Provided by: erlang-manpages_20.2.2+dfsg-1ubuntu2_all 
NAME
erl_driver - API functions for an Erlang driver.
DESCRIPTION
An Erlang driver is a library containing a set of native driver callback functions that the Erlang
Virtual Machine calls when certain events occur. There can be multiple instances of a driver, each
instance is associated with an Erlang port.
Warning:
Use this functionality with extreme care.
A driver callback is executed as a direct extension of the native code of the VM. Execution is not made
in a safe environment. The VM cannot provide the same services as provided when executing Erlang code,
such as pre-emptive scheduling or memory protection. If the driver callback function does not behave
well, the whole VM will misbehave.
* A driver callback that crash will crash the whole VM.
* An erroneously implemented driver callback can cause a VM internal state inconsistency, which can
cause a crash of the VM, or miscellaneous misbehaviors of the VM at any point after the call to the
driver callback.
* A driver callback doing lengthy work before returning degrades responsiveness of the VM and can cause
miscellaneous strange behaviors. Such strange behaviors include, but are not limited to, extreme
memory usage and bad load balancing between schedulers. Strange behaviors that can occur because of
lengthy work can also vary between Erlang/OTP releases.
As from ERTS 5.5.3 the driver interface has been extended (see extended marker). The extended interface
introduces version management, the possibility to pass capability flags (see driver_flags) to the runtime
system at driver initialization, and some new driver API functions.
Note:
As from ERTS 5.9 old drivers must be recompiled and use the extended interface. They must also be
adjusted to the 64-bit capable driver interface.
The driver calls back to the emulator, using the API functions declared in erl_driver.h. They are used
for outputting data from the driver, using timers, and so on.
Each driver instance is associated with a port. Every port has a port owner process. Communication with
the port is normally done through the port owner process. Most of the functions take the port handle as
an argument. This identifies the driver instance. Notice that this port handle must be stored by the
driver, it is not given when the driver is called from the emulator (see driver_entry).
Some of the functions take a parameter of type ErlDrvBinary, a driver binary. It is to be both allocated
and freed by the caller. Using a binary directly avoids one extra copying of data.
Many of the output functions have a "header buffer", with hbuf and hlen parameters. This buffer is sent
as a list before the binary (or list, depending on port mode) that is sent. This is convenient when
matching on messages received from the port. (Although in the latest Erlang versions there is the binary
syntax, which enables you to match on the beginning of a binary.)
In the runtime system with SMP support, drivers are locked either on driver level or port level (driver
instance level). By default driver level locking will be used, that is, only one emulator thread will
execute code in the driver at a time. If port level locking is used, multiple emulator threads can
execute code in the driver at the same time. Only one thread at a time will call driver callbacks
corresponding to the same port, though. To enable port level locking, set the
ERL_DRV_FLAG_USE_PORT_LOCKING driver flag in the driver_entry used by the driver. When port level locking
is used, the driver writer is responsible for synchronizing all accesses to data shared by the ports
(driver instances).
Most drivers written before the runtime system with SMP support existed can run in the runtime system
with SMP support, without being rewritten, if driver level locking is used.
Note:
It is assumed that drivers do not access other drivers. If drivers access each other, they must provide
their own mechanism for thread-safe synchronization. Such "inter-driver communication" is strongly
discouraged.
Previously, in the runtime system without SMP support, specific driver callbacks were always called from
the same thread. This is not the case in the runtime system with SMP support. Regardless of locking
scheme used, calls to driver callbacks can be made from different threads. For example, two consecutive
calls to exactly the same callback for exactly the same port can be made from two different threads. This
is for most drivers not a problem, but it can be. Drivers that depend on all callbacks that are called in
the same thread, must be rewritten before they are used in the runtime system with SMP support.
Note:
Regardless of locking scheme used, calls to driver callbacks can be made from different threads.
Most functions in this API are not thread-safe, that is, they cannot be called from any thread. Functions
that are not documented as thread-safe can only be called from driver callbacks or function calls
descending from a driver callback call. Notice that driver callbacks can be called from different
threads. This, however, is not a problem for any function in this API, as the emulator has control over
these threads.
Warning:
Functions not explicitly documented as thread-safe are not thread safe. Also notice that some functions
are only thread-safe when used in a runtime system with SMP support.
A function not explicitly documented as thread-safe can, at some point in time, have a thread-safe
implementation in the runtime system. Such an implementation can however change to a thread unsafe
implementation at any time without any notice.
Only use functions explicitly documented as thread-safe from arbitrary threads.
As mentioned in the warning text at the beginning of this section, it is of vital importance that a
driver callback returns relatively fast. It is difficult to give an exact maximum amount of time that a
driver callback is allowed to work, but usually a well-behaving driver callback is to return within 1
millisecond. This can be achieved using different approaches. If you have full control over the code to
execute in the driver callback, the best approach is to divide the work into multiple chunks of work, and
trigger multiple calls to the time-out callback using zero time-outs. Function erl_drv_consume_timeslice
can be useful to determine when to trigger such time-out callback calls. However, sometimes it cannot be
implemented this way, for example when calling third-party libraries. In this case, you typically want to
dispatch the work to another thread. Information about thread primitives is provided below.
FUNCTIONALITY
All functions that a driver needs to do with Erlang are performed through driver API functions. Functions
exist for the following functionality:
Timer functions:
Control the timer that a driver can use. The timer has the emulator call the timeout entry function
after a specified time. Only one timer is available for each driver instance.
Queue handling:
Every driver instance has an associated queue. This queue is a SysIOVec, which works as a buffer. It
is mostly used for the driver to buffer data that is to be written to a device, it is a byte stream.
If the port owner process closes the driver, and the queue is not empty, the driver is not closed.
This enables the driver to flush its buffers before closing.
The queue can be manipulated from any threads if a port data lock is used. For more information, see
ErlDrvPDL.
Output functions:
With these functions, the driver sends data back to the emulator. The data is received as messages by
the port owner process, see erlang:open_port/2. The vector function and the function taking a driver
binary are faster, as they avoid copying the data buffer. There is also a fast way of sending terms
from the driver, without going through the binary term format.
Failure:
The driver can exit and signal errors up to Erlang. This is only for severe errors, when the driver
cannot possibly keep open.
Asynchronous calls:
Erlang/OTP R7B and later versions have provision for asynchronous function calls, using a thread pool
provided by Erlang. There is also a select call, which can be used for asynchronous drivers.
Multi-threading:
A POSIX thread like API for multi-threading is provided. The Erlang driver thread API only provides a
subset of the functionality provided by the POSIX thread API. The subset provided is more or less the
basic functionality needed for multi-threaded programming:
* Threads
* Mutexes
*
Condition variables
*
Read/write locks
*
Thread-specific data
The Erlang driver thread API can be used in conjunction with the POSIX thread API on UN-ices and with
the Windows native thread API on Windows. The Erlang driver thread API has the advantage of being
portable, but there can exist situations where you want to use functionality from the POSIX thread
API or the Windows native thread API.
The Erlang driver thread API only returns error codes when it is reasonable to recover from an error
condition. If it is not reasonable to recover from an error condition, the whole runtime system is
terminated. For example, if a create mutex operation fails, an error code is returned, but if a lock
operation on a mutex fails, the whole runtime system is terminated.
Notice that there is no "condition variable wait with time-out" in the Erlang driver thread API. This
because of issues with pthread_cond_timedwait. When the system clock suddenly is changed, it is not
always guaranteed that you will wake up from the call as expected. An Erlang runtime system must be
able to cope with sudden changes of the system clock. Therefore, we have omitted it from the Erlang
driver thread API. In the Erlang driver case, time-outs can and are to be handled with the timer
functionality of the Erlang driver API.
In order for the Erlang driver thread API to function, thread support must be enabled in the runtime
system. An Erlang driver can check if thread support is enabled by use of driver_system_info. Notice
that some functions in the Erlang driver API are thread-safe only when the runtime system has SMP
support, also this information can be retrieved through driver_system_info. Also notice that many
functions in the Erlang driver API are not thread-safe, regardless of whether SMP support is enabled
or not. If a function is not documented as thread-safe, it is not thread-safe.
Note:
When executing in an emulator thread, it is very important that you unlock all locks you have locked
before letting the thread out of your control; otherwise you are very likely to deadlock the whole
emulator.
If you need to use thread-specific data in an emulator thread, only have the thread-specific data set
while the thread is under your control, and clear the thread-specific data before you let the thread
out of your control.
In the future, debug functionality will probably be integrated with the Erlang driver thread API. All
functions that create entities take a name argument. Currently the name argument is unused, but it
will be used when the debug functionality is implemented. If you name all entities created well, the
debug functionality will be able to give you better error reports.
Adding/removing drivers:
A driver can add and later remove drivers.
Monitoring processes:
A driver can monitor a process that does not own a port.
