std/io/

mod.rs

//! Traits, helpers, and type definitions for core I/O functionality.
//!
//! The `std::io` module contains a number of common things you'll need
//! when doing input and output. The most core part of this module is
//! the [`Read`] and [`Write`] traits, which provide the
//! most general interface for reading and writing input and output.
//!
//! ## Read and Write
//!
//! Because they are traits, [`Read`] and [`Write`] are implemented by a number
//! of other types, and you can implement them for your types too. As such,
//! you'll see a few different types of I/O throughout the documentation in
//! this module: [`File`]s, [`TcpStream`]s, and sometimes even [`Vec<T>`]s. For
//! example, [`Read`] adds a [`read`][`Read::read`] method, which we can use on
//! [`File`]s:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//! use std::fs::File;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let mut f = File::open("foo.txt")?;
//!     let mut buffer = [0; 10];
//!
//!     // read up to 10 bytes
//!     let n = f.read(&mut buffer)?;
//!
//!     println!("The bytes: {:?}", &buffer[..n]);
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! [`Read`] and [`Write`] are so important, implementors of the two traits have a
//! nickname: readers and writers. So you'll sometimes see 'a reader' instead
//! of 'a type that implements the [`Read`] trait'. Much easier!
//!
//! ## Seek and BufRead
//!
//! Beyond that, there are two important traits that are provided: [`Seek`]
//! and [`BufRead`]. Both of these build on top of a reader to control
//! how the reading happens. [`Seek`] lets you control where the next byte is
//! coming from:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//! use std::io::SeekFrom;
//! use std::fs::File;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let mut f = File::open("foo.txt")?;
//!     let mut buffer = [0; 10];
//!
//!     // skip to the last 10 bytes of the file
//!     f.seek(SeekFrom::End(-10))?;
//!
//!     // read up to 10 bytes
//!     let n = f.read(&mut buffer)?;
//!
//!     println!("The bytes: {:?}", &buffer[..n]);
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! [`BufRead`] uses an internal buffer to provide a number of other ways to read, but
//! to show it off, we'll need to talk about buffers in general. Keep reading!
//!
//! ## BufReader and BufWriter
//!
//! Byte-based interfaces are unwieldy and can be inefficient, as we'd need to be
//! making near-constant calls to the operating system. To help with this,
//! `std::io` comes with two structs, [`BufReader`] and [`BufWriter`], which wrap
//! readers and writers. The wrapper uses a buffer, reducing the number of
//! calls and providing nicer methods for accessing exactly what you want.
//!
//! For example, [`BufReader`] works with the [`BufRead`] trait to add extra
//! methods to any reader:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//! use std::io::BufReader;
//! use std::fs::File;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let f = File::open("foo.txt")?;
//!     let mut reader = BufReader::new(f);
//!     let mut buffer = String::new();
//!
//!     // read a line into buffer
//!     reader.read_line(&mut buffer)?;
//!
//!     println!("{buffer}");
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! [`BufWriter`] doesn't add any new ways of writing; it just buffers every call
//! to [`write`][`Write::write`]:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//! use std::io::BufWriter;
//! use std::fs::File;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let f = File::create("foo.txt")?;
//!     {
//!         let mut writer = BufWriter::new(f);
//!
//!         // write a byte to the buffer
//!         writer.write(&[42])?;
//!
//!     } // the buffer is flushed once writer goes out of scope
//!
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! ## Standard input and output
//!
//! A very common source of input is standard input:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let mut input = String::new();
//!
//!     io::stdin().read_line(&mut input)?;
//!
//!     println!("You typed: {}", input.trim());
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! Note that you cannot use the [`?` operator] in functions that do not return
//! a [`Result<T, E>`][`Result`]. Instead, you can call [`.unwrap()`]
//! or `match` on the return value to catch any possible errors:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//!
//! let mut input = String::new();
//!
//! io::stdin().read_line(&mut input).unwrap();
//! ```
//!
//! And a very common source of output is standard output:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     io::stdout().write(&[42])?;
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! Of course, using [`io::stdout`] directly is less common than something like
//! [`println!`].
//!
//! ## Iterator types
//!
//! A large number of the structures provided by `std::io` are for various
//! ways of iterating over I/O. For example, [`Lines`] is used to split over
//! lines:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//! use std::io::prelude::*;
//! use std::io::BufReader;
//! use std::fs::File;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let f = File::open("foo.txt")?;
//!     let reader = BufReader::new(f);
//!
//!     for line in reader.lines() {
//!         println!("{}", line?);
//!     }
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! ## Functions
//!
