The AROS File System Interface
Nota
This document is currently only a draft and as such will most likely change
before it is accepted as an official specification. It might also be
deprecated if a better approach has been found in the mean time, and
doesn't necessarily correspond precisely with the current implementations.
As an application programmer you don't have to worry about the
file system interface -- you can do everything you want via simple calls
to DOS. However you may need to know how to interface with a file system
if you:
- Need to write your own file system,
- Wish to do asynchronous I/O,
- Are writing a console driver,
- Don't trust DOS.
Of the above the most useful of these would be doing asynchronous I/O,
although it is in many cases better to use one of the publicly available
libraries to do this, as that will hide from you the file systems'
implementation details.
The interface to the file systems under AROS differs from that under AmigaOS
in many ways:
- File systems are exec devices, not process' message ports. This gives
two main benefits -- it is possible to do some work on the callers
schedule, which for simple requests can save two context switches;
and it gives us a way to abort a request, which is an important
feature for a network file system.
- There is no difference between locks and file handles any more. This
avoids requiring redundant methods such as ACTION_FH_FROM_LOCK.
- No BCPL -- everything is a C data type or a string. A side effect
of this is that there is no limit on string size which translates
to no limit on filename size either.
Obviously this change renders the file system incompatible to the current
AmigaOS file systems and DOS implementation. However it should be possible
to build a bridge between the file systems if necessary.
The major API-change of file systems is that they now use the Exec Device
API. You can use the normal device functions (DoIO(), AbortIO(), etc.).
The I/O Request structure is defined in dos/file systems.h:
/* IORequest from <exec/io.h> */
struct IORequest
{
struct Message io_Message;
struct Device *io_Device; /* file system base pointer */
struct Unit *io_Unit; /* file or directory handle */
UWORD io_Command; /* the command */
UBYTE io_Flags; /* normal device flags (IOF_QUICK) */
BYTE io_Error; /* error code from device functions */
};
struct IOFileSys
{
struct IORequest IOFS;
LONG io_DosError; /* secondary error code (IoErr()) */
union {} io_Union; /* arguments - command dependent */
};
The io_DosError field is used to return the secondary error
code to the caller. This is the code that is returned by the
dos.library function IoErr(). The io_Error`field of `struct IORequest
should only be used to return a simple failure/success for file system
commands, and should have the normal effect for the device open/close
commands.
The io_Union field is an union containing different structures for each of
the commands. This field has a variable length depending upon the command. The
fields listed in the "Input" sections of the autodocs below refer to a
specific member of this union.
OpenDevice("*.handler", 0, iofs, 0);
Mount a new file system. The IOFileSys structure passed in iofs to the
handler should contain enough information for the handler to mount the
file system.
If a volume is mounted in this device, it's the responsibility of the handler
to add the required volume nodes to the DOS device list before returning to
the caller. Note here, that the DOS device list is already locked, so you do
not need to lock it yourself.
The file system must return a handle to the device in the io_Unit pointer of
the struct IOFileSys. The io_Error and io_DosError fields should be set
appropriately for success or failure.
- iofs
The union field io_OpenDevice is being used. Fill it with these values:
- io_DeviceName
- Name of the exec device to mount the file system upon. This device is
the underlying hardware of the device. Note that this field may not be
valid for some special types of handlers (for example network
file systems or special devices AUX:, SER:).
- io_Unit
- Unit number for the exec device. Note this is the
io_Union.io_DeviceName.io_Unit field, not io_Unit.
- io_Environ
- This is a pointer to the struct DosEnvec which describes this device.
- io_Device
- device base pointer.
- io_Unit
- logical device handle.
- io_Error
- IOERR_OPENFAIL or 0 for no error.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
Try to dismount a DOS device. If there are any mounted volumes in the device,
the file system should remove them from the DOS device list. Note that the DOS
device list will have already been locked by the caller, so you will not have
to do this yourself.
You should not dismount the device if there are open files or outstanding
locks remaining.
- io_Unit
- logical device handle.
The DOS device shall be dismounted if possible.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
Create a handle to an existing file or directory. You can use this
handle to read directories or read/write files.
The filename io_Args[0]
is relative to the path of the directory
associated with the handle io_Unit. If
io_Unit is NULL however,
the filename should be taken as relative to the root directory of
the device.
This command uses the io_Union.io_OPEN member.
- io_Unit
- Handle to the current directory.
- io_Filename
- Relative file or directory name.
- io_FileMode
Mode to open with:
- FMF_LOCK
- lock exclusively
- FMF_READ
- open for reading
- FMF_WRITE
- open for writing
- FMF_EXECUTE
- open to execute
- io_Unit
- Freshly created handle.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for success.
