source: vbox/trunk/src/libs/xpcom18a4/xpcom/io/nsIAsyncInputStream.idl@ 4837

/* ***** BEGIN LICENSE BLOCK *****
 * Version: MPL 1.1/GPL 2.0/LGPL 2.1
 *
 * The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version
 * 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
 * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 * http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
 *
 * Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
 * for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the
 * License.
 *
 * The Original Code is Mozilla.
 *
 * The Initial Developer of the Original Code is
 * Netscape Communications Corporation.
 * Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright (C) 2002
 * the Initial Developer. All Rights Reserved.
 *
 * Contributor(s):
 *   Darin Fisher <darin@netscape.com>
 *
 * Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of
 * either the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later (the "GPL"), or
 * the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1 or later (the "LGPL"),
 * in which case the provisions of the GPL or the LGPL are applicable instead
 * of those above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only
 * under the terms of either the GPL or the LGPL, and not to allow others to
 * use your version of this file under the terms of the MPL, indicate your
 * decision by deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice
 * and other provisions required by the GPL or the LGPL. If you do not delete
 * the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file under
 * the terms of any one of the MPL, the GPL or the LGPL.
 *
 * ***** END LICENSE BLOCK ***** */

#include "nsIInputStream.idl"

interface nsIInputStreamCallback;
interface nsIEventTarget;

/**
 * If an input stream is non-blocking, it may return NS_BASE_STREAM_WOULD_BLOCK
 * when read.  The caller must then wait for the stream to have some data to 
 * read.  If the stream implements nsIAsyncInputStream, then the caller can use 
 * this interface to request an asynchronous notification when the stream
 * becomes readable or closed (via the AsyncWait method).
 *
 * While this interface is almost exclusively used with non-blocking streams, it
 * is not necessary that nsIInputStream::isNonBlocking return true.  Nor is it
 * necessary that a non-blocking nsIInputStream implementation also implement
 * nsIAsyncInputStream.
 */
[scriptable, uuid(15a15329-00de-44e8-ab06-0d0b0d43dc5b)]
interface nsIAsyncInputStream : nsIInputStream
{
    /**
     * This method closes the stream and sets its internal status.  If the 
     * stream is already closed, then this method is ignored.  Once the stream
     * is closed, the stream's status cannot be changed.  Any successful status
     * code passed to this method is treated as NS_BASE_STREAM_CLOSED, which
     * has an effect equivalent to nsIInputStream::close. 
     *
     * NOTE: this method exists in part to support pipes, which have both an 
     * input end and an output end.  If the input end of a pipe is closed, then
     * writes to the output end of the pipe will fail.  The error code returned 
     * when an attempt is made to write to a "broken" pipe corresponds to the
     * status code passed in when the input end of the pipe was closed, which
     * greatly simplifies working with pipes in some cases.
     *
     * @param aStatus
     *        The error that will be reported if this stream is accessed after
     *        it has been closed.
     */
    void closeWithStatus(in nsresult aStatus);

    /**
     * Asynchronously wait for the stream to be readable or closed.  The
     * notification is one-shot, meaning that each asyncWait call will result
     * in exactly one notification callback.  After the OnInputStreamReady event
     * is dispatched, the stream releases its reference to the 
     * nsIInputStreamCallback object.  It is safe to call asyncWait again from the
     * notification handler.
     *
     * This method may be called at any time (even if read has not been called).
     * In other words, this method may be called when the stream already has
     * data to read.  It may also be called when the stream is closed.  If the
     * stream is already readable or closed when AsyncWait is called, then the
     * OnInputStreamReady event will be dispatched immediately.  Otherwise, the
     * event will be dispatched when the stream becomes readable or closed.
     * 
     * @param aCallback
     *        This object is notified when the stream becomes ready.
     * @param aFlags
     *        This parameter specifies optional flags passed in to configure
     *        the behavior of this method.  Pass zero to specify no flags.
     * @param aRequestedCount
     *        Wait until at least this many bytes can be read.  This is only
     *        a suggestion to the underlying stream; it may be ignored.  The
     *        caller may pass zero to indicate no preference.
     * @param aEventTarget
     *        Specify NULL to receive notification on ANY thread (possibly even
     *        recursively on the calling thread -- i.e., synchronously), or
     *        specify that the notification be delivered to a specific event
     *        target.
     */
    void asyncWait(in nsIInputStreamCallback aCallback,
                   in unsigned long aFlags,
                   in unsigned long aRequestedCount,
                   in nsIEventTarget aEventTarget);

    /**
     * If passed to asyncWait, this flag overrides the default behavior,
     * causing the OnInputStreamReady notification to be suppressed until the
     * stream becomes closed (either as a result of closeWithStatus/close being
     * called on the stream or possibly due to some error in the underlying
     * stream).
     */
    const unsigned long WAIT_CLOSURE_ONLY = (1<<0);
};

/**
 * This is a companion interface for nsIAsyncInputStream::asyncWait.
 */
[scriptable, uuid(d1f28e94-3a6e-4050-a5f5-2e81b1fc2a43)]
interface nsIInputStreamCallback : nsISupports
{
    /**
     * Called to indicate that the stream is either readable or closed.
     *
     * @param aStream
     *        The stream whose asyncWait method was called.
     */
    void onInputStreamReady(in nsIAsyncInputStream aStream);
};