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2 AMIGADOS 2.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter are we going to discuss how to read and write files from/to different devices (disk drivers etc). How to protect your data from being corrupted by other tasks working with the same file, and how to attach comments to files, how to rename them etc... However, before we start it is best to look at how AmigaDOS works, and explain some commonly used words. If you are familiar with AmigaDOS and CLI you can skip the following chapters and immediately start on chapter 2.2 (OPEN AND CLOSE FILES). 2.1.1 PHYSICAL DEVICES Physical devices are parts of the Amiga to which files can be read from and sent to. The most commonly used physical device is undoubtedly the internal disk drive (DF0:). Here is the list of the standard AmigaDOS devices: ------------------------------------------------------------- DF0: Diskdrive 0. File/Directory access DF1: Diskdrive 1. File/Directory access DF2: Diskdrive 2. File/Directory access DF3: Diskdrive 3. File/Directory access RAM: RAMdisk, File/Directory access SER: Serial port, Input/Output PAR: Parallel port, Input/Output PRT: Printerdevice, Output to printer (trough Preferences) CON: Console, (window) Input/Output RAW: RAW, (window) Input/Output NIL: Nothing, Output to nothing ------------------------------------------------------------- (Note that all device-names end with a colon.) If you want to copy a file called "program.c" from the internal disk drive (DF0:) to the second disk drive (DF1:) you write: copy from DF0:program.c to DF1: If you want to copy a file called "program.c" from the internal disk drive (DF0:) to the parallel port (PAR:) you write: copy from DF0:program.c to PAR: If a printer was connected to the parallel port the file "program.c" would be printed out with the printers default mode. If the printer was connected to the serial port (SER:) you write: copy from DF0:program.c to SER: However, if you want to copy a file to the printer, and you want to use the printer mode you have chosen with Preferences, you use the printer device (PRT:). (With Preferences you can decide which device you want to use (PAR: or SER:), and if the text should be printed with letter quality or in draft mode etc.) copy from DF0:program.c to PRT: AmigaDOS allows you even to use special windows (CON:) for input/output. The only thing you need to remember is to tell AmigaDOS what size and position of the window you want. The syntax is: CON:x/y/width/height/(title) Remember to include all four slashes! (The window title is optional.) To copy the file "program.c" to a special window you write: copy from DF0:program.c to CON:10/20/320/100/Text This will print the file program.c to a window positioned at x position 10, y position 20, width 320, height 100, with the title "Text". If you want to use spaces in the title you need to put quotes around the whole expression: copy from DF0:program.c to "CON:10/20/320/100/Spacy Window" 2.1.2 VOLUMES To access a disk you can either use the physical device name of the drive in which the disk is, or use the volume name of the disk. If you want to copy a file from the RAMdisk called "program.c", to a disk called "DOCUMENTS", and the disk is in the second disk drive, you can either write: copy from RAM:program.c to DF1: or copy from RAM:program.c to DOCUMENTS: (Note the colon after the volume name!) The advantage with the last example is that you do not need to bother in which drive the DOCUMENTS disk is in. Furthermore, if the right disk was not in any drive, AmigaDOS will ask you to insert it, and you do not need to worry about writing to the wrong disk. 2.1.3 DIRECTORIES/SUBDIRECTORIES/FILES On a disk there exist directories/subdirectories and files. A subdirectory is a directory inside another directory. (There may be subdirectories inside other subdirectories and so on.) See picture: DEVICE/VOLUME | /---------------------+---------------------\ | | | FILES DIRECTORY DIRECTORY | | FILES SUBDIRECTORIES | FILES How to gain access to files: Left of the colon Right of the colon Right of a slash ------------------------------------------------------------ Device name Directory name Subdirectory name or or or Volume name Filename Filename ------------------------------------------------------------ For example. Here is a disk named "CPrograms" on which there is a program called "Example" and two directories named "Games" and "Utilities". In the Utilities directory there is a program called FileWindow, and in the Games directory there are two games called Car and MiniBlast. There exist also a subdirectory called "SourceCode" which contains two files "Car.c" and "MiniBlast.c". See drawing: CPrograms | /----------------------+--------------------------\ | | | Example Games Utilities | | /-------------+-------------\ FileWindow | | | Car MiniBlast SourceCode | /-------------\ | | Car.c MiniBlast.c Here is how to access all the files: CPrograms:Example CPrograms:Utilities/FileWindow