System abstractions for Shell package
type environment
val create_env : unit -> environment
val copy_env : environment -> environment
val set_env : environment -> string array -> unit
val get_env : environment -> string array
val iter_env : f:(string -> unit) -> environment-> unit
val iter_env_vars : f:(string -> string -> unit) -> environment -> unit
val set_env_var : environment -> string -> string -> unit
val get_env_var : environment -> string -> string
val current_env : unit -> environment
exception Fatal_error of exn
An error is fatal if it is not possible to recover from it in a predictable manner
type command
type process
A _command_ is the description how to start a new process. A _process_ is the running instance of a command; the same command may be started several times.
val command :
?cmdname:string -> (* default: derived from filename *)
?arguments:(string array) -> (* default: empty *)
?environment:environment -> (* default: current environment *)
?descriptors:(Unix.file_descr list) ->
default: stdin, stdout, stderr
?assignments:((Unix.file_descr * Unix.file_descr) list) ->
default: empty
:string ->
unit ->
command
cmdname: argv\[0\]. descriptors: the file descriptors which are open when the subprocess starts
exception Executable_not_found of string;;
val lookup_executable :
?path:(string list) -> (* default: use the PATH variable *)
string ->
string
val get_cmdname : command -> string
val get_arguments : command -> string array
val get_environment : command -> environment
val get_descriptors : command -> Unix.file_descr list
val get_assignments : command -> (Unix.file_descr * Unix.file_descr) list
val get_filename : command -> string
val set_cmdname : command -> string -> unit
val set_arguments : command -> string array -> unit
val set_environment : command -> environment -> unit
val set_descriptors : command -> Unix.file_descr list -> unit
val set_assignments : command -> (Unix.file_descr * Unix.file_descr) list -> unit
val set_filename : command -> string -> unit
val copy_command : command -> command
Returns a duplicate of the command description
val is_executable : command -> bool
Returns 'true' if there is an executable file for the command, and it is permitted to run this file. 'false' means that the command can definitely not be executed. However, even if the function returns 'true' there may be still reasons that execution will fail.
type group_action =
New_bg_group
| New_fg_group
| Join_group of int
| Current_group
val run :
?group:group_action -> (* default: Current_group *)
?pipe_assignments:((Unix.file_descr * Unix.file_descr) list) ->
default:
-> process
Executes the command concurrently with the current process. The function does not wait until the process terminates; it returns immediately after the exec system call has been successfully performed (yes, I said "exec" and not "fork").
On error, an exception is raised. In this case the caller can assume that the process state has been cleaned up: any new child process has terminated; any modifications of the global process state has been restored. Note that a special mechanism makes it possible to also get exceptions raised in the subprocess until the exec is successful.
File descriptor assignments: First, the assignments in ~pipe_assignments
are performed, then the assignments contained in the command. This means
that for every pair (fd, fd') the descriptor fd is duplicated to fd'
(dup2). The assignments contained in ~pipe_assignments are executed first,
and they are done in a parallel way; the assignments contained in the
command are appended and performed in a sequential way.
Note: ~pipe_assignments are used internally by run_group to connect
the processes through pipelines.
Note: For users without very special needs, it is recommended to run jobs instead of processes. See below for the job API.
val process_id : process -> int
val status : process -> Unix.process_status
If the process has terminated, the status of the process is returned. If the process is still running, Not_found is raised.
Note: 'status' does not check whether the process status changes; it only reports the change associated with the last event. (See "wait" below.)
val command_of_process : process -> command
type process_event =
File_read of Unix.file_descr
| File_write of Unix.file_descr
| File_except of Unix.file_descr
| Process_event of process
means: "get_status process" has changed
val wait :
?wuntraced:bool -> (* default: false *)
?restart:bool -> (* default: false *)
?check_interval:float -> (* default: 0.1 *)
?read:(Unix.file_descr list) -> (* default: [] *)
?write:(Unix.file_descr list) -> (* default: [] *)
?except:(Unix.file_descr list) -> (* default: [] *)
process list ->
process_event list
wait: Watches the given list of processes and file descriptors and waits
until something happens.
