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diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..5d7d7f2d32 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/technical/api-run-command.txt @@ -0,0 +1,241 @@ +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 +--------- + +`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. + +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 (memset(&chld, 0, sizeof(chld));) 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. + +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. + +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. |