FSA_CLOSE - close an open file
Close a file or directory handle. You should write out any buffered
data before returning. It is the responsibility of the file system
to free the data pointed to by io_Unit.
- io_Unit
- Handle to a file or directory.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
Try and read the requested number of bytes from the file handle.
A handler will normally try and fulfil the request completely,
but special handlers (such as the console) may return less than
the requested number of bytes.
If you reach the end of the file, you should return the number
of bytes read in the current attempt. On the next call you should
return 0 for EOF. Any further attempts to read should result in
a return of -1 with an error code.
This function uses the io_Union.io_READ_WRITE field.
- io_Unit
- File handle.
- io_Buffer
- Pointer to byte buffer.
- io_Length
- Number of bytes to read from the file.
The buffer io_Buffer should contain some data if it was
possible to read any.
- io_Length
- Number of bytes read.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
FSA_WRITE - Write to a file
Try to write the requested number of bytes to the file handle.
A handler should try and fulfil the request completely, but
special handlers may write less than the requested number of
bytes.
If you cannot write any bytes return 0 in io_Length.
This command uses the io_Union.io_READ_WRITE member.
- io_Unit
- File handle.
- io_Buffer
- Byte buffer containing data to write.
- io_Length
- Number of bytes in buffer.
The contents of the buffer should have been written to the
stream.
- io_Length
- Number of bytes read.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
FSA_SEEK - Seek within a file.
This command shall change the position of the next read or write in the file.
The command will also return the old position in the file.
FIXME: Error condition for seeking before the start, or after the end of file.
This command uses the io_Union.io_SEEK member.
A command with io_Offset == 0, and io_SeekMode == OFFSET_CURRENT is
a NOP in terms of seeking and will simply return the current file position.
- io_Unit
- file handle
- io_Offset
- offset
- io_SeekMode
mode
- OFFSET_BEGINNING
- offset is relative to the beginning of the file
- OFFSET_CURRENT
- offset is relative to the current position
- OFFSET_END
- offset is relative to the end of the file
- io_Offset
- old position
- io_DosError
- DOS error code or 0 for no error.
FSA_SET_FILE_SIZE - Set the size of a file.
Change the size of a file.
If the old file size is less than the new size, then the file is simply
truncated. If the file is made larger, then the data contained in the new
section is invalid.
This command uses the io_Union.io_SEEK member.
- io_Unit
- file handle
- io_Offset
- offset
- io_SeekMode
mode
- OFFSET_BEGINNING
- offset is relative to the beginning of the file
- OFFSET_CURRENT
- offset is relative to the current position
- OFFSET_END
- offset is relative to the end of the file
The file will be the new size.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success
Not all handlers will support this command.
FSA_WAIT_CHAR - wait for a character to arrive
This command will wait for a character to be ready for reading. You should
only wait for a maximum of io_Timeout microseconds. If io_Timeout is
0, then you should wait indefinitely.
This command can be used on both plain files and interactive files. For plain
files it should return immediately, unless for some reason there is no data
available (a PIPE or a network file where there is no data yet).
This command uses the io_Union.io_WAIT_CHAR member.
- io_Unit
- File handle to wait on
- io_Timeout
- number of microseconds to wait for input
- io_Success
- set to TRUE if a character arrived in time.
- io_DosError
- set to the DOS error code, or 0 for no error
FSA_FILE_MODE - set the mode of a file
Apply a new mode to the file. This command uses a mask to define which of the
modes should be changed. Supplying a mask of 0 will return the current set of
modes.
This command uses the io_Union.io_FILE_MODE member.
- io_Unit
- File handle to change mode on
- io_FileMode
- new modes to apply to the file
- io_Mask
- mask of modes which are to be changed.
The modes should be set to those described by the mask and mode flags.
- io_FileMode
- the new set of file modes
- io_DosError
- the DOS error code on failure, or 0 for success
FSA_IS_INTERACTIVE - is this file a terminal
Query the file system as to whether this file is a interactive terminal.
This function uses the io_Union.io_IS_INTERACTIVE member.
- io_Unit
- File handle to query
- io_IsInteractive
- TRUE if the file is interactive, FALSE otherwise
- io_DosError
- dos error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_SAME_LOCK - are two locks the same?
This function will compare two locks, and return whether the refer to the same
object in the file system.
This command uses the io_Union.io_SAME_LOCK member.
- io_Lock[0]
- lock 1
- io_Lock[1]
- lock 2
- io_Same
- set to LOCK_DIFFERENT or LOCK_SAME depending upon the result of the
comparison.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_EXAMINE - examine a file or directory
This command will obtain information about the current file or directory and
return it in the ExAllData structure passed in.