The function returns immediately with if it is no longer possible
that any event can happen.
Precondition: The passed file descriptors must be open.
Possible events: - A process of the list terminates (regularly or because of a signal) - ~wuntraced:true, and a process of the list is stopped - A file descriptor of ~read is readable - A file descriptor of ~write is writable - A file descriptor of ~except has out-of-band data
Notes: - The list of processes may contain terminated processes (that no longer exist) as long as the process status has already been recorded by a previous "wait" invocation. - "wait" does not restart automatically if a signal happens. In this case, the exception Unix_error(EINTR,_,_) will be raised. - "wait" does not use SIGCHLD itself. - If a process causes both process and descriptor events at the same time, it is not specified which events are reported first. - File descriptor events have precedence over process events; the latter may be reported with some delay (see next note how to avoid this). The maximum delay is ~check_interval seconds. - It is possible to install a SIGCHLD handler which does nothing (Signal_handler (fun () -> ())). "wait" will then be interrupted on process events (EINTR error), and if you restart "wait" in the case EINTR happens, "wait" will report process events as soon as possible. (Caution: The SIGCHLD handler must have been installed before any of the watched processes are started!) - By default, waiting is not restarted on EINTR. However, if you pass ~restart:true, "wait" will catch the EINTR condition and restart.
val call : command -> process
Executes the command and waits until the process terminates (synchronous execution a la "system", but no intermediate shell). get_status is guaranteed to return WEXITED or WSIGNALED.
val kill :
?signal:int -> (* default: SIGTERM *)
process ->
unit
type job
type job_instance
A job is the description of several commands which are linked by pipelines (or which are just a logical unit). A job_instance is the running instance of a job.
Jobs are implemented on a higher layer than commands; the following means of the operating system are used by job invocations: - Normally a job_instance corresponds to a Unix process group. In this case the last added command will result in the process group leader. - Controlling the execution of jobs requires that signal handlers are set in many cases (see install_job_handlers) - The processes of jobs are often interconnected by pipelines (see add_pipeline). - It is possible to handle pipelines between the current process and processes of the job (see add_producer and add_consumer)
IMPORTANT:
In order to run jobs efficiently (without busy waiting) and properly it is strongly recommended to install the signal handlers using install_job_handlers
val new_job : unit -> job
Creates a new job descriptor. Initially the job is empty, but you can fill it with commands (add_command), pipelines (add_pipeline), consumers (add_consumer) and producers (add_producer). When the job is set up, you can start it (run_job/finish_job or call_job).
val add_command : command -> job -> unit
Adds a command to a job.
Note that you cannot add the same command twice; however you can add a copy of a command already belonging to the job.
val add_pipeline :
?bidirectional:bool -> (* default: false *)
?src_descr:Unix.file_descr -> (* default: stdout *)
?dest_descr:Unix.file_descr -> (* default: stdin *)
src:command ->
dest:command ->
job ->
unit
Adds a pipeline which redirects the output of the command ~src to the input of the command ~dest.
~src_descr: determines the file descriptor of the source command which is redirected.
~dest_descr: determines the file descriptor of the destination command to which the data stream is sent
~bidirectional: if false, a classical pipe is created. If true, a socketpair is created which is roughly a bidirectional pipe. (Note: on some systems, there is essentially no difference as all pipes are bidirectional.)
val add_producer :
?descr:Unix.file_descr -> (* default: stdin *)
producer:(Unix.file_descr -> bool) ->
command ->
job ->
unit
producer: this function is called if the passed descriptor is ready for output. The function may write to the descriptor, and/or it may close the descriptor. It must return true iff the descriptor is still open. The passed descriptor is in non-blocking mode.
val from_string :
?pos:int -> (* default: 0 *)
?len:int -> (* default: until end of string *)
?epipe:(unit -> unit) -> (* default: empty function *)
string ->
(Unix.file_descr -> bool)
Returns a function which can be used as ~producer argument and which takes its material from a string (or, if ~pos or ~len are present, from the specified substring). If the pipeline crashes, the function ~epipe is called, and the descriptor is closed.