CPrograms:Games/Car CPrograms:Games/MiniBlast CPrograms:Games/SourceCode/Car.c CPrograms:Games/SourceCode/MiniBlast.c 2.1.4 LOGICAL DEVICES Logical devices is a simple way to find files, regardless of where the file actually is. For example: If you have all your C programs on a disk called "Programs", placed i directory named "Examples", and you want to run the program "test1" you need to write: Programs:Examples/test1 If you often want to access files in that directory you can assign a logical device to it. You then only need to write the logical device name and the filename, and AmigaDOS will automatically look on the right disk and directory. You assign logical devices by using the CLI command "Assign" which is called like this: Assign [logical device name]: [device/(directory/subdirectory)] For example: Assign EX: Programs:Examples To gain access to the file "test1" you then only need to write: EX:test1 When you boot up the computer it will automatically create some commonly used logical devices. A good example is the logical device "FONTS:". It is automatically assigned to the system disk's "fonts" directory. Here is the list of some of the most commonly used logical devices: Logical device Description --------------------------- SYS: system disk C: CLI commands FONTS: fonts L: handlers LIBS: libraries S: sequence library DEVS: devices The logical device "C:" is assigned to the system disk's "c" directory, where all CLI commands are. If you have copied some CLI commands to the RAMdisk, and you want AmigaDOS to look there instead of looking on the system disk's c directory you simply reassign the C: device. For example: Assign C: RAM: If you call Assign without any parameters, it will list all logical devices, and their assignments. If you have booted up the system with the Lattice C Compiler disk, the following logical devices are assigned: Automatically assigned: -------------------------------------- S Lattice_C_5.0.1:s L Lattice_C_5.0.1:l C Lattice_C_5.0.1:c FONTS Lattice_C_5.0.1:fonts DEVS Lattice_C_5.0.1:devs LIBS Lattice_C_5.0.1:libs SYS Lattice_C_5.0.1: Specially assigned: (Lattice C) -------------------------------------- LIB Volume: Lattice_C_5.0.2 INCLUDE Volume: Lattice_C_5.0.2 LC Lattice_C_5.0.1:c QUAD RAM DISK: ENV RAM DISK:env CLIPS RAM DISK:clipboards 2.2 OPEN AND CLOSE FILES Before you can do anything with a file you have to ask the operating system to "open it". This is because AmigaDOS needs to know what you are going to do with the file. Are you going to create a new file or are you going to work with an already opened file. You open a file by calling the function Open(): Synopsis: file_handle = Open( file_name, mode ); file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure. If the system could not open the file with our requirements Open() returns NULL. file_name: (char *) Pointer to a text string which contains the file name including any necessary device/ directory names. mode: (long) When you open a file you need to tell the system what you are going to do with it. This field should therefore contain one of the following flags: MODE_OLDFILE: Opens an existing file for reading and writing. MODE_NEWFILE: Opens a new file for writing. MODE_READWRITE: Opens an old file with an exclusive lock. (Explained later in this chapter.) MODE_READONLY: Same as MODE_OLDFILE. For example, if you want to create a new file called "Highscore.dat" you write: /* Try to open the file: */ file_handle = Open( "Highscore.dat", MODE_NEWFILE ); /* Check if we have opened the file: */ if( file_handle == NULL ) /* Could NOT open file! */ Once you have finished reading/writing the file you need to close it. You do it by calling the function Close(): Synopsis: Close( file_handle ); file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. Remember to close ALL files you have opened! 2.3 READ AND WRITE FILES Once you have successfully opened a file you can start to read/write. AmigaDOS consider files to be a stream of bytes, and when you read/write something you need to specify how many bytes you want to read/write. 2.3.1 READ() You read data by calling the function Read(): Synopsis: bytes_read = Read( file_handle, buffer, size ); bytes_read: (long) Number of bytes actually read. Even if you tell AmigaDOS that you want to read x number of bytes, it is not certain that you actually can do it. The file is maybe corrupted, not as big as you thought etc. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. buffer: (char *) Pointer to the data buffer you want to read the data into. size: (long) Number of bytes you want to read. For example, if you want to read a file which contains an array (highscore) of ten integers, you write: (the file has already been opened.) bytes_read = Read( file_handle, highscore, sizeof( highscore ) ); if( bytes_read != sizeof( highscore ) ) /* ERROR while reading! */ 2.3.2 WRITE() When you what to write to a file you use the function Write(): Synopsis: bytes_written = Write( file_handle, buffer, size ); bytes_writtten: (long) Number of bytes actually written. Even if you tell AmigaDOS that you want to write x number of bytes, it is not certain that you actually can do it. Maybe the disk was full, writeprotected etc. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. buffer: (char *) Pointer to the data buffer which you want to write. size: (long) Number of bytes you want to write. For example, if you want to save an array (highscore) of ten integers to a file, you simply write: (the file has already been opened.) bytes_written = Write( file_handle, highscore, sizeof( highscore ) ); if( bytes_written != sizeof( highscore ) ) /* ERROR while writing! */ 2.4 MOVE INSIDE FILES If you write something to a disk the "file cursor" will be positioned where you stopped writing. So if you start writing again, the new data will be placed after the first data. If you on the other hand wanted to write over the old data you need to move the file cursor to beginning of the data before you start writing. You move the file cursor by calling the function Seek(): Synopsis: old_pos = Seek( file_handle, new_pos, mode ); old_pos: (long) Previous position in the file, or -1 if an error occurred. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. new_pos: (long) New position relative to the "mode". mode: (long) The new_pos can be relative to: OFFSET_BEGINNING: Beginning of the file. OFFSET_CURRENT: Current position. OFFSET_END: The end of the file. So if you want to move the cursor to the beginning of the file you set mode to OFFSET_BEGINNING, and new_pos to 0. (When you open a file by calling the function Open(), the file cursor is automatically placed at the beginning of the file.) If you on the other hand want to move the cursor to the end of the file you set mode to OFFSET_END, and new_pos still to 0. To move 10 bytes forward from the current position you set mode to OFFSET_CURRENT, and new_pos to 10. To move 10 bytes backwards you set new_pos to -10. 2.5 FILES AND MULTITASKING Since the Amiga can have several tasks running at the same time it can happen that more than one task work with the same file. This can be very dangerous since one process may destroy some data another process has created. Imagine two tasks, one will read a file and multiply a value with two, while the other tasks should add 3. Since the two tasks can run at the same time it could happen that they would update the file at the same time: FILE: --------------- Process A reads the <- | number = 10 | -> Process B reads also value. (number=10) --------------- the value. (number=10) | | V | | Process A changes | the value to 20, --------------- | and writes the new -> | number = 20 | | value to the file. --------------- V (10 * 2 = 20) --------------- Process B adds 3 to | number = 13 | <- the number and writes --------------- the new value to the file. (10 + 3 = 13) As you can see, the number that was updated by process A, has been lost. What should have happen was that process A should have "locked" the file so no other tasks could work with it. Process B would then have been forced to wait for Process A to "unlock" the file before it could read the value. On large mainframe computers there exist different "locks" with different priorities, but on the Amiga there exist only two different types of lock. You can lock a file so other processes may read it but not change it (SHARED_LOCK), or if you do not want any other tasks to even read the file you set an EXCLUSIVE_LOCK. Call the function Lock() to set a lock: Synopsis: lock = Lock( file_name, mode ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. file_name: (char *) Pointer to a text string which contains the file name including any necessary devices/ directories. mode: (long) Accessmode: SHARED_LOCK: Other processes may read the file. ACCESS_READ: - " - EXCLUSIVE_LOCK: No other processes may use this f. ACCESS_WRITE: - " - Here is an example how to lock a file so no other processes may use the file: struct FileLock *lock; lock = Lock( "HighScore.dat", EXCLUSIVE_LOCK ); if( lock == NULL ) /* ERROR Could NOT create lock! */ When you do not need the file any more you must "unlock" it. You do it by calling the function UnLock(): Synopsis: UnLock( lock ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to FileLock structure which has been initialized by a previous Lock() call. Remember to unlock ALL files you have locked! 