neovim/runtime/doc/channel.txt
Justin M. Keyes ed24a297e5
doc [ci skip] #10097
- fix broken links (|buffered| was renamed to |channel-buffered|)
- rewrite `:h channel-lines`
2019-06-01 20:14:29 +02:00

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*channel.txt* Nvim
NVIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Thiago de Arruda
Nvim asynchronous IO *channel*
Type |gO| to see the table of contents.
==============================================================================
1. Introduction *channel-intro*
Channels are nvim's way of communicating with external processes.
There are several ways to open a channel:
1. Through stdin/stdout when `nvim` is started with `--headless`, and a startup
script or --cmd command opens the stdio channel using |stdioopen()|.
2. Through stdin, stdout and stderr of a process spawned by |jobstart()|.
3. Through the PTY master end of a PTY opened with
`jobstart(..., {'pty': v:true})` or |termopen()|.
4. By connecting to a TCP/IP socket or named pipe with |sockconnect()|.
5. By another process connecting to a socket listened to by nvim. This only
supports RPC channels, see |rpc-connecting|.
Channels support multiple modes or protocols. In the most basic
mode of operation, raw bytes are read and written to the channel.
The |rpc| protocol, based on the msgpack-rpc standard, enables nvim and the
process at the other end to send remote calls and events to each other.
The builtin |terminal-emulator| is also implemented on top of PTY channels.
Channel Id *channel-id*
Each channel is identified by an integer id, unique for the life of the
current Nvim session. Functions like |stdioopen()| return channel ids;
functions like |chansend()| consume channel ids.
==============================================================================
2. Reading and writing raw bytes *channel-bytes*
Channels opened by Vimscript functions operate with raw bytes by default. For
a job channel using RPC, bytes can still be read over its stderr. Similarily,
only bytes can be written to Nvim's own stderr.
*channel-callback*
on_stdout({chan-id}, {data}, {name}) *on_stdout*
on_stderr({chan-id}, {data}, {name}) *on_stderr*
on_stdin({chan-id}, {data}, {name}) *on_stdin*
on_data({chan-id}, {data}, {name}) *on_data*
Scripts can react to channel activity (received data) via callback
functions assigned to the `on_stdout`, `on_stderr`, `on_stdin`, or
`on_data` option keys. Callbacks should be fast: avoid potentially
slow/expensive work.
Parameters: ~
{chan-id} Channel handle. |channel-id|
{data} Raw data (|readfile()|-style list of strings) read from
the channel. EOF is a single-item list: `['']`. First and
last items may be partial lines! |channel-lines|
{name} Stream name (string) like "stdout", so the same function
can handle multiple streams. Event names depend on how the
channel was opened and in what mode/protocol.
*channel-buffered*
The callback is invoked immediately as data is available, where
a single-item list `['']` indicates EOF (stream closed). Alternatively
set the `stdout_buffered`, `stderr_buffered`, `stdin_buffered`, or
`data_buffered` option keys to invoke the callback only after all output
was gathered and the stream was closed.
*E5210*
If a buffering mode is used without a callback, the data is saved in the
stream {name} key of the options dict. It is an error if the key exists.
*channel-lines*
Stream event handlers receive data as it becomes available from the OS,
thus the first and last items in the {data} list may be partial lines.
Empty string completes the previous partial line. Examples (not including
the final `['']` emitted at EOF):
- `foobar` may arrive as `['fo'], ['obar']`
- `foo\nbar` may arrive as
`['foo','bar']`
or `['foo',''], ['bar']`
or `['foo'], ['','bar']`
or `['fo'], ['o','bar']`
There are two ways to deal with this:
1. To wait for the entire output, use |channel-buffered| mode.
2. To read line-by-line, use the following code: >
let s:lines = ['']
func! s:on_event(job_id, data, event) dict
let eof = (a:data == [''])
" Complete the previous line.
let s:lines[-1] .= a:data[0]
" Append (last item may be a partial line, until EOF).
call extend(s:lines, a:data[1:])
endf
<
If the callback functions are |Dictionary-function|s, |self| refers to the
options dictionary containing the callbacks. |Partial|s can also be used as
callbacks.
Data can be sent to the channel using the |chansend()| function. Here is a
simple example, echoing some data through a cat-process:
>
function! s:OnEvent(id, data, event) dict
let str = join(a:data, "\n")
echomsg str
endfunction
let id = jobstart(['cat'], {'on_stdout': function('s:OnEvent') } )
call chansend(id, "hello!")
<
Here is a example of setting a buffer to the result of grep, but only after
all data has been processed:
>
function! s:OnEvent(id, data, event) dict
call nvim_buf_set_lines(2, 0, -1, v:true, a:data)
endfunction
let id = jobstart(['grep', '^[0-9]'], { 'on_stdout': function('s:OnEvent'),
\ 'stdout_buffered':v:true } )
call chansend(id, "stuff\n10 PRINT \"NVIM\"\nxx")
" no output is received, buffer is empty
call chansend(id, "xx\n20 GOTO 10\nzz\n")
call chanclose(id, 'stdin')
" now buffer has result
<
For additional examples with jobs, see |job-control|.
*channel-pty*
Special case: PTY channels opened with `jobstart(..., {'pty': v:true})` do not
preprocess ANSI escape sequences, these will be sent raw to the callback.
However, change of PTY size can be signaled to the slave using |jobresize()|.
See also |terminal-emulator|.
Terminal characteristics (termios) for |:terminal| and PTY channels are copied
from the host TTY, or if Nvim is |--headless| it uses default values: >
:echo system('nvim --headless +"te stty -a" +"sleep 1" +"1,/^$/print" +q')
==============================================================================
3. Communicating using msgpack-rpc *channel-rpc*
When channels are opened with the `rpc` option set to true, the channel can be
used for remote method calls in both directions, see |msgpack-rpc|. Note that
rpc channels are implicitly trusted and the process at the other end can
invoke any |api| function!
==============================================================================
4. Standard IO channel *channel-stdio*
Nvim uses stdin/stdout to interact with the user over the terminal interface
(TUI). If Nvim is |--headless| the TUI is not started and stdin/stdout can be
used as a channel. See also |--embed|.
Call |stdioopen()| during |startup| to open the stdio channel as |channel-id| 1.
Nvim's stderr is always available as |v:stderr|, a write-only bytes channel.
Example: >
func! OnEvent(id, data, event)
if a:data == [""]
quit
end
call chansend(a:id, map(a:data, {i,v -> toupper(v)}))
endfunc
call stdioopen({'on_stdin': 'OnEvent'})
<
Put this in `uppercase.vim` and run: >
nvim --headless --cmd "source uppercase.vim"
==============================================================================
vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: