USB applications using libusb library - usb

I want to use libusb library for writing some test applications for USB.
Can any one please suggest how to set control transfers using usb_control_msg call?
I am getting bad descriptor error while running the following code.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include "usb.h"
static int vendor_id;
static int product_id;
typedef struct{
int requesttype;
int request;
int value;
int index;
char *bytes;
int size;
int timeout;
}ctrlmsg_param;
void print_endpoint(struct usb_endpoint_descriptor *endpoint)
{
printf("=====End point Information====\n");
printf("bEndpointAddress: %x\n", endpoint->bEndpointAddress);
printf("bmAttributes: %x\n", endpoint->bmAttributes);
printf("wMaxPacketSize: %d\n", endpoint->wMaxPacketSize);
printf("bInterval: %d\n", endpoint->bInterval);
printf("bRefresh: %d\n", endpoint->bRefresh);
printf("bSynchAddress: %d\n", endpoint->bSynchAddress);
}
void print_altsetting(struct usb_interface_descriptor *interface)
{
int i;
printf("\n=====Alternate Setting Information====\n");
printf("bInterfaceNumber: %d\n", interface->bInterfaceNumber);
printf("bAlternateSetting: %d\n", interface->bAlternateSetting);
printf("bNumEndpoints: %d\n", interface->bNumEndpoints);
printf("bInterfaceClass: %d\n", interface->bInterfaceClass);
printf("bInterfaceSubClass: %d\n", interface->bInterfaceSubClass);
printf("bInterfaceProtocol: %d\n", interface->bInterfaceProtocol);
printf("iInterface: %d\n", interface->iInterface);
for (i = 0; i < interface->bNumEndpoints; i++)
print_endpoint(&interface->endpoint[i]);
}
void print_interface(struct usb_interface *interface)
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < interface->num_altsetting; i++)
print_altsetting(&interface->altsetting[i]);
}
void print_configuration(struct usb_config_descriptor *config)
{
int i;
printf("=====Configuration Information====\n");
printf("wTotalLength: %d\n", config->wTotalLength);
printf("bNumInterfaces: %d\n", config->bNumInterfaces);
printf("bConfigurationValue: %d\n", config->bConfigurationValue);
printf("iConfiguration: %d\n", config->iConfiguration);
printf("bmAttributes: %x\n", config->bmAttributes);
printf("MaxPower: %d\n", config->MaxPower);
for (i = 0; i < config->bNumInterfaces; i++)
print_interface(&config->interface[i]);
}
int print_device(struct usb_device *dev)
{
usb_dev_handle *udev;
char str[100];
int ret, i;
udev = usb_open(dev);
if (udev) {
if (dev->descriptor.iManufacturer) {
ret = usb_get_string_simple(udev, dev->descriptor.iManufacturer, str, sizeof(str));
if (ret > 0)
{
printf("Manufacturer is %s\n",str);
}
}
if (dev->descriptor.iProduct) {
ret = usb_get_string_simple(udev, dev->descriptor.iProduct, str, sizeof(str));
if (ret > 0)
{
printf("Product is %s\n",str);
}
}
}
if (udev)
usb_close(udev);
printf("Possible configurations are %x\n",dev->descriptor.bNumConfigurations);
sleep(2);
for (i = 0; i < dev->descriptor.bNumConfigurations; i++)
print_configuration(&dev->config[i]);
return 0;
}
int htod( const char* str )
{
int decimal;
sscanf( str, "%x", &decimal);
return decimal;
}
void set_data(struct usb_device *dev)
{
ctrlmsg_param param;
param.requesttype= 0;
param.request=0;
param.value=0;
param.index=0;
param.bytes=10;
param.size=0;
param.timeout=5000;
usb_control_msg(dev, param.requesttype, param.request, param.value, param.index, param.bytes, param.size, param.timeout);
printf("error is %s\n",strerror(errno));
return;
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
struct usb_bus *bus;
struct usb_device *dev;
if(argc != 3)
{
printf("Error in number of arguments\n");
printf("Usage:./usb_info <vendor id> <product id>\n");
exit(0);
}
vendor_id=htod(argv[1]);
product_id=htod(argv[2]);
printf("initializing USB library\n");
usb_init();
printf("Finding Buses and Devices\n");
usb_find_busses();
usb_find_devices();
for (bus = usb_get_busses(); bus; bus = bus->next) {
for (dev = bus->devices; dev; dev = dev->next) {
if ((dev->descriptor.idProduct == product_id) && (dev->descriptor.idVendor == vendor_id)){
printf("Found device with produxt id %x and vendor id %x\n",product_id,vendor_id);
print_device(dev);
set_data(dev);
print_device(dev);
}
}
}
return 0;
}
Regards,
Sandeep

I think that you mean usb_control_msg() is returns an error code for "bad descriptor". Please clarify if this is incorrect.
USB control transfers have some very specific formatting rules, and if the packet you are forming is sent to any compliant device, it will return a request error / stall on the bus.
