
=encoding utf8

=head1 NAME

DRAFT: Synopsis 16: IPC / IO / Signals

=head1 Version

 Author:        Largely, the authors of the related Perl 5 docs.
 Maintainer:    Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>
 Contributions: Mark Stosberg <mark@summersault.com>
 Date:          12 Sep 2006
 Last Modified: 1 May 2007
 Version:       17

This is a draft document. Many of these functions will work as in Perl
5, except we're trying to rationalize everything into packages.  For
now you can assume most of the important functions will automatically
be in the * namespace.  However, with IO operations in particular,
many of them are really methods on an IO handle, and if there is a
corresponding global function, it's merely an exported version of
the method.

As a starting point, you can help by finding the official Perl 5 documentation
for these functions and copying it here. 

=head1 Filehandles, files, and directories

=over 4

=item :X

=over 8

=item IO ~~ :X
X<:r>X<:w>X<:x>X<:o>X<:R>X<:W>X<:X>X<:O>X<:e>X<:z>X<:s>X<:f>X<:d>X<:l>X<:p>
X<:S>X<:b>X<:c>X<:t>X<:u>X<:g>X<:k>X<:T>X<:B>X<:M>X<:A>X<:C>

=item EXPR ~~ :X

  $file.:X
  $file ~~ :X

A file test, where X is one of the letters listed below.  This unary
operator takes one argument, either a filename or a filehandle, and
tests the associated file to see if something is true about it.

A Pair used as a pattern is treated as a file test.

    :r	File is readable by effective uid/gid.
    :w	File is writable by effective uid/gid.
    :x	File is executable by effective uid/gid.
    :o	File is owned by effective uid.

    :R	File is readable by real uid/gid.
    :W	File is writable by real uid/gid.
    :X	File is executable by real uid/gid.
    :O	File is owned by real uid.

    :e	File exists.
    :z	File has zero size (is empty).
    :s	File has nonzero size (returns size in bytes).

    :f	File is a plain file.
    :d	File is a directory.
    :l	File is a symbolic link.
    :p	File is a named pipe (FIFO), or Filehandle is a pipe.
    :S	File is a socket.
    :b	File is a block special file.
    :c	File is a character special file.
    :t	Filehandle is opened to a tty.

    :u	File has setuid bit set.
    :g	File has setgid bit set.
    :k	File has sticky bit set.

    :T	File is an ASCII text file (heuristic guess).
    :B	File is a "binary" file (opposite of :T).

    :M	Script start time minus file modification time, in days.
    :A	Same for access time.
    :C	Same for inode change time (Unix, may differ for other platforms)

The interpretation of the file permission operators C<:r>, C<:R>,
C<:w>, C<:W>, C<:x>, and C<:X> is by default based solely on the mode
of the file and the uids and gids of the user.  There may be other
reasons you can't actually read, write, or execute the file.  Such
reasons may be for example network filesystem access controls, ACLs
(access control lists), read-only filesystems, and unrecognized
executable formats.

Also note that, for the superuser on the local filesystems, the C<:r>,
C<:R>, C<:w>, and C<:W> tests always return 1, and C<:x> and C<:X> return 1
if any execute bit is set in the mode.  Scripts run by the superuser
may thus need to do a stat() to determine the actual mode of the file,
or temporarily set their effective uid to something else.

If you are using ACLs, there is a pragma called C<filetest> that may
produce more accurate results than the bare stat() mode bits.
When under the C<use filetest 'access'> the above-mentioned filetests
will test whether the permission can (not) be granted using the
access() family of system calls.  Also note that the C<:x> and C<:X> may
under this pragma return true even if there are no execute permission
bits set (nor any extra execute permission ACLs).  This strangeness is
due to the underlying system calls' definitions.  Read the
documentation for the C<filetest> pragma for more information.

The C<:T> and C<:B> switches work as follows.  The first block or so of the
file is examined for odd characters such as strange control codes or
characters with the high bit set.  If too many strange characters (>30%)
are found, it's a C<:B> file; otherwise it's a C<:T> file.  Also, any file
containing null in the first block is considered a binary file.  If C<:T>
or C<:B> is used on a filehandle, the current IO buffer is examined
rather than the first block.  Both C<:T> and C<:B> return true on a null
file, or a file at EOF when testing a filehandle.  Because you have to
read a file to do the C<:T> test, on most occasions you want to use a C<:f>
against the file first, as in C<next unless $file ~~ :f  && $file ~~ :T >.

You can test multiple features using junctions:

  if -$filename ~~ :r & :w & :x  {...}

Or pass multiple tests together in OO style:
 
  if $filename.TEST(:e,:x) {...}

=item chown

    our Int multi chown ($uid = -1, $gid = -1, *@files)

Changes the owner (and group) of a list of files.  The first
two elements of the list must be the numeric uid and gid, in
that order.  A value of -1 in either position is interpreted by
most systems to leave that value unchanged.  Returns the number
of files successfully changed.

