libslack - A UNIX/C library of general utilities for programmers with Slack
Slack(n.): The state in which you need nothing, because you already have it. -- Dobbs, 1956
gcc -o app app.c `libslack-config --cflags --libs`
#include <slack/std.h> #include <slack/lib.h>
#include <slack/agent.h> #include <slack/coproc.h> #include <slack/daemon.h> #include <slack/err.h> #include <slack/fio.h> #include <slack/getopt.h> #include <slack/hsort.h> #include <slack/lim.h> #include <slack/link.h> #include <slack/list.h> #include <slack/locker.h> #include <slack/map.h> #include <slack/mem.h> #include <slack/msg.h> #include <slack/net.h> #include <slack/prog.h> #include <slack/prop.h> #include <slack/pseudo.h> #include <slack/sig.h> #include <slack/snprintf.h> #include <slack/socks.h> #include <slack/str.h> #include <slack/vsscanf.h>
Libslack is a library of general utilities designed to make UNIX/C programming a bit easier on the eye. It is a seemingly random collection of modules and functions that I find commonly useful.
It's a small library with lots of functionality, accurately documented and thoroughly tested. Good library naming conventions are not rigorously observed on the principle that common operations should always be easy to write and code should always be easy to read.
Libslack provides the ability for programs to identify themselves,
perform command line option processing in a single line of code and produce
``standard'' GNU style --help
, --version
and usage messages. Debug and
verbose messaging is also provided and is enabled by the use of ``standard''
--debug
and --verbose
command line options.
Messages (including error, debug and verbose messages) are provided with clean call syntax and flexible semantics. Messages can be directed to log files, file descriptors, syslog or multiplexed to any of the above (and to anywhere else (e.g. dialog boxes) if you implement your own message handlers) without complicating the call syntax.
ISO C imposes extreme restrictions on signal handlers. POSIX imposes less extreme but still annoying restrictions. Libslack contains functions that provide a level of abstraction between the signal handlers that you write and the real (ISO C compliant) signal handlers. This allows you to write unrestricted signal handlers.
Coarse grained persistence of simple configuration information is provided by the use of Java style properties files in ``well-known'' locations.
/etc
directory). There are also functions that help you
write more secure daemons (i.e. revoke setuid/setgid privileges, prevent
core file generation, change user and group, test the safety of a given file
path).
Libslack contains the following modules:
agent - agent oriented programming coproc - coprocesses using pipes or pseudo terminals daemon - becoming a daemon err - message/error/debug/verbosity/alert messaging fio - fifo and file control and some I/O getopt - GNU getopt_long() for systems that don't have it hsort - generic heap sort lim - POSIX.1 limits convenience functions link - abstract linked lists with optional growable free lists list - list (growable pointer array) data type locker - abstract locking and reader/writer lock implementation map - map (hash table) data type mem - memory helper functions, secure memory, memory pools msg - message handling and syslog helper functions net - network functions (clients/servers, expect/send, pack/unpack, mail) prog - program framework and flexible command line option handling prop - program properties files pseudo - pseudo terminals sig - ISO C compliant signal handling snprintf - safe sprintf() for systems that don't have it str - string data type (tr, regexpr, regsub, fmt, trim, lc, uc, ...) vsscanf - sscanf() with va_list argument for systems that don't have it
Each module, as well as each function, has its own section 3 manpage.
Each module has its own header file (see SYNOPSIS). If you want to include these header files individually, you must first include the <slack/std.h> header file. Alternatively, you can just include the <slack/lib.h> header file and get everything.
If libslack was installed on your system with a prefix added to each identifier, you may also want to include <slack/prefix.h> which allows you to continue to use the original libslack identifiers and have them automatically translated into the prefixed identifiers.
Alternatively, if libslack was installed on your system with the original names and you wish to compile client code that does use a prefix, you can include ``remove_prefix.h'' which allows you to continue to use the prefixed identifiers and have them automatically translated into the original identifiers. Note that you will probably have to generate this header file yourself (see the prefix program in the tools directory).
If your client code uses one prefix and the libslack installed on your current system uses a different prefix, you will need to include both of these header files. First include ``remove_prefix.h''. Then include <slack/prefix.h>.
The following mailing lists exist for libslack related discussion:
slack-announce.libslack.org - Announcements slack-users@libslack.org - User forum slack-dev@libslack.org - Development forum
To subscribe to any of these mailing lists, send a mail message to
listname-request@libslack.org
with subscribe
as the message body.
e.g.
$ mail slack-announce-request@libslack.org subscribe . $ mail slack-users-request@libslack.org subscribe . $ mail slack-dev-request@libslack.org subscribe .
Or you can send a mail message to majordomo@libslack.org
with
subscribe
listname in the message body. This way, you can
subscribe to multiple lists at the same time.
e.g.
$ mail majordomo@libslack.org subscribe slack-announce subscribe slack-users subscribe slack-dev .
A digest version of each mailing list is also available. Subscribe to
digests as above but append -digest
to the listname.
http://libslack.org/|http://libslack.org/, http://raf.org/papers/mt-disciplined.html|http://raf.org/papers/mt-disciplined.html, libslack-config(1), agent(3), coproc(3), daemon(3), err(3), fio(3), getopt(3), hsort(3), lim(3), link(3), list(3), locker(3), map(3), mem(3), msg(3), net(3), prog(3), prop(3), pseudo(3), sig(3), snprintf(3), str(3), vsscanf(3)
20020916 raf <raf@raf.org>