You are sending the control transfer:
bmRequestType = 0x00
bRequest = 0x00
wValue = 0x0000
wIndex = 0x0000
wSize = 0x0000
this should be interpreted by the USB device as a GET_STATUS request, so wLength is required to be 2, and bmRequestType needs to have the top bit set, indicating this is an IN direction request (from the host's point of view). This is all from Chapter 9 of the USB specification 1.1/2.0/3.1 available at www.usb.org.
The parameter char *bytes (your param.bytes) also needs to be an address/pointer in the call you are making.
A good standard control transfer to test with would be:
bmRequestType = 0x80
bRequest = 0x06
wValue = 0x0001
wIndex = 0x0000
wSize = 0x0008
This request will return the first 8 bytes of the Device Descriptor, it is valid for every USB device, in all states.
The other transfer types (bulk, interrupt) don't have these strict formatting rules, and can be an easier place to start. I'd imagine you have already moved past this issue, since the question has been posted for quite a while, but maybe this response will still help someone else.

Related

*** Error in `./text_buffer': corrupted double-linked list: 0x089cbd98 **

I'm trying to make the app using FreeTDS. Following are my code
/*
* Purpose: Test to see if row buffering and blobs works correctly.
* Functions: dbbind dbnextrow dbopen dbresults dbsqlexec dbgetrow
*/
#include "common.h"
#include "stdio.h"
#include<stdlib.h>
#include "readline/readline.h"
#include "readline/history.h"
#include "string.h"
int
main(int argc, char **argv)
{
char failed;
int hasil;
char ch;
char* r = malloc(30);
LOGINREC *login;
DBPROCESS *dbproc;
int i;
int p = 0;
char teststr[1024];
DBINT testint;
read_login_info(argc, argv);
fprintf(stdout, "Starting %s\n", argv[0]);
/* Fortify_EnterScope(); */
while(1)
{
char qrcode[50];
char perintahsql[100] = "select * from REF_COBA where id=";
char *alokasi="";
while(ch != '\n') // terminates if user hit enter
{
ch = getchar();
qrcode[p] = ch;
p++;
}
qrcode[p]='\0';
strcpy(r,qrcode);
alokasi = strsep(&r, ",");
strcpy(r,"");
p=0;
ch = "";
dbinit();
dberrhandle(syb_err_handler);
dbmsghandle(syb_msg_handler);
fprintf(stdout, "About to logon\n");
login = dblogin();
DBSETLPWD(login, PASSWORD);
DBSETLUSER(login, USER);
DBSETLAPP(login, "text_buffer");
//DBSETLHOST(login, "ntbox.dntis.ro");
DBSETLHOST(login, "192.168.1.9");
fprintf(stdout, "About to open\n");
dbproc = dbopen(login, SERVER);
if (strlen(DATABASE))
dbuse(dbproc, DATABASE);
dbloginfree(login);
#ifdef MICROSOFT_DBLIB
dbsetopt(dbproc, DBBUFFER, "100");
#else
dbsetopt(dbproc, DBBUFFER, "100", 0);
#endif
dbcmd(dbproc, strcat(perintahsql,alokasi));
dbsqlexec(dbproc);
if (dbresults(dbproc) != SUCCEED)
{
failed = 1;
fprintf(stdout, "Was expecting a result set.");
exit(1);
}
fprintf(stdout, "select\n");
for (i = 1; i <= dbnumcols(dbproc); i++)
printf("col %d is %s\n", i, dbcolname(dbproc, i));
fprintf(stdout, "setelah for\n");
dbbind(dbproc, 1, INTBIND, 0, (BYTE *) & testint);
dbbind(dbproc, 2, CHARBIND, 0, (BYTE *) teststr);
for (i = 1; i < 2; i++)
{
char expected[1024];
sprintf(expected, "row %03d", i);
if (i % 100 == 0)
{
dbclrbuf(dbproc, 100);
}
if (REG_ROW != dbnextrow(dbproc))
{
failed = 1;
fprintf(stderr, "Failed. Expected a row\n");
//exit(1);
}
else
{
fprintf(stdout, "jalanin usb\n");
printf("Read a row of data -> %d %s\n", (int) testint, teststr);
hasil = system("/opt/usb1rc_linux USB1REL-172 R");
sleep(2);
hasil = system("/opt/usb1rc_linux USB1REL-172 r");
}
}
dbfreebuf(dbproc);
dbexit();
}
return 0;
}
I modified the source from FreeTDS, after compilation there are some warning
bash-4.2# make text_buffer
CC text_buffer.o
text_buffer.c: In function 'main':
text_buffer.c:54:8: warning: assignment makes integer from pointer without a cast [enabled by default]
ch = "";
^
text_buffer.c:18:7: warning: variable 'hasil' set but not used [-Wunused-but-set-variable]
int hasil;
^
text_buffer.c:17:8: warning: variable 'failed' set but not used [-Wunused-but-set-variable]
char failed;
^
CC common.o
CCLD text_buffer
I execute the program without error. This program will check input from user then run the sql command. The format of input shall be , e.g 123456,john doe then press enter. After 50-60 times of input, the double-linked list error will happen.
could anybody help why the error happen?