Version management:
Version management is enabled for drivers that have set the extended_marker field of their
driver_entry to ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MARKER. erl_driver.h defines:
* ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MARKER
* ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MAJOR_VERSION, which is incremented when driver incompatible changes are made to
the Erlang runtime system. Normally it suffices to recompile drivers when
ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MAJOR_VERSION has changed, but it can, under rare circumstances, mean that drivers
must be slightly modified. If so, this will of course be documented.
* ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MINOR_VERSION, which is incremented when new features are added. The runtime
system uses the minor version of the driver to determine what features to use.
The runtime system normally refuses to load a driver if the major versions differ, or if the major
versions are equal and the minor version used by the driver is greater than the one used by the
runtime system. Old drivers with lower major versions are however allowed after a bump of the major
version during a transition period of two major releases. Such old drivers can, however, fail if
deprecated features are used.
The emulator refuses to load a driver that does not use the extended driver interface, to allow for
64-bit capable drivers, as incompatible type changes for the callbacks output, control, and call were
introduced in Erlang/OTP R15B. A driver written with the old types would compile with warnings and
when called return garbage sizes to the emulator, causing it to read random memory and create huge
incorrect result blobs.
Therefore it is not enough to only recompile drivers written with version management for pre R15B
types; the types must be changed in the driver suggesting other rewrites, especially regarding size
variables. Investigate all warnings when recompiling.
Also, the API driver functions driver_output* and driver_vec_to_buf, driver_alloc/realloc*, and the
driver_* queue functions were changed to have larger length arguments and return values. This is a
lesser problem, as code that passes smaller types gets them auto-converted in the calls, and as long
as the driver does not handle sizes that overflow an int, all will work as before.
Time measurement:
Support for time measurement in drivers:
* ErlDrvTime
* ErlDrvTimeUnit
* erl_drv_monotonic_time
* erl_drv_time_offset
* erl_drv_convert_time_unit
REWRITES FOR 64-BIT DRIVER INTERFACE
ERTS 5.9 introduced two new integer types, ErlDrvSizeT and ErlDrvSSizeT, which can hold 64-bit sizes if
necessary.
To not update a driver and only recompile, it probably works when building for a 32-bit machine creating
a false sense of security. Hopefully that will generate many important warnings. But when recompiling the
same driver later on for a 64-bit machine, there will be warnings and almost certainly crashes. So it is
a bad idea to postpone updating the driver and not fixing the warnings.
When recompiling with gcc, use flag -Wstrict-prototypes to get better warnings. Try to find a similar
flag if you use another compiler.
The following is a checklist for rewriting a pre ERTS 5.9 driver, most important first:
Return types for driver callbacks:
Rrewrite driver callback control to use return type ErlDrvSSizeT instead of int.
Rewrite driver callback call to use return type ErlDrvSSizeT instead of int.
Note:
These changes are essential not to crash the emulator or worse cause malfunction. Without them a driver
can return garbage in the high 32 bits to the emulator, causing it to build a huge result from random
bytes, either crashing on memory allocation or succeeding with a random result from the driver call.
Arguments to driver callbacks:
Driver callback output now gets ErlDrvSizeT as 3rd argument instead of previously int.
Driver callback control now gets ErlDrvSizeT as 4th and 6th arguments instead of previously int.
Driver callback call now gets ErlDrvSizeT as 4th and 6th arguments instead of previously int.
Sane compiler's calling conventions probably make these changes necessary only for a driver to handle
data chunks that require 64-bit size fields (mostly larger than 2 GB, as that is what an int of 32
bits can hold). But it is possible to think of non-sane calling conventions that would make the
driver callbacks mix up the arguments causing malfunction.
Note:
The argument type change is from signed to unsigned. This can cause problems for, for example, loop
termination conditions or error conditions if you only change the types all over the place.
Larger size field in ErlIOVec:
The size field in ErlIOVec has been changed to ErlDrvSizeT from int. Check all code that use that
field.
Automatic type-casting probably makes these changes necessary only for a driver that encounters sizes
> 32 bits.
Note:
The size field changed from signed to unsigned. This can cause problems for, for example, loop
termination conditions or error conditions if you only change the types all over the place.
Arguments and return values in the driver API:
Many driver API functions have changed argument type and/or return value to ErlDrvSizeT from mostly
int. Automatic type-casting probably makes these changes necessary only for a driver that encounters
sizes > 32 bits.
driver_output:
3rd argument
driver_output2:
3rd and 5th arguments
driver_output_binary:
3rd, 5th, and 6th arguments
driver_outputv:
3rd and 5th arguments
driver_vec_to_buf:
3rd argument and return value
driver_alloc:
1st argument
driver_realloc:
2nd argument
driver_alloc_binary:
1st argument
driver_realloc_binary:
2nd argument
driver_enq:
3rd argument
driver_pushq:
3rd argument
driver_deq:
2nd argument and return value
driver_sizeq:
Return value
driver_enq_bin:
3rd and 4th arguments
driver_pushq_bin:
3rd and 4th arguments
driver_enqv:
3rd argument
driver_pushqv:
3rd argument
driver_peekqv:
Return value
Note:
This is a change from signed to unsigned. This can cause problems for, for example, loop termination
conditions and error conditions if you only change the types all over the place.
DATA TYPES
ErlDrvSizeT:
An unsigned integer type to be used as size_t.
ErlDrvSSizeT:
A signed integer type, the size of ErlDrvSizeT.
ErlDrvSysInfo:
typedef struct ErlDrvSysInfo {
int driver_major_version;
int driver_minor_version;
char *erts_version;
char *otp_release;
int thread_support;
int smp_support;
int async_threads;
int scheduler_threads;
int nif_major_version;
int nif_minor_version;
int dirty_scheduler_support;
} ErlDrvSysInfo;
The ErlDrvSysInfo structure is used for storage of information about the Erlang runtime system.
driver_system_info writes the system information when passed a reference to a ErlDrvSysInfo
structure. The fields in the structure are as follows:
driver_major_version:
The value of ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MAJOR_VERSION when the runtime system was compiled. This value is the
same as the value of ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MAJOR_VERSION used when compiling the driver; otherwise the
runtime system would have refused to load the driver.
driver_minor_version:
The value of ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MINOR_VERSION when the runtime system was compiled. This value can
differ from the value of ERL_DRV_EXTENDED_MINOR_VERSION used when compiling the driver.
erts_version:
A string containing the version number of the runtime system (the same as returned by
erlang:system_info(version)).
otp_release:
A string containing the OTP release number (the same as returned by
erlang:system_info(otp_release)).
thread_support:
A value != 0 if the runtime system has thread support; otherwise 0.
smp_support:
A value != 0 if the runtime system has SMP support; otherwise 0.
async_threads:
The number of async threads in the async thread pool used by driver_async (the same as returned by
erlang:system_info(thread_pool_size)).
scheduler_threads:
The number of scheduler threads used by the runtime system (the same as returned by
erlang:system_info(schedulers)).
nif_major_version:
The value of ERL_NIF_MAJOR_VERSION when the runtime system was compiled.
nif_minor_version:
The value of ERL_NIF_MINOR_VERSION when the runtime system was compiled.
dirty_scheduler_support:
A value != 0 if the runtime system has support for dirty scheduler threads; otherwise 0.
ErlDrvBinary:
typedef struct ErlDrvBinary {
ErlDrvSint orig_size;
char orig_bytes[];
} ErlDrvBinary;
The ErlDrvBinary structure is a binary, as sent between the emulator and the driver. All binaries are
reference counted; when driver_binary_free is called, the reference count is decremented, when it
reaches zero, the binary is deallocated. orig_size is the binary size and orig_bytes is the buffer.
ErlDrvBinary has not a fixed size, its size is orig_size + 2 * sizeof(int).
Note:
The refc field has been removed. The reference count of an ErlDrvBinary is now stored elsewhere. The
reference count of an ErlDrvBinary can be accessed through driver_binary_get_refc,
driver_binary_inc_refc, and driver_binary_dec_refc.
Some driver calls, such as driver_enq_binary, increment the driver reference count, and others, such
as driver_deq decrement it.
Using a driver binary instead of a normal buffer is often faster, as the emulator needs not to copy
the data, only the pointer is used.
A driver binary allocated in the driver, with driver_alloc_binary, is to be freed in the driver
(unless otherwise stated) with driver_free_binary. (Notice that this does not necessarily deallocate
it, if the driver is still referred in the emulator, the ref-count will not go to zero.)
Driver binaries are used in the driver_output2 and driver_outputv calls, and in the queue. Also the
driver callback outputv uses driver binaries.
If the driver for some reason wants to keep a driver binary around, for example in a static variable,
the reference count is to be incremented, and the binary can later be freed in the stop callback,
with driver_free_binary.
