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null(3tcl) null(3tcl)


NAME

null - Create and manipulate null channels

SYNOPSIS

package require Tcl

package require memchan

null


DESCRIPTION

The command described here is only available in a not-yet released version of the package. Use the CVS to get the sources.

creates a null channel which absorbs everything written into it. Reading from it is not possible, or rather will always return zero bytes. These channels are essentially Tcl-specific variants of the null device for unixoid operating systems (/dev/null). Transferring the generated channel between interpreters is possible but does not make much sense.

OPTIONS

Memory channels created by null provide one additional option to set or query.

A null channel is always writable and readable. This means that all fileevent-handlers will fire continuously. To avoid starvation of other event sources the events raised by this channel type have a configurable delay. This option is set in milliseconds and defaults to 5.

A null channel is always writable and never readable. This means that a writable fileevent-handler will fire continuously and a readable fileevent-handler never at all. The exception to the latter is only the destruction of the channel which will cause the delivery of an eof event to a readable handler.

SEE ALSO

fifo, fifo2, memchan, random, zero

KEYWORDS

channel, i/o, in-memory channel, null

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 1996-2003 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>
2.2 Memory channels