just those that normally do such
things.
Per-instance flag bits
The generic flag bits are a hybrid of "O_XXXXX" style flags deduced
from the mode string passed to "PerlIO_open()", and state bits for typ-
ical buffer layers.
PERLIO_F_EOF
End of file.
PERLIO_F_CANWRITE
Writes are permitted, i.e. opened as "w" or "r+" or "a", etc.
PERLIO_F_CANREAD
Reads are permitted i.e. opened "r" or "w+" (or even "a+" - ick).
PERLIO_F_ERROR
An error has occurred (for "PerlIO_error()").
PERLIO_F_TRUNCATE
Truncate file suggested by open mode.
PERLIO_F_APPEND
All writes should be appends.
PERLIO_F_CRLF
Layer is performing Win32-like "\n" mapped to CR,LF for output and
CR,LF mapped to "\n" for input. Normally the provided "crlf" layer
is the only layer that need bother about this. "PerlIO_binmode()"
will mess with this flag rather than add/remove layers if the "PER-
LIO_K_CANCRLF" bit is set for the layers class.
PERLIO_F_UTF8
Data written to this layer should be UTF-8 encoded; data provided
by this layer should be considered UTF-8 encoded. Can be set on any
layer by ":utf8" dummy layer. Also set on ":encoding" layer.
PERLIO_F_UNBUF
Layer is unbuffered - i.e. write to next layer down should occur
for each write to this layer.
PERLIO_F_WRBUF
The buffer for this layer currently holds data written to it but
not sent to next layer.
PERLIO_F_RDBUF
The buffer for this layer currently holds unconsumed data read from
layer below.
PERLIO_F_LINEBUF
Layer is line buffered. Write data should be passed to next layer
down whenever a "\n" is seen. Any data beyond the "\n" should then
be processed.
PERLIO_F_TEMP
File has been "unlink()"ed, or should be deleted on "close()".
PERLIO_F_OPEN
Handle is open.
PERLIO_F_FASTGETS
This instance of this layer supports the "fast "gets"" interface.
Normally set based on "PERLIO_K_FASTGETS" for the class and by the
existence of the function(s) in the table. However a class that
normally provides that interface may need to avoid it on a particu-
lar instance. The "pending" layer needs to do this when it is
pushed above a layer which does not support the interface. (Perl's
"sv_gets()" does not expect the streams fast "gets" behaviour to
change during one "get".)
Methods in Detail
fsize
Size_t fsize;
Size of the function table. This is compared against the value Per-
lIO code "knows" as a compatibility check. Future versions may be
able to tolerate layers compiled against an old version of the
headers.
name
char * name;
The name of the layer whose open() method Perl should invoke on
open(). For example if the layer is called APR, you will call:
open $fh, ">:APR", ...
and Perl knows that it has to invoke the PerlIOAPR_open() method
implemented by the APR layer.
size
Size_t size;
The size of the per-instance data structure, e.g.:
sizeof(PerlIOAPR)
If this field is zero then "PerlIO_pushed" does not malloc anything
and assumes layer's Pushed function will do any required layer
stack manipulation - used to avoid malloc/free overhead for dummy
layers. If the field is non-zero it must be at least the size of
"PerlIOl", "PerlIO_pushed" will allocate memory for the layer's
data structures and link new layer onto the stream's stack. (If the
layer's Pushed method returns an error indication the layer is
popped again.)
kind
IV kind;
* PERLIO_K_BUFFERED
The layer is buffered.
* PERLIO_K_RAW
The layer is acceptable to have in a binmode(FH) stack - i.e.
it does not (or will configure itself not to) transform bytes
passing through it.
* PERLIO_K_CANCRLF
Layer can translate between "\n" and CRLF line ends.
* PERLIO_K_FASTGETS
Layer allows buffer snooping.
* PERLIO_K_MULTIARG
Used when the layer's open() accepts more arguments than usual.
The extra arguments should come not before the "MODE" argument.
When this flag is used it's up to the layer to validate the
args.
Pushed
IV (*Pushed)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,const char *mode, SV *arg);
The only absolutely mandatory method. Called when the layer is
pushed onto the stack. The "mode" argument may be NULL if this
occurs post-open. The "arg" will be non-"NULL" if an argument
string was passed. In most cases this should call "Per-
lIOBase_pushed()" to convert "mode" into the appropriate "PER-
LIO_F_XXXXX" flags in addition to any actions the layer itself
takes. If a layer is not expecting an argument it need neither
save the one passed to it, nor provide "Getarg()" (it could perhaps
"Perl_warn" that the argument was un-expected).
