Re: suspend() and read()

• Date: Fri, 10 May 1996 09:28:42 PDT
• From:
  Pavel Curtis <pavel@parc.xerox.com>
• In-Reply-to: "Matthew Sanderson's message of \"Thu, 09 May 1996 14:25:21 PDT\" <v01530500adb810620045@DialupEudora> Don

	"
To: m.sanderson@student.anu.edu.au (Matthew Sanderson)
cc: moo-cows.PARC@Xerox.com
Message-ID: <96May10.092843pdt.19565@silk.parc.xerox.com>

Matthew Sanderson writes:
> >From 'help read()':
> 
> `Read()' may only be called by a wizard, and,
> unless <player> is given explicitly, only in a command task that has never
> been suspended by a call to `suspend()'.  Otherwise, `E_PERM' is
> returned.
> ... 
> What'm I missing here? :)

You're missing that the `help' text is out of date; here's the relevant section
from the current programmer's manual:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Function: str read ([obj conn [, non-blocking]]) 

      Reads and returns a line of input from the connection conn (or, if not
      provided, from the player that typed the command that initiated the
      current task). If non-blocking is false or not provided, this function
      suspends the current task, resuming it when there is input available to
      be read. If non-blocking is provided and true, this function never
      suspends the calling task; if there is no input currently available for
      input, read() simply returns 0 immediately.

      If player is provided, then the programmer must either be a wizard or the
      owner of player; if player is not provided, then read() may only be
      called by a wizard and only in the task that was last spawned by a
      command from the connection in question. Otherwise, E_PERM is raised. If
      the given player is not currently connected and has no pending lines of
      input, or if the connection is closed while a task is waiting for input
      but before any lines of input are received, then read() raises E_INVARG.

      The restriction on the use of read() without any arguments preserves the
      following simple invariant: if input is being read from a player, it is
      for the task started by the last command that player typed. This
      invariant adds responsibility to the programmer, however. If your program
      calls another verb before doing a read(), then either that verb must not
      suspend or else you must arrange that no commands will be read from the
      connection in the meantime. The most straightforward way to do this is to
      call

          set_connection_option(player, "hold-input", 1)

      before any task suspension could happen, then make all of your calls to
      read() and other code that might suspend, and finally call

          set_connection_option(player, "hold-input", 0)

      to allow commands once again to be read and interpreted normally. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• suspend() and read()
• From: m.sanderson@student.anu.edu.au (Matthew Sanderson)

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