NAME

       Tcl_SetObjResult,     Tcl_GetObjResult,     Tcl_SetResult,
       Tcl_GetStringResult, Tcl_AppendResult, Tcl_AppendResultVA,
       Tcl_AppendElement,   Tcl_ResetResult,   Tcl_FreeResult   -
       manipulate Tcl result


SYNOPSIS

       #include <tcl.h>

       Tcl_SetObjResult(interp, objPtr)

       Tcl_Obj *
       Tcl_GetObjResult(interp)

       Tcl_SetResult(interp, string, freeProc)

       char *
       Tcl_GetStringResult(interp)

       Tcl_AppendResult(interp, string, string, ... , (char *) NULL)

       Tcl_AppendResultVA(interp, argList)

       Tcl_AppendElement(interp, string)

       Tcl_ResetResult(interp)

       Tcl_FreeResult(interp)


ARGUMENTS

       Tcl_Interp     *interp    (out)     Interpreter      whose
                                           result  is to be modi­
                                           fied or read.

       Tcl_Obj        *objPtr    (in)      Object value to become
                                           result for interp.

       char           *string    (in)      String value to become
                                           result for  interp  or
                                           to  be appended to the
                                           existing result.

       Tcl_FreeProc   *freeProc  (in)      Address  of  procedure
                                           to   call  to  release
                                           storage at string,  or
                                           TCL_STATIC,
                                           TCL_DYNAMIC,        or
                                           TCL_VOLATILE.

       va_list        argList    (in)      An argument list which
                                           must  have  been  ini­
                                           tialised         using

                                           cleared  using va_end.
_________________________________________________________________


DESCRIPTION

       The procedures described here are utilities for manipulat­
       ing  the  result  value  in a Tcl interpreter.  The inter­
       preter result may be either a Tcl object or a string.  For
       example, Tcl_SetObjResult and Tcl_SetResult set the inter­
       preter result to, respectively, an object  and  a  string.
       Similarly, Tcl_GetObjResult and Tcl_GetStringResult return
       the interpreter result as an object and as a string.   The
       procedures  always keep the string and object forms of the
       interpreter result consistent.  For example, if Tcl_SetOb­
       jResult  is  called  to  set the result to an object, then
       Tcl_GetStringResult is called, it will return the object's
       string value.

       Tcl_SetObjResult  arranges for objPtr to be the result for
       interp, replacing any existing result.  The result is left
       pointing  to  the  object  referenced by objPtr.  objPtr's
       reference count is incremented since there is  now  a  new
       reference  to it from interp.  The reference count for any
       old result object is decremented and the old result object
       is freed if no references to it remain.

       Tcl_GetObjResult  returns  the  result  for  interp  as an
       object.  The object's reference count is not  incremented;
       if  the  caller needs to retain a long-term pointer to the
       object they should use Tcl_IncrRefCount to  increment  its
       reference  count  in order to keep it from being freed too
       early or accidently changed.

       Tcl_SetResult arranges for string to be the result for the
       current  Tcl  command  in  interp,  replacing any existing
       result.  The freeProc argument specifies how to manage the
       storage  for  the  string argument; it is discussed in the
       section THE TCL_FREEPROC ARGUMENT TO TCL_SETRESULT  below.
       If string is NULL, then freeProc is ignored and Tcl_SetRe­
       sult re-initializes interp's result to point to  an  empty
       string.

       Tcl_GetStringResult  returns  the  result for interp as an
       string.  If the result was set to an object by a Tcl_SetO­
       bjResult  call,  the  object  form  will be converted to a
       string and returned.  If the object's  string  representa­
       tion contains null bytes, this conversion will lose infor­
       mation.  For this reason, programmers  are  encouraged  to
       write  their code to use the new object API procedures and
       to call Tcl_GetObjResult instead.

       Tcl_ResetResult clears the result for  interp  and  leaves
       the  result in its normal empty initialized state.  If the

       and the result is left pointing to an unshared object rep­
       resenting an empty string.  If the result is a dynamically
       allocated  string,  its memory is free*d and the result is
       left as a empty string.  Tcl_ResetResult also  clears  the
       error  state managed by Tcl_AddErrorInfo, Tcl_AddObjError­
       Info, and Tcl_SetErrorCode.


OLD STRING PROCEDURES

       Use of the following procedures is deprecated  since  they
       manipulate the Tcl result as a string.  Procedures such as
       Tcl_SetObjResult that manipulate the result as  an  object
       can be significantly more efficient.