Notice that as a driver binary is shared by the driver and the emulator. A binary received from the
emulator or sent to the emulator must not be changed by the driver.
Since ERTS 5.5 (Erlang/OTP R11B), orig_bytes is guaranteed to be properly aligned for storage of an
array of doubles (usually 8-byte aligned).
ErlDrvData:
A handle to driver-specific data, passed to the driver callbacks. It is a pointer, and is most often
type cast to a specific pointer in the driver.
SysIOVec:
A system I/O vector, as used by writev on Unix and WSASend on Win32. It is used in ErlIOVec.
ErlIOVec:
typedef struct ErlIOVec {
int vsize;
ErlDrvSizeT size;
SysIOVec* iov;
ErlDrvBinary** binv;
} ErlIOVec;
The I/O vector used by the emulator and drivers is a list of binaries, with a SysIOVec pointing to
the buffers of the binaries. It is used in driver_outputv and the outputv driver callback. Also, the
driver queue is an ErlIOVec.
ErlDrvMonitor:
When a driver creates a monitor for a process, a ErlDrvMonitor is filled in. This is an opaque data
type that can be assigned to, but not compared without using the supplied compare function (that is,
it behaves like a struct).
The driver writer is to provide the memory for storing the monitor when calling
driver_monitor_process. The address of the data is not stored outside of the driver, so ErlDrvMonitor
can be used as any other data, it can be copied, moved in memory, forgotten, and so on.
ErlDrvNowData:
The ErlDrvNowData structure holds a time stamp consisting of three values measured from some
arbitrary point in the past. The three structure members are:
megasecs:
The number of whole megaseconds elapsed since the arbitrary point in time
secs:
The number of whole seconds elapsed since the arbitrary point in time
microsecs:
The number of whole microseconds elapsed since the arbitrary point in time
ErlDrvPDL:
If certain port-specific data must be accessed from other threads than those calling the driver
callbacks, a port data lock can be used to synchronize the operations on the data. Currently, the
only port-specific data that the emulator associates with the port data lock is the driver queue.
Normally a driver instance has no port data lock. If the driver instance wants to use a port data
lock, it must create the port data lock by calling driver_pdl_create.
Note:
Once the port data lock has been created, every access to data associated with the port data lock must
be done while the port data lock is locked. The port data lock is locked and unlocked by
driver_pdl_lock, and driver_pdl_unlock, respectively.
A port data lock is reference counted, and when the reference count reaches zero, it is destroyed.
The emulator at least increments the reference count once when the lock is created and decrements it
once the port associated with the lock terminates. The emulator also increments the reference count
when an async job is enqueued and decrements it when an async job has been invoked. Also, the driver
is responsible for ensuring that the reference count does not reach zero before the last use of the
lock by the driver has been made. The reference count can be read, incremented, and decremented by
driver_pdl_get_refc, driver_pdl_inc_refc, and driver_pdl_dec_refc, respectively.
ErlDrvTid:
Thread identifier.
See also erl_drv_thread_create, erl_drv_thread_exit, erl_drv_thread_join, erl_drv_thread_self, and
erl_drv_equal_tids.
ErlDrvThreadOpts:
int suggested_stack_size;
Thread options structure passed to erl_drv_thread_create. The following fields exists:
suggested_stack_size:
A suggestion, in kilowords, on how large a stack to use. A value < 0 means default size.
See also erl_drv_thread_opts_create, erl_drv_thread_opts_destroy, and erl_drv_thread_create.
ErlDrvMutex:
Mutual exclusion lock. Used for synchronizing access to shared data. Only one thread at a time can
lock a mutex.
See also erl_drv_mutex_create, erl_drv_mutex_destroy, erl_drv_mutex_lock, erl_drv_mutex_trylock, and
erl_drv_mutex_unlock.
ErlDrvCond:
Condition variable. Used when threads must wait for a specific condition to appear before continuing
execution. Condition variables must be used with associated mutexes.
See also erl_drv_cond_create, erl_drv_cond_destroy, erl_drv_cond_signal, erl_drv_cond_broadcast, and
erl_drv_cond_wait.
ErlDrvRWLock:
Read/write lock. Used to allow multiple threads to read shared data while only allowing one thread to
write the same data. Multiple threads can read lock an rwlock at the same time, while only one thread
can read/write lock an rwlock at a time.
See also erl_drv_rwlock_create, erl_drv_rwlock_destroy, erl_drv_rwlock_rlock,
erl_drv_rwlock_tryrlock, erl_drv_rwlock_runlock, erl_drv_rwlock_rwlock, erl_drv_rwlock_tryrwlock, and
erl_drv_rwlock_rwunlock.
ErlDrvTSDKey:
Key that thread-specific data can be associated with.
See also erl_drv_tsd_key_create, erl_drv_tsd_key_destroy, erl_drv_tsd_set, and erl_drv_tsd_get.
ErlDrvTime:
A signed 64-bit integer type for time representation.
ErlDrvTimeUnit:
An enumeration of time units supported by the driver API:
ERL_DRV_SEC:
Seconds
ERL_DRV_MSEC:
Milliseconds
ERL_DRV_USEC:
Microseconds
ERL_DRV_NSEC:
Nanoseconds
EXPORTS
void add_driver_entry(ErlDrvEntry
*de)
Adds a driver entry to the list of drivers known by Erlang. The init function of parameter de is
called.
Note:
To use this function for adding drivers residing in dynamically loaded code is dangerous. If the
driver code for the added driver resides in the same dynamically loaded module (that is, .so file)
as a normal dynamically loaded driver (loaded with the erl_ddll interface), the caller is to call
driver_lock_driver before adding driver entries.
Use of this function is generally deprecated.
void *driver_alloc(ErlDrvSizeT size)
Allocates a memory block of the size specified in size, and returns it. This fails only on out of
memory, in which case NULL is returned. (This is most often a wrapper for malloc).
Memory allocated must be explicitly freed with a corresponding call to driver_free (unless
otherwise stated).
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvBinary *driver_alloc_binary(ErlDrvSizeT size)
Allocates a driver binary with a memory block of at least size bytes, and returns a pointer to it,
or NULL on failure (out of memory). When a driver binary has been sent to the emulator, it must
not be changed. Every allocated binary is to be freed by a corresponding call to
driver_free_binary (unless otherwise stated).
Notice that a driver binary has an internal reference counter. This means that calling
driver_free_binary, it may not actually dispose of it. If it is sent to the emulator, it can be
referenced there.
The driver binary has a field, orig_bytes, which marks the start of the data in the binary.
This function is thread-safe.
long driver_async(ErlDrvPort port, unsigned
int* key, void (*async_invoke)(void*), void* async_data, void
(*async_free)(void*))
Performs an asynchronous call. The function async_invoke is invoked in a thread separate from the
emulator thread. This enables the driver to perform time-consuming, blocking operations without
blocking the emulator.
The async thread pool size can be set with command-line argument +A in erl(1). If an async thread
pool is unavailable, the call is made synchronously in the thread calling driver_async. The
current number of async threads in the async thread pool can be retrieved through
driver_system_info.
If a thread pool is available, a thread is used. If argument key is NULL, the threads from the
pool are used in a round-robin way, each call to driver_async uses the next thread in the pool.
With argument key set, this behavior is changed. The two same values of *key always get the same
thread.
To ensure that a driver instance always uses the same thread, the following call can be used:
unsigned int myKey = driver_async_port_key(myPort);
r = driver_async(myPort, &myKey, myData, myFunc);
It is enough to initialize myKey once for each driver instance.
If a thread is already working, the calls are queued up and executed in order. Using the same
thread for each driver instance ensures that the calls are made in sequence.
The async_data is the argument to the functions async_invoke and async_free. It is typically a
pointer to a structure containing a pipe or event that can be used to signal that the async
operation completed. The data is to be freed in async_free.
When the async operation is done, ready_async driver entry function is called. If ready_async is
NULL in the driver entry, the async_free function is called instead.
The return value is -1 if the driver_async call fails.
Note:
As from ERTS 5.5.4.3 the default stack size for threads in the async-thread pool is 16 kilowords,
that is, 64 kilobyte on 32-bit architectures. This small default size has been chosen because the
amount of async-threads can be quite large. The default stack size is enough for drivers delivered
with Erlang/OTP, but is possibly not sufficiently large for other dynamically linked-in drivers
that use the driver_async functionality. A suggested stack size for threads in the async-thread
pool can be configured through command-line argument +a in erl(1).
unsigned int driver_async_port_key(ErlDrvPort
port)
Calculates a key for later use in driver_async. The keys are evenly distributed so that a fair
mapping between port IDs and async thread IDs is achieved.
Note:
Before Erlang/OTP R16, the port ID could be used as a key with proper casting, but after the
rewrite of the port subsystem, this is no longer the case. With this function, you can achieve the
same distribution based on port IDs as before Erlang/OTP R16.
long driver_binary_dec_refc(ErlDrvBinary *bin)
Decrements the reference count on bin and returns the reference count reached after the decrement.