    $count = chown $uid, $gid, ’foo’, ’bar’;
    chown $uid, $gid, @filenames;

On systems that support C<fchown>, you might pass file handles
among the files.  On systems that don’t support C<fchown>, passing
file handles produces a fatal error at run time.

Here’s an example that looks up nonnumeric uids in the passwd
file:

   $user = prompt "User: ";
   $pattern = prompt "Files: ";

   ($login,$pass,$uid,$gid) = getpwnam($user)
       or die "$user not in passwd file";

   @ary = glob($pattern);      # expand filenames
   chown $uid, $gid, @ary;

On most systems, you are not allowed to change the ownership of
the file unless you’re the superuser, although you should be
able to change the group to any of your secondary groups.  On
insecure systems, these restrictions may be relaxed, but this
is not a portable assumption.  On POSIX systems, you can detect
this condition this way:

    use POSIX qw(sysconf _PC_CHOWN_RESTRICTED);
    $can_chown_giveaway = not sysconf(_PC_CHOWN_RESTRICTED);

=item chmod LIST
X<chmod> X<permission> X<mode>

Changes the permissions of a list of files.  The first element of the
list must be the numerical mode, which should probably be an octal
number, and which definitely should I<not> be a string of octal digits:
C<0o644> is okay, C<0644> is not.  Returns the number of files
successfully changed.

    $cnt = chmod 0o755, 'foo', 'bar';
    chmod 0o755, @executables;
    $mode = '0644'; chmod $mode, 'foo';      # !!! sets mode to --w----r-T
    $mode = '0o644'; chmod $mode, 'foo';     # this is better
    $mode = 0o644;   chmod $mode, 'foo';     # this is best

=item close IO

=item IO.close

Closes the file or pipe associated with the file handle, returning
true only if IO buffers are successfully flushed and closes the system
file descriptor.  Closes the currently selected filehandle if the
argument is omitted.

You don't have to close IO if you are immediately going to do
another C<open> on it, because C<open> will close it for you.  (See
C<open>.)  However, an explicit C<close> on an input file resets the line
counter (C<$.>), while the implicit close done by C<open> does not.

If the file handle came from a piped open, C<close> will additionally
return false if one of the other system calls involved fails, or if the
program exits with non-zero status.  (If the only problem was that the
program exited non-zero, C<$!> will be set to C<0>.)  Closing a pipe
also waits for the process executing on the pipe to complete, in case you
want to look at the output of the pipe afterwards, and
implicitly puts the exit status value of that command into C<$!>.

=item connect

 my $fh = connect($hostname, 80);

Attempts to connect to a remote host and returns an IO handle if successful.
The call fails with an exception if it cannot connect.

=item IO.fcntl

Available only as a handle method.

=item glob

=item IO.ioctl

Available only as a handle method.

=item link

=item IO.listen

Available only as a handle method.

=item lstat

Returns a stat buffer.  If the lstat succeeds, the stat buffer evaluates
to true, and additional file tests may be performed on the value.  If
the stat fails, all subsequent tests on the stat buffer also evaluate
to false.

=item mkdir

=item IO.name

The C<.name> method returns the name of the file/socket/uri the handle
was opened with, if known.  Returns undef otherwise.  There is no
corresponding C<name()> function.

=item open

    # Read
    my $fh = open($filename);

    # Write
    my $fh = open($filename, :w);

=item IO.fdopen

    our IO method fdopen(Int $fd)

Associate an IO object with an already-open file descriptor,
presumably passed in from the parent process.

=item IO::Dir::open EXPR

  my $dir = IO::Dir::open('.');

Opens a directory named EXPR for processing.  Makes the directory looks like
a list of autochomped lines, so just use ordinary IO operators after the open.

=item readlink

=item rename

=item rmdir FILENAME
X<rmdir> X<rd> X<directory, remove>

=item rmdir

Deletes the directory specified by FILENAME if that directory is
empty.  If it succeeds it returns true, otherwise it returns false and
sets C<$!> (errno).  If FILENAME is omitted, uses C<$_>.

=item stat

=item IO.stat

Returns a stat buffer.  If the lstat succeeds, the stat buffer evaluates
to true, and additional file tests may be performed on the value.  If
the stat fails, all subsequent tests on the stat buffer also evaluate
to false.

=item symlink

=item syscall

=item sysopen

=item umask

=item unlink LIST
X<unlink> X<delete> X<remove> X<rm>

=item unlink

Deletes a list of files.  Returns the number of files successfully
deleted.