       Tcl_AppendResult  makes it easy to build up Tcl results in
       pieces.  It takes each of its string arguments and appends
       them  in  order  to  the  current  result  associated with
       interp.  If the result is in its initialized  empty  state
       (e.g. a command procedure was just invoked or Tcl_ResetRe­
       sult was just  called),  then  Tcl_AppendResult  sets  the
       result  to  the  concatenation  of  its  string arguments.
       Tcl_AppendResult may be called  repeatedly  as  additional
       pieces of the result are produced.  Tcl_AppendResult takes
       care of all the storage management issues associated  with
       managing  interp's  result,  such  as  allocating a larger
       result area if necessary.  It also  converts  the  current
       interpreter  result  from an object to a string, if neces­
       sary, before appending the argument strings.   Any  number
       of  string  arguments  may be passed in a single call; the
       last argument in the list must be a NULL pointer.

       Tcl_AppendResultVA is the same as Tcl_AppendResult  except
       that  instead  of taking a variable number of arguments it
       takes an argument list.

       Tcl_AppendElement is similar to Tcl_AppendResult  in  that
       it  allows  results  to  be  built up in pieces.  However,
       Tcl_AppendElement takes only a single string argument  and
       it appends that argument to the current result as a proper
       Tcl list element.  Tcl_AppendElement adds  backslashes  or
       braces  if necessary to ensure that interp's result can be
       parsed as a list and that string will be  extracted  as  a
       single  element.   Under normal conditions, Tcl_AppendEle­
       ment will add a space character to  interp's  result  just
       before  adding the new list element, so that the list ele­
       ments in the result are properly  separated.   However  if
       the  new  list  element is the first in a list or sub-list
       (i.e. interp's current result is empty, or consists of the
       single  character ``{'', or ends in the characters `` {'')
       then no space is added.

       Tcl_FreeResult performs part of the work  of  Tcl_ResetRe­
       sult.   It  frees  up  the memory associated with interp's

       doesn't   change  interp->result  or  clear  error  state.
       Tcl_FreeResult is most commonly used when a  procedure  is
       about to replace one result value with another.


DIRECT ACCESS TO INTERP->RESULT IS DEPRECATED

       It  used  to  be  legal  for programs to directly read and
       write interp->result to manipulate the interpreter result.
       Direct access to interp->result is now strongly deprecated
       because it can make the result's string and  object  forms
       inconsistent.   Programs  should  always  read  the result
       using the procedures Tcl_GetObjResult or  Tcl_GetStringRe­
       sult,  and  write  the  result  using  Tcl_SetObjResult or
       Tcl_SetResult.


THE TCL_FREEPROC ARGUMENT TO TCL_SETRESULT

       Tcl_SetResult's freeProc argument specifies  how  the  Tcl
       system  is  to manage the storage for the string argument.
       If Tcl_SetResult or Tcl_SetObjResult are called at a  time
       when  interp  holds  a  string result, they do whatever is
       necessary to dispose of the old  string  result  (see  the
       Tcl_Interp manual entry for details on this).

       If  freeProc  is TCL_STATIC it means that string refers to
       an area of static storage that is  guaranteed  not  to  be
       modified  until  at  least  the next call to Tcl_Eval.  If
       freeProc is TCL_DYNAMIC it means that string was allocated
       with  a  call  to Tcl_Alloc and is now the property of the
       Tcl system.  Tcl_SetResult will arrange for  the  string's
       storage  to  be released by calling Tcl_Free when it is no
       longer needed.  If freeProc is TCL_VOLATILE it means  that
       string  points  to  an area of memory that is likely to be
       overwritten when Tcl_SetResult returns (e.g. it points  to
       something  in  a stack frame).  In this case Tcl_SetResult
       will make a copy of the string  in  dynamically  allocated
       storage  and arrange for the copy to be the result for the
       current Tcl command.

       If  freeProc  isn't  one   of   the   values   TCL_STATIC,
       TCL_DYNAMIC, and TCL_VOLATILE, then it is the address of a
       procedure that Tcl should call to free the  string.   This
       allows  applications  to  use non-standard storage alloca­
       tors.  When Tcl  no  longer  needs  the  storage  for  the
       string,  it will call freeProc. FreeProc should have argu­
       ments and result that match the type Tcl_FreeProc:
              typedef void Tcl_FreeProc(char *blockPtr);
       When freeProc is called, its blockPtr will be set  to  the
       value of string passed to Tcl_SetResult.


SEE ALSO

       Tcl_AddErrorInfo,  Tcl_CreateObjCommand, Tcl_SetErrorCode,



KEYWORDS

       append, command, element,  list,  object,  result,  return
       value, interpreter


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