This function is thread-safe.
Note:
The reference count of driver binary is normally to be decremented by calling driver_free_binary.
driver_binary_dec_refc does not free the binary if the reference count reaches zero. Only use
driver_binary_dec_refc when you are sure not to reach a reference count of zero.
long driver_binary_get_refc(ErlDrvBinary *bin)
Returns the current reference count on bin.
This function is thread-safe.
long driver_binary_inc_refc(ErlDrvBinary *bin)
Increments the reference count on bin and returns the reference count reached after the increment.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvTermData driver_caller(ErlDrvPort
port)
Returns the process ID of the process that made the current call to the driver. The process ID can
be used with driver_send_term to send back data to the caller. driver_caller only returns valid
data when currently executing in one of the following driver callbacks:
start:
Called from erlang:open_port/2.
output:
Called from erlang:send/2 and erlang:port_command/2.
outputv:
Called from erlang:send/2 and erlang:port_command/2.
control:
Called from erlang:port_control/3.
call:
Called from erlang:port_call/3.
Notice that this function is not thread-safe, not even when the emulator with SMP support is used.
int driver_cancel_timer(ErlDrvPort port)
Cancels a timer set with driver_set_timer.
The return value is 0.
int driver_compare_monitors(const ErlDrvMonitor
*monitor1, const ErlDrvMonitor *monitor2)
Compares two ErlDrvMonitors. Can also be used to imply some artificial order on monitors, for
whatever reason.
Returns 0 if monitor1 and monitor2 are equal, < 0 if monitor1 < monitor2, and > 0 if monitor1 >
monitor2.
ErlDrvTermData driver_connected(ErlDrvPort
port)
Returns the port owner process.
Notice that this function is not thread-safe, not even when the emulator with SMP support is used.
ErlDrvPort driver_create_port(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvTermData owner_pid, char* name,
ErlDrvData drv_data)
Creates a new port executing the same driver code as the port creating the new port.
port:
The port handle of the port (driver instance) creating the new port.
owner_pid:
The process ID of the Erlang process to become owner of the new port. This process will be
linked to the new port. You usually want to use driver_caller(port) as owner_pid.
name:
The port name of the new port. You usually want to use the same port name as the driver name
(driver_name field of the driver_entry).
drv_data:
The driver-defined handle that is passed in later calls to driver callbacks. Notice that the
driver start callback is not called for this new driver instance. The driver-defined handle is
normally created in the driver start callback when a port is created through
erlang:open_port/2.
The caller of driver_create_port is allowed to manipulate the newly created port when
driver_create_port has returned. When port level locking is used, the creating port is only
allowed to manipulate the newly created port until the current driver callback, which was called
by the emulator, returns.
int driver_demonitor_process(ErlDrvPort port,
const ErlDrvMonitor *monitor)
Cancels a monitor created earlier.
Returns 0 if a monitor was removed and > 0 if the monitor no longer exists.
ErlDrvSizeT driver_deq(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvSizeT size)
Dequeues data by moving the head pointer forward in the driver queue by size bytes. The data in
the queue is deallocated.
Returns the number of bytes remaining in the queue on success, otherwise -1.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_enq(ErlDrvPort port, char* buf,
ErlDrvSizeT len)
Enqueues data in the driver queue. The data in buf is copied (len bytes) and placed at the end of
the driver queue. The driver queue is normally used in a FIFO way.
The driver queue is available to queue output from the emulator to the driver (data from the
driver to the emulator is queued by the emulator in normal Erlang message queues). This can be
useful if the driver must wait for slow devices, and so on, and wants to yield back to the
emulator. The driver queue is implemented as an ErlIOVec.
When the queue contains data, the driver does not close until the queue is empty.
The return value is 0.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_enq_bin(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvBinary *bin, ErlDrvSizeT offset, ErlDrvSizeT len)
Enqueues a driver binary in the driver queue. The data in bin at offset with length len is placed
at the end of the queue. This function is most often faster than driver_enq, because no data must
be copied.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
The return value is 0.
int driver_enqv(ErlDrvPort port, ErlIOVec *ev,
ErlDrvSizeT skip)
Enqueues the data in ev, skipping the first skip bytes of it, at the end of the driver queue. It
is faster than driver_enq, because no data must be copied.
The return value is 0.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_failure(ErlDrvPort port, int
error)
int driver_failure_atom(ErlDrvPort port, char
*string)
int driver_failure_posix(ErlDrvPort port, int
error)
Signals to Erlang that the driver has encountered an error and is to be closed. The port is closed
and the tuple {'EXIT', error, Err} is sent to the port owner process, where error is an error atom
(driver_failure_atom and driver_failure_posix) or an integer (driver_failure).
The driver is to fail only when in severe error situations, when the driver cannot possibly keep
open, for example, buffer allocation gets out of memory. For normal errors it is more appropriate
to send error codes with driver_output.
The return value is 0.
int driver_failure_eof(ErlDrvPort
port)
Signals to Erlang that the driver has encountered an EOF and is to be closed, unless the port was
opened with option eof, in which case eof is sent to the port. Otherwise the port is closed and an
'EXIT' message is sent to the port owner process.
The return value is 0.
void driver_free(void *ptr)
Frees the memory pointed to by ptr. The memory is to have been allocated with driver_alloc. All
allocated memory is to be deallocated, only once. There is no garbage collection in drivers.
This function is thread-safe.
void driver_free_binary(ErlDrvBinary *bin)
Frees a driver binary bin, allocated previously with driver_alloc_binary. As binaries in Erlang
are reference counted, the binary can still be around.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvTermData driver_get_monitored_process(ErlDrvPort port, const
ErlDrvMonitor *monitor)
Returns the process ID associated with a living monitor. It can be used in the process_exit
callback to get the process identification for the exiting process.
Returns driver_term_nil if the monitor no longer exists.
int driver_get_now(ErlDrvNowData *now)
Warning:
This function is deprecated. Do not use it. Use erl_drv_monotonic_time (perhaps in combination
with erl_drv_time_offset) instead.
Reads a time stamp into the memory pointed to by parameter now. For information about specific
fields, see ErlDrvNowData.
The return value is 0, unless the now pointer is invalid, in which case it is < 0.
int driver_lock_driver(ErlDrvPort
port)
Locks the driver used by the port port in memory for the rest of the emulator process' lifetime.
After this call, the driver behaves as one of Erlang's statically linked-in drivers.
ErlDrvTermData driver_mk_atom(char*
string)
Returns an atom given a name string. The atom is created and does not change, so the return value
can be saved and reused, which is faster than looking up the atom several times.
Notice that this function is not thread-safe, not even when the emulator with SMP support is used.
ErlDrvTermData driver_mk_port(ErlDrvPort
port)
Converts a port handle to the Erlang term format, usable in erl_drv_output_term and
erl_drv_send_term.
Notice that this function is not thread-safe, not even when the emulator with SMP support is used.
int driver_monitor_process(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvTermData process, ErlDrvMonitor *monitor)
Starts monitoring a process from a driver. When a process is monitored, a process exit results in
a call to the provided process_exit callback in the ErlDrvEntry structure. The ErlDrvMonitor
structure is filled in, for later removal or compare.
Parameter process is to be the return value of an earlier call to driver_caller or
driver_connected call.
Returns 0 on success, < 0 if no callback is provided, and > 0 if the process is no longer alive.
int driver_output(ErlDrvPort port, char *buf,
ErlDrvSizeT len)
Sends data from the driver up to the emulator. The data is received as terms or binary data,
depending on how the driver port was opened.
The data is queued in the port owner process' message queue. Notice that this does not yield to
the emulator (as the driver and the emulator run in the same thread).
Parameter buf points to the data to send, and len is the number of bytes.
The return value for all output functions is 0 for normal use. If the driver is used for
distribution, it can fail and return -1.
int driver_output_binary(ErlDrvPort port, char
*hbuf, ErlDrvSizeT hlen, ErlDrvBinary* bin, ErlDrvSizeT offset,
ErlDrvSizeT len)
Sends data to a port owner process from a driver binary. It has a header buffer (hbuf and hlen)
just like driver_output2. Parameter hbuf can be NULL.
Parameter offset is an offset into the binary and len is the number of bytes to send.
Driver binaries are created with driver_alloc_binary.
The data in the header is sent as a list and the binary as an Erlang binary in the tail of the
list.
For example, if hlen is 2, the port owner process receives [H1, H2 | <<T>>].
The return value is 0 for normal use.
Notice that, using the binary syntax in Erlang, the driver application can match the header
directly from the binary, so the header can be put in the binary, and hlen can be set to 0.
int driver_output_term(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvTermData* term, int n)
Warning:
This function is deprecated. Use erl_drv_output_terminstead.