Do DLLs have a lower priority that may affect ethernet functionality? Experiencing TCP retransmissions

I have some modbus ethernet tcp communications that I'm attempting to do in a DLL. I get numerous TCP Retransmissions from the target device, as seen in WireShark.
(In this image, 192.168.1.5 is the Modbus device. 192.168.1.72 is the computer)
However, when the same code is inserted directly into an application, there are no communication errors.
I'm wondering if DLLs have some sort of lower priority that can cause slower communications, or if anyone may have any insight as to why this code would run without TCP issue in an application, but not in a DLL.
Here is the dll header:
#ifndef __MAIN_H__
#define __MAIN_H__
#include <windows.h>
typedef void *eioTHandle;
#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C"
{
#endif
__declspec(dllexport) int __stdcall eioConnect( unsigned short ModelId, char *Ip, eioTHandle *Handle );
#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif
#endif
And here is the source file:
#include "main.h"
#include <winsock2.h>
#include <ws2tcpip.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#define EIO500_S 0
#define EIO500_MS 1000
#define eioERROR -1
#define eioSUCCESS 0
static uint8_t m_UnitId = 0xff;
static SOCKET m_Sock;
BOOL WINAPI DllMain(HINSTANCE hinstDLL, DWORD fdwReason, LPVOID lpReserved )
{
// Perform actions based on the reason for calling.
switch( fdwReason )
{
case DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH:
// Initialize once for each new process.
// Return FALSE to fail DLL load.
break;
case DLL_THREAD_ATTACH:
// Do thread-specific initialization.
break;
case DLL_THREAD_DETACH:
// Do thread-specific cleanup.
break;
case DLL_PROCESS_DETACH:
// Perform any necessary cleanup.
break;
}
return TRUE; // Successful DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH.
}
int __stdcall eioConnect( unsigned short ModelId, char *Ip, eioTHandle *Handle )
{
WSADATA Wsa;
struct sockaddr_in Server;
int Result;
char Buffer[256];
char InBuffer[256];
// CONNECTION --------------------------------------------------------------
if (WSAStartup(MAKEWORD(2,2), &Wsa) != 0)
{
return eioERROR;
}
m_Sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP);
if (m_Sock == INVALID_SOCKET)
{
WSACleanup();
return eioERROR;
}
Server.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr(Ip);
Server.sin_family = AF_INET;
Server.sin_port = htons(502);
if (connect(m_Sock, (struct sockaddr *)&Server, sizeof(Server))
== SOCKET_ERROR)
{
closesocket(m_Sock);
m_Sock = INVALID_SOCKET;
WSACleanup();
return eioERROR;
}
// -------------------------------------------------------------------------
for (int Ctr = 0; Ctr < 50000; Ctr++)
{
// SEND COMMAND --------------------------------------------------------
// 5 bytes in a Send Read Multiple Coils command.
int NumBytes = 5;
Buffer[0] = 0;
Buffer[1] = 0;
Buffer[2] = 0;
Buffer[3] = 0;
Buffer[4] = 0;
Buffer[5] = NumBytes + 1; // 1 for unit id.
Buffer[6] = m_UnitId;
// 0 = Function code.
Buffer[7] = 0x01;
// 1+2 = Address.
Buffer[8] = 0;
Buffer[9] = 8;
// 3+4 = Number of bits to read.
Buffer[10] = 0;
Buffer[11] = 8;
if (send(m_Sock, Buffer, NumBytes + 7, 0) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
continue;
}
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------
// WAIT FOR RECEIVE ----------------------------------------------------
WSAEVENT RecvEvent;
int Ret;
RecvEvent = WSACreateEvent();
WSAEventSelect( m_Sock, RecvEvent, FD_READ );
Ret = WSAWaitForMultipleEvents(1, &RecvEvent, TRUE, 1000, FALSE);
WSAResetEvent(RecvEvent);
if (Ret == WSA_WAIT_TIMEOUT)
continue;
// -------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Check for any reply.
recv(m_Sock, InBuffer, 256, 0);
}
// DISCONNECT --------------------------------------------------------------
Result = shutdown(m_Sock, SD_SEND);
if (Result == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
closesocket(m_Sock);
WSACleanup();
m_Sock = INVALID_SOCKET;
return eioERROR;
}
// Receive until the peer closes the connection.
while (recv(m_Sock, Buffer, 256, 0) > 0);
closesocket(m_Sock);
WSACleanup();
m_Sock = INVALID_SOCKET;
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------
return eioSUCCESS;
}
I've simplified the code as much as possible. The communication is in a loop for testing. The original application would poll this data from the device.
No. From the network's perspective there's no difference in TCP segments sent some way or other. There may be a protocol prioritation though (QoS) that may cause packet drops when links are saturated.
A more likely cause could be a problem with the checksums: invalid checksums cause packet drops which in turn cause retransmissions. Possibly the API works slightly different when called from a DLL, so the checksums are calculated (correctly).

How to get usb mass storage size using libusb library?

I am finding out usb mass storage related information using libusb library.
But don't know how to get usb mass storage size?