Passing file systems the FileInfoBlock structure is not supported, as that has
limits upon the size of paths. The AROS dos.library will handle the
translation between the two structures.
You need only return the information requested, which is determined by the
value in io_Mode.
This command uses the io_Union.io_EXAMINE.
- io_Unit
- Handle of a file or directory
- io_ead
- struct ExAllData to be filled.
- io_Size
- size of the buffer in bytes.
- io_Mode
- type of information to obtain.
- io_DosError
- one of the DOS error codes, or 0 for success.
FSA_EXAMINE_ALL - Examine the contents of a directory
Read the directory information of the current file or directory. If the handle
is for a file, then you need only fill in the information for that file. You
need only fill in the information requested by the caller.
You should continue filling in information in the buffer until you run out of
space. The ed_Next fields of the ExAllData structure are used to link the
entries together. The last entry should have ed_Next = NULL. Entries
should be aligned to the size of the system pointer datatype.
If io_DosError != 0, then the contents of the buffer is undefined.
If you need space to store filenames, comments strings, etc. these
should be placed at the end of the buffer.
- io_Unit
- Handle of a file or directory
- io_ead
- struct ExAllData[] buffer to be filled
- io_Size
- size of the buffer in bytes
- io_Mode
- type of information to get
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success.
FSA_EXAMINE_ALL_END - Finish examining a number of files.
Finish examining a number of objects in the file system. This is used to reset
the file systems internal state if required.
This command does not use the io_Union field.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
Open a handle for a file, creating the file if necessary. This command only
works on files, not directories.
Open a handle for a file, creating the file if necessary. Thee
io_Filename field gives the name of the file, which is relative to the
handle passed in io_Unit. If the io_Unit handle is NULL, then the file
is relative to the root of the directory tree.
This command also allows you to change the protection bits of the file.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory.
- io_Filename
- filename relative to io_Unit.
- io_FileMode
mode to open with:
- FMF_LOCK
- lock exclusively
- FMF_READ
- open for reading
- FMF_WRITE
- open for writing
- FMF_EXECUTE
- open to execute
- FMF_CREATE
- create the file if it doesn't exist
- FMF_CLEAR
- delete the file before opening
- FMF_RAW
- open cooked console in raw mode (and vice versa).
- io_Protection
- The protection bits for the file.
- io_Unit
- pointer to the newly created handle.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success.
FSA_CREATE_DIR - Create a new directory
This command tells the file system to create a new directory, lock it, and
return a handle to the lock. The directory should be created with the modes
given in io_Args[1].
FIXME: Is the lock read or write?
The lock should be relative to the handle in io_Unit, or to the root
directory if io_Unit == NULL.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory or NULL.
- io_Filename
- relative name of directory to create
- io_Protection
- protection flags for the new directory
The requested directory exists, if it could be created.
- io_Unit
- handle to the new directory
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success
FSA_CREATE_HARDLINK - Create a hard link to a file.
Create a hard link to a file. There is no difference between a hard link and
its original file. If the original file is deleted, the data will still exist
because of the link.
Hard links can not point across devices.
This command uses the io_Union.io_CREATE_HARDLINK member.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory or NULL.
- io_Filename
- filename of the hard link.
- io_OldFile
- file to make the hard link towards.
A hard link will have been created, if possible.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_CREATE_SOFTLINK - Create a soft link to a file.
Create a soft link to a file. There is a difference between a soft link and
its original file. If the original file is deleted, the soft link will no
longer be valid (but it will not be deleted).
As soft links are stored as the filename of the link to file, they can be used
across devices. This means that the filename stored must be an absolute
filename, as the current directory will be unknown at read time.
This command uses the io_Union.io_CREATE_SOFTLINK member.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory or NULL.
- io_Filename
- filename of the soft link to create.
- io_Reference
- filename to make the soft link point towards.
A soft link will have been created if possible.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_RENAME - Rename an object in the file system
Rename an object in the file system. This function may be called on a file
which doesn't exist. The filenames specified should be considered relative to
io_Unit which specifies the current directory (or NULL for the root
directory).
Renaming a directory is equivalent to moving the entire contents of the
directory.
This command uses the io_Union.io_RENAME member.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory or NULL.
- io_Filename
- old filename
- io_NewName
- new filename
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_READ_SOFTLINK - Read the name of a soft-linked file.
This command will read the name of the file referenced by file io_Unit.
The filename returned is an absolute filename.
This command uses the io_Union.io_READ_SOFTLINK member.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the file to resolve the soft link from.
- io_Buffer
- buffer to fill with the pathname
- io_Size
- size of the buffer. Return ERROR_LINE_TOO_LONG if the buffer is not
large enough.