val from_stream :
?epipe:(unit -> unit) -> (* default: empty function *)
string Stream.t ->
(Unix.file_descr -> bool)
Returns a function which can be used as ~producer argument and which takes its material from a stream of strings. If the pipeline crashes, the function ~epipe is called, and the descriptor is closed.
val add_consumer :
?descr:Unix.file_descr -> (* default: stdout *)
consumer:(Unix.file_descr -> bool) ->
command ->
job ->
unit
consumer: this function is called if data have arrived at the passed descriptor, or if the end of file has just been reached. The function must try to read from the descriptor. It must return true iff the eof has not yet been reached. The passed descriptor is in non-blocking mode.
val to_buffer :
Buffer.t ->
(Unix.file_descr -> bool)
Returns a function which can be passed as ~consumer argument. This function will collect the consumed material in the passed buffer.
type group_mode = Same_as_caller | Foreground | Background
val run_job :
?mode:group_mode -> (* default: Same_as_caller *)
?forward_signals:bool -> (* default: true *)
job ->
job_instance
Invokes the commands of the job such that they run concurrently with the main process.
The function returns a job_instance, i.e. a descriptor of the running processes. Furthermore, the function has the side effect of adding the job to the list of current jobs.
~mode: - Same_as_caller: the new processes belong to the same process group as the calling (current) process - Background: the new processes are started in a new background process group - Foreground: the new processes are started in a new foreground process group
~forward_signals: background process groups have a disadvantage: terminal signals (e.g. CTRL-C) are not sent to such groups. However, it is possible to catch such signals and forward them to the background group. If ~forward_signals is 'true' AND ~mode is Background AND the function install_job_handlers has been invoked, the signals SIGINT and SIGQUIT are delivered to the background group as well. See the function install_job_handlers for details and other effects.
The function returns normally if at least one process could be started. If no process was startable (i.e. the first command was not startable), an exception is raised. If one or more processes could be started but not all, job_status will return Job_partially_running. The caller should then discard the job and any intermediate result that might already have been produced by the partial job.
When all processes could be started and no other exceptional condition happened, the function sets job_status to Job_running.
val finish_job :
?restart:bool -> (* default: false *)
job_instance -> unit
Waits until all of the processes of the job have terminated. The function handles all producer/consumer events and calls the producer/consumer functions as necessary.
Exceptions raised by the producer/consumer functions are not caught. In this case, finish_job is restartable.
val call_job :
?mode:group_mode -> (* default: Same_as_caller *)
?forward_signals:bool -> (* default: true *)
?onerror:(job_instance -> unit) -> (* default: abandon_job *)
job ->
job_instance
Starts the job (see run_job) and waits until it finishes (see finish_job); i.e. call_job = run_job + finish_job. The function returns normally if all processes can be started; you can examine job_status of the result to get the information whether all processes returned the exit code 0.
If not all of the processes can be started, the function passed by ~onerror is invoked. By default, this function calls abandon_job to stop the already running processes. After the ~onerror function has returned, the original exception is raised again.
Fatal error conditions are not caught.
val processes : job_instance -> process list
Returns the processes that have actually been started for this job by run_job; note that the corresponding Unix process group may have additional processes (e.g. indirectly started processes).
exception No_Unix_process_group;; val process_group_leader : job_instance -> process
Returns the process group leader process. This function is not available for jobs in the mode Same_as_caller.
val process_group_id : job_instance -> int
Returns the Unix ID of the process group as number > 1. This function is not available for jobs in the mode Same_as_caller.
val process_group_expects_signals : job_instance -> bool
'true' iff the group has ~mode=Background and ~forward_signals.
