36.12. posixfile — File-like objects with locking support
Platforms: Unix
Deprecated since version 1.5: The locking operation that this module provides is done better and more portably
by the fcntl.lockf() call.
This module implements some additional functionality over the built-in file
objects. In particular, it implements file locking, control over the file
flags, and an easy interface to duplicate the file object. The module defines a
new file object, the posixfile object. It has all the standard file object
methods and adds the methods described below. This module only works for
certain flavors of Unix, since it uses fcntl.fcntl() for file locking.
To instantiate a posixfile object, use the posixfile.open() function. The
resulting object looks and feels roughly the same as a standard file object.
The posixfile module defines the following constants:
-
posixfile.SEEK_SET
- Offset is calculated from the start of the file.
-
posixfile.SEEK_CUR
- Offset is calculated from the current position in the file.
-
posixfile.SEEK_END
- Offset is calculated from the end of the file.
The posixfile module defines the following functions:
-
posixfile.open(filename[, mode[, bufsize]])
- Create a new posixfile object with the given filename and mode. The filename,
mode and bufsize arguments are interpreted the same way as by the built-in
open() function.
-
posixfile.fileopen(fileobject)
- Create a new posixfile object with the given standard file object. The resulting
object has the same filename and mode as the original file object.
The posixfile object defines the following additional methods:
-
posixfile.lock(fmt[, len[, start[, whence]]])
- Lock the specified section of the file that the file object is referring to.
The format is explained below in a table. The len argument specifies the
length of the section that should be locked. The default is 0. start
specifies the starting offset of the section, where the default is 0. The
whence argument specifies where the offset is relative to. It accepts one of
the constants SEEK_SET, SEEK_CUR or SEEK_END. The
default is SEEK_SET. For more information about the arguments refer to
the fcntl(2) manual page on your system.
-
posixfile.flags([flags])
- Set the specified flags for the file that the file object is referring to. The
new flags are ORed with the old flags, unless specified otherwise. The format
is explained below in a table. Without the flags argument a string indicating
the current flags is returned (this is the same as the ? modifier). For
more information about the flags refer to the fcntl(2) manual page on
your system.
-
posixfile.dup()
- Duplicate the file object and the underlying file pointer and file descriptor.
The resulting object behaves as if it were newly opened.
-
posixfile.dup2(fd)
- Duplicate the file object and the underlying file pointer and file descriptor.
The new object will have the given file descriptor. Otherwise the resulting
object behaves as if it were newly opened.
-
posixfile.file()
- Return the standard file object that the posixfile object is based on. This is
sometimes necessary for functions that insist on a standard file object.
All methods raise IOError when the request fails.
Format characters for the lock() method have the following meaning:
Format |
Meaning |
u |
unlock the specified region |
r |
request a read lock for the specified section |
w |
request a write lock for the specified
section |
In addition the following modifiers can be added to the format:
Modifier |
Meaning |
Notes |
| |
wait until the lock has been
granted |
|
? |
return the first lock
conflicting with the requested
lock, or None if there is
no conflict. |
(1) |
Note:
- The lock returned is in the format (mode, len, start, whence, pid) where
mode is a character representing the type of lock (‘r’ or ‘w’). This modifier
prevents a request from being granted; it is for query purposes only.
Format characters for the flags() method have the following meanings:
Format |
Meaning |
a |
append only flag |
c |
close on exec flag |
n |
no delay flag (also called non-blocking flag) |
s |
synchronization flag |
In addition the following modifiers can be added to the format:
Modifier |
Meaning |
Notes |
! |
turn the specified flags ‘off’,
instead of the default ‘on’ |
(1) |
= |
replace the flags, instead of
the default ‘OR’ operation |
(1) |
? |
return a string in which the
characters represent the flags
that are set. |
(2) |
Notes:
- The ! and = modifiers are mutually exclusive.
- This string represents the flags after they may have been altered by the same
call.
Examples:
import posixfile
file = posixfile.open('/tmp/test', 'w')
file.lock('w|')
...
file.lock('u')
file.close()