NAME¶
AtFS - introduction to AtFS library functions and error codes
SYNOPSIS¶
#include <atfs.h>
int af_errno
DESCRIPTION¶
The following manual pages (named af*) describe the library functions of the
Attribute File System (AtFS).
AtFS is an extension to the UNIX file system interface that allows the storage
of files as complex of content data and an arbitrary number of associated
attributes. Attributes are either
standard attributes or
user
defined attributes (also called
application defined
attributes). A data complex consisting of contents data and attributes, is
called
Attributed Software Object (ASO). In the following they are also
referred to as
object versions or simply
versions. AtFS has a
built-in version control system that manages
object histories. A object
history consists of an optional
busy version and a number of
saved versions. The busy version is represented by an ordinary
alterable UNIX file. It can be accessed via AtFS
and UNIX file system
operations. Saved versions come into being by making a copy of the current
state of the busy version. They can be stored as source versions or as derived
versions.
Source versions are typically composed manually (e.g. by use of a text
editor). AtFS stores source versions as immutable objects. Once saved, they
cannot be modified any longer. Saved versions are stored in archive files,
residing in a subdirectory named
AtFS. AtFS maintains two archive files
for each history of source versions - one holding the attributes and the other
holding the data. To save disk space, the versions in an archive are stored as
deltas, that means, only differences between two successive versions are
stored.
Derived versions are typically derived automatically (e.g. by a compiler)
from a source version and thus be reproducible at any time. They are kept in a
derived object cache a data store of limited size that is administered
in a cache fashion. When space runs short, old versions are cleaned out of the
cache according to a defined policy. Check
af_cache(3) for details.
AtFS makes no assumptions whether a copy of a busy object shall be stored as
source object or as derived object. The application has to decide that by
calling the appropriate function (af_saverev - manual page
af_version(3) or
af_savecache - manual page
af_cache(3)).
The main data types for AtFS applications are:
- •
- The object key that uniquely identifies an ASO (version). The
structure of this type can be different in different implementations of
AtFS. Consequently, application programs should handle this type as opaque
type and should not access single fields.
- •
- A set descriptor represents a set of object keys. A set descriptor
contains information about the size of the set and a list of object keys
in the set.
- •
- The user identification represents a user. As AtFS realizes a
simple network user concept, it does not identify users by their UNIX user
id, but rather by the user name and the domain where this
name is valid. See af_afuser (manual page af_misc(3)) for details.
- •
- An attribute buffer is capable to hold all attributes of a software
object (standard attributes and user defined attributes). Attribute
buffers have two different purposes. First, they can hold a retrieve
pattern, i.e. they may be (partially) filled with desired attribute values
and then be passed as argument to a retrieve operation (af_find and
af_cachefind - manual page af_retrieve(3)). Second, an attribute buffer is
used to return all attributes of an identified ASO on demand.
There are several ways for an AtFS application to get an object key pointing to
a specific object version. The most important is the function
af_getkey
(manual page
af_retrieve(3)), that returns a key for an explicitly named
version. After having retrieved a key, the data for that object version
remains cached in memory as long as the application does not explicitly give
the key back. The function
af_dropkey (manual page
af_retrieve(3))
gives a key back and releases the object version. A retrieved set of keys has
also to be given back by use of
af_dropset (manual page
af_retrieve(3)).
af_dropall (manual page
af_retrieve(3)) sets all
reference counters for cached object versions to zero, that means, it gives
all formerly retrieved keys and sets back. In the case, that any attribute, or
the contents data of a cached object version is modified on disk by another
application, the data in the cache is automatically updated. In that case, a
warning is written to the error log file.
For handling sets of keys, AtFS provides a full set algebra with functions for
adding and deleting single keys, sorting, building subsets, intersections,
unions and differences of sets.
The built-in version control functionality features a status mode for versions.
Each object version has a certain state, one of
busy, saved, proposed,
published, accessed and
frozen. The already known
busy
version always has the state busy, while when previously referencing a
saved versions we meant a version that can have any state from saved to
frozen. AtFS does not enforce any specific semantics with the version state.
It is rather a help for applications to implement a classification for
versions. Another part of the version control functionality is a locking
facility. Adding a new version to an existing object history always requires a
lock on the
most recent version or the generation to which the version
shall be added. Locks can be used for implementing a synchronization mechanism
for concurrent updates to one object history.
A
user defined attribute (or
application defined attribute) has
the general form
name[=value [value [...]]]. It has a name and a
(possibly empty) list of values. The name may consist of any characters (even
non-alphanumeric) but an equal sign (=). The equal sign is the delimiter
between name and value. The attribute value may not contain Ctrl-A (\001)
characters. Although AtFS promises the storage of an arbitrary number of user
defined attributes, the current implementation limits their number to 255.
Most of the AtFS calls have one or more error returns. An error is indicated by
a return value that is either -1 or a nil pointer, depending on the return
type of the function. If one of the functions returns with an error, the
variable
af_errno is set to indicate the appropriate error number.
af_errno is not cleared upon successful calls.
