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diff --git a/doc/CrtInterp.3 b/doc/CrtInterp.3 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a3aeda --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/CrtInterp.3 @@ -0,0 +1,131 @@ +'\" +'\" Copyright (c) 1989-1993 The Regents of the University of California. +'\" Copyright (c) 1994-1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc. +'\" +'\" See the file "license.terms" for information on usage and redistribution +'\" of this file, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES. +'\" +'\" SCCS: @(#) CrtInterp.3 1.17 97/10/31 13:05:51 +'\" +.so man.macros +.TH Tcl_CreateInterp 3 7.5 Tcl "Tcl Library Procedures" +.BS +.SH NAME +Tcl_CreateInterp, Tcl_DeleteInterp, Tcl_InterpDeleted \- create and delete Tcl command interpreters +.SH SYNOPSIS +.nf +\fB#include <tcl.h>\fR +.sp +Tcl_Interp * +\fBTcl_CreateInterp\fR() +.sp +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR(\fIinterp\fR) +.sp +int +\fBTcl_InterpDeleted\fR(\fIinterp\fR) +.SH ARGUMENTS +.AS Tcl_Interp *interp +.AP Tcl_Interp *interp in +Token for interpreter to be destroyed. +.BE + +.SH DESCRIPTION +.PP +\fBTcl_CreateInterp\fR creates a new interpreter structure and returns +a token for it. The token is required in calls to most other Tcl +procedures, such as \fBTcl_CreateCommand\fR, \fBTcl_Eval\fR, and +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR. +Clients are only allowed to access a few of the fields of +Tcl_Interp structures; see the Tcl_Interp +and \fBTcl_CreateCommand\fR man pages for details. +The new interpreter is initialized with no defined variables and only +the built-in Tcl commands. To bind in additional commands, call +\fBTcl_CreateCommand\fR. +.PP +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR marks an interpreter as deleted; the interpreter +will eventually be deleted when all calls to \fBTcl_Preserve\fR for it have +been matched by calls to \fBTcl_Release\fR. At that time, all of the +resources associated with it, including variables, procedures, and +application-specific command bindings, will be deleted. After +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR returns any attempt to use \fBTcl_Eval\fR on the +interpreter will fail and return \fBTCL_ERROR\fR. After the call to +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR it is safe to examine \fIinterp->result\fR, query or +set the values of variables, define, undefine or retrieve procedures, and +examine the runtime evaluation stack. See below, in the section +\fBINTERPRETERS AND MEMORY MANAGEMENT\fR for details. +.PP +\fBTcl_InterpDeleted\fR returns nonzero if \fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR was +called with \fIinterp\fR as its argument; this indicates that the +interpreter will eventually be deleted, when the last call to +\fBTcl_Preserve\fR for it is matched by a call to \fBTcl_Release\fR. If +nonzero is returned, further calls to \fBTcl_Eval\fR in this interpreter +will return \fBTCL_ERROR\fR. +.PP +\fBTcl_InterpDeleted\fR is useful in deletion callbacks to distinguish +between when only the memory the callback is responsible for is being +deleted and when the whole interpreter is being deleted. In the former case +the callback may recreate the data being deleted, but this would lead to an +infinite loop if the interpreter were being deleted. + +.SH "INTERPRETERS AND MEMORY MANAGEMENT" +.PP +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR can be called at any time on an interpreter that may +be used by nested evaluations and C code in various extensions. Tcl +implements a simple mechanism that allows callers to use interpreters +without worrying about the interpreter being deleted in a nested call, and +without requiring special code to protect the interpreter, in most cases. +This mechanism ensures that nested uses of an interpreter can safely +continue using it even after \fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR is called. +.PP +The mechanism relies on matching up calls to \fBTcl_Preserve\fR with calls +to \fBTcl_Release\fR. If \fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR has been called, only when +the last call to \fBTcl_Preserve\fR is matched by a call to +\fBTcl_Release\fR, will the interpreter be freed. See the manual entry for +\fBTcl_Preserve\fR for a description of these functions. +.PP +The rules for when the user of an interpreter must call \fBTcl_Preserve\fR +and \fBTcl_Release\fR are simple: +.TP +Interpreters Passed As Arguments +Functions that are passed an interpreter as an argument can safely use the +interpreter without any special protection. Thus, when you write an +extension consisting of new Tcl commands, no special code is needed to +protect interpreters received as arguments. This covers the majority of all +uses. +.TP +Interpreter Creation And Deletion +When a new interpreter is created and used in a call to \fBTcl_Eval\fR, +\fBTcl_VarEval\fR, \fBTcl_GlobalEval\fR, \fBTcl_SetVar\fR, or +\fBTcl_GetVar\fR, a pair of calls to \fBTcl_Preserve\fR and +\fBTcl_Release\fR should be wrapped around all uses of the interpreter. +Remember that it is unsafe to use the interpreter once \fBTcl_Release\fR +has been called. To ensure that the interpreter is properly deleted when +it is no longer needed, call \fBTcl_InterpDeleted\fR to test if some other +code already called \fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR; if not, call +\fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR before calling \fBTcl_Release\fR in your own code. +Do not call \fBTcl_DeleteInterp\fR on an interpreter for which +\fBTcl_InterpDeleted\fR returns nonzero. +.TP +Retrieving An Interpreter From A Data Structure +When an interpreter is retrieved from a data structure (e.g. the client +data of a callback) for use in \fBTcl_Eval\fR, \fBTcl_VarEval\fR, +\fBTcl_GlobalEval\fR, \fBTcl_SetVar\fR, or \fBTcl_GetVar\fR, a pair of +calls to \fBTcl_Preserve\fR and \fBTcl_Release\fR should be wrapped around +all uses of the interpreter; it is unsafe to reuse the interpreter once +\fBTcl_Release\fR has been called. If an interpreter is stored inside a +callback data structure, an appropriate deletion cleanup mechanism should +be set up by the code that creates the data structure so that the +interpreter is removed from the data structure (e.g. by setting the field +to NULL) when the interpreter is deleted. Otherwise, you may be using an +interpreter that has been freed and whose memory may already have been +reused. +.PP +All uses of interpreters in Tcl and Tk have already been protected. +Extension writers should ensure that their code also properly protects any +additional interpreters used, as described above. + +.SH KEYWORDS +command, create, delete, interpreter + +.SH "SEE ALSO" +Tcl_Preserve(3), Tcl_Release(3) |