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authorGeorg Brandl <georg@python.org>2007-08-15 14:28:01 (GMT)
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+
+:mod:`msvcrt` -- Useful routines from the MS VC++ runtime
+=========================================================
+
+.. module:: msvcrt
+ :platform: Windows
+ :synopsis: Miscellaneous useful routines from the MS VC++ runtime.
+.. sectionauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@acm.org>
+
+
+These functions provide access to some useful capabilities on Windows platforms.
+Some higher-level modules use these functions to build the Windows
+implementations of their services. For example, the :mod:`getpass` module uses
+this in the implementation of the :func:`getpass` function.
+
+Further documentation on these functions can be found in the Platform API
+documentation.
+
+
+.. _msvcrt-files:
+
+File Operations
+---------------
+
+
+.. function:: locking(fd, mode, nbytes)
+
+ Lock part of a file based on file descriptor *fd* from the C runtime. Raises
+ :exc:`IOError` on failure. The locked region of the file extends from the
+ current file position for *nbytes* bytes, and may continue beyond the end of the
+ file. *mode* must be one of the :const:`LK_\*` constants listed below. Multiple
+ regions in a file may be locked at the same time, but may not overlap. Adjacent
+ regions are not merged; they must be unlocked individually.
+
+
+.. data:: LK_LOCK
+ LK_RLCK
+
+ Locks the specified bytes. If the bytes cannot be locked, the program
+ immediately tries again after 1 second. If, after 10 attempts, the bytes cannot
+ be locked, :exc:`IOError` is raised.
+
+
+.. data:: LK_NBLCK
+ LK_NBRLCK
+
+ Locks the specified bytes. If the bytes cannot be locked, :exc:`IOError` is
+ raised.
+
+
+.. data:: LK_UNLCK
+
+ Unlocks the specified bytes, which must have been previously locked.
+
+
+.. function:: setmode(fd, flags)
+
+ Set the line-end translation mode for the file descriptor *fd*. To set it to
+ text mode, *flags* should be :const:`os.O_TEXT`; for binary, it should be
+ :const:`os.O_BINARY`.
+
+
+.. function:: open_osfhandle(handle, flags)
+
+ Create a C runtime file descriptor from the file handle *handle*. The *flags*
+ parameter should be a bit-wise OR of :const:`os.O_APPEND`, :const:`os.O_RDONLY`,
+ and :const:`os.O_TEXT`. The returned file descriptor may be used as a parameter
+ to :func:`os.fdopen` to create a file object.
+
+
+.. function:: get_osfhandle(fd)
+
+ Return the file handle for the file descriptor *fd*. Raises :exc:`IOError` if
+ *fd* is not recognized.
+
+
+.. _msvcrt-console:
+
+Console I/O
+-----------
+
+
+.. function:: kbhit()
+
+ Return true if a keypress is waiting to be read.
+
+
+.. function:: getch()
+
+ Read a keypress and return the resulting character. Nothing is echoed to the
+ console. This call will block if a keypress is not already available, but will
+ not wait for :kbd:`Enter` to be pressed. If the pressed key was a special
+ function key, this will return ``'\000'`` or ``'\xe0'``; the next call will
+ return the keycode. The :kbd:`Control-C` keypress cannot be read with this
+ function.
+
+
+.. function:: getche()
+
+ Similar to :func:`getch`, but the keypress will be echoed if it represents a
+ printable character.
+
+
+.. function:: putch(char)
+
+ Print the character *char* to the console without buffering.
+
+
+.. function:: ungetch(char)
+
+ Cause the character *char* to be "pushed back" into the console buffer; it will
+ be the next character read by :func:`getch` or :func:`getche`.
+
+
+.. _msvcrt-other:
+
+Other Functions
+---------------
+
+
+.. function:: heapmin()
+
+ Force the :cfunc:`malloc` heap to clean itself up and return unused blocks to
+ the operating system. This only works on Windows NT. On failure, this raises
+ :exc:`IOError`.
+