My tryout is:
void printdev(libusb_device *dev);
int main()
{
libusb_device **devs;
libusb_context *ctx = NULL; //a libusb session
int r;
ssize_t cnt; //holding number of devices in list
r = libusb_init(&ctx); //initialize a library session
if(r < 0)
{
cout<<"Init Error "<<r<<endl; //there was an error
return 1;
}
libusb_set_debug(ctx, 3); //set verbosity level to 3, as suggested in the documentation
cnt = libusb_get_device_list(ctx, &devs); //get the list of devices
if(cnt < 0)
{
cout<<"Get Device Error"<<endl; //there was an error
}
cout<<cnt<<" Devices in list."<<endl; //print total number of usb devices
int i;
for(i = 0; i < cnt; i++)
{
printdev(devs[i]);
}
libusb_free_device_list(devs, 1); //free the list, unref the devices in it
libusb_exit(ctx); //close the session
return 0;
}
void printdev(libusb_device *dev)
{
libusb_device_descriptor desc;
libusb_config_descriptor *conDesc;
char szBuffer[256] = {0};
unsigned char strDesc[256];
libusb_device_handle *devHandle = NULL;
int retVal;
__int64 i64Temp;
DWORD dwProdId;
DWORD dwProdId1;
i64Temp = 13888;
dwProdId = (DWORD)i64Temp;
retVal = libusb_open (dev, &devHandle);
if (retVal != LIBUSB_SUCCESS)
return;
int r = libusb_get_device_descriptor(dev, &desc);
if (r < 0)
{
cout<<"failed to get device descriptor"<<endl;
return;
}
r = libusb_get_config_descriptor(dev, 0, &conDesc);
printf("Interface Class = %d\n", conDesc->interface->altsetting->bInterfaceClass);
cout<<"Number of possible configurations: "<<(int)desc.bNumConfigurations<<" ";
// cout<<"Device Class: "<<desc.bDeviceClass<<endl;
// cout<<"Device Class: "<<desc.bDeviceSubClass<<endl;
printf("Class = %d\n", desc.bDeviceClass);
cout<<"VendorID: "<<desc.idVendor<<endl;
cout<<"ProductID: "<<desc.idProduct<<endl;
dwProdId1 = (DWORD)desc.idProduct;
if (dwProdId1 == dwProdId)
{
printf("in if\n");
}
else
{
printf("in else\n");
}
retVal = libusb_get_string_descriptor_ascii(devHandle, desc.iManufacturer, strDesc, 256);
printf ("Manufacturer: %s\n", strDesc);
retVal = libusb_get_string_descriptor_ascii(devHandle, desc.iSerialNumber, strDesc, 256);
printf ("SerialNumber: %s\n", strDesc);
retVal = libusb_get_string_descriptor_ascii(devHandle, desc.iProduct, strDesc, 256);
printf ("Product: %s\n", strDesc);
printf("\n\n");
}

How to listen continuosly SSDP response after sending M-SEARCH

I would like to search Sat>IP servers on the network. Sat>IP servers advertise their presence to other Sat>IP servers and clients.
I must not continuosly send M-SEARCH messages but that instead it listens to server NOTIFY messages.
After initalizing network settings of my device, I'm sending M-SEARCH message and getting response if there is already any active Sat>IP server.
However, I couldn't get any response, If I opens Sat>IP server after sending M-SEARCH message.
Here's my code.
void SatIP::InitDiscoverThread()
{
if(INVALID_THREAD_CHK == DiscoverThreadChk)
{
pthread_attr_t attr;
pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_setstacksize(&attr, PTHREAD_STACK_SIZE);
printf("InitDiscoverThread pthread_create\n");
DiscoverThreadChk = PTH_RET_CHK(pthread_create(&DiscoverThreadID, &attr, DiscoverThreadFunc, this));
if(DiscoverThreadChk != 0)
{
ASSERT(0);
}
}
}
void SatIP::FinalizeDiscoverThread()
{
if(INVALID_THREAD_CHK != DiscoverThreadChk)
{
printf("FinalizeDiscoverThread pthread_cancel\n");
pthread_cancel(DiscoverThreadID);
DiscoverThreadChk = INVALID_THREAD_CHK;
close(discoverSocket);
}
}
void *SatIP::DiscoverThreadFunc(void* arg)
{
SatIP* satip = (SatIP *)arg;
satip->ListenSSDPResponse();
pthread_exit(NULL);
}
bool SatIP::SendMSearchMessage()
{
vSatIPServers.clear();
FinalizeDiscoverThread();
const char *searchSatIPDevice = "M-SEARCH * HTTP/1.1\r\n" \
"HOST: 239.255.255.250:1900\r\n" \
"MAN: \"ssdp:discover\"\r\n" \
"MX: 2\r\n" \
"ST: urn:ses-com:device:SatIPServer:1\r\n\r\n";