Returns 0 on success. On failure returns -1 and should set errno.
Popped
IV (*Popped)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Called when the layer is popped from the stack. A layer will nor-
mally be popped after "Close()" is called. But a layer can be
popped without being closed if the program is dynamically managing
layers on the stream. In such cases "Popped()" should free any
resources (buffers, translation tables, ...) not held directly in
the layer's struct. It should also "Unread()" any unconsumed data
that has been read and buffered from the layer below back to that
layer, so that it can be re-provided to what ever is now above.
Returns 0 on success and failure. If "Popped()" returns true then
perlio.c assumes that either the layer has popped itself, or the
layer is super special and needs to be retained for other reasons.
In most cases it should return false.
Open
PerlIO * (*Open)(...);
The "Open()" method has lots of arguments because it combines the
functions of perl's "open", "PerlIO_open", perl's "sysopen", "Per-
lIO_fdopen" and "PerlIO_reopen". The full prototype is as follows:
PerlIO * (*Open)(pTHX_ PerlIO_funcs *tab,
AV *layers, IV n,
const char *mode,
int fd, int imode, int perm,
PerlIO *old,
int narg, SV **args);
Open should (perhaps indirectly) call "PerlIO_allocate()" to allo-
cate a slot in the table and associate it with the layers informa-
tion for the opened file, by calling "PerlIO_push". The layers AV
is an array of all the layers destined for the "PerlIO *", and any
arguments passed to them, n is the index into that array of the
layer being called. The macro "PerlIOArg" will return a (possibly
"NULL") SV * for the argument passed to the layer.
The mode string is an ""fopen()"-like" string which would match the
regular expression "/^[I#]?[rwa]\+?[bt]?$/".
The 'I' prefix is used during creation of "stdin".."stderr" via
special "PerlIO_fdopen" calls; the '#' prefix means that this is
"sysopen" and that imode and perm should be passed to "Perl-
LIO_open3"; 'r' means read, 'w' means write and 'a' means append.
The '+' suffix means that both reading and writing/appending are
permitted. The 'b' suffix means file should be binary, and 't'
means it is text. (Almost all layers should do the IO in binary
mode, and ignore the b/t bits. The ":crlf" layer should be pushed
to handle the distinction.)
If old is not "NULL" then this is a "PerlIO_reopen". Perl itself
does not use this (yet?) and semantics are a little vague.
If fd not negative then it is the numeric file descriptor fd, which
will be open in a manner compatible with the supplied mode string,
the call is thus equivalent to "PerlIO_fdopen". In this case nargs
will be zero.
If nargs is greater than zero then it gives the number of arguments
passed to "open", otherwise it will be 1 if for example "Per-
lIO_open" was called. In simple cases SvPV_nolen(*args) is the
pathname to open.
Having said all that translation-only layers do not need to provide
"Open()" at all, but rather leave the opening to a lower level
layer and wait to be "pushed". If a layer does provide "Open()" it
should normally call the "Open()" method of next layer down (if
any) and then push itself on top if that succeeds.
If "PerlIO_push" was performed and open has failed, it must "Per-
lIO_pop" itself, since if it's not, the layer won't be removed and
may cause bad problems.
Returns "NULL" on failure.
Binmode
IV (*Binmode)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Optional. Used when ":raw" layer is pushed (explicitly or as a
result of binmode(FH)). If not present layer will be popped. If
present should configure layer as binary (or pop itself) and return
0. If it returns -1 for error "binmode" will fail with layer still
on the stack.
Getarg
SV * (*Getarg)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,
CLONE_PARAMS *param, int flags);
Optional. If present should return an SV * representing the string
argument passed to the layer when it was pushed. e.g. ":encod-
ing(ascii)" would return an SvPV with value "ascii". (param and
flags arguments can be ignored in most cases)
"Dup" uses "Getarg" to retrieve the argument originally passed to
"Pushed", so you must implement this function if your layer has an
extra argument to "Pushed" and will ever be "Dup"ed.
Fileno
IV (*Fileno)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Returns the Unix/Posix numeric file descriptor for the handle. Nor-
mally "PerlIOBase_fileno()" (which just asks next layer down) will
suffice for this.
Returns -1 on error, which is considered to include the case where
the layer cannot provide such a file descriptor.