2.6 OTHER USEFUL FUNCTIONS Here is a list of some other useful functions that you probably want to use. AmigaDOS allows you to rename and delete files, attach comments to them, set protection bits etc. All these things can be done with help of the functions listed below: 2.6.1 CREATE DIRECTORIES If you want to create a directory you use the function CreateDir(). You only need to give the function a pointer to the name of the directory you want to create, and it will either return a pointer to a Lock (the new directory is automatically given an EXCLUSIVE Lock), or NULL if something went wrong. Remember to unlock the new directory before your program determinates. If there already exist a directory with the same name, it is simply locked and your program will not notice any difference. Synopsis: lock = CreateDir( name ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. If lock is equal to NULL, AmigaDOS have not been able to create the new directory. name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the new directory. Here is a short example: struct FileLock *lock; lock = CreateDir( "RAM:MyDirectory" ); if( lock == NULL ) exit( ERROR ); ... UnLock( lock ); 2.6.2 DELETE FILES AND DIRECTORIES If you want to delete a file you call the function DeleteFile(). You only need to give it a file/directory name and it will either return TRUE (file was deleted) or FALSE (file could not be deleted). Remember that you can only delete a directory if it is empty. Synopsis: ok = DeleteFile( name ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could delete the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected, directory not empty etc.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to delete. 2.6.3 RENAME FILES AND DIRECTORIES When you want to rename a file/directory you use the function Rename(). You can even move a file between directories by renaming it. For example: Rename( "df0:Documents/Sale.doc", "df0:Letters/Sale.doc" ); will move the file Sale.doc from the directory "Documents" to directory "Letters". Note! You can not rename a file from one volume to another. Synopsis: ok = Rename( old_name, new_name ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could rename the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected.) old_name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the old file/directory name. new_name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the new file/directory name. 2.6.4 ATTACH COMMENTS TO FILES AND DIRECTORIES AmigaDOS allows you to set a comment on a file or directory. The comment can give a brief description of what the file is, and is very handy to use when you want to give some extra information about the file etc. The comment can be up to 80 characters long. A program can set a comment to a file/directory by using the function SetComment(). Synopsis: ok = SetComment( name, comment ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could attach the new comment, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to attach the comment to. comment: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the comment. (A comment may be up to 80 characters long.) Here is a short example: if( SetComment( "Letter.doc", "Letter to Mr Smith" ) == FALSE ) printf("ERROR! Could not attach the comment to the file!\n"); 2.6.5 PROTECT FILES AND DIRECTORIES You can protect files and directory from being accidentally deleted or changed. You do it by calling the function SetProtection() which will alter the protection bits as desired. Here are a list of the protection bits (flags) you can change: FIBF_DELETE : the file/directory can not be deleted. FIBF_EXECUTE : the file can not be executed. FIBF_WRITE : you can not write to the file. FIBF_READ : you can not read the file. FIBF_ARCHIVE : Archive bit. FIBF_PURE : Pure bit. FIBF_SCRIPT : Script bit. Note! All of the flags are for the moment not working! Synopsis: ok = SetProtection( name, mask ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could alter the protection bits, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to change the protection bits. mask: (long) The protection bits. (For example, if you want to make the file/directory not deletable, and that it can not be executed you should set the protection bits: FIBF_DELETE | FIBF_EXECUTE.) 2.7 EXAMINE FILES AND DIRECTORIES You can examine a file or directory with the function Examine(). You give the function a pointer to a "lock" on the file/directory you want to examine, and it will initializes a FileInfoBlock structure for you. The FileInfoBlock structure contains several interesting fields which you then can look at. 2.7.1 FILEINFOBLOCK AND DATESTAMP STRUCTURE The FileInfoBlock look like this: struct FileInfoBlock { LONG fib_DiskKey; LONG fib_DirEntryType; char fib_FileName[108]; LONG fib_Protection; LONG fib_EntryType; LONG fib_Size; LONG fib_NumBlocks; struct DateStamp fib_Date; char fib_Comment[80]; char fib_Reserved[36]; }; fib_DiskKey: Key number for the disk. Usually of no interest for us. fib_DirEntryType: If the number is smaller than zero it is a file. On the other hand, if the number is larger than zero it is a directory. fib_FileName: Null terminated string containing the file- name. (Do not use longer filenames than 30 characters.) fib_Protection: Field containing the protection flags: FIBF_DELETE : the file/directory can not be deleted. FIBF_EXECUTE : the file can not be executed. FIBF_WRITE : you can not write to the file. FIBF_READ : you can not read the file. FIBF_ARCHIVE : Archive bit. FIBF_PURE : Pure bit. FIBF_SCRIPT : Script bit. (Note! All of