Parameters term and n work as in erl_drv_output_term.
Notice that this function is not thread-safe, not even when the emulator with SMP support is used.
int driver_output2(ErlDrvPort port, char *hbuf,
ErlDrvSizeT hlen, char *buf, ErlDrvSizeT len)
First sends hbuf (length in hlen) data as a list, regardless of port settings. Then sends buf as a
binary or list. For example, if hlen is 3, the port owner process receives [H1, H2, H3 | T].
The point of sending data as a list header, is to facilitate matching on the data received.
The return value is 0 for normal use.
int driver_outputv(ErlDrvPort port, char* hbuf,
ErlDrvSizeT hlen, ErlIOVec *ev, ErlDrvSizeT skip)
Sends data from an I/O vector, ev, to the port owner process. It has a header buffer (hbuf and
hlen), just like driver_output2.
Parameter skip is a number of bytes to skip of the ev vector from the head.
You get vectors of ErlIOVec type from the driver queue (see below), and the outputv driver entry
function. You can also make them yourself, if you want to send several ErlDrvBinary buffers at
once. Often it is faster to use driver_output or .
For example, if hlen is 2 and ev points to an array of three binaries, the port owner process
receives [H1, H2, <<B1>>, <<B2>> | <<B3>>].
The return value is 0 for normal use.
The comment for driver_output_binary also applies for driver_outputv.
ErlDrvPDL driver_pdl_create(ErlDrvPort port)
Creates a port data lock associated with the port.
Note:
Once a port data lock has been created, it must be locked during all operations on the driver
queue of the port.
Returns a newly created port data lock on success, otherwise NULL. The function fails if port is
invalid or if a port data lock already has been associated with the port.
long driver_pdl_dec_refc(ErlDrvPDL
pdl)
Decrements the reference count of the port data lock passed as argument (pdl).
The current reference count after the decrement has been performed is returned.
This function is thread-safe.
long driver_pdl_get_refc(ErlDrvPDL pdl)
Returns the current reference count of the port data lock passed as argument (pdl).
This function is thread-safe.
long driver_pdl_inc_refc(ErlDrvPDL pdl)
Increments the reference count of the port data lock passed as argument (pdl).
The current reference count after the increment has been performed is returned.
This function is thread-safe.
void driver_pdl_lock(ErlDrvPDL pdl)
Locks the port data lock passed as argument (pdl).
This function is thread-safe.
void driver_pdl_unlock(ErlDrvPDL pdl)
Unlocks the port data lock passed as argument (pdl).
This function is thread-safe.
SysIOVec *driver_peekq(ErlDrvPort port, int
*vlen)
Retrieves the driver queue as a pointer to an array of SysIOVecs. It also returns the number of
elements in vlen. This is one of two ways to get data out of the queue.
Nothing is removed from the queue by this function, that must be done with driver_deq.
The returned array is suitable to use with the Unix system call writev.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
ErlDrvSizeT driver_peekqv(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlIOVec *ev)
Retrieves the driver queue into a supplied ErlIOVec ev. It also returns the queue size. This is
one of two ways to get data out of the queue.
If ev is NULL, all ones that is -1 type cast to ErlDrvSizeT are returned.
Nothing is removed from the queue by this function, that must be done with driver_deq.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_pushq(ErlDrvPort port, char* buf,
ErlDrvSizeT len)
Puts data at the head of the driver queue. The data in buf is copied (len bytes) and placed at the
beginning of the queue.
The return value is 0.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_pushq_bin(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvBinary *bin, ErlDrvSizeT offset, ErlDrvSizeT len)
Puts data in the binary bin, at offset with length len at the head of the driver queue. It is most
often faster than driver_pushq, because no data must be copied.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
The return value is 0.
int driver_pushqv(ErlDrvPort port, ErlIOVec
*ev, ErlDrvSizeT skip)
Puts the data in ev, skipping the first skip bytes of it, at the head of the driver queue. It is
faster than driver_pushq, because no data must be copied.
The return value is 0.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
int driver_read_timer(ErlDrvPort port, unsigned
long *time_left)
Reads the current time of a timer, and places the result in time_left. This is the time in
milliseconds, before the time-out occurs.
The return value is 0.
void *driver_realloc(void *ptr, ErlDrvSizeT size)
Resizes a memory block, either in place, or by allocating a new block, copying the data, and
freeing the old block. A pointer is returned to the reallocated memory. On failure (out of
memory), NULL is returned. (This is most often a wrapper for realloc.)
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvBinary *driver_realloc_binary(ErlDrvBinary *bin, ErlDrvSizeT size)
Resizes a driver binary, while keeping the data.
Returns the resized driver binary on success. Returns NULL on failure (out of memory).
This function is thread-safe.
int driver_select(ErlDrvPort port, ErlDrvEvent
event, int mode, int on)
This function is used by drivers to provide the emulator with events to check for. This enables
the emulator to call the driver when something has occurred asynchronously.
Parameter event identifies an OS-specific event object. On Unix systems, the functions select/poll
are used. The event object must be a socket or pipe (or other object that select/poll can use). On
Windows, the Win32 API function WaitForMultipleObjects is used. This places other restrictions on
the event object; see the Win32 SDK documentation.
Parameter on is to be 1 for setting events and 0 for clearing them.
Parameter mode is a bitwise OR combination of ERL_DRV_READ, ERL_DRV_WRITE, and ERL_DRV_USE. The
first two specify whether to wait for read events and/or write events. A fired read event calls
ready_input and a fired write event calls ready_output.
Note:
Some OS (Windows) do not differentiate between read and write events. The callback for a fired
event then only depends on the value of mode.
ERL_DRV_USE specifies if we are using the event object or if we want to close it. On an emulator
with SMP support, it is not safe to clear all events and then close the event object after
driver_select has returned. Another thread can still be using the event object internally. To
safely close an event object, call driver_select with ERL_DRV_USE and on==0, which clears all
events and then either calls stop_select or schedules it to be called when it is safe to close the
event object. ERL_DRV_USE is to be set together with the first event for an event object. It is
harmless to set ERL_DRV_USE even if it already has been done. Clearing all events but keeping
ERL_DRV_USE set indicates that we are using the event object and probably will set events for it
again.
Note:
ERL_DRV_USE was added in Erlang/OTP R13. Old drivers still work as before, but it is recommended
to update them to use ERL_DRV_USE and stop_select to ensure that event objects are closed in a
safe way.
The return value is 0, unless ready_input/ready_output is NULL, in which case it is -1.
int driver_send_term(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvTermData receiver, ErlDrvTermData* term, int n)
Warning:
This function is deprecated. Use erl_drv_send_term instead.
Note:
The parameters of this function cannot be properly checked by the runtime system when executed by
arbitrary threads. This can cause the function not to fail when it should.
Parameters term and n work as in erl_drv_output_term.
This function is only thread-safe when the emulator with SMP support is used.
int driver_set_timer(ErlDrvPort port, unsigned
long time)
Sets a timer on the driver, which will count down and call the driver when it is timed out.
Parameter time is the time in milliseconds before the timer expires.
When the timer reaches 0 and expires, the driver entry function timeout is called.
Notice that only one timer exists on each driver instance; setting a new timer replaces an older
one.
Return value is 0, unless the timeout driver function is NULL, in which case it is -1.
ErlDrvSizeT driver_sizeq(ErlDrvPort port)
Returns the number of bytes currently in the driver queue.
This function can be called from any thread if a port data lock associated with the port is locked
by the calling thread during the call.
void driver_system_info(ErlDrvSysInfo
*sys_info_ptr, size_t size)
Writes information about the Erlang runtime system into the ErlDrvSysInfo structure referred to by
the first argument. The second argument is to be the size of the ErlDrvSysInfo structure, that is,
sizeof(ErlDrvSysInfo).
For information about specific fields, see ErlDrvSysInfo.
ErlDrvSizeT driver_vec_to_buf(ErlIOVec *ev,
char *buf, ErlDrvSizeT len)
Collects several segments of data, referenced by ev, by copying them in order to the buffer buf,
of the size len.
If the data is to be sent from the driver to the port owner process, it is faster to use
driver_outputv.
The return value is the space left in the buffer, that is, if ev contains less than len bytes it
is the difference, and if ev contains len bytes or more, it is 0. This is faster if there is more
than one header byte, as the binary syntax can construct integers directly from the binary.
void erl_drv_busy_msgq_limits(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvSizeT *low, ErlDrvSizeT *high)
Sets and gets limits that will be used for controlling the busy state of the port message queue.
The port message queue is set into a busy state when the amount of command data queued on the
message queue reaches the high limit. The port message queue is set into a not busy state when the
amount of command data queued on the message queue falls below the low limit. Command data is in
this context data passed to the port using either Port ! {Owner, {command, Data}} or
port_command/[2,3]. Notice that these limits only concerns command data that have not yet reached
the port. The busy port feature can be used for data that has reached the port.