Dup
PerlIO * (*Dup)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, PerlIO *o,
CLONE_PARAMS *param, int flags);
XXX: Needs more docs.
Used as part of the "clone" process when a thread is spawned (in
which case param will be non-NULL) and when a stream is being
duplicated via '&' in the "open".
Similar to "Open", returns PerlIO* on success, "NULL" on failure.
Read
SSize_t (*Read)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, void *vbuf, Size_t count);
Basic read operation.
Typically will call "Fill" and manipulate pointers (possibly via
the API). "PerlIOBuf_read()" may be suitable for derived classes
which provide "fast gets" methods.
Returns actual bytes read, or -1 on an error.
Unread
SSize_t (*Unread)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,
const void *vbuf, Size_t count);
A superset of stdio's "ungetc()". Should arrange for future reads
to see the bytes in "vbuf". If there is no obviously better imple-
mentation then "PerlIOBase_unread()" provides the function by push-
ing a "fake" "pending" layer above the calling layer.
Returns the number of unread chars.
Write
SSize_t (*Write)(PerlIO *f, const void *vbuf, Size_t count);
Basic write operation.
Returns bytes written or -1 on an error.
Seek
IV (*Seek)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f, Off_t offset, int whence);
Position the file pointer. Should normally call its own "Flush"
method and then the "Seek" method of next layer down.
Returns 0 on success, -1 on failure.
Tell
Off_t (*Tell)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return the file pointer. May be based on layers cached concept of
position to avoid overhead.
Returns -1 on failure to get the file pointer.
Close
IV (*Close)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Close the stream. Should normally call "PerlIOBase_close()" to
flush itself and close layers below, and then deallocate any data
structures (buffers, translation tables, ...) not held directly in
the data structure.
Returns 0 on success, -1 on failure.
Flush
IV (*Flush)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Should make stream's state consistent with layers below. That is,
any buffered write data should be written, and file position of
lower layers adjusted for data read from below but not actually
consumed. (Should perhaps "Unread()" such data to the lower
layer.)
Returns 0 on success, -1 on failure.
Fill
IV (*Fill)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
The buffer for this layer should be filled (for read) from layer
below. When you "subclass" PerlIOBuf layer, you want to use its
_read method and to supply your own fill method, which fills the
PerlIOBuf's buffer.
Returns 0 on success, -1 on failure.
Eof
IV (*Eof)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return end-of-file indicator. "PerlIOBase_eof()" is normally suffi-
cient.
Returns 0 on end-of-file, 1 if not end-of-file, -1 on error.
Error
IV (*Error)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return error indicator. "PerlIOBase_error()" is normally suffi-
cient.
Returns 1 if there is an error (usually when "PERLIO_F_ERROR" is
set, 0 otherwise.
Clearerr
void (*Clearerr)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Clear end-of-file and error indicators. Should call "Per-
lIOBase_clearerr()" to set the "PERLIO_F_XXXXX" flags, which may
suffice.
Setlinebuf
void (*Setlinebuf)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Mark the stream as line buffered. "PerlIOBase_setlinebuf()" sets
the PERLIO_F_LINEBUF flag and is normally sufficient.
Get_base
STDCHAR * (*Get_base)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Allocate (if not already done so) the read buffer for this layer
and return pointer to it. Return NULL on failure.
Get_bufsiz
Size_t (*Get_bufsiz)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return the number of bytes that last "Fill()" put in the buffer.
Get_ptr
STDCHAR * (*Get_ptr)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return the current read pointer relative to this layer's buffer.
Get_cnt
SSize_t (*Get_cnt)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f);
Return the number of bytes left to be read in the current buffer.
Set_ptrcnt
void (*Set_ptrcnt)(pTHX_ PerlIO *f,
STDCHAR *ptr, SSize_t cnt);
Adjust the read pointer and count of bytes to match "ptr" and/or
"cnt". The application (or layer above) must ensure they are con-
sistent. (Checking is allowed by the paranoid.)
Utilities
To ask for the next layer down use PerlIONext(PerlIO *f).
To check that a PerlIO* is valid use PerlIOValid(PerlIO *f). (All this
does is really just to check that the pointer is non-NULL and that the
pointer behind that is non-NULL.)
PerlIOBase(PerlIO *f) returns the "Base" pointer, or in other words,
the "PerlIOl*" pointer.
