NAME

       Tcl_AsyncCreate,      Tcl_AsyncMark,      Tcl_AsyncInvoke,
       Tcl_AsyncDelete,  Tcl_AsyncReady  -  handle   asynchronous
       events


SYNOPSIS

       #include <tcl.h>

       Tcl_AsyncHandler
       Tcl_AsyncCreate(proc, clientData)

       Tcl_AsyncMark(async)

       int
       Tcl_AsyncInvoke(interp, code)

       Tcl_AsyncDelete(async)

       int
       Tcl_AsyncReady()


ARGUMENTS

       Tcl_AsyncProc      *proc        (in)      Procedure     to
                                                 invoke to handle
                                                 an  asynchronous
                                                 event.

       ClientData         clientData   (in)      One-word   value
                                                 to pass to proc.

       Tcl_AsyncHandler   async        (in)      Token for  asyn­
                                                 chronous   event
                                                 handler.

       Tcl_Interp         *interp      (in)      Tcl  interpreter
                                                 in which command
                                                 was being evalu­
                                                 ated  when  han­
                                                 dler         was
                                                 invoked, or NULL
                                                 if  handler  was
                                                 invoked     when
                                                 there   was   no
                                                 interpreter
                                                 active.

       int                code         (in)      Completion  code
                                                 from     command
                                                 that  just  com­
                                                 pleted        in
                                                 interp, or 0  if
                                                 interp  is NULL.



DESCRIPTION

       These procedures provide a safe mechanism for dealing with
       asynchronous  events such as signals.  If an event such as
       a signal occurs while a Tcl script is being evaluated then
       it  isn't  safe  to take any substantive action to process
       the event.  For example, it isn't safe to evaluate  a  Tcl
       script  since the interpreter may already be in the middle
       of evaluating a script; it may not even be safe  to  allo­
       cate  memory, since a memory allocation could have been in
       progress when the event occurred.  The only safe  approach
       is  to set a flag indicating that the event occurred, then
       handle the event later when the world has  returned  to  a
       clean  state,  such  as after the current Tcl command com­
       pletes.

       Tcl_AsyncCreate  creates  an  asynchronous   handler   and
       returns  a token for it.  The asynchronous handler must be
       created before any occurrences of the  asynchronous  event
       that  it is intended to handle (it is not safe to create a
       handler at the time of an event).   When  an  asynchronous
       event  occurs  the  code that detects the event (such as a
       signal handler) should call Tcl_AsyncMark with  the  token
       for  the  handler.  Tcl_AsyncMark will mark the handler as
       ready to execute, but it will not invoke the handler imme­
       diately.   Tcl will call the proc associated with the han­
       dler later, when the world is in a safe  state,  and  proc
       can  then  carry out the actions associated with the asyn­
       chronous event.  Proc should  have  arguments  and  result
       that match the type Tcl_AsyncProc:
              typedef int Tcl_AsyncProc(
                ClientData clientData,
                Tcl_Interp *interp,
                int code);
       The clientData will be the same as the clientData argument
       passed to Tcl_AsyncCreate when the  handler  was  created.
       If proc is invoked just after a command has completed exe­
       cution in an interpreter, then interp  will  identify  the
       interpreter  in  which  the command was evaluated and code
       will be the completion code returned by that command.  The
       command's  result  will  be  present  in the interpreter's
       result.  When proc returns,  whatever  it  leaves  in  the
       interpreter's result will be returned as the result of the
       command and the integer value returned  by  proc  will  be
       used as the new completion code for the command.

       It  is also possible for proc to be invoked when no inter­
       preter is active.  This can happen,  for  example,  if  an
       asynchronous event occurs while the application is waiting
       for interactive input or an X event.  In this case  interp
       will be NULL and code will be 0, and the return value from
       proc will be ignored.

       the handlers that are ready.  The procedure Tcl_AsyncReady
       will return non-zero whenever  any  asynchronous  handlers
       are ready;  it can be checked to avoid calls to Tcl_Async­
       Invoke when  there  are  no  ready  handlers.   Tcl  calls
       Tcl_AsyncReady  after  each command is evaluated and calls
       Tcl_AsyncInvoke if needed.   Applications  may  also  call
       Tcl_AsyncInvoke at interesting times for that application.
       For example,  Tcl's  event  handler  calls  Tcl_AsyncReady
       after each event and calls Tcl_AsyncInvoke if needed.  The
       interp and code arguments to Tcl_AsyncInvoke have the same
       meaning  as  for  proc:   they  identify the active inter­
       preter, if any, and the completion code from  the  command
       that just completed.

       Tcl_AsyncDelete  removes  an  asynchronous handler so that
       its proc will never be invoked again.  A  handler  can  be
       deleted even when ready, and it will still not be invoked.

       If multiple handlers become active at the same  time,  the
       handlers  are invoked in the order they were created (old­
       est handler first).  The code and the interpreter's result
       for  later handlers reflect the values returned by earlier
       handlers, so that the most recently  created  handler  has
       last  say  about  the  interpreter's result and completion
       code.  If new handlers become  ready  while  handlers  are
       executing,  Tcl_AsyncInvoke will invoke them all;  at each
       point it invokes the highest-priority (oldest) ready  han­
       dler,  repeating  this  over  and  over until there are no
       longer any ready handlers.


WARNING

       It is almost always a bad idea for an  asynchronous  event
       handler  to  modify  the  interpreter's result or return a
       code different from  its  code  argument.   This  sort  of
       behavior  can  disrupt  the execution of scripts in subtle
       ways and result in bugs that are  extremely  difficult  to
       track  down.   If  an  asynchronous event handler needs to
       evaluate Tcl scripts then it should first save the  inter­
       preter's result plus the values of the variables errorInfo
       and errorCode (this can be done, for example,  by  storing
       them  in  dynamic strings).  When the asynchronous handler
       is finished it should restore  the  interpreter's  result,
       errorInfo, and errorCode, and return the code argument.


KEYWORDS

       asynchronous event, handler, signal


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