Valid limits are values in the range [ERL_DRV_BUSY_MSGQ_LIM_MIN, ERL_DRV_BUSY_MSGQ_LIM_MAX].
Limits are automatically adjusted to be sane. That is, the system adjusts values so that the low
limit used is lower than or equal to the high limit used. By default the high limit is 8 kB and
the low limit is 4 kB.
By passing a pointer to an integer variable containing the value ERL_DRV_BUSY_MSGQ_READ_ONLY, the
currently used limit is read and written back to the integer variable. A new limit can be set by
passing a pointer to an integer variable containing a valid limit. The passed value is written to
the internal limit. The internal limit is then adjusted. After this the adjusted limit is written
back to the integer variable from which the new value was read. Values are in bytes.
The busy message queue feature can be disabled either by setting the ERL_DRV_FLAG_NO_BUSY_MSGQ
driver flag in the driver_entry used by the driver, or by calling this function with
ERL_DRV_BUSY_MSGQ_DISABLED as a limit (either low or high). When this feature has been disabled,
it cannot be enabled again. When reading the limits, both are ERL_DRV_BUSY_MSGQ_DISABLED if this
feature has been disabled.
Processes sending command data to the port are suspended if either the port is busy or if the port
message queue is busy. Suspended processes are resumed when neither the port or the port message
queue is busy.
For information about busy port functionality, see set_busy_port.
void erl_drv_cond_broadcast(ErlDrvCond
*cnd)
Broadcasts on a condition variable. That is, if other threads are waiting on the condition
variable being broadcast on, all of them are woken.
cnd is a pointer to a condition variable to broadcast on.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvCond *erl_drv_cond_create(char
*name)
Creates a condition variable and returns a pointer to it.
name is a string identifying the created condition variable. It is used to identify the condition
variable in planned future debug functionality.
Returns NULL on failure. The driver creating the condition variable is responsible for destroying
it before the driver is unloaded.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_cond_destroy(ErlDrvCond
*cnd)
Destroys a condition variable previously created by erl_drv_cond_create.
cnd is a pointer to a condition variable to destroy.
This function is thread-safe.
char *erl_drv_cond_name(ErlDrvCond
*cnd)
Returns a pointer to the name of the condition.
cnd is a pointer to an initialized condition.
Note:
This function is intended for debugging purposes only.
void erl_drv_cond_signal(ErlDrvCond
*cnd)
Signals on a condition variable. That is, if other threads are waiting on the condition variable
being signaled, one of them is woken.
cnd is a pointer to a condition variable to signal on.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_cond_wait(ErlDrvCond *cnd,
ErlDrvMutex *mtx)
Waits on a condition variable. The calling thread is blocked until another thread wakes it by
signaling or broadcasting on the condition variable. Before the calling thread is blocked, it
unlocks the mutex passed as argument. When the calling thread is woken, it locks the same mutex
before returning. That is, the mutex currently must be locked by the calling thread when calling
this function.
cnd is a pointer to a condition variable to wait on. mtx is a pointer to a mutex to unlock while
waiting.
Note:
erl_drv_cond_wait can return even if no one has signaled or broadcast on the condition variable.
Code calling erl_drv_cond_wait is always to be prepared for erl_drv_cond_wait returning even if
the condition that the thread was waiting for has not occurred. That is, when returning from
erl_drv_cond_wait, always check if the condition has occurred, and if not call erl_drv_cond_wait
again.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_consume_timeslice(ErlDrvPort port,
int percent)
Gives the runtime system a hint about how much CPU time the current driver callback call has
consumed since the last hint, or since the the start of the callback if no previous hint has been
given.
port:
Port handle of the executing port.
percent:
Approximate consumed fraction of a full time-slice in percent.
The time is specified as a fraction, in percent, of a full time-slice that a port is allowed to
execute before it is to surrender the CPU to other runnable ports or processes. Valid range is [1,
100]. The scheduling time-slice is not an exact entity, but can usually be approximated to about 1
millisecond.
Notice that it is up to the runtime system to determine if and how to use this information.
Implementations on some platforms can use other means to determine the consumed fraction of the
time-slice. Lengthy driver callbacks should, regardless of this, frequently call this function to
determine if it is allowed to continue execution or not.
This function returns a non-zero value if the time-slice has been exhausted, and zero if the
callback is allowed to continue execution. If a non-zero value is returned, the driver callback is
to return as soon as possible in order for the port to be able to yield.
This function is provided to better support co-operative scheduling, improve system
responsiveness, and to make it easier to prevent misbehaviors of the VM because of a port
monopolizing a scheduler thread. It can be used when dividing lengthy work into some repeated
driver callback calls, without the need to use threads.
See also the important warning text at the beginning of this manual page.
ErlDrvTime erl_drv_convert_time_unit(ErlDrvTime
val, ErlDrvTimeUnit from, ErlDrvTimeUnit to)
Converts the val value of time unit from to the corresponding value of time unit to. The result is
rounded using the floor function.
val:
Value to convert time unit for.
from:
Time unit of val.
to:
Time unit of returned value.
Returns ERL_DRV_TIME_ERROR if called with an invalid time unit argument.
See also ErlDrvTime and ErlDrvTimeUnit.
int erl_drv_equal_tids(ErlDrvTid tid1,
ErlDrvTid tid2)
Compares two thread identifiers, tid1 and tid2, for equality.
Returns 0 it they are not equal, and a value not equal to 0 if they are equal.
Note:
A thread identifier can be reused very quickly after a thread has terminated. Therefore, if a
thread corresponding to one of the involved thread identifiers has terminated since the thread
identifier was saved, the result of erl_drv_equal_tids does possibly not give the expected result.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_getenv(const char *key, char
*value, size_t *value_size)
Retrieves the value of an environment variable.
key:
A NULL-terminated string containing the name of the environment variable.
value:
A pointer to an output buffer.
value_size:
A pointer to an integer. The integer is used both for passing input and output sizes (see
below).
When this function is called, *value_size is to contain the size of the value buffer.
On success, 0 is returned, the value of the environment variable has been written to the value
buffer, and *value_size contains the string length (excluding the terminating NULL character) of
the value written to the value buffer.
On failure, that is, no such environment variable was found, a value < 0 is returned. When the
size of the value buffer is too small, a value > 0 is returned and *value_size has been set to the
buffer size needed.
Warning:
Do not use libc's getenv or similar C library interfaces from a driver.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_init_ack(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvData res)
Acknowledges the start of the port.
port:
The port handle of the port (driver instance) doing the acknowledgment.
res:
The result of the port initialization. Can be the same values as the return value of start,
that is, any of the error codes or the ErlDrvData that is to be used for this port.
When this function is called the initiating erlang:open_port call is returned as if the start
function had just been called. It can only be used when flag ERL_DRV_FLAG_USE_INIT_ACK has been
set on the linked-in driver.
ErlDrvTime erl_drv_monotonic_time(ErlDrvTimeUnit time_unit)
Returns Erlang monotonic time. Notice that negative values are not uncommon.
time_unit is time unit of returned value.
Returns ERL_DRV_TIME_ERROR if called with an invalid time unit argument, or if called from a
thread that is not a scheduler thread.
See also ErlDrvTime and ErlDrvTimeUnit.
ErlDrvMutex *erl_drv_mutex_create(char
*name)
Creates a mutex and returns a pointer to it.
name is a string identifying the created mutex. It is used to identify the mutex in planned future
debug functionality.
Returns NULL on failure. The driver creating the mutex is responsible for destroying it before the
driver is unloaded.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_mutex_destroy(ErlDrvMutex
*mtx)
Destroys a mutex previously created by erl_drv_mutex_create. The mutex must be in an unlocked
state before it is destroyed.
mtx is a pointer to a mutex to destroy.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_mutex_lock(ErlDrvMutex
*mtx)
Locks a mutex. The calling thread is blocked until the mutex has been locked. A thread that has
currently locked the mutex cannot lock the same mutex again.
mtx is a pointer to a mutex to lock.
Warning:
If you leave a mutex locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control, you
will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
char *erl_drv_mutex_name(ErlDrvMutex
*mtx)
Returns a pointer to the mutex name.
mtx is a pointer to an initialized mutex.
Note:
This function is intended for debugging purposes only.
int erl_drv_mutex_trylock(ErlDrvMutex
*mtx)
Tries to lock a mutex. A thread that has currently locked the mutex cannot try to lock the same
mutex again.
mtx is a pointer to a mutex to try to lock.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise EBUSY.