PerlIOSelf(PerlIO* f, type) return the PerlIOBase cast to a type.
Perl_PerlIO_or_Base(PerlIO* f, callback, base, failure, args) either
calls the callback from the functions of the layer f (just by the name
of the IO function, like "Read") with the args, or if there is no such
callback, calls the base version of the callback with the same args, or
if the f is invalid, set errno to EBADF and return failure.
Perl_PerlIO_or_fail(PerlIO* f, callback, failure, args) either calls
the callback of the functions of the layer f with the args, or if there
is no such callback, set errno to EINVAL. Or if the f is invalid, set
errno to EBADF and return failure.
Perl_PerlIO_or_Base_void(PerlIO* f, callback, base, args) either calls
the callback of the functions of the layer f with the args, or if there
is no such callback, calls the base version of the callback with the
same args, or if the f is invalid, set errno to EBADF.
Perl_PerlIO_or_fail_void(PerlIO* f, callback, args) either calls the
callback of the functions of the layer f with the args, or if there is
no such callback, set errno to EINVAL. Or if the f is invalid, set
errno to EBADF.
Implementing PerlIO Layers
If you find the implementation document unclear or not sufficient, look
at the existing PerlIO layer implementations, which include:
* C implementations
The perlio.c and perliol.h in the Perl core implement the "unix",
"perlio", "stdio", "crlf", "utf8", "byte", "raw", "pending" layers,
and also the "mmap" and "win32" layers if applicable. (The "win32"
is currently unfinished and unused, to see what is used instead in
Win32, see "Querying the layers of filehandles" in PerlIO .)
PerlIO::encoding, PerlIO::scalar, PerlIO::via in the Perl core.
PerlIO::gzip and APR::PerlIO (mod_perl 2.0) on CPAN.
* Perl implementations
PerlIO::via::QuotedPrint in the Perl core and PerlIO::via::* on
CPAN.
If you are creating a PerlIO layer, you may want to be lazy, in other
words, implement only the methods that interest you. The other methods
you can either replace with the "blank" methods
PerlIOBase_noop_ok
PerlIOBase_noop_fail
(which do nothing, and return zero and -1, respectively) or for certain
methods you may assume a default behaviour by using a NULL method. The
Open method looks for help in the 'parent' layer. The following table
summarizes the behaviour:
method behaviour with NULL
Clearerr PerlIOBase_clearerr
Close PerlIOBase_close
Dup PerlIOBase_dup
Eof PerlIOBase_eof
Error PerlIOBase_error
Fileno PerlIOBase_fileno
Fill FAILURE
Flush SUCCESS
Getarg SUCCESS
Get_base FAILURE
Get_bufsiz FAILURE
Get_cnt FAILURE
Get_ptr FAILURE
Open INHERITED
Popped SUCCESS
Pushed SUCCESS
Read PerlIOBase_read
Seek FAILURE
Set_cnt FAILURE
Set_ptrcnt FAILURE
Setlinebuf PerlIOBase_setlinebuf
Tell FAILURE
Unread PerlIOBase_unread
Write FAILURE
FAILURE Set errno (to EINVAL in UNIXish, to LIB$_INVARG in VMS) and
return -1 (for numeric return values) or NULL (for pointers)
INHERITED Inherited from the layer below
SUCCESS Return 0 (for numeric return values) or a pointer
Core Layers
The file "perlio.c" provides the following layers:
"unix"
A basic non-buffered layer which calls Unix/POSIX "read()",
"write()", "lseek()", "close()". No buffering. Even on platforms
that distinguish between O_TEXT and O_BINARY this layer is always
O_BINARY.
"perlio"
A very complete generic buffering layer which provides the whole of
PerlIO API. It is also intended to be used as a "base class" for
other layers. (For example its "Read()" method is implemented in
terms of the "Get_cnt()"/"Get_ptr()"/"Set_ptrcnt()" methods).
"perlio" over "unix" provides a complete replacement for stdio as
seen via PerlIO API. This is the default for USE_PERLIO when sys-
tem's stdio does not permit perl's "fast gets" access, and which do
not distinguish between "O_TEXT" and "O_BINARY".
"stdio"
A layer which provides the PerlIO API via the layer scheme, but
implements it by calling system's stdio. This is (currently) the
default if system's stdio provides sufficient access to allow
perl's "fast gets" access and which do not distinguish between
"O_TEXT" and "O_BINARY".
