NAME

docs/pdds/pdd22_io.pod - Parrot I/O

ABSTRACT

Parrot's I/O subsystem.

VERSION

$Revision: 14776 $

DEFINITIONS

A "stream" allows input or output operations on a source/destination such as a file, keyboard, or text console. Streams are also called "filehandles", though only some of them have anything to do with files.

DESCRIPTION

This document defines Parrot's I/O subsystem, for both streams and network I/O. Parrot has both synchronous and asynchronous I/O operations. This section describes the interface, and the IMPLEMENTATION section provides more details on general implementation questions and error handling.

The signatures for the asynchronous operations are nearly identical to the synchronous operations, but the asynchronous operations take an additional argument for a callback, and the only return value from the asynchronous operations is a status object. When the callbacks invoked, they are passed the status object as their sole argument. Any return values from the operation are stored within the status object.

The listing below says little about whether the opcodes return error information. For now assume that they can either return a status object, or return nothing. Error handling is discussed more thoroughly in the implementation section.

I/O Stream Opcodes

Opening and closing streams

open opens a stream object based on a string path. It takes an optional string argument specifying the mode of the stream (read, write, append, read/write, etc.), and returns a stream object. Currently the mode of the stream is set with a string argument similar to Perl 5 syntax, but a set of defined constants may fit better with Parrot's general architecture.
```
0    PIOMODE_READ (default)
1    PIOMODE_WRITE
2    PIOMODE_APPEND
3    PIOMODE_READWRITE
4    PIOMODE_PIPE (read)
5    PIOMODE_PIPEWRITE
```
The asynchronous version takes a PMC callback as an additional final argument. When the open operation is complete, it invokes the callback with two arguments: a status object and the opened stream object.
close closes a stream object. It takes a single string object argument and returns a status object.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the close operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.

Retrieving existing streams

These opcodes do not have asynchronous variants.

getstdin, getstdout, and getstderr return a stream object for standard input, standard output, and standard error.
fdopen converts an existing and already open UNIX integer file descriptor into a stream object. It also takes a string argument to specify the mode.

Writing to streams

print writes an integer, float, string, or PMC value to a stream. It writes to standard output by default, but optionally takes a PMC argument to select another stream to write to.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the print operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.
printerr writes an integer, float, string, or PMC value to standard error.

There is no asynchronous variant of printerr. [It's just a shortcut. If they want an asynchronous version, they can use print.]

Reading from streams

read retrieves a specified number of bytes from a stream into a string. [Note this is bytes, not codepoints.] By default it reads from standard input, but it also takes an alternate stream object source as an optional argument.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the read operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a string of bytes.
readline retrieves a single line from a stream into a string. Calling readline flags the stream as operating in line-buffer mode (see pioctl below).

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the readline operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a string of bytes.
peek retrieves the next byte from a stream into a string, but doesn't remove it from the stream. By default it reads from standard input, but it also takes a stream object argument for an alternate source.

There is no asynchronous version of peek. [Does anyone have a line of reasoning why one might be needed? The concept of "next byte" seems to be a synchronous one.]

Retrieving and setting stream properties

seek sets the current file position of a stream object to an integer byte offset from an integer starting position (0 for the start of the file, 1 for the current position, and 2 for the end of the file). It also has a 64-bit variant that sets the byte offset by two integer arguments (one for the first 32 bits of the 64-bit offset, and one for the second 32 bits). [The two-register emulation for 64-bit integers may be deprecated in the future.]

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the seek operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and the stream object it was called on.
tell retrieves the current file position of a stream object. It also has a 64-bit variant that returns the byte offset as two integers (one for the first 32 bits of the 64-bit offset, and one for the second 32 bits). [The two-register emulation for 64-bit integers may be deprecated in the future.]

No asynchronous version.
getfd retrieves the UNIX integer file descriptor of a stream object.

No asynchronous version.

pioctl provides low-level access to the attributes of a stream object. It takes a stream object, an integer flag to select a command, and a single integer argument for the command. It returns an integer indicating the success or failure of the command.

The following constants are defined for the commands that pioctl can execute:

0    PIOCTL_CMDRESERVED
         No documentation available.
1    PIOCTL_CMDSETRECSEP
         Set the record separator. [This doesn't actually work at the
         moment.]
2    PIOCTL_CMDGETRECSEP
         Get the record separator.
3    PIOCTL_CMDSETBUFTYPE
         Set the buffer type.
4    PIOCTL_CMDGETBUFTYPE
         Get the buffer type
5    PIOCTL_CMDSETBUFSIZE
         Set the buffer size.
6    PIOCTL_CMDGETBUFSIZE
         Get the buffer size.

