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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt')
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diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8bf3e37..0000000 --- a/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,264 +0,0 @@ -run-command API -=============== - -The run-command API offers a versatile tool to run sub-processes with -redirected input and output as well as with a modified environment -and an alternate current directory. - -A similar API offers the capability to run a function asynchronously, -which is primarily used to capture the output that the function -produces in the caller in order to process it. - - -Functions ---------- - -`child_process_init`:: - - Initialize a struct child_process variable. - -`start_command`:: - - Start a sub-process. Takes a pointer to a `struct child_process` - that specifies the details and returns pipe FDs (if requested). - See below for details. - -`finish_command`:: - - Wait for the completion of a sub-process that was started with - start_command(). - -`run_command`:: - - A convenience function that encapsulates a sequence of - start_command() followed by finish_command(). Takes a pointer - to a `struct child_process` that specifies the details. - -`run_command_v_opt`, `run_command_v_opt_cd_env`:: - - Convenience functions that encapsulate a sequence of - start_command() followed by finish_command(). The argument argv - specifies the program and its arguments. The argument opt is zero - or more of the flags `RUN_COMMAND_NO_STDIN`, `RUN_GIT_CMD`, - `RUN_COMMAND_STDOUT_TO_STDERR`, or `RUN_SILENT_EXEC_FAILURE` - that correspond to the members .no_stdin, .git_cmd, - .stdout_to_stderr, .silent_exec_failure of `struct child_process`. - The argument dir corresponds the member .dir. The argument env - corresponds to the member .env. - -`child_process_clear`:: - - Release the memory associated with the struct child_process. - Most users of the run-command API don't need to call this - function explicitly because `start_command` invokes it on - failure and `finish_command` calls it automatically already. - -The functions above do the following: - -. If a system call failed, errno is set and -1 is returned. A diagnostic - is printed. - -. If the program was not found, then -1 is returned and errno is set to - ENOENT; a diagnostic is printed only if .silent_exec_failure is 0. - -. Otherwise, the program is run. If it terminates regularly, its exit - code is returned. No diagnostic is printed, even if the exit code is - non-zero. - -. If the program terminated due to a signal, then the return value is the - signal number + 128, ie. the same value that a POSIX shell's $? would - report. A diagnostic is printed. - - -`start_async`:: - - Run a function asynchronously. Takes a pointer to a `struct - async` that specifies the details and returns a set of pipe FDs - for communication with the function. See below for details. - -`finish_async`:: - - Wait for the completion of an asynchronous function that was - started with start_async(). - -`run_hook`:: - - Run a hook. - The first argument is a pathname to an index file, or NULL - if the hook uses the default index file or no index is needed. - The second argument is the name of the hook. - The further arguments correspond to the hook arguments. - The last argument has to be NULL to terminate the arguments list. - If the hook does not exist or is not executable, the return - value will be zero. - If it is executable, the hook will be executed and the exit - status of the hook is returned. - On execution, .stdout_to_stderr and .no_stdin will be set. - (See below.) - - -Data structures ---------------- - -* `struct child_process` - -This describes the arguments, redirections, and environment of a -command to run in a sub-process. - -The caller: - -1. allocates and clears (using child_process_init() or - CHILD_PROCESS_INIT) a struct child_process variable; -2. initializes the members; -3. calls start_command(); -4. processes the data; -5. closes file descriptors (if necessary; see below); -6. calls finish_command(). - -The .argv member is set up as an array of string pointers (NULL -terminated), of which .argv[0] is the program name to run (usually -without a path). If the command to run is a git command, set argv[0] to -the command name without the 'git-' prefix and set .git_cmd = 1. - -Note that the ownership of the memory pointed to by .argv stays with the -caller, but it should survive until `finish_command` completes. If the -.argv member is NULL, `start_command` will point it at the .args -`argv_array` (so you may use one or the other, but you must use exactly -one). The memory in .args will be cleaned up automatically during -`finish_command` (or during `start_command` when it is unsuccessful). - -The members .in, .out, .err are used to redirect stdin, stdout, -stderr