ERROR CODES¶
The following is a complete collection of the error numbers defined in
atfs.h. The first list contains return values indicating common error
conditions like implausible arguments passed to an AtFS function or permission
problems. The error codes listed in the second list point to serious trouble,
which can either be an internal error in AtFS or a corrupted archive file. The
occurrence of an serious problem is recorded in an error protocol (
/usr/adm/AtFSerrlog). On machines without
syslog(3) switched on
for AtFS, the error protocol is located in a
/tmp/AtFSerrlog.
- AF_ESYSERR (-2) Error during execution of system library command or system
call
- A called system library function or system call returned with an error
condition. See errno for a more precise error specification.
- AF_EACCES (-3) permission denied
- An attempt was made to perform an operation (e.g. open a file) without
appropriate permissions.
- AF_EARCHANGED (-4) archive file has changed since last read
- One of the archive files you are operating on has been modified by another
process since your process has read it from disk. In this case, AtFS
refuses to store your changes because this would destroy the modifications
made by the other process. In order to make your desired changes happen,
you have to rerun your application.
- AF_EBUSY (-7) Specified ASO must not be a busy version
- Some AtFS-operations cannot be performed on ASOs which have the state
AF_BUSY.
- AF_EDERIVED (-8) Specified ASO must not be a derived object
- Some AtFS-operations (eg. af_lock - manual page af_lock(3),
af_newgen - manual page af_version(3)) cannot be performed on ASOs
stored in derived object caches.
- AF_EINVKEY (-9) invalid object key
- An invalid object key (eg. nil pointer) was passed to an AtFS
function.
- AF_EINVSET (-10) invalid set descriptor
- An invalid set descriptor (eg. nil pointer) was passed to an AtFS
function.
- AF_EINVUSER (-11) invalid user
- An invalid user structure or user id was passed to an AtFS operation.
- AF_EINVVNUM (-12) Bad version number
- An attempt was made to set a version number, that contradicts the AtFS
version numbering philosophy, to an ASO. You cannot change the version
number of an ASO into a version number that is "smaller" than
the one given by the system.
- AF_EMISC (-15) miscellaneous errors
- This error code is set when an error occurs that does not fit in any of
the other error categories. See your error logging file (
/usr/adm/AtFSerrlog of /tmp/AtFSerrlog) for a detailed
description of the error. af_perror (manual page af_error(3)) also
gives a diagnostic message explaining the error.
- AF_EMODE (-16) invalid mode
- The function af_setattr (manual page af_attrs(3)) requires a change
mode. This error condition complains about an invalid mode given to this
function.
- AF_ENOATFSDIR (-17) AtFS subdirectory missing or not writable
- There is no place where AtFS can create it's archive files. Either a
global archive path should be defined (see af_setarchpath - manual
page af_misc(3)) or a subdirectory named AtFS should be present and
writable.
- AF_ENOKEY (-18) key does not exist in set
- A specified key that shall be removed from a keyset does not exist in the
concerning set.
- AF_ENOPOS (-19) invalid position in set
- A specified position in a keyset (keysets are organized as arrays of
object keys) lies beyond the bounds of the concerning set.
- AF_ENOREV (-20) specified revision does not exist
- A revision - uniquely identified by a set of attributes (eg.
af_getkey - manual page af_retrieve(3)) - does not exist in the
current search space.
- AF_ENOTBUSY (-21) specified ASO is not busy version
- Some AtFS operations (eg. af_setbusy - manual page af_version(3)) require
the key of a busy ASO as input parameter. If you pass key of a non-busy
ASO, the function sets this error code.
- AF_ENOTDERIVED (-22) specified ASO is no derived object
- An attempt was made to restore an object that in not stored in a derived
object cache.
- AF_ENOTLOCKED (-23) specified ASO is not locked or locked by another
user
- An AtFS operation cannot be performed because the specified ASO is either
not locked (see af_lock(3)) or it is locked by another user.
- AF_ENOTREGULAR (-24) specified ASO is no regular file
- With this error number AtFS refuses to generate versions of non-regular
UNIX files such as directories, special files and sockets.
- AF_ENOTVERS (-25) specified ASO has no versions
- Typically, this error occurs if an operation requiring at least one saved
revision (eg. af_newgen - manual page af_version(3)) is applied on a
versionless file.
- AF_ENOUDA (-26) user defined attribute does not exist
- A user defined attribute with the given name does not exist.
- AF_ESAVED (-27) saved versions cannot be modified
- An attempt was made to open a non-busy version with write access.
- AF_ESTATE (-28) invalid state transition
- The Attribute File System's built in revision-states model allows
only well defined revision state changes.
- AF_EWRONGSTATE (-31) wrong state
- Some AtFS operations can only be performed on ASOs with a specific version
state.
The error codes indicating real trouble:
- AF_EDELTA (-32) Error during delta operation
- Some error occurred during invocation of the delta processor.
- AF_EINCONSIST (-33) Archive file inconsistent
- The data in the archive file are corrupted. This may have happened by
editing the archive file or by malfunction of an AtFS operation. Try
atfsrepair ti fix it.