the flags are for the moment not working!) fib_EntryType: File/Directory entry type number. Usually of no interest for us. fib_Size: Size of the file (in bytes). fib_NumBlocks: Number of blocks in the file. fib_Date: Structure containing the date when the file was latest updated/created. fib_Comment: Null terminated string containing the file comment. (Max 80 characters including the NULL sign.) fib_Reserved: This field is for the moment reserved, and may therefore not be used. The DateStamp structure look like this: struct DateStamp { LONG ds_Days; LONG ds_Minute; LONG ds_Tick; }; ds_Days: Number of days since 01-Jan-1978. ds_Minute: Number of minutes past midnight. ds_Tick: Number of ticks past the last minute. There are 50 ticks / second. (50 * 60 = 3000 ticks / minute.) 2.7.2 EXAMINE() The Examine() function is called like this: Synopsis: ok = Examine( lock, fib_ptr ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could get information about the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. fib_ptr: (struct FileInfoBlock *) Pointer to a FileInfoBlock structure which will be initialized with some information about the file/directory. IMPORTANT! the structure must be on a 4 byte boundary. (See below for more information.) 2.7.3 4 BYTE BOUNDARY There is one problem left. (Who said it should be easy?) AmigaDOS was not, as everything else on the Amiga, written in C. They used the BCPL programming language which is the predecessor of C. The problem is that BCPL only uses one data type - longword (LONG). ALL data which is handled by AmigaDOS must therefore be on a "4 byte boundary". (Are you with me?) To make sure that a structure starts on a 4 byte boundary you need to allocate the memory by using the function AllocMem(). (Remember to deallocate the memory once you do not need it any more!) So instead of writing: -------------------------------------------------------------- struct FileInfoBlock fib; /* Declare a FileInfoBlock called */ /* fib. This structure may NOT */ /* necessary start on a 4 byte */ /* boundary! */ -------------------------------------------------------------- You write: -------------------------------------------------------------- struct FileInfoBlock *fib_ptr; /* Declare a FileInfoBlock */ /* pointer called fib_ptr. */ /* Allocate enough memory for a FileInfoBlock structure: */ /* This memory WILL be on a 4 byte boundary! */ fib_ptr = AllocMem( sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ), MEMF_PUBLIC | MEMF_CLEAR ) /* Check if we have allocated the memory successfully: */ if( fib_ptr == NULL ) exit(); /* NOT ENOUGH MEMORY! */ ... your program ... /* Deallocate the memory we have allocated for the fib. struct: */ FreeMem( fib_ptr, sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ) ); -------------------------------------------------------------- 2.7.4 EXAMPLE Here is an example which shows how to use the Examine() function: (Remember to deallocate all allocated memory and to unlock all locked files when your program terminates!) #include <libraries/dos.h> #include <exec/memory.h> main() { struct FileLock *lock; struct FileInfoBlock *fib_ptr; /* Declare a FileInfoBlock */ /* pointer called fib_ptr. */ /* 1. Allocate enough memory for a FileInfoBlock structure: */ fib_ptr = AllocMem( sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ), MEMF_PUBLIC | MEMF_CLEAR ) /* Check if we have allocated the memory successfully: */ if( fib_ptr == NULL ) exit(); /* NOT ENOUGH MEMORY! */ /* 2. Try to lock the file: */ lock = Lock( "highscore.dat", SHARED_LOCK ) /* Could we lock the file? */ if( lock == NULL ) { /* Deallocate the memory we have allocated: */ FreeMem( fib_ptr, sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ) ); exit(); } /* 3. Try to get some information about the file: */ if( Examine( lock, fib_ptr ) == NULL ) { /* Deallocate the memory we have allocated: */ FreeMem( fib_ptr, sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ) ); /* Unlock the file: */ UnLock( lock ); exit(); } /* 4. You may now examine the FileInfoBlock structure! */ /* 5. Unlock the file: */ UnLock( lock ); /* 6. Deallocate the memory we have allocated: */ FreeMem( fib_ptr, sizeof( struct FileInfoBlock ) ); } 2.7.5 EXAMINE FILES/SUBDIRECTORIES IN A DIRECTORY/DEVICE A directory/device can contain several files plus several (sub)directories. If you want to examine not only a file/ directory, but all files/directories in a directory/device the Examine() function is not enough. You need to use the function ExNext(), which works together with the Examine function. To examine a directory/device you first need to call the function Examine() as normal. If it was a directory/device you start calling the function ExNext(), and continue calling it until you receive an error message. The error message is normally an "end of directory" message, which means that you have examined everything in the directory/device. It can also be some other error message which indicates that something went wrong while reading. 