Warning:
If you leave a mutex locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control, you
will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_mutex_unlock(ErlDrvMutex
*mtx)
Unlocks a mutex. The mutex currently must be locked by the calling thread.
mtx is a pointer to a mutex to unlock.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_output_term(ErlDrvTermData port,
ErlDrvTermData* term, int n)
Sends data in the special driver term format to the port owner process. This is a fast way to
deliver term data from a driver. It needs no binary conversion, so the port owner process receives
data as normal Erlang terms. The erl_drv_send_term functions can be used for sending to any
process on the local node.
Note:
Parameter port is not an ordinary port handle, but a port handle converted using driver_mk_port.
Parameter term points to an array of ErlDrvTermData with n elements. This array contains terms
described in the driver term format. Every term consists of 1-4 elements in the array. The first
term has a term type and then arguments. Parameter port specifies the sending port.
Tuples, maps, and lists (except strings, see below) are built in reverse polish notation, so that
to build a tuple, the elements are specified first, and then the tuple term, with a count.
Likewise for lists and maps.
* A tuple must be specified with the number of elements. (The elements precede the ERL_DRV_TUPLE
term.)
* A map must be specified with the number of key-value pairs N. The key-value pairs must precede
the ERL_DRV_MAP in this order: key1,value1,key2,value2,...,keyN,valueN. Duplicate keys are not
allowed.
* A list must be specified with the number of elements, including the tail, which is the last
term preceding ERL_DRV_LIST.
The special term ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS is used to "splice" in a string in a list, a string specified
this way is not a list in itself, but the elements are elements of the surrounding list.
Term type Arguments
--------- ---------
ERL_DRV_NIL
ERL_DRV_ATOM ErlDrvTermData atom (from driver_mk_atom(char *string))
ERL_DRV_INT ErlDrvSInt integer
ERL_DRV_UINT ErlDrvUInt integer
ERL_DRV_INT64 ErlDrvSInt64 *integer_ptr
ERL_DRV_UINT64 ErlDrvUInt64 *integer_ptr
ERL_DRV_PORT ErlDrvTermData port (from driver_mk_port(ErlDrvPort port))
ERL_DRV_BINARY ErlDrvBinary *bin, ErlDrvUInt len, ErlDrvUInt offset
ERL_DRV_BUF2BINARY char *buf, ErlDrvUInt len
ERL_DRV_STRING char *str, int len
ERL_DRV_TUPLE int sz
ERL_DRV_LIST int sz
ERL_DRV_PID ErlDrvTermData pid (from driver_connected(ErlDrvPort port)
or driver_caller(ErlDrvPort port))
ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS char *str, int len
ERL_DRV_FLOAT double *dbl
ERL_DRV_EXT2TERM char *buf, ErlDrvUInt len
ERL_DRV_MAP int sz
The unsigned integer data type ErlDrvUInt and the signed integer data type ErlDrvSInt are 64 bits
wide on a 64-bit runtime system and 32 bits wide on a 32-bit runtime system. They were introduced
in ERTS 5.6 and replaced some of the int arguments in the list above.
The unsigned integer data type ErlDrvUInt64 and the signed integer data type ErlDrvSInt64 are
always 64 bits wide. They were introduced in ERTS 5.7.4.
To build the tuple {tcp, Port, [100 | Binary]}, the following call can be made.
ErlDrvBinary* bin = ...
ErlDrvPort port = ...
ErlDrvTermData spec[] = {
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("tcp"),
ERL_DRV_PORT, driver_mk_port(drvport),
ERL_DRV_INT, 100,
ERL_DRV_BINARY, bin, 50, 0,
ERL_DRV_LIST, 2,
ERL_DRV_TUPLE, 3,
};
erl_drv_output_term(driver_mk_port(drvport), spec, sizeof(spec) / sizeof(spec[0]));
Here bin is a driver binary of length at least 50 and drvport is a port handle. Notice that
ERL_DRV_LIST comes after the elements of the list, likewise ERL_DRV_TUPLE.
The ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS term is a way to construct strings. It works differently from how
ERL_DRV_STRING works. ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS builds a string list in reverse order (as opposed to how
ERL_DRV_LIST works), concatenating the strings added to a list. The tail must be specified before
ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS.
ERL_DRV_STRING constructs a string, and ends it. (So it is the same as ERL_DRV_NIL followed by
ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS.)
/* to send [x, "abc", y] to the port: */
ErlDrvTermData spec[] = {
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("x"),
ERL_DRV_STRING, (ErlDrvTermData)"abc", 3,
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("y"),
ERL_DRV_NIL,
ERL_DRV_LIST, 4
};
erl_drv_output_term(driver_mk_port(drvport), spec, sizeof(spec) / sizeof(spec[0]));
/* to send "abc123" to the port: */
ErlDrvTermData spec[] = {
ERL_DRV_NIL, /* with STRING_CONS, the tail comes first */
ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS, (ErlDrvTermData)"123", 3,
ERL_DRV_STRING_CONS, (ErlDrvTermData)"abc", 3,
};
erl_drv_output_term(driver_mk_port(drvport), spec, sizeof(spec) / sizeof(spec[0]));
The ERL_DRV_EXT2TERM term type is used for passing a term encoded with the external format, that
is, a term that has been encoded by erlang:term_to_binary, erl_interface:ei(3erl), and so on. For
example, if binp is a pointer to an ErlDrvBinary that contains term {17, 4711} encoded with the
external format, and you want to wrap it in a two-tuple with the tag my_tag, that is, {my_tag,
{17, 4711}}, you can do as follows:
ErlDrvTermData spec[] = {
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("my_tag"),
ERL_DRV_EXT2TERM, (ErlDrvTermData) binp->orig_bytes, binp->orig_size
ERL_DRV_TUPLE, 2,
};
erl_drv_output_term(driver_mk_port(drvport), spec, sizeof(spec) / sizeof(spec[0]));
To build the map #{key1 => 100, key2 => {200, 300}}, the following call can be made.
ErlDrvPort port = ...
ErlDrvTermData spec[] = {
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("key1"),
ERL_DRV_INT, 100,
ERL_DRV_ATOM, driver_mk_atom("key2"),
ERL_DRV_INT, 200,
ERL_DRV_INT, 300,
ERL_DRV_TUPLE, 2,
ERL_DRV_MAP, 2
};
erl_drv_output_term(driver_mk_port(drvport), spec, sizeof(spec) / sizeof(spec[0]));
If you want to pass a binary and do not already have the content of the binary in an ErlDrvBinary,
you can benefit from using ERL_DRV_BUF2BINARY instead of creating an ErlDrvBinary through
driver_alloc_binary and then pass the binary through ERL_DRV_BINARY. The runtime system often
allocates binaries smarter if ERL_DRV_BUF2BINARY is used. However, if the content of the binary to
pass already resides in an ErlDrvBinary, it is normally better to pass the binary using
ERL_DRV_BINARY and the ErlDrvBinary in question.
The ERL_DRV_UINT, ERL_DRV_BUF2BINARY, and ERL_DRV_EXT2TERM term types were introduced in ERTS 5.6.
This function is only thread-safe when the emulator with SMP support is used.
int erl_drv_putenv(const char *key, char
*value)
Sets the value of an environment variable.
key is a NULL-terminated string containing the name of the environment variable.
value is a NULL-terminated string containing the new value of the environment variable.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise a value != 0.
Note:
The result of passing the empty string ("") as a value is platform-dependent. On some platforms
the variable value is set to the empty string, on others the environment variable is removed.
Warning:
Do not use libc's putenv or similar C library interfaces from a driver.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvRWLock *erl_drv_rwlock_create(char
*name)
Creates an rwlock and returns a pointer to it.
name is a string identifying the created rwlock. It is used to identify the rwlock in planned
future debug functionality.
Returns NULL on failure. The driver creating the rwlock is responsible for destroying it before
the driver is unloaded.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_rwlock_destroy(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Destroys an rwlock previously created by erl_drv_rwlock_create. The rwlock must be in an unlocked
state before it is destroyed.
rwlck is a pointer to an rwlock to destroy.
This function is thread-safe.
char *erl_drv_rwlock_name(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Returns a pointer to the name of the rwlock.
rwlck is a pointer to an initialized rwlock.
Note:
This function is intended for debugging purposes only.
void erl_drv_rwlock_rlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Read locks an rwlock. The calling thread is blocked until the rwlock has been read locked. A
thread that currently has read or read/write locked the rwlock cannot lock the same rwlock again.
rwlck is a pointer to the rwlock to read lock.
Warning:
If you leave an rwlock locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control,
you will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_rwlock_runlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Read unlocks an rwlock. The rwlock currently must be read locked by the calling thread.
rwlck is a pointer to an rwlock to read unlock.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_rwlock_rwlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Read/write locks an rwlock. The calling thread is blocked until the rwlock has been read/write
locked. A thread that currently has read or read/write locked the rwlock cannot lock the same
rwlock again.
rwlck is a pointer to an rwlock to read/write lock.