struct sockaddr_in upnpControl, broadcast_addr;
discoverSocket = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0);
if (discoverSocket == INVALID_SOCKET)
{
printf("socked failed INVALID_SOCKET\n");
return false;
}
struct timeval tv;
tv.tv_sec = 1;
tv.tv_usec = 0;
if(setsockopt(discoverSocket, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO, (char*)&tv, sizeof(tv)) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
printf("setsockopt timeout failed\n");
close(discoverSocket);
return false;
}
socklen_t ttl = 2;
if(setsockopt(discoverSocket, IPPROTO_IP, IP_MULTICAST_TTL, &ttl, sizeof(ttl)) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
printf("setsockopt TTL failed\n");
close(discoverSocket);
return false;
}
if(setsockopt(discoverSocket, SOL_SOCKET, SO_BROADCAST, searchSatIPDevice, sizeof(searchSatIPDevice)) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
printf("setsockopt broadcast failed\n");
close(discoverSocket);
return false;
}
upnpControl.sin_family = AF_INET;
upnpControl.sin_port = htons(0);
upnpControl.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
if (bind(discoverSocket, (sockaddr*)&upnpControl, sizeof(upnpControl)) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
printf("bind failed\n");
close(discoverSocket);
return false;
}
broadcast_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
broadcast_addr.sin_port = htons(1900);
broadcast_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr("239.255.255.250");
for(int i = 0; i < 3; i++)
{
if(sendto(discoverSocket, searchSatIPDevice, strlen(searchSatIPDevice), 0, (sockaddr *)&broadcast_addr, sizeof(broadcast_addr)) == SOCKET_ERROR)
{
//printf("sendto failed\n");
close(discoverSocket);
return false;
}
else
{
usleep(10*100);
}
}
InitDiscoverThread();
return true;
}
void SatIP::ListenSSDPResponse()
{
while(1)
{
char buf[512];
memset(buf, 0, 512);
struct sockaddr_in broadcast_addr;
broadcast_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
broadcast_addr.sin_port = htons(1900);
broadcast_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr("239.255.255.250");
int bcLen = sizeof(broadcast_addr);
//bool bRet = false;
while (recvfrom(discoverSocket, buf, 512, 0, (struct sockaddr*)&broadcast_addr, (socklen_t*)&bcLen) > 0)
{
printf("buf:%s\n",buf);
SATIP_SERVER_DESCRIPTION stServerDesc;
ostringstream ss;
if(strstr(buf, "device:SatIPServer"))
{
int i = 0;
char *deviceIp = strstr(buf, "LOCATION:") + 9; // get xml location including server description
while(deviceIp[i] == ' ') i++; // remove spaces from string
while(!isspace(deviceIp[i]))
{
ss << deviceIp[i];
++i;
}
stServerDesc.location = ss.str().c_str();
printf("location:%s\n",stServerDesc.location.c_str());
ss.str(""); // clear ss
i=0; // clear counter
deviceIp = strstr(buf, "http://") + 7; // get ip address
while(deviceIp[i] != ':')
{
ss << deviceIp[i];
++i;
}
stServerDesc.ipAddr = ss.str().c_str();
printf("ipAddr:%s\n", stServerDesc.ipAddr.c_str());
DownloadDeviceDescription(&stServerDesc);
stServerDesc.macAddr = GetMACAddressviaIP(stServerDesc.ipAddr);
printf("macAddr:%s\n", stServerDesc.macAddr.c_str());
if(IsServerProperToAdd(&stServerDesc))
vSatIPServers.push_back(stServerDesc);
printf("\n");
//bRet = true;
}
memset(buf, 0, 512);
}
}
}
How can I fix this issue? Any help would be appreciated.
Listening SSDP notify message is not related to sending M-SEARCH message. Devices like Sat>IP send NOTIFY message to 239.255.255.250 periodically even if you don't send M-SEARCH message. So, you should join a multicast group and receives from the group.
You can use the listener program in the following link by changing HELLO_PORT as 1900 and HELLO_GROUP as "239.255.255.250".
http://ntrg.cs.tcd.ie/undergrad/4ba2/multicast/antony/example.html
/*
* listener.c -- joins a multicast group and echoes all data it receives from
* the group to its stdout...