The following constants are defined as argument/return values for the buffer-type commands:

  0    PIOCTL_NONBUF
           Unbuffered I/O. Bytes are sent as soon as possible.
  1    PIOCTL_LINEBUF
	   Line buffered I/O. Bytes are sent when a newline is
           encountered.
  2    PIOCTL_BLKBUF
	   Fully buffered I/O. Bytes are sent when the buffer is full.
	   [Called "BLKBUF" because bytes are sent as a block, but line
	   buffering also sends them as a block, so "FULBUF" might make
           more sense.]

[This opcode may be deprecated and replaced with methods on stream objects.]

poll polls a stream or socket object for particular types of events (an integer flag) at a frequency set by seconds and microseconds (the final two integer arguments). [At least, that's what the documentation in src/io/io.c says. In actual fact, the final two arguments seem to be setting the timeout, exactly the same as the corresponding argument to the system version of poll.]

See the system documentation for poll to see the constants for event types and return status.

This opcode is inherently synchronous (poll is "synchronous I/O multiplexing"), but it can retrieve status information from a stream or socket object whether the object is being used synchronously or asynchronously.

Deprecated opcodes

write prints to standard output but it cannot select another stream. It only accepts a PMC value to write. This is redundant with the print opcode, so it will be deprecated.

Filesystem Opcodes

stat retrieves information about a file on the filesystem. It takes a string filename or an integer argument of a UNIX file descriptor [or an already opened stream object?], and an integer flag for the type of information requested. It returns an integer containing the requested information. The following constants are defined for the type of information requested (see runtime/parrot/include/stat.pasm):

  0    STAT_EXISTS
           Whether the file exists.
  1    STAT_FILESIZE
           The size of the file.
  2    STAT_ISDIR
           Whether the file is a directory.
  3    STAT_ISDEV
           Whether the file is a device such as a terminal or a disk.
  4    STAT_CREATETIME
           The time the file was created.
           (Currently just returns -1.)
  5    STAT_ACCESSTIME
           The last time the file was accessed.
  6    STAT_MODIFYTIME
           The last time the file data was changed.
  7    STAT_CHANGETIME
           The last time the file metadata was changed.
  8    STAT_BACKUPTIME
	   The last time the file was backed up. 
           (Currently just returns -1.)
  9    STAT_UID
           The user ID of the file.
  10   STAT_GID
           The group ID of the file.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the stat operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and an integer containing the status information.

unlink deletes a file from the filesystem. It takes a single string argument of a filename (including the path).

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the unlink operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.
rmdir deletes a directory from the filesystem if that directory is empty. It takes a single string argument of a directory name (including the path).

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the rmdir operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.
opendir opens a stream object for a directory. It takes a single string argument of a directory name (including the path) and returns a stream object.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the opendir operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a newly created stream object.
readdir reads a single item from an open directory stream object. It takes a single stream object argument and returns a string containing the path and filename/directory name of the current item. (i.e. the directory stream object acts as an iterator.)

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the readdir operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and the string result.
telldir returns the current position of readdir operations on a directory stream object.

No asynchronous version.
seekdir sets the current position of readdir operations on a directory stream object. It takes a stream object argument and an integer for the position. [The system seekdir requires that the position argument be the result of a previous telldir operation.]

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the seekdir operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and the directory stream object it was called on.
rewinddir sets the current position of readdir operations on a directory stream object back to the beginning of the directory. It takes a stream object argument.

No asynchronous version.
closedir closes a directory stream object. It takes a single stream object argument.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument. When the closedir operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.

Network I/O Opcodes

Most of these opcodes conform to the standard UNIX interface, but the layer API allows alternate implementations for each.

socket returns a new socket object from a given address family, socket type, and protocol number (all integers). The socket object's boolean value can be tested for whether the socket was created.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the socket operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a new socket object.
sockaddr returns an object representing a socket address, generated from a port number (integer) and an address (string).

No asynchronous version.
connect connects a socket object to an address.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the socket operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and the socket object it was called on. [If you want notification when a connect operation is completed, you probably want to do something with that connected socket object.]
recv receives a message from a connected socket object. It returns the message in a string.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the recv operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a string containing the received message.
send sends a message string to a connected socket object.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the send operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.
sendto sends a message string to an address specified in an address object (first connecting to the address).

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the sendto operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object.
bind binds a socket object to the port and address specified by an address object (the packed result of sockaddr).

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the bind operation is complete, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and the socket object it was called on. [If you want notification when a bind operation is completed, you probably want to do something with that bound socket object.]
listen specifies that a socket object is willing to accept incoming connections. The integer argument gives the maximum size of the queue for pending connections.

There is no asynchronous version. listen marks a set of attributes on the socket object.
accept accepts a new connection on a given socket object, and returns a newly created socket object for the connection.