The buffer io_Buffer will contain the absolute filename that this link
refers to.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_DELETE_OBJECT - Delete an object from the file system
Delete a given file or directory. It is illegal to try and delete a directory
which contains files - you should return ERROR_DIRECTORY_NOT_EMPTY if an
attempt is made.
Files with outstanding handles cannot be deleted.
If the io_Unit handle is NULL, the file to delete is relative to the
root of the file system.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory or NULL.
- io_Filename
- relative filename
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0
FSA_SET_COMMENT - Set the comment of an object
Set a new comment for a file or directory. The maximum length for
a comment has historically been 80 characters (including NULL
termination).
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory.
- io_Filename
- relative filename
- io_Comment
- pointer to a C string (STRPTR)
The object will have a new comment.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success
FSA_SET_PROTECT - Set protection bits for a file
Set the protection bits on a file or directory. Note that there are four
groups of protection bits:
- Owner read, write, execute, delete
- Group read, write, execute, delete
- Other read, write, execute, delete
- Pure, Script, Archived
You should note that the owner bits are handled a bit strangely
as they are active low (i.e. 0 means enabled/set).
Note that if io_Unit is valid (i.e. non-NULL) and io_Args[0] is NULL,
then you should change the mode of the object described by the io_Unit
handle.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory.
- io_Filename
- relative filename
- io_Protection
- new protection bits
The object will have new protection bits.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success.
FSA_SET_OWNER - Set the owner of a file
This command allows a user to set the ownership of files. The file should be
changed to reflect the new owner of the directory.
The owner and group fields in the arguments are interpreted as 32-bit values,
however in general, they will only be 16-bit values. If the values are outside
the 16-bit range, and you are unable to handle the values then you can return
an error. The ERROR_BAD_NUMBER appears to be the most appropriate error
number.
Special User ID's:
0 |
root/Supervisor |
-1 |
No owner (0x0000FFFF or 0xFFFFFFFF) |
Special Group ID's:
0 |
wheel/Supergroup |
-1 |
No group (0x0000FFFF or 0xFFFFFFFF) |
Typically AmigaOS file systems have had little multi-user support, and it
should be expected that few file systems will actually support this command.
For security reasons, only the superuser or the owner of a file should be
allowed to change the ownership.
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory.
- io_Filename
- relative filename
- io_UID
- new user ID
- io_GID
- new group ID
The file will now be owned by a different user.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 or success.
FSA_SET_DATE - Set the date of a file/directory
Set the modification date of a file or directory. If the file system does not
support the date, for example if it's too old, then you should return
ERROR_BAD_NUMBER. It should not be possible to set the creation date of an
object (except by creating it).
- io_Unit
- Handle of the current directory
- io_Filename
- relative filename
- io_Date
- struct DateStamp describing new date.
The modification date will have been changed.
- io_DosError
- dos error code or 0 for success.
FSA_IS_FILESYSTEM - Ask the file system handler whether it's a file system
Query the file system as to whether it is a proper file system. An example of
something that is not a file system is a device handler, like PAR:.
This command uses the io_Union.io_IS_FILESYSTEM member.
- io_IsFilesystem
- TRUE if this is a file system, FALSE otherwise.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_MORE_CACHE - Add more cache buffers to the file system.
Add the number io_NumBuffers of cache buffers to the file system. The size of
the buffer should have been given during the initial file system open.
If the number of buffers is negative, then the result will be to remove
buffers from the device. You can not have less than 0 buffers.
This command uses the io_Union.io_MORE_CACHE member.
- io_NumBuffers
- The number of buffers to add/remove.
The number of buffers will have been altered if possible.
- io_NumBuffers
- The new number of buffers in the file system. This should be returned,
even on failure.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
FSA_FORMAT - Initialise a file system
Initialise a device to be used by this file system. The device media should
have already been initialised, and this command simply gets the file system
to write its own data.
This command uses the io_Union.io_FORMAT member.
- io_VolumeName
- the new name for the volume.
- io_DosType
- the new type of the volume. This is file system-specific.
The file system will have been initialised, and is ready for mounting.
- io_DosError
- DOS error code, or 0 for success.
Change or read the mount modes of the volume passed in io_Unit.
The mask is used to select which modes are to be changed.
This command uses the io_Union.io_MOUNT_MODE member.
- io_MountMode
- The new mount mode of the file system.
- io_Mask
- The mask of flags to change in the mount mode.
- io_Password
- The password which is required for MMF_LOCKED. It is a good idea not to
store this password as plain text.
- io_MountMode
- The new mount modes of the file system.
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