*
* Antony Courtney, 25/11/94
* Modified by: Frédéric Bastien (25/03/04)
* to compile without warning and work correctly
*/
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <errno.h>
#define HELLO_PORT 1900
#define HELLO_GROUP "239.255.255.250"
#define MSGBUFSIZE 256
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
struct sockaddr_in addr;
int fd, nbytes,addrlen;
struct ip_mreq mreq;
char msgbuf[MSGBUFSIZE];
u_int yes=1; /*** MODIFICATION TO ORIGINAL */
/* create what looks like an ordinary UDP socket */
if ((fd=socket(AF_INET,SOCK_DGRAM,0)) < 0) {
perror("socket");
exit(1);
}
/**** MODIFICATION TO ORIGINAL */
/* allow multiple sockets to use the same PORT number */
if (setsockopt(fd,SOL_SOCKET,SO_REUSEADDR,&yes,sizeof(yes)) < 0) {
perror("Reusing ADDR failed");
exit(1);
}
/*** END OF MODIFICATION TO ORIGINAL */
/* set up destination address */
memset(&addr,0,sizeof(addr));
addr.sin_family=AF_INET;
addr.sin_addr.s_addr=htonl(INADDR_ANY); /* N.B.: differs from sender */
addr.sin_port=htons(HELLO_PORT);
/* bind to receive address */
if (bind(fd,(struct sockaddr *) &addr,sizeof(addr)) < 0) {
perror("bind");
exit(1);
}
/* use setsockopt() to request that the kernel join a multicast group */
mreq.imr_multiaddr.s_addr=inet_addr(HELLO_GROUP);
mreq.imr_interface.s_addr=htonl(INADDR_ANY);
if (setsockopt(fd,IPPROTO_IP,IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP,&mreq,sizeof(mreq)) < 0) {
perror("setsockopt");
exit(1);
}
/* now just enter a read-print loop */
while (1) {
addrlen=sizeof(addr);
if ((nbytes=recvfrom(fd,msgbuf,MSGBUFSIZE,0,
(struct sockaddr *) &addr,&addrlen)) < 0) {
perror("recvfrom");
exit(1);
}
puts(msgbuf);
}
}

True non-blocking two-way communication between parent and external child process

I have read around 50 posts and tutorials on this topic, I have copied, written and tested around 20 alternatives and done every possible research I can think of. Still, I have not seen a working solution for the following problem:
Parent process A wants to pass data to an external process B, let process B modify the data and pass it back to parent process A, then continue with parent process A. Process B is part of an external program suite that I have no influence over, and that is normally run like this on the UNIX command line:
< input_data program_B1 | program_B2 | program_B3 > output_data
...where
input_data, output_data: Some data that is processed in programs B1-B3
program_B1,B2,B3: Programs that read data from stdin (fread) and output to stdout (fwrite) and apply some processing to the data.
So, in sequence:
(1) Parent process A passes data to child process B
(2) Child process B reads data and modifies it
(3) Child process B passes data back to parent process A
(4) Parent process A reads data and continues (for example passing it further on to a process B2..).
(5) Parent process A passes another data set to child process B etc.
The problem is, whatever I do, the program almost always ends up hanging on a read/fread (or write/fwrite?) to or from a pipe.
One important thing to note is that the parent process cannot simply close the pipes after passing data on to the child process, because it works in a loop and wants to pass another set of data to the child process once it has finished processing the first set.
Here is a working set of parent/child programs (compile with g++ pipe_parent.cc -o pipe_parent, g++ pipe_child.cc -o pipe_child) illustrating the problem with unnamed pipes. I have also tried named pipes, but not as extensively. Each execution can have a slightly different outcome. If the sleep statement is omitted in the parent, or the fflush() statement is omitted in the child, the pipes will almost surely block. If the amount of data to be passed on is increased, it will always block independent of the sleep or fflush.
Parent program A:
#include <cstring>
#include <cstdio>
#include <cstdlib>
extern "C" {
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
}
using namespace std;
/*
* Parent-child inter-communication
* Child is external process
*/
int main() {
int fd[2];
if( pipe(fd) == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Unable to create pipe\n");
}
int fd_parentWrite = fd[1];
int fd_childRead = fd[0];
if( pipe(fd) == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Unable to create pipe\n");
exit(-1);
}
int fd_childWrite = fd[1];
int fd_parentRead = fd[0];
pid_t pid = fork();
if( pid == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Unable to fork new process\n");
exit(-1);
}
if( pid == 0 ) { // Child process
dup2( fd_childRead, fileno(stdin) ); // Redirect standard input(0) to child 'read pipe'
dup2( fd_childWrite, fileno(stdout) ); // Redirect standard output(1) to child 'write pipe'
close(fd_parentRead);
close(fd_parentWrite);
close(fd_childRead);
close(fd_childWrite);
// execl replaces child process with an external one
int ret = execl("/disk/sources/pipe_test/pipe_child","pipe_child",NULL);
fprintf(stderr,"External process failed, return code: %d...\n", ret);
exit(-1);
// Child process is done. Will not continue from here on
}
else { // Parent process
// Nothing to set up
}
// ...more code...
if( pid > 0 ) { // Parent process (redundant if statement)
int numElements = 10000;
int totalSize = numElements * sizeof(float);
float* buffer = new float[numElements];
for( int i = 0; i < numElements; i++ ) {
buffer[i] = (float)i;
}
for( int iter = 0; iter < 5; iter++ ) {
fprintf(stderr,"--------- Iteration #%d -----------\n", iter);
int sizeWrite = (int)write( fd_parentWrite, buffer, totalSize );
if( sizeWrite == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent process write error\n");
exit(-1);
}
fprintf(stderr,"Parent #%d: Wrote %d elements. Total size: %d\n", iter, sizeWrite, totalSize);
sleep(1); // <--- CHANGE!