- AF_EINTERNAL (-34) internal error
- Please inform your local trouble shooting service, go to your favorite pub
and order a beers. Cheers !
- AF_ENOATFSFILE (-35) No AtFS file
- Archive file lost.
LIST OF FUNCTIONS¶
Name Appears on Page Description
af_abort af_transact.3 abort transaction
af_access af_history.3 test existence of history
af_afname af_misc.3 get ASO name from UNIX path
af_afpath af_misc.3 get ASO syspath from UNIX path
af_aftype af_misc.3 get ASO type from UNIX path
af_afuser af_misc.3 get AtFS user from UNIX uid
af_allattrs af_attrs.3 get all attributes of ASO
af_cachefind af_retrieve.3 find derived objects by attributes
af_cachenames af_history.3 return list of names in derived object cache
af_cachesize af_cache.3 define object cache size policy
af_chauthor af_protect.3 change author of ASO
af_chmod af_protect.3 change protection of ASO
af_chowner af_protect.3 change owner of ASO
af_cleanup af_error.3 do cleanup after error
af_close af_files.3 close ASO contents
af_commit af_transact.3 commit transaction
af_copyset af_sets.3 copy sets
af_crkey af_files.3 create object key for UNIX-file
af_diff af_sets.3 build difference between two sets of object keys
af_dropall af_retrieve.3 drop all accessed object keys
af_dropkey af_retrieve.3 drop object key
af_dropset af_retrieve.3 drop set of object keys
af_errmsg af_error.3 return AtFS- or system error message
af_errno af_error.3 global error code variable
af_establish af_files.3 establish ASO as UNIX file
af_find af_retrieve.3 find ASOs by attributes
af_freeattr af_attrs.3 free memory associated with attribute value
af_freeattrbuf af_attrs.3 free memory associated with attribute buffer
af_getkey af_retrieve.3 get key by unique attributes
af_histories af_history.3 return list of history names matching pattern
af_initattrs af_retrieve.3 initialize attribute buffer
af_initset af_sets.3 initialize set
af_intersect af_sets.3 build intersection between two sets of object keys
af_isstdval af_attrs.3 check if attribute is from a standard attribute
af_lock af_lock.3 set lock on ASO
af_newgen af_version.3 increase generation number of ASO
af_nrofkeys af_sets.3 return number of keys in set of object keys
af_open af_files.3 open ASO contents
af_perror af_error.3 report AtFS- or system error
af_predsucc af_version.3 get successor or predecessor of version
af_restore af_files.3 restore derived ASO
af_retattr af_attrs.3 return value of attribute as string
af_retnumattr af_attrs.3 return value of numeric attribute
af_rettimeattr af_attrs.3 return value of time attribute
af_retuserattr af_attrs.3 return value of user attribute
af_rm af_files.3 remove ASO
af_rnote af_note.3 return note attribute
af_savecache af_cache.3 save derived object to cache
af_saverev af_version.3 save busy version of source object
af_setaddkey af_sets.3 add key to set of object keys
af_setarchpath af_misc.3 set path for location of archives
af_setattr af_attrs.3 set user defined attribute
af_setbusy af_version.3 set version busy
af_setgkey af_sets.3 get key from set of object keys
af_setposrmkey af_sets.3 remove key (id. by position) from set of object keys
af_setrmkey af_sets.3 remove key from set of object keys
af_snote af_note.3 modify note attribute
af_sortset af_sets.3 sort set of object keys
af_sstate af_version.3 set version state
af_subset af_sets.3 build subset of set of object keys
af_svnum af_version.3 set version number
af_testlock af_lock.3 see if ASO is locked
af_transaction af_transact.3 begin transaction
af_union af_sets.3 build union of two sets of object keys
af_unlock af_lock.3 remove lock from ASO
af_version af_misc.3 return identification of current AtFS version
FILES¶
/var/adm/AtFSerrlog, /tmp/AtFSerrlog
SEE ALSO¶
intro(2),
intro(3)
Andreas Lampen and Axel Mahler
An Object Base for Attributed Software Objects
Proceedings of the Autumn '88 EUUG Conference (Cascais, October 3-7)
European UNIX System User Group, London 1988
For an outlook on a totally new implementation of the AtFS idea, have a look at:
Andreas Lampen
Advancing Files to Attributed Software Objects
Proceedings of USENIX Technical Conference (Dallas TX, January 21-25, 1991)
USENIX Association, Berkeley CA, January 1991
BUGS¶
The built in archive file locking to prevent concurrent updates is very simple
and my lead to confusing situations. It may happen that changes will not be
saved to disk. See the error conditions AF_EARCHANGED and AF_EARLOCKED for
more details.
AUTHOR¶
Andreas Lampen, Tech. Univ. Berlin (Andres.Lampen@cs.tu-berlin.de)
Technische Universitaet Berlin
Sekr. FR 5-6
Franklinstr. 28/29
D-10587 Berlin, Germany