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(libc.info)Line Control

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Line Control Functions
======================

   These functions perform miscellaneous control actions on terminal
devices.  As regards terminal access, they are treated like doing
output: if any of these functions is used by a background process on its
controlling terminal, normally all processes in the process group are
sent a `SIGTTOU' signal.  The exception is if the calling process
itself is ignoring or blocking `SIGTTOU' signals, in which case the
operation is performed and no signal is sent.  Note: Job Control.

 - Function: int tcsendbreak (int FILEDES, int DURATION)
     This function generates a break condition by transmitting a stream
     of zero bits on the terminal associated with the file descriptor
     FILEDES.  The duration of the break is controlled by the DURATION
     argument.  If zero, the duration is between 0.25 and 0.5 seconds.
     The meaning of a nonzero value depends on the operating system.

     This function does nothing if the terminal is not an asynchronous
     serial data port.

     The return value is normally zero.  In the event of an error, a
     value of -1 is returned.  The following `errno' error conditions
     are defined for this function:

    `EBADF'
          The FILEDES is not a valid file descriptor.

    `ENOTTY'
          The FILEDES is not associated with a terminal device.

 - Function: int tcdrain (int FILEDES)
     The `tcdrain' function waits until all queued output to the
     terminal FILEDES has been transmitted.

     This function is a cancellation point in multi-threaded programs.
     This is a problem if the thread allocates some resources (like
     memory, file descriptors, semaphores or whatever) at the time
     `tcdrain' is called.  If the thread gets canceled these resources
     stay allocated until the program ends.  To avoid this calls to
     `tcdrain' should be protected using cancellation handlers.

     The return value is normally zero.  In the event of an error, a
     value of -1 is returned.  The following `errno' error conditions
     are defined for this function:

    `EBADF'
          The FILEDES is not a valid file descriptor.

    `ENOTTY'
          The FILEDES is not associated with a terminal device.

    `EINTR'
          The operation was interrupted by delivery of a signal.  Note:
          Interrupted Primitives.

 - Function: int tcflush (int FILEDES, int QUEUE)
     The `tcflush' function is used to clear the input and/or output
     queues associated with the terminal file FILEDES.  The QUEUE
     argument specifies which queue(s) to clear, and can be one of the
     following values:

    `TCIFLUSH'
          Clear any input data received, but not yet read.

    `TCOFLUSH'
          Clear any output data written, but not yet transmitted.

    `TCIOFLUSH'
          Clear both queued input and output.

     The return value is normally zero.  In the event of an error, a
     value of -1 is returned.  The following `errno' error conditions
     are defined for this function:

    `EBADF'
          The FILEDES is not a valid file descriptor.

    `ENOTTY'
          The FILEDES is not associated with a terminal device.

    `EINVAL'
          A bad value was supplied as the QUEUE argument.

     It is unfortunate that this function is named `tcflush', because
     the term "flush" is normally used for quite another
     operation--waiting until all output is transmitted--and using it
     for discarding input or output would be confusing.  Unfortunately,
     the name `tcflush' comes from POSIX and we cannot change it.

 - Function: int tcflow (int FILEDES, int ACTION)
     The `tcflow' function is used to perform operations relating to
     XON/XOFF flow control on the terminal file specified by FILEDES.

     The ACTION argument specifies what operation to perform, and can
     be one of the following values:

    `TCOOFF'
          Suspend transmission of output.

    `TCOON'
          Restart transmission of output.

    `TCIOFF'
          Transmit a STOP character.

    `TCION'
          Transmit a START character.

     For more information about the STOP and START characters, see
     Note: Special Characters.

     The return value is normally zero.  In the event of an error, a
     value of -1 is returned.  The following `errno' error conditions
     are defined for this function:

    `EBADF'
          The FILEDES is not a valid file descriptor.

    `ENOTTY'
          The FILEDES is not associated with a terminal device.

    `EINVAL'
          A bad value was supplied as the ACTION argument.