int sizeRead = (int)read( fd_parentRead, buffer, totalSize );
if( sizeRead <= 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent process read error\n");
}
while( sizeRead < totalSize ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent #%d: Read %d elements, continue reading...\n", iter, sizeRead);
int sizeNew = (int)read( fd_parentRead, &buffer[sizeRead], totalSize-sizeRead );
fprintf(stderr," ...newly read %d elements\n", sizeNew);
if( sizeNew < 0 ) {
exit(-1);
}
sizeRead += sizeNew;
}
fprintf(stderr,"Parent #%d: Read %d elements. Total size: %d\n", iter, sizeRead, totalSize);
fprintf(stderr,"Examples : %f %f %f\n", buffer[0], buffer[10], buffer[100]);
}
delete [] buffer;
}
close(fd_parentRead);
close(fd_parentWrite);
close(fd_childRead);
close(fd_childWrite);
return 0;
}
Child program B:
#include <cstdio>
using namespace std;
int main() {
int numElements = 10000;
int totalSize = numElements * sizeof(float);
float* buffer = new float[numElements];
int counter = 0;
int sizeRead = 0;
do {
sizeRead = fread( buffer, 1, totalSize, stdin);
fprintf(stderr,"Child #%d: Read %d elements, buffer100: %f\n", counter, sizeRead, buffer[100]);
if( sizeRead > 0 ) {
for( int i = 0; i < numElements; i++ ) {
buffer[i] += numElements;
}
int sizeWrite = fwrite( buffer, 1, totalSize, stdout);
fflush(stdout); // <--- CHANGE!
fprintf(stderr,"Child #%d: Wrote %d elements\n", counter, sizeWrite);
counter += 1;
}
} while( sizeRead > 0 );
return 0;
}
Is there any way to check when the pipe has enough data to be read? Or is there an alternative way to resolve the above problem, with or without pipes?
Please help!
Possibly the best solution when reading is to check with select whether you can read from the pipe. You can even pass a timeout. The alternative might be setting the O_NONBLOCK flag on file descriptor 0 (stdin) with fcntl, though I think the select way is better.
As with ensuring non-blocking write: that's a bit harder as you don't know how much you can write before the pipe blocks. One way (that I feel is very ugly) would be to only write 1 byte chunks and again check with select whether you can write. But that would be a performance killer, so use only if performance in communication is not an issue.
The first answer (using select to find out whether a pipe is ready to be read from) was good but didn't really solve my issue, see also my previous comments. Sooner or later I always ended up with a "race condition" where the program kept hanging either on a read or write.
The solution (maybe not be the only one?) is to run the child-to-parent data transfer in a different thread. I also went back and implemented the pipes as named pipes. It would probably also work with unnamed pipes but I didn't check that.
The final code is below. Note that no explicit flushing is required; the parent-to-child and child-to-parent data transfers are now decoupled. Any comments how this can be improved welcome! One residual problem I can see is that the pipes may fill up depending on how long time the child needs to process the data. I'm not sure how likely this is to happen. And by the way this worked fine with my external programs, not only with the provided child program.
Parent program A:
#include <cstring>
#include <cstdio>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
extern "C" {
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <pthread.h>
}
using namespace std;
static int const READING = -1;
static int const BUFFER_READY = 1;
static int const FINISHED = 0;
/*
* Parent-child inter-communication
* Child is external process
*/
struct threadStruct {
FILE* file_c2p;
int sizeBuffer;
float* buffer;
int io_flag;
};
// Custom sleep function
void mini_sleep( int millisec ) {
struct timespec req={0},rem={0};
time_t sec = (int)(millisec/1000);
millisec = (int)(millisec-(sec*1000));
req.tv_sec = sec;
req.tv_nsec = millisec*1000000L;
nanosleep(&req,&rem);
}
// Function to be executed within separate thread: Reads in data from file pointer
// Hand-shaking with main thread is done via the flag 'io_flag'
void *threadFunction( void *arg ) {
threadStruct* ptr = (threadStruct*)arg;
ptr->io_flag = READING;
while( ptr->io_flag != FINISHED ) {
if( ptr->io_flag == READING ) {
int sizeRead = fread( ptr->buffer, 1, ptr->sizeBuffer, ptr->file_c2p );
if( sizeRead <= 0 ) {
ptr->io_flag = FINISHED;
return NULL;
}
ptr->io_flag = BUFFER_READY;
}
else {
mini_sleep(10);
}
}
return NULL;
}
//--------------------------------------------------
int main() {
std::string filename_p2c("/tmp/fifo11_p2c");
std::string filename_c2p("/tmp/fifo11_c2p");
fprintf(stderr,"..started\n");
int status = mknod(filename_p2c.c_str(), S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR | S_IFIFO, 0);
if( (status == -1) && (errno != EEXIST) ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Error creating named pipe: %s\n", strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
status = mknod(filename_c2p.c_str(), S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR | S_IFIFO, 0);