The asynchronous version takes an additional final PMC callback argument, and only returns a status object. When the accept operation receives a new connection, it invokes the callback, passing it a status object and a newly created socket object for the connection. [While the synchronous accept has to be called repeatedly in a loop (once for each connection received), the asynchronous version is only called once, but continues to send new connection events until the socket is closed.]

shutdown closes a socket object for reading, for writing, or for all I/O. It takes a socket object argument and an integer argument for the type of shutdown:

0    PIOSHUTDOWN_READ
         Close the socket object for reading.
1    PIOSHUTDOWN_WRITE
         Close the socket object for writing.
2    PIOSHUTDOWN
         Close the socket object.

IMPLEMENTATION

The Parrot I/O subsystem uses a per-interpreter stack to provide a layer-based approach to I/O. Each layer implements a subset of the ParrotIOLayerAPI vtable. To find an I/O function, the layer stack is searched downwards until a non-NULL function pointer is found for that particular slot. [We need to look into the implementation of IO layers for simplifications.]

Synchronous and Asynchronous Operations

Currently, Parrot only implements synchronous I/O operations. For the 1.0 release the asynchronous operations will be implemented separately from the synchronous ones. [Eventually there may be an implementation that uses one variant to implement the other, but it's not an immediate priority.]

Asynchronous operations don't use Parrot threads, they use a light-weight concurrency model for asynchronous operations. The asynchronous I/O implementation will use Parrot's I/O layer architecture so some platforms can take advantage of their built-in asynchronous operations instead of using Parrot's concurrency implementation.

Communication between the calling code and the asynchronous operation thread will be handled by a shared status object. The operation thread will update the status object whenever the status changes, and the calling code can check the status object at any time. The status object contains a reference to the returned result of an asynchronous I/O call.

Synchronous opcodes are differentiated from asynchronous opcodes by the presence of a callback argument in the asynchronous calls. Asynchronous calls that don't supply callbacks (perhaps if the user wants to manually check later if the operation succeded) are enough of a fringe case that they don't need opcodes. They can access the functionality via methods on ParrotIO objects.

Error Handling

Currently some of the networking opcodes (connect, recv, send, poll, bind, and listen) return an integer indicating the status of the call, -1 or a system error code if unsuccessful. Other I/O opcodes (such as getfd and accept) have various different strategies for error notification, and others have no way of marking errors at all. We want to unify all I/O opcodes so they use a consistent strategy for error notification.

Synchronous operations

Synchronous I/O operations return an integer status code indicating success or failure in addition to their ordinary return value(s). This approach has the advantage of being lightweight: returning a single additional integer is cheap.

[Discuss: should synchronous operations take the same error handling strategy as asynchronous ones?]

Asynchronous operations

Asynchronous I/O operations return a status object. The status object contains an integer status code, string status/error message, and boolean success value.

An error callback may be set on a status object, though it isn't required. This callback will be invoked if the asynchronous operation terminates in an error condition. The error callback takes one argument, which is the status object containing all information about the failed call. If no error callback is set, then the standard callback will be invoked, and the user will need to check for error conditions in the status object as the first operation of the handler code.

Exceptions

At some point in the future, I/O objects may also provide a way to throw exceptions on error conditions. This feature will be enabled by calling a method on the I/O object to set an internal flag. The exception throwing will be implemented as a method call on the status object.

Note that exception handlers for asynchronous I/O operations will likely have to be set at a global scope because execution will have left the dynamic scope of the I/O call by the time the error occurs.

IPv6 Support

The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is in progress, though not likely to be complete anytime soon. Most operating systems today offer at least dual-stack IPv6 implementations, so they can use either IPv4 or IPv6, depending on what's available. Parrot also needs to support either protocol. For the most part, the network I/O opcodes should internally handle either addressing scheme, without requiring the user to specify which scheme is being used.

IETF recommends defaulting to IPv6 connections and falling back to IPv4 connections when IPv6 fails. This would give us more solid testing of Parrot's compatibility IPv6, but may be too slow. Either way, it's a good idea to make setting the default (or selecting one exclusively) an option when compiling Parrot.

The most important issues for Parrot to consider with IPv6 are:

Support 128 bit addresses. IPv6 addresses are colon-separated hexadecimal numbers, such as 20a:95ff:fef5:7e5e.
Any address parsing should be able to support the address separated from a port number or prefix/length by brackets: [20a:95ff:fef5:7e5e]:80 and [20a:95ff::]/64.
Packed addresses, such as the result of the sockaddr opcode, should be passed around as an object (or at least a structure) rather than as a string.

See the relevant IETF RFCs: "Application Aspects of IPv6 Transition" (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4038.txt) and "Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6" (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3493.txt).

ATTACHMENTS

None.

FOOTNOTES