type job_status =
Job_running (* All commands could be started,
and at least * one process is still running *) | Job_partially_running (* Not all commands could be started,
and at least * one process is still running *) | Job_ok (* all processes terminated with exit code 0 *) | Job_error (* all processes terminated but some abnormally *) | Job_abandoned (* the job has been abandoned (see abandon_job) *) val job_status : job_instance -> job_status
Returns the status. The status may only change after finish_job has been called:
run_job ... ==> status is Job_running or Job_partially_running finish_job ... ==> if returning normally: status is Job_ok or Job_error. After an exception happened the other states are possible, too
val kill_process_group :
?signal:int -> (* default: SIGTERM *)
job_instance -> unit
Kills the process group if it is still (at least partially) running. This operation is not available if the mode is Same_as_caller (exception No_Unix_process_group).
Note 1: In the Unix terminology, "killing a job" only means to send a signal to the job. So the job may continue running, or it may terminate; in general we do not know this. Because of this, the job will still have an entry in the job list.
Note 2: Because sub-sub-processes are also killed, this function may send the signal to more processes than kill_processes (below). On the other hand, it is possible that sub-processes change their group ID such that it is also possible that this function sends the signal to fewer processes than kill_processes.
val kill_processes :
?signal:int -> (* default: SIGTERM *)
job_instance -> unit
Kills the individual processes of the job which are still running.
val abandon_job :
?signal:int -> (* default: SIGTERM *)
job_instance -> unit
Tries to get rid of a running job. If the mode is Same_as_caller, the signal is sent to the processes individually. If the mode is Foreground or Background, the signal is sent to the process group corresponding to the job.
This function removes the job from the job list; i.e. it is no longer watched. Because of some magic spells it is guaranteed that the job dies immediately without becoming a zombie (provided you have a SIGCHLD handler).
val iter_job_instances :
f:(job_instance -> unit) ->
unit
Iterates over the jobs in the job list and calls ~f for every job_instance.
exception Already_installed;;
val configure_job_handlers :
?catch_sigint:bool -> (* default: true *)
?catch_sigquit:bool -> (* default: true *)
?catch_sigterm:bool -> (* default: true *)
?catch_sighup:bool -> (* default: true *)
?catch_sigchld:bool -> (* default: true *)
?set_sigpipe:bool -> (* default: true *)
?at_exit:bool -> (* default: true *)
unit ->
unit
Configures signal and at_exit handlers for jobs:
- The keyboard signals SIGINT and SIGQUIT are forwarded to all jobs
which are running in the background (and thus are not
automatically notified) and want to get such signals (~forward_signals).
After the signals have been forwarded, the previous signal action
is performed.
- The signals SIGTERM and SIGHUP are (if the handler is installed)
forwarded to all dependent processes (regardless whether they are
running in their own Unix process group or not, and regardless of
~forward_signals).
After the signals have been forwarded, the previous signal action
is performed.
- The at_exit handler sends a SIGTERM to all dependent processes, too.
- the SIGCHLD handler does nothing; however the waiting routine will notice
the signal because an EINTR condition will be raised.
Update: SIGCHLD checks whether abandoned jobs have terminated in the
meantime
After the signal has been forwarded, the previous signal action
is performed; however if the previous action was Signal_ignore
this is incorrectly interpreted as empty action (zombies are not
avoided)
- The handler for SIGPIPE does nothing; note that a previous action
is overwritten (the parameter is called ~set_sigpipe to stress this)
Dependent processes are: - For jobs with mode = Foreground or Background: the processes of the corresponding Unix process group - For jobs with mode = Same_as_caller: the actually started children processes
Note that if an uncaught exception leads to program termination, this situation will not be detected; any running jobs will not be terminated (sorry, this cannot be fixed).
This function sets only which handlers will be installed when install_job_handlers (below) is invoked. The function fails if the handlers are already installed.
KNOWN BUGS: At least for O'Caml 3.00, the handlers do not call the old signal handlers after their own work has been done; this is due to an error in Sys.signal.
val install_job_handlers : unit -> unit
Installs handlers as configured before. Raises Already_installed if the handlers are already installed.
General notes: - The implementation is currently not thread-safe.
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