NAME
notify, noted, atnotify – handle asynchronous process notification |
SYNOPSIS
#include <u.h> #include <libc.h> int notify(void (*f)(void*, char*)) int noted(int v)
int atnotify(int (*f)(void*, char*), int in) |
DESCRIPTION
When a process raises an exceptional condition such as dividing
by zero or writing on a closed pipe, a note is posted to communicate
the exception. A note may also be posted by a write (see read(2))
to the process's /proc/n/note file or to the /proc/m/notepg file
of a process in the same process group (see
proc(3)). When the note is received the behavior of the process
depends on the origin of the note. If the note was posted by an
external process, the process receiving the note exits; if generated
by the system the note string, preceded by the name and id of
the process and the string "suicide: ", is printed on the
process's standard error file and the process is suspended in
the Broken state for debugging. These default actions may be overridden. The notify function registers a notification handler to be called within the process when a note is received. The argument to notify replaces the previous handler, if any. An argument of zero cancels a previous handler, restoring the default action. A fork(2) system call leaves the handler registered in both the parent and the child; exec(2) restores the default behavior. Handlers may not perform floating point operations. After a note is posted, the handler is called with two arguments: the first is a pointer to a Ureg structure (defined in /$objtype/include/ureg.h) giving the current values of registers; the second is a pointer to the note itself, a null–terminated string with no more than ERRLEN characters in it including the terminal NUL. The Ureg argument is usually not needed; it is provided to help recover from traps such as floating point exceptions. Its use and layout are machine– and system–specific. A notification handler must finish either by exiting the program or by calling noted; if the handler returns the behavior is undefined and probably erroneous. Until the program calls noted, any further externally–generated notes (e.g., hangup or alarm) will be held off, and any further notes generated by erroneous behavior by the program (such as divide by zero) will kill the program. The argument to noted defines the action to take: NDFLT instructs the system to perform the default action as if the handler had never been registered; NCONT instructs the system to resume the process at the point it was notified. In neither case does noted return to the handler. If the note interrupted an incomplete system call, that call returns an error (with error string interrupted) after the process resumes. A notification handler can also jump out to an environment set up with setjmp using the notejmp function (see setjmp(2)), which is implemented by modifying the saved state and calling noted(NCONT).
Regardless of the origin of the note or the presence of a handler,
if the process is being debugged (see proc(3)) the arrival of
a note puts the process in the Stopped state and awakens the debugger. Atnotify APE Notes
The types and syntax of the trap and fptrap portions of the notes
are machine–dependent. |
SOURCE
/sys/src/libc/9syscall /sys/src/libc/port/atnotify.c |
SEE ALSO
postnote(2), intro(2), notejmp in setjmp(2) |
BUGS
Since exec(2) discards the notification handler, there is a window
of vulnerability to notes in a new process. |