Warning:
If you leave an rwlock locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control,
you will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_rwlock_rwunlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Read/write unlocks an rwlock. The rwlock currently must be read/write locked by the calling
thread.
rwlck is a pointer to an rwlock to read/write unlock.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_rwlock_tryrlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Tries to read lock an rwlock.
rwlck is a pointer to an rwlock to try to read lock.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise EBUSY. A thread that currently has read or read/write locked the
rwlock cannot try to lock the same rwlock again.
Warning:
If you leave an rwlock locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control,
you will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_rwlock_tryrwlock(ErlDrvRWLock
*rwlck)
Tries to read/write lock an rwlock. A thread that currently has read or read/write locked the
rwlock cannot try to lock the same rwlock again.
rwlckis pointer to an rwlock to try to read/write lock.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise EBUSY.
Warning:
If you leave an rwlock locked in an emulator thread when you let the thread out of your control,
you will very likely deadlock the whole emulator.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_send_term(ErlDrvTermData port,
ErlDrvTermData receiver, ErlDrvTermData* term, int n)
This function is the only way for a driver to send data to other processes than the port owner
process. Parameter receiver specifies the process to receive the data.
Note:
Parameter port is not an ordinary port handle, but a port handle converted using driver_mk_port.
Parameters port, term, and n work as in erl_drv_output_term.
This function is only thread-safe when the emulator with SMP support is used.
void erl_drv_set_os_pid(ErlDrvPort port,
ErlDrvSInt pid)
Sets the os_pid seen when doing erlang:port_info/2 on this port.
port is the port handle of the port (driver instance) to set the pid on. pidis the pid to set.
int erl_drv_thread_create(char *name, ErlDrvTid
*tid, void * (*func)(void *), void *arg, ErlDrvThreadOpts
*opts)
Creates a new thread.
name:
A string identifying the created thread. It is used to identify the thread in planned future
debug functionality.
tid:
A pointer to a thread identifier variable.
func:
A pointer to a function to execute in the created thread.
arg:
A pointer to argument to the func function.
opts:
A pointer to thread options to use or NULL.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise an errno value is returned to indicate the error. The newly
created thread begins executing in the function pointed to by func, and func is passed arg as
argument. When erl_drv_thread_create returns, the thread identifier of the newly created thread is
available in *tid. opts can be either a NULL pointer, or a pointer to an ErlDrvThreadOpts
structure. If opts is a NULL pointer, default options are used, otherwise the passed options are
used.
Warning:
You are not allowed to allocate the ErlDrvThreadOpts structure by yourself. It must be allocated
and initialized by erl_drv_thread_opts_create.
The created thread terminates either when func returns or if erl_drv_thread_exit is called by the
thread. The exit value of the thread is either returned from func or passed as argument to
erl_drv_thread_exit. The driver creating the thread is responsible for joining the thread, through
erl_drv_thread_join, before the driver is unloaded. "Detached" threads cannot be created, that is,
threads that do not need to be joined.
Warning:
All created threads must be joined by the driver before it is unloaded. If the driver fails to
join all threads created before it is unloaded, the runtime system most likely crashes when the
driver code is unloaded.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_thread_exit(void
*exit_value)
Terminates the calling thread with the exit value passed as argument. exit_value is a pointer to
an exit value or NULL.
You are only allowed to terminate threads created with erl_drv_thread_create.
The exit value can later be retrieved by another thread through erl_drv_thread_join.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_thread_join(ErlDrvTid tid, void
**exit_value)
Joins the calling thread with another thread, that is, the calling thread is blocked until the
thread identified by tid has terminated.
tid is the thread identifier of the thread to join. exit_value is a pointer to a pointer to an
exit value, or NULL.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise an errno value is returned to indicate the error.
A thread can only be joined once. The behavior of joining more than once is undefined, an emulator
crash is likely. If exit_value == NULL, the exit value of the terminated thread is ignored,
otherwise the exit value of the terminated thread is stored at *exit_value.
This function is thread-safe.
char *erl_drv_thread_name(ErlDrvTid
tid)
Returns a pointer to the name of the thread.
tid is a thread identifier.
Note:
This function is intended for debugging purposes only.
ErlDrvThreadOpts *erl_drv_thread_opts_create(char *name)
Allocates and initializes a thread option structure.
name is a string identifying the created thread options. It is used to identify the thread options
in planned future debug functionality.
Returns NULL on failure. A thread option structure is used for passing options to
erl_drv_thread_create. If the structure is not modified before it is passed to
erl_drv_thread_create, the default values are used.
Warning:
You are not allowed to allocate the ErlDrvThreadOpts structure by yourself. It must be allocated
and initialized by erl_drv_thread_opts_create.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_thread_opts_destroy(ErlDrvThreadOpts *opts)
Destroys thread options previously created by erl_drv_thread_opts_create.
opts is a pointer to thread options to destroy.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvTid erl_drv_thread_self(void)
Returns the thread identifier of the calling thread.
This function is thread-safe.
ErlDrvTime erl_drv_time_offset(ErlDrvTimeUnit
time_unit)
Returns the current time offset between Erlang monotonic time and Erlang system time converted
into the time_unit passed as argument.
time_unit is time unit of returned value.
Returns ERL_DRV_TIME_ERROR if called with an invalid time unit argument, or if called from a
thread that is not a scheduler thread.
See also ErlDrvTime and ErlDrvTimeUnit.
void *erl_drv_tsd_get(ErlDrvTSDKey
key)
Returns the thread-specific data associated with key for the calling thread.
key is a thread-specific data key.
Returns NULL if no data has been associated with key for the calling thread.
This function is thread-safe.
int erl_drv_tsd_key_create(char *name,
ErlDrvTSDKey *key)
Creates a thread-specific data key.
name is a string identifying the created key. It is used to identify the key in planned future
debug functionality.
key is a pointer to a thread-specific data key variable.
Returns 0 on success, otherwise an errno value is returned to indicate the error. The driver
creating the key is responsible for destroying it before the driver is unloaded.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_tsd_key_destroy(ErlDrvTSDKey
key)
Destroys a thread-specific data key previously created by erl_drv_tsd_key_create. All thread-
specific data using this key in all threads must be cleared (see erl_drv_tsd_set) before the call
to erl_drv_tsd_key_destroy.
key is a thread-specific data key to destroy.
Warning:
A destroyed key is very likely to be reused soon. Therefore, if you fail to clear the thread-
specific data using this key in a thread before destroying the key, you will very likely get
unexpected errors in other parts of the system.
This function is thread-safe.
void erl_drv_tsd_set(ErlDrvTSDKey key, void
*data)
Sets thread-specific data associated with key for the calling thread. You are only allowed to set
thread-specific data for threads while they are fully under your control. For example, if you set
thread-specific data in a thread calling a driver callback function, it must be cleared, that is,
set to NULL, before returning from the driver callback function.
key is a thread-specific data key.
data is a pointer to data to associate with key in the calling thread.
Warning:
If you fail to clear thread-specific data in an emulator thread before letting it out of your
control, you might never be able to clear this data with later unexpected errors in other parts of
the system as a result.
This function is thread-safe.
char *erl_errno_id(int error)
Returns the atom name of the Erlang error, given the error number in error. The error atoms are
einval, enoent, and so on. It can be used to make error terms from the driver.
int remove_driver_entry(ErlDrvEntry
*de)
Removes a driver entry de previously added with add_driver_entry.
Driver entries added by the erl_ddll Erlang interface cannot be removed by using this interface.
void set_busy_port(ErlDrvPort port, int
on)
Sets and unsets the busy state of the port. If on is non-zero, the port is set to busy. If it is
zero, the port is set to not busy. You typically want to combine this feature with the busy port
message queue functionality.
Processes sending command data to the port are suspended if either the port or the port message
queue is busy. Suspended processes are resumed when neither the port or the port message queue is
busy. Command data is in this context data passed to the port using either Port ! {Owner,
{command, Data}} or port_command/[2,3].
If the ERL_DRV_FLAG_SOFT_BUSY has been set in the driver_entry, data can be forced into the
driver through erlang:port_command(Port, Data, [force]) even if the driver has signaled that it is
busy.
For information about busy port message queue functionality, see erl_drv_busy_msgq_limits.
void set_port_control_flags(ErlDrvPort port,
int flags)
Sets flags for how the control driver entry function will return data to the port owner process.
(The control function is called from erlang:port_control/3.)
Currently there are only two meaningful values for flags: 0 means that data is returned in a list,
and PORT_CONTROL_FLAG_BINARY means data is returned as a binary from control.
SEE ALSO
driver_entry(3erl), erlang(3erl), erl_ddll(3erl), section How to Implement an Alternative Carrier for the
Erlang Distribution> in the User's Guide
Ericsson AB erts 9.2 erl_driver(3erl)