if( (status == -1) && (errno != EEXIST) ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Error creating named pipe: %s\n", strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
FILE* file_dump = fopen("parent_dump","w");
int fd_p2c;
int fd_c2p;
FILE* file_c2p = NULL;
//--------------------------------------------------
// Set up parent/child processes
//
pid_t pid = fork();
if( pid == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Unable to fork new process\n");
}
if( pid == 0 ) { // Child process
fd_p2c = open( filename_p2c.c_str(), O_RDONLY );
if( fd_p2c < 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Child: Error opening the named pipe: %d %d '%s'\n", fd_p2c, errno, strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
fd_c2p = open( filename_c2p.c_str(), O_WRONLY );
if( fd_c2p < 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Child: Error opening the named pipe: %d %d '%s'\n", fd_c2p, errno, strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
dup2(fd_p2c,fileno(stdin)); // Redirect standard input(0) to child 'read pipe'
dup2(fd_c2p,fileno(stdout)); // Redirect standard output(1) to child 'write pipe'
close(fd_p2c);
close(fd_c2p);
int ret = execl("/disk/sources/pipe_test/pipe_child","pipe_child",NULL);
fprintf(stderr,"External process failed, return code: %d...\n", ret);
kill( getppid(), 9 ); // Kill parent process
exit(-1);
}
else { // Parent process
fd_p2c = open( filename_p2c.c_str(), O_WRONLY );
if( fd_p2c < 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent: Error opening the named pipe: %d %d '%s'\n", fd_p2c, errno, strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
file_c2p = fopen( filename_c2p.c_str(), "r");
fd_c2p = fileno( file_c2p );
if( fd_c2p < 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent: Error opening the named pipe: %d %d '%s'\n", fd_c2p, errno, strerror(errno));
exit(-1);
}
}
int numElements = 10000;
int sizeBuffer = numElements * sizeof(float);
float* bufferIn = new float[numElements];
float* bufferOut = new float[numElements];
for( int i = 0; i < numElements; i++ ) {
bufferIn[i] = 0.0;
}
int numIterations = 5;
int numBytesAll = numElements * sizeof(float) * numIterations;
pthread_t thread;
threadStruct* threadParam = new threadStruct();
threadParam->file_c2p = file_c2p;
threadParam->sizeBuffer = sizeBuffer;
threadParam->buffer = bufferIn;
threadParam->io_flag = READING;
int thread_stat = pthread_create( &thread, NULL, threadFunction, threadParam );
if( thread_stat < 0 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Error when creating thread\n");
exit(-1);
}
int readCounter = 0;
int numBytesWrite = 0;
int numBytesRead = 0;
for( int iter = 0; iter < numIterations; iter++ ) {
for( int i = 0; i < numElements; i++ ) {
bufferOut[i] = (float)i + iter*numElements*10;
}
int sizeWrite = (int)write( fd_p2c, bufferOut, sizeBuffer );
if( sizeWrite == -1 ) {
fprintf(stderr,"Parent process write error\n");
exit(-1);
}
numBytesWrite += sizeWrite;
fprintf(file_dump,"Parent #%d: Wrote %d/%d bytes.\n", iter, numBytesWrite, numBytesAll);
if( iter == numIterations-1 ) close(fd_p2c); // Closing output pipe makes sure child receives EOF
if( threadParam->io_flag != READING ) {
numBytesRead += sizeBuffer;
fprintf(file_dump,"Parent #%d: Read %d/%d bytes. Examples: %f %f\n",
readCounter, numBytesRead, numBytesAll, bufferIn[1], bufferIn[numElements-1] );
readCounter += 1;
if( threadParam->io_flag != FINISHED ) threadParam->io_flag = READING;
}
}
//********************************************************************************
//
fprintf(file_dump,"------------------------------\n");
while( threadParam->io_flag != FINISHED ) {
if( threadParam->io_flag == BUFFER_READY ) {
numBytesRead += sizeBuffer;
fprintf(file_dump,"Parent #%d: Read %d/%d bytes. Examples: %f %f\n",
readCounter, numBytesRead, numBytesAll, bufferIn[1], bufferIn[numElements-1] );
readCounter += 1;
if( threadParam->io_flag != FINISHED ) threadParam->io_flag = READING;
}
else {
mini_sleep(10);
}
}
// wait for thread to finish before continuing
pthread_join( thread, NULL );
fclose(file_dump);
fclose(file_c2p);
waitpid(pid, &status, 0); // clean up any children
fprintf(stderr,"..finished\n");
delete [] bufferIn;
delete [] bufferOut;
return 0;
}
Child program B:
#include <cstdio>
using namespace std;
int main() {
int numElements = 10000;
int totalSize = numElements * sizeof(float);
float* buffer = new float[numElements];
FILE* file_dump = fopen("child_dump","w");
int counter = 0;
int sizeRead = 0;
do {
sizeRead = fread( buffer, 1, totalSize, stdin);
if( sizeRead > 0 ) {
fprintf(file_dump,"Child #%d: Read %d bytes, examples: %f %f\n", counter, sizeRead, buffer[1], buffer[numElements-1]);
for( int i = 0; i < numElements; i++ ) {
buffer[i] += numElements;
}
int sizeWrite = fwrite( buffer, 1, totalSize, stdout);
fprintf(file_dump,"Child #%d: Wrote %d bytes, examples: %f %f\n", counter, sizeRead, buffer[1], buffer[numElements-1]);
counter += 1;
}
} while( sizeRead > 0 );
fprintf(file_dump,"Child is finished\n");
fclose(file_dump);
fclose(stdout);
return 0;
}