2.7.5.1 EXNEXT() The ExNext() function is very similar to Examine(). It is called like this: Synopsis: ok = ExNext( lock, fib_ptr ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could get information about a file/directory in the directory/device, else FALSE which means something went wrong. lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. fib_ptr: (struct FileInfoBlock *) Pointer to a FileInfoBlock structure which will be initialized with some information about the file/directory. IMPORTANT! the structure must be on a 4 byte boundary. (See above for more information.) Remember that you first need to call the function Examine(), and if it was a directory/device (fib_DirEntryType > 0), you may call the function ExNext() until you receive an error message. 2.7.5.2 ERROR MESSAGES When you have used an AmigaDOS function, and you have received an error message, you can call the function IoErr() to find out what went wrong. You do not send IoErr() any parameters, it only returns a flag (value) which tells your program what went wrong. Here is the complete (V1.3) error list: (The header file "libraries/dos.h" contains the definitions.) I do not think I need to explain what they mean. ERROR_NO_FREE_STORE ERROR_TASK_TABLE_FULL ERROR_LINE_TOO_LONG ERROR_FILE_NOT_OBJECT ERROR_INVALID_RESIDENT_LIBRARY ERROR_NO_DEFAULT_DIR ERROR_OBJECT_IN_USE ERROR_OBJECT_EXISTS ERROR_DIR_NOT_FOUND ERROR_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND ERROR_BAD_STREAM_NAME ERROR_OBJECT_TOO_LARGE ERROR_ACTION_NOT_KNOWN ERROR_INVALID_COMPONENT_NAME ERROR_INVALID_LOCK ERROR_OBJECT_WRONG_TYPE ERROR_DISK_NOT_VALIDATED ERROR_DISK_WRITE_PROTECTED ERROR_RENAME_ACROSS_DEVICES ERROR_DIRECTORY_NOT_EMPTY ERROR_TOO_MANY_LEVELS ERROR_DEVICE_NOT_MOUNTED ERROR_SEEK_ERROR ERROR_COMMENT_TOO_BIG ERROR_DISK_FULL ERROR_DELETE_PROTECTED ERROR_WRITE_PROTECTED ERROR_READ_PROTECTED ERROR_NOT_A_DOS_DISK ERROR_NO_DISK ERROR_NO_MORE_ENTRIES The IoErr() function is called like this: Synopsis: error = IoErr(); error: (long) This field contains one of the above mentioned flags. So when you use the function ExNext(), and you receive and error message, you should call the function IoErr to check what went wrong. If it was not ERROR_NO_MORE_ENTRIES (you have checked everything in the directory), something terrible went wrong (error while reading). 2.7.5.3 EXAMPLE Here is parts of a program that examines everything inside a directory/device, and prints out the filenames: if( Examine( lock, fib_ptr ) ) { if( fib_ptr->fib_DirEntryType > 0 ) { printf("Directory name: %s\n", fib_ptr->fib_FileName ); while( ExNext( lock, fib_ptr ) ) { printf("name: %s\n", fib_ptr->fib_FileName ); } if( IoErr() == ERROR_NO_MORE_ENTRIES ) printf("End of directory!\n"); else printf("ERROR WHILE READING!!!\n"); } else printf("This is a file!\n"); } else printf("Could not examine the directory/device!\n"); 2.8 FUNCTIONS Here is a list of commonly used functions: Open() This function opens a file. Remember, before you can read/ write files you have to open them. Synopsis: file_handle = Open( file_name, mode ); file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure. If the system could not open the file with our requirements Open() returns NULL. file_name: (char *) Pointer to a text string which contains the file name including any necessary devices/ directories. mode: (long) When you open a file you need to tell the system what you are going to do with it. This field should therefore contain one of the following flags: MODE_OLDFILE: Opens an existing file for reading and writing. MODE_NEWFILE: Opens a new file for writing. (If the file already exist it is deleted.) MODE_READWRITE: Opens an old file with an exclusive lock. (The file is automatically locked with an EXCLUSIVE_LOCK.) MODE_READONLY: Same as MODE_OLDFILE. Close() This function closes an already opened file. Remember to close ALL files you have opened! Synopsis: Close( file_handle ); file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. Read() This function reads a specified number of bytes from a file. Synopsis: bytes_read = Read( file_handle, buffer, size ); bytes_read: (long) Number of bytes actually read. Even if you tell AmigaDOS that you want to read x number of bytes, it is not certain that you actually can do it. The file is maybe corrupted, not as big as you thought etc. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. buffer: (char *) Pointer to the data buffer you want to read the data into. size: (long) Number of bytes you want to read. Write() This function writes a specified number of bytes to a file. Synopsis: bytes_wr = Write( file_handle, buffer, size ); bytes_wr: (long) Number of bytes actually written. Even if you tell AmigaDOS that you want to write x number of bytes, it is not certain that you actually can do it. Maybe the disk was full, write- protected etc. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. buffer: (char *) Pointer to the data buffer which you want to write. size: (long) Number of bytes you want to write. Seek() This function moves the "file cursor" inside a file: Synopsis: old_pos = Seek( file_handle, new_pos, mode ); old_pos: (long) Previous position in the file, or -1 if an error occurred. file_handle: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileHandle structure which has been initialized by a previous Open() call. new_pos: (long) New position relative to the "mode". mode: (long) The new_pos can be relative to: OFFSET_BEGINNING: Beginning of the file. OFFSET_CURRENT: Current position. OFFSET_END: The end of the file. Lock() This function "locks" a file so no other processes may alter the contents (SHARED_LOCK). You can even prevent other processes to read the file (EXCLUSIVE_LOCK). Synopsis: lock = Lock( name, mode ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. name: (char *) Pointer to a text string which contains the file/directory name. mode: (long) Accessmode: SHARED_LOCK: Other tasks may read the file. ACCESS_READ: - " - EXCLUSIVE_LOCK: No other tasks may use this f. ACCESS_WRITE: - " - UnLock() This function unlocks a previously locked file: (Remember to unlock ALL files you have locked!) Synopsis: Unlock( lock ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to FileLock structure which has been initialized by a previous Lock() call. Rename() This function renames a file or directory. You can even move a file between directories by renaming it. (For example, Rename( "df0:Documents/Sale.doc", "df0:Letters/Sale.doc" ); will move the file Sale.doc from the directory "Documents" to directory "Letters". Note! You can not rename a file from one volume to another.) Synopsis: ok = Rename( old_name, new_name ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could rename the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write -protected.) old_name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the old file/directory name. new_name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the new file/directory name. SetComment This function attach a comment to a file or directory. Synopsis: ok = SetComment( name, comment ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could attach the new comment, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to attach the comment to. comment: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the comment. (A comment may be up to 80 characters long.) SetProtection() This function alters the protection bits of a file. You can set following flags: FIBF_DELETE : the file/directory can not be deleted. FIBF_EXECUTE : the file can not be executed. FIBF_WRITE : you can not write to the file. FIBF_READ : you can not read the file. FIBF_ARCHIVE : Archive bit. FIBF_PURE : Pure bit. FIBF_SCRIPT : Script bit. (Note! All of the flags are for the moment not working!) Synopsis: ok = SetProtection( name, mask ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could alter the protection bits, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to change the protection bits. mask: (long) The protection bits. (For example, if you want to make the file/directory not deletable, and that it can not be executed you should set the protection bits: FIBF_DELETE | FIBF_EXECUTE.) DeleteFile() This function deletes a file or directory. Remember that a directory must be empty before it can be deleted. Synopsis: ok = DeleteFile( name ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could delete the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. (Eg. disk write- protected, directory not empty etc.) name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the file/directory you want to delete. CreateDir() This function creates a new directory, AND "locks" is automatically. (Remember to unlock the directory later on.) Synopsis: lock = CreateDir( name ); lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. If lock is equal to NULL, AmigaDOS have not been able to create the new directory. name: (char *) Pointer to a string containing the name of the new directory. CurrentDir() This function makes a specified directory "current directory". You need to lock the new directory (new_lock) before you can make it the current directory. The function returns the old current directories lock so you can unlock it if necessary. Synopsis: old_lock = CurrentDir( new_lock ); old_lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. It is the old current directory lock. new_lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. The new current directory lock. Info() This function returns information about a specified disk. You specify which disk by either lock that disk, or a file/ directory on that disk. Synopsis: ok = Info( lock, info_data ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could get information about the disk, else FALSE which means something went wrong. lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. info_data: (struct InfoData *) Pointer to an InfoData structure which will be initialized by the Info() function. The problem with this structure is