"crlf"
A layer derived using "perlio" as a base class. It provides
Win32-like "\n" to CR,LF translation. Can either be applied above
"perlio" or serve as the buffer layer itself. "crlf" over "unix" is
the default if system distinguishes between "O_TEXT" and "O_BINARY"
opens. (At some point "unix" will be replaced by a "native" Win32
IO layer on that platform, as Win32's read/write layer has various
drawbacks.) The "crlf" layer is a reasonable model for a layer
which transforms data in some way.
"mmap"
If Configure detects "mmap()" functions this layer is provided
(with "perlio" as a "base") which does "read" operations by
mmap()ing the file. Performance improvement is marginal on modern
systems, so it is mainly there as a proof of concept. It is likely
to be unbundled from the core at some point. The "mmap" layer is a
reasonable model for a minimalist "derived" layer.
"pending"
An "internal" derivative of "perlio" which can be used to provide
Unread() function for layers which have no buffer or cannot be
bothered. (Basically this layer's "Fill()" pops itself off the
stack and so resumes reading from layer below.)
"raw"
A dummy layer which never exists on the layer stack. Instead when
"pushed" it actually pops the stack removing itself, it then calls
Binmode function table entry on all the layers in the stack - nor-
mally this (via PerlIOBase_binmode) removes any layers which do not
have "PERLIO_K_RAW" bit set. Layers can modify that behaviour by
defining their own Binmode entry.
"utf8"
Another dummy layer. When pushed it pops itself and sets the "PER-
LIO_F_UTF8" flag on the layer which was (and now is once more) the
top of the stack.
In addition perlio.c also provides a number of "PerlIOBase_xxxx()"
functions which are intended to be used in the table slots of classes
which do not need to do anything special for a particular method.
Extension Layers
Layers can made available by extension modules. When an unknown layer
is encountered the PerlIO code will perform the equivalent of :
use PerlIO 'layer';
Where layer is the unknown layer. PerlIO.pm will then attempt to:
require PerlIO::layer;
If after that process the layer is still not defined then the "open"
will fail.
The following extension layers are bundled with perl:
":encoding"
use Encoding;
makes this layer available, although PerlIO.pm "knows" where to
find it. It is an example of a layer which takes an argument as it
is called thus:
open( $fh, "<:encoding(iso-8859-7)", $pathname );
":scalar"
Provides support for reading data from and writing data to a
scalar.
open( $fh, "+<:scalar", \$scalar );
When a handle is so opened, then reads get bytes from the string
value of $scalar, and writes change the value. In both cases the
position in $scalar starts as zero but can be altered via "seek",
and determined via "tell".
Please note that this layer is implied when calling open() thus:
open( $fh, "+<", \$scalar );
":via"
Provided to allow layers to be implemented as Perl code. For
instance:
use PerlIO::via::StripHTML;
open( my $fh, "<:via(StripHTML)", "index.html" );
See PerlIO::via for details.
TODO
Things that need to be done to improve this document.
o Explain how to make a valid fh without going through open()(i.e.
apply a layer). For example if the file is not opened through perl,
but we want to get back a fh, like it was opened by Perl.
How PerlIO_apply_layera fits in, where its docs, was it made pub-
lic?
Currently the example could be something like this:
PerlIO *foo_to_PerlIO(pTHX_ char *mode, ...)
{
char *mode; /* "w", "r", etc */
const char *layers = ":APR"; /* the layer name */
PerlIO *f = PerlIO_allocate(aTHX);
if (!f) {
return NULL;
}
PerlIO_apply_layers(aTHX_ f, mode, layers);
if (f) {
PerlIOAPR *st = PerlIOSelf(f, PerlIOAPR);
/* fill in the st struct, as in _open() */
st->file = file;
PerlIOBase(f)->flags |= PERLIO_F_OPEN;
return f;
}
return NULL;
}
o fix/add the documentation in places marked as XXX.
o The handling of errors by the layer is not specified. e.g. when $!
should be set explicitly, when the error handling should be just
delegated to the top layer.
Probably give some hints on using SETERRNO() or pointers to where
they can be found.
o I think it would help to give some concrete examples to make it
easier to understand the API. Of course I agree that the API has to
be concise, but since there is no second document that is more of a
guide, I think that it'd make it easier to start with the doc which
is an API, but has examples in it in places where things are
unclear, to a person who is not a PerlIO guru (yet).
perl v5.8.8 2006-01-07 PERLIOL(1)
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