as follows: - -. Specify 0 to request no special redirection. No new file descriptor - is allocated. The child process simply inherits the channel from the - parent. - -. Specify -1 to have a pipe allocated; start_command() replaces -1 - by the pipe FD in the following way: - - .in: Returns the writable pipe end into which the caller writes; - the readable end of the pipe becomes the child's stdin. - - .out, .err: Returns the readable pipe end from which the caller - reads; the writable end of the pipe end becomes child's - stdout/stderr. - - The caller of start_command() must close the so returned FDs - after it has completed reading from/writing to it! - -. Specify a file descriptor > 0 to be used by the child: - - .in: The FD must be readable; it becomes child's stdin. - .out: The FD must be writable; it becomes child's stdout. - .err: The FD must be writable; it becomes child's stderr. - - The specified FD is closed by start_command(), even if it fails to - run the sub-process! - -. Special forms of redirection are available by setting these members - to 1: - - .no_stdin, .no_stdout, .no_stderr: The respective channel is - redirected to /dev/null. - - .stdout_to_stderr: stdout of the child is redirected to its - stderr. This happens after stderr is itself redirected. - So stdout will follow stderr to wherever it is - redirected. - -To modify the environment of the sub-process, specify an array of -string pointers (NULL terminated) in .env: - -. If the string is of the form "VAR=value", i.e. it contains '=' - the variable is added to the child process's environment. - -. If the string does not contain '=', it names an environment - variable that will be removed from the child process's environment. - -If the .env member is NULL, `start_command` will point it at the -.env_array `argv_array` (so you may use one or the other, but not both). -The memory in .env_array will be cleaned up automatically during -`finish_command` (or during `start_command` when it is unsuccessful). - -To specify a new initial working directory for the sub-process, -specify it in the .dir member. - -If the program cannot be found, the functions return -1 and set -errno to ENOENT. Normally, an error message is printed, but if -.silent_exec_failure is set to 1, no message is printed for this -special error condition. - - -* `struct async` - -This describes a function to run asynchronously, whose purpose is -to produce output that the caller reads. - -The caller: - -1. allocates and clears (memset(&asy, 0, sizeof(asy));) a - struct async variable; -2. initializes .proc and .data; -3. calls start_async(); -4. processes communicates with proc through .in and .out; -5. closes .in and .out; -6. calls finish_async(). - -The members .in, .out are used to provide a set of fd's for -communication between the caller and the callee as follows: - -. Specify 0 to have no file descriptor passed. The callee will - receive -1 in the corresponding argument. - -. Specify < 0 to have a pipe allocated; start_async() replaces - with the pipe FD in the following way: - - .in: Returns the writable pipe end into which the caller - writes; the readable end of the pipe becomes the function's - in argument. - - .out: Returns the readable pipe end from which the caller - reads; the writable end of the pipe becomes the function's - out argument. - - The caller of start_async() must close the returned FDs after it - has completed reading from/writing from them. - -. Specify a file descriptor > 0 to be used by the function: - - .in: The FD must be readable; it becomes the function's in. - .out: The FD must be writable; it becomes the function's out. - - The specified FD is closed by start_async(), even if it fails to - run the function. - -The function pointer in .proc has the following signature: - - int proc(int in, int out, void *data); - -. in, out specifies a set of file descriptors to which the function - must read/write the data that it needs/produces. The function - *must* close these descriptors before it returns. A descriptor - may be -1 if the caller did not configure a descriptor for that - direction. - -. data is the value that the caller has specified in the .data member - of struct async. - -. The return value of the function is 0 on success and non-zero - on failure. If the function indicates failure, finish_async() will - report failure as well. - - -There are serious restrictions on what the asynchronous function can do -because this facility is implemented by a thread in the same address -space on most platforms (when pthreads is available), but by a pipe to -a forked process otherwise: - -. It cannot change the program's state (global variables, environment, - etc.) in a way that the caller notices; in other words, .in and .out - are the only communication channels to the caller. - -. It must not change the program's state that the caller of the - facility also uses. |