    $cnt = unlink 'a', 'b', 'c';

Be warned that unlinking a directory can inflict damage on your filesystem.
Finally, using C<unlink> on directories is not supported on many operating
systems.  Use C<rmdir> instead.

It is an error to use bare C<unlink> without arguments.

=item utime

=back

=head1 Input and Output

=over 4

=item getc

    our Bool method getc (IO $self: *@LIST)

Returns the next character from the input stream attached to IO,
or the undefined value at end of file, or if there was an error (in
the latter case C<$!> is set). 

=item print

    our Bool method print (IO $self: *@LIST)
    our Bool multi print (*@LIST)
    our Bool method print (Str $self: IO $io)

Prints a string or a list of strings.  Returns Bool::True if
successful, Failure otherwise.  The IO handle, if supplied, must be
an object that supports I/O.  Indirect objects in Perl 6 must always
be followed by a colon, and any indirect object more complicated than
a variable should be put into parentheses.

If IO is omitted, prints to C<$*DEFOUT>, which is aliased to C<$*OUT>
when the program starts but may be temporarily or permanently rebound to
some other file handle.  The form with leading dot prints C<$_> to C<$*DEFOUT>
unless an explicit filehandle is supplied.

It is a compiler error to use a bare C<print> without arguments.
(However, it's fine if you have an explicit argument list that evaluates to
the empty list at runtime.)

There is are no variables corresponding to Perl 5's C<$,> and
C<$\> variables.  Use C<join> to interpose separators; use filehandle
properties to change line endings.

=item say

    our Bool method say (IO $self: *@LIST)
    our Bool multi say (*@LIST)
    our Bool method say (Str $self: IO $io)

This is identical to print() except that it auto-appends a newline after
the final argument.

    Was:    print "Hello, world!\n";
    Now:    say   "Hello, world!";

As with C<print>, it is a compiler error to use a bare C<say> without
arguments.

=item printf

    our Bool method printf (IO $self: Str $fmt, *@LIST)
    our Bool multi printf (Str $fmt, *@LIST)

The function form works as in Perl 5 and always prints to $*DEFOUT.
The method form uses IO handles as objects, not formats.

=back

=head1 Unfiled

=over 4

=item IO.fileno

=item IO.flock

=item IO.getpeername

=item IO.eof

=item IO.accept

=item /[get|set][host|net|proto|serv|sock].*/

=item alarm

=item IO.bind

=item IO.binmode

=item IO.lines

    our List multi method lines (IO $handle:) is export;
    our List multi lines (Str $filename);

Returns all the lines of a file as a (lazy) List regardless of context.
See also C<slurp>.

=item pipe

Gone, see Pipe.pair

=item prompt

    our Str prompt (Str $prompt)

=item IO.read

=item IO.readline

=item Str.readpipe

=item IO.recv

=item IO.seek

=item select(both)

Gone.  (Note: for subsecond sleep, just use sleep with a fractional argument.)

=item IO.send

=item IO.setsockopt

=item IO.shutdown

=item IO.slurp

    our Item multi method slurp (IO $handle: *%opts) is export;
    our Item multi slurp (Str $filename, *%opts);

Slurps the entire file into a Str or Buf regardless of context.
(See also C<lines>.)  Whether a Str or Buf is returned depends on
the options.

=item socket

=item socketpair

Gone, see Socket.pair

=item IO.sysread

=item IO.sysseek

=item IO.syswrite

=item IO.tell

=item IO.truncate

=item warn LIST

=item Str.warn

Prints a warning just like Perl 5, except that it is always sent to
the object in $*DEFERR, which is just standard error ($*ERR).

=item Pipe.to

    our IO method to(Str $command, *%opts)

Opens a one-way pipe writing to $command.  IO redirection for
stderr is specified with :err(IO) or :err<Str>.  Other IO redirection
is done with feed operators. XXX how to specify "2>&1"?

=item Pipe.from

    our IO method from(Str $command, *%opts)

Opens a one-way pipe reading from $command.  IO redirection for
stderr is specified with :err(IO) or :err<Str>.  Other IO redirection
is done with feed operators. XXX how to specify "2>&1"?

=item Pipe.pair

    our List of IO method pair()

A wrapper for pipe(2), returns a pair of IO objects representing the
reader and writer ends of the pipe.

   ($r, $w) = Pipe.pair;

=item Socket.pair

    our List of IO method pair(Int $domain, Int $type, Int $protocol)

A wrapper for socketpair(2), returns a pair of IO objects representing the
reader and writer ends of the socket.

   use Socket;
   ($r, $w) = Socket.pair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, PF_UNSPEC);

=back

=head1 Additions

Please post errors and feedback to perl6-language.  If you are making
a general laundry list, please separate messages by topic.
