Doc/mac/libmacfs.tex

   1 \section{Built-in Module \sectcode{macfs}}
   2 \bimodindex{macfs}
   3
   4 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(in module macfs)}
   5
   6 This module provides access to macintosh FSSpec handling, the Alias
   7 Manager, finder aliases and the Standard File package.
   8
   9 Whenever a function or method expects a \var{file} argument, this
  10 argument can be one of three things:\ (1) a full or partial Macintosh
  11 pathname, (2) an FSSpec object or (3) a 3-tuple \code{(wdRefNum,
  12 parID, name)} as described in Inside Mac VI\@. A description of aliases
  13 and the standard file package can also be found there.
  14
  15 \begin{funcdesc}{FSSpec}{file}
  16 Create an FSSpec object for the specified file.
  17 \end{funcdesc}
  18
  19 \begin{funcdesc}{RawFSSpec}{data}
  20 Create an FSSpec object given the raw data for the C structure for the
  21 FSSpec as a string.  This is mainly useful if you have obtained an
  22 FSSpec structure over a network.
  23 \end{funcdesc}
  24
  25 \begin{funcdesc}{RawAlias}{data}
  26 Create an Alias object given the raw data for the C structure for the
  27 alias as a string.  This is mainly useful if you have obtained an
  28 FSSpec structure over a network.
  29 \end{funcdesc}
  30
  31 \begin{funcdesc}{FInfo}{}
  32 Create a zero-filled FInfo object.
  33 \end{funcdesc}
  34
  35 \begin{funcdesc}{ResolveAliasFile}{file}
  36 Resolve an alias file. Returns a 3-tuple \code{(\var{fsspec}, \var{isfolder},
  37 \var{aliased})} where \var{fsspec} is the resulting FSSpec object,
  38 \var{isfolder} is true if \var{fsspec} points to a folder and
  39 \var{aliased} is true if the file was an alias in the first place
  40 (otherwise the FSSpec object for the file itself is returned).
  41 \end{funcdesc}
  42
  43 \begin{funcdesc}{StandardGetFile}{\optional{type\, ...}}
  44 Present the user with a standard ``open input file''
  45 dialog. Optionally, you can pass up to four 4-char file types to limit
  46 the files the user can choose from. The function returns an FSSpec
  47 object and a flag indicating that the user completed the dialog
  48 without cancelling.
  49 \end{funcdesc}
  50
  51 \begin{funcdesc}{StandardPutFile}{prompt\, \optional{default}}
  52 Present the user with a standard ``open output file''
  53 dialog. \var{prompt} is the prompt string, and the optional
  54 \var{default} argument initializes the output file name. The function
  55 returns an FSSpec object and a flag indicating that the user completed
  56 the dialog without cancelling.
  57 \end{funcdesc}
  58
  59 \begin{funcdesc}{GetDirectory}{}
  60 Present the user with a non-standard ``select a directory''
  61 dialog. Return an FSSpec object and a success-indicator.
  62 \end{funcdesc}
  63
  64 \begin{funcdesc}{FindFolder}{where\, which\, create}
  65 Locates one of the ``special'' folders that MacOS knows about, such as
  66 the trash or the Preferences folder. \var{Where} is the disk to search
  67 (\code{0x8000} for the boot disk), \var{which} is the 4-char string
  68 specifying which folder to locate. Setting \var{create} causes the
  69 folder to be created if it does not exist. Returns a \code{(vrefnum,
  70 dirid)} tuple. See Inside Mac VI for a complete description, including
  71 4-char names.
  72 \end{funcdesc}
  73
  74 \subsection{FSSpec objects}
  75
  76 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(FSSpec object attribute)}
  77 \begin{datadesc}{data}
  78 The raw data from the FSSpec object, suitable for passing
  79 to other applications, for instance.
  80 \end{datadesc}
  81
  82 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(FSSpec object method)}
  83 \begin{funcdesc}{as_pathname}{}
  84 Return the full pathname of the file described by the FSSpec object.
  85 \end{funcdesc}
  86
  87 \begin{funcdesc}{as_tuple}{}
  88 Return the \code{(\var{wdRefNum}, \var{parID}, \var{name})} tuple of the file described
  89 by the FSSpec object.
  90 \end{funcdesc}
  91
  92 \begin{funcdesc}{NewAlias}{\optional{file}}
  93 Create an Alias object pointing to the file described by this
  94 FSSpec. If the optional \var{file} parameter is present the alias
  95 will be relative to that file, otherwise it will be absolute.
  96 \end{funcdesc}
  97
  98 \begin{funcdesc}{NewAliasMinimal}{}
  99 Create a minimal alias pointing to this file.
 100 \end{funcdesc}
 101
 102 \begin{funcdesc}{GetCreatorType}{}
 103 Return the 4-char creator and type of the file.
 104 \end{funcdesc}
 105
 106 \begin{funcdesc}{SetCreatorType}{creator\, type}
 107 Set the 4-char creator and type of the file.
 108 \end{funcdesc}
 109
 110 \begin{funcdesc}{GetFInfo}{}
 111 Return a FInfo object describing the finder info for the file.
 112 \end{funcdesc}
 113
 114 \begin{funcdesc}{SetFInfo}{finfo}
 115 Set the finder info for the file to the values specified in the
 116 \var{finfo} object.
 117 \end{funcdesc}
 118
 119 \subsection{alias objects}
 120
 121 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(alias object attribute)}
 122 \begin{datadesc}{data}
 123 The raw data for the Alias record, suitable for storing in a resource
 124 or transmitting to other programs.
 125 \end{datadesc}
 126
 127 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(alias object method)}
 128 \begin{funcdesc}{Resolve}{\optional{file}}
 129 Resolve the alias. If the alias was created as a relative alias you
 130 should pass the file relative to which it is. Return the FSSpec for
 131 the file pointed to and a flag indicating whether the alias object
 132 itself was modified during the search process.
 133 \end{funcdesc}
 134
 135 \begin{funcdesc}{GetInfo}{num}
 136 An interface to the C routine \code{GetAliasInfo()}.
 137 \end{funcdesc}
 138
 139 \begin{funcdesc}{Update}{file\, \optional{file2}}
 140 Update the alias to point to the \var{file} given. If \var{file2} is
 141 present a relative alias will be created.
 142 \end{funcdesc}
 143
 144 Note that it is currently not possible to directly manipulate a resource
 145 as an alias object. Hence, after calling \var{Update} or after
 146 \var{Resolve} indicates that the alias has changed the Python program
 147 is responsible for getting the \var{data} from the alias object and
 148 modifying the resource.
 149
 150
 151 \subsection{FInfo objects}
 152
 153 See Inside Mac for a complete description of what the various fields
 154 mean.
 155
 156 \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(FInfo object attribute)}
 157 \begin{datadesc}{Creator}
 158 The 4-char creator code of the file.
 159 \end{datadesc}
 160
 161 \begin{datadesc}{Type}
 162 The 4-char type code of the file.
 163 \end{datadesc}
 164
 165 \begin{datadesc}{Flags}
 166 The finder flags for the file as 16-bit integer.
 167 \end{datadesc}
 168
 169 \begin{datadesc}{Location}
 170 A Point giving the position of the file's icon in its folder.
 171 \end{datadesc}
 172
 173 \begin{datadesc}{Fldr}
 174 The folder the file is in (as an integer).
 175 \end{datadesc}