that it must be on a four byte boundary, so you need to use the function AllocMem() to get the right type of memory for the structure. (See Example.) IoErr() This function can be used to get more information about an error message. Whenever you have used an AmigaDOS function which did not work properly (you have received an error message), you call this function and it will return an explanation. Synopsis: error = IoErr(); error: (long) This field contains a flag returned by IoErr() which can be: (I do not think I need to explain what they mean.) ERROR_NO_FREE_STORE ERROR_TASK_TABLE_FULL ERROR_LINE_TOO_LONG ERROR_FILE_NOT_OBJECT ERROR_INVALID_RESIDENT_LIBRARY ERROR_NO_DEFAULT_DIR ERROR_OBJECT_IN_USE ERROR_OBJECT_EXISTS ERROR_DIR_NOT_FOUND ERROR_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND ERROR_BAD_STREAM_NAME ERROR_OBJECT_TOO_LARGE ERROR_ACTION_NOT_KNOWN ERROR_INVALID_COMPONENT_NAME ERROR_INVALID_LOCK ERROR_OBJECT_WRONG_TYPE ERROR_DISK_NOT_VALIDATED ERROR_DISK_WRITE_PROTECTED ERROR_RENAME_ACROSS_DEVICES ERROR_DIRECTORY_NOT_EMPTY ERROR_TOO_MANY_LEVELS ERROR_DEVICE_NOT_MOUNTED ERROR_SEEK_ERROR ERROR_COMMENT_TOO_BIG ERROR_DISK_FULL ERROR_DELETE_PROTECTED ERROR_WRITE_PROTECTED ERROR_READ_PROTECTED ERROR_NOT_A_DOS_DISK ERROR_NO_DISK ERROR_NO_MORE_ENTRIES Examine() This function can be used to get information about a file, directory or device. Synopsis: ok = Examine( lock, fib_ptr ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could get information about the file/directory, else FALSE which means something went wrong. lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. fib_ptr: (struct FileInfoBlock *) Pointer to a FileInfoBlock structure which will be initialized with some information about the file/directory. IMPORTANT! the structure must be on a 4 byte boundary. ExNext() This function should be used when you want to examine a directory. You should first use the function Examine() to see if it is a directory/device or if it simply is a file. If it is a directory/device (fib_DirEntryType > 0), you may call the ExNext() function until you receive an error message. Synopsis: ok = ExNext( lock, fib_ptr ); ok: (long) Actually a Boolean. It is TRUE if AmigaDOS could get information about a file/directory in the directory/device, else FALSE which means something went wrong. lock: (BPTR) Actually a pointer to a FileLock structure. fib_ptr: (struct FileInfoBlock *) Pointer to a FileInfoBlock structure which will be initialized with some information about the file/directory. IMPORTANT! the structure must be on a 4 byte boundary. Delay() This function will put your program to sleep for a specified time period. Note that this function should be used instead of a "dummy" loop when you want to pause a program. The problem with wait loops is that the time it takes to execute it depends on how fast the computer is. If you want to wait for a while you should use this function since the delay time will then always be the same no matter how fast or slow the computer is. A dummy loop will also waist a lot of processor time while the nice Delay() function will put your task to sleep so the processor can work with other things. Synopsis: Delay( time ); time: (ULONG) How long time you want to wait. The value is specified in "timer units" were 50 units is equal to 1 second. If you want to wait two minutes you should set this field to 2 * 60 * 50 = 6000. 2.9 EXAMPLES Example1 This program collects ten integer values from the user, and saves them in a file ("HighScore.dat") on the RAM disk. The memory is then cleared, and the file cursor is moved to the beginning of the file. The file is then loaded into the memory again, and printed out. Example2 This example demonstrates how to create a directory called "MyDirectory" on the RAM disk. Example3 This example demonstrates how to rename files and directories. It will rename the file Example 1 created (called "HighScore.dat") to "Numbers.dat". It will also rename the directory Example 2 created ("MyDirectory") to "NewDirectory". Example4 This example demonstrates how to delete files and directories. It will delete the file Example 1 and directory Example 2 created. (The file and directory are supposed to have been renamed by Example 3.) Example5 This example demonstrates how to attach a short comment to a file. A short file called "Letter.doc" will be created, and a short comment will be attached. To see the comment use the CLI command "List". Example6 This example demonstrates how to protect and unprotect files. The file Example 5 created ("Letter.doc") will be protected, and we will then try to delete it (unsuccessfully). We will then unprotect the file and then try to delete it (successfully). Example7 This program takes a file/directory/device name as parameter, and prints out some interesting information about it. Example8 This program takes a directory/device name as parameter, and prints out all the file/directory-names inside it. This example describes how to use Examine() and ExNext().