//! There are a number of [functions][functions-list] that offer access to various
//! features. For example, we can use three of these functions to copy everything
//! from standard input to standard output:
//!
//! ```no_run
//! use std::io;
//!
//! fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     io::copy(&mut io::stdin(), &mut io::stdout())?;
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! [functions-list]: #functions-1
//!
//! ## io::Result
//!
//! Last, but certainly not least, is [`io::Result`]. This type is used
//! as the return type of many `std::io` functions that can cause an error, and
//! can be returned from your own functions as well. Many of the examples in this
//! module use the [`?` operator]:
//!
//! ```
//! use std::io;
//!
//! fn read_input() -> io::Result<()> {
//!     let mut input = String::new();
//!
//!     io::stdin().read_line(&mut input)?;
//!
//!     println!("You typed: {}", input.trim());
//!
//!     Ok(())
//! }
//! ```
//!
//! The return type of `read_input()`, [`io::Result<()>`][`io::Result`], is a very
//! common type for functions which don't have a 'real' return value, but do want to
//! return errors if they happen. In this case, the only purpose of this function is
//! to read the line and print it, so we use `()`.
//!
//! ## Platform-specific behavior
//!
//! Many I/O functions throughout the standard library are documented to indicate
//! what various library or syscalls they are delegated to. This is done to help
//! applications both understand what's happening under the hood as well as investigate
//! any possibly unclear semantics. Note, however, that this is informative, not a binding
//! contract. The implementation of many of these functions are subject to change over
//! time and may call fewer or more syscalls/library functions.
//!
//! ## I/O Safety
//!
//! Rust follows an I/O safety discipline that is comparable to its memory safety discipline. This
//! means that file descriptors can be *exclusively owned*. (Here, "file descriptor" is meant to
//! subsume similar concepts that exist across a wide range of operating systems even if they might
//! use a different name, such as "handle".) An exclusively owned file descriptor is one that no
//! other code is allowed to access in any way, but the owner is allowed to access and even close
//! it any time. A type that owns its file descriptor should usually close it in its `drop`
//! function. Types like [`File`] own their file descriptor. Similarly, file descriptors
//! can be *borrowed*, granting the temporary right to perform operations on this file descriptor.
//! This indicates that the file descriptor will not be closed for the lifetime of the borrow, but
//! it does *not* imply any right to close this file descriptor, since it will likely be owned by
//! someone else.
//!
//! The platform-specific parts of the Rust standard library expose types that reflect these
//! concepts, see [`os::unix`] and [`os::windows`].
//!
//! To uphold I/O safety, it is crucial that no code acts on file descriptors it does not own or
//! borrow, and no code closes file descriptors it does not own. In other words, a safe function
//! that takes a regular integer, treats it as a file descriptor, and acts on it, is *unsound*.
//!
//! Not upholding I/O safety and acting on a file descriptor without proof of ownership can lead to
//! misbehavior and even Undefined Behavior in code that relies on ownership of its file
//! descriptors: a closed file descriptor could be re-allocated, so the original owner of that file
//! descriptor is now working on the wrong file. Some code might even rely on fully encapsulating
//! its file descriptors with no operations being performed by any other part of the program.
//!
//! Note that exclusive ownership of a file descriptor does *not* imply exclusive ownership of the
//! underlying kernel object that the file descriptor references (also called "open file description" on
//! some operating systems). File descriptors basically work like [`Arc`]: when you receive an owned
//! file descriptor, you cannot know whether there are any other file descriptors that reference the
//! same kernel object. However, when you create a new kernel object, you know that you are holding
//! the only reference to it. Just be careful not to lend it to anyone, since they can obtain a
//! clone and then you can no longer know what the reference count is! In that sense, [`OwnedFd`] is
//! like `Arc` and [`BorrowedFd<'a>`] is like `&'a Arc` (and similar for the Windows types). In
//! particular, given a `BorrowedFd<'a>`, you are not allowed to close the file descriptor -- just
//! like how, given a `&'a Arc`, you are not allowed to decrement the reference count and
//! potentially free the underlying object. There is no equivalent to `Box` for file descriptors in
//! the standard library (that would be a type that guarantees that the reference count is `1`),
//! however, it would be possible for a crate to define a type with those semantics.
//!
//! [`File`]: crate::fs::File
//! [`TcpStream`]: crate::net::TcpStream
//! [`io::stdout`]: stdout
//! [`io::Result`]: self::Result
//! [`?` operator]: ../../book/appendix-02-operators.html
//! [`Result`]: crate::result::Result
//! [`.unwrap()`]: crate::result::Result::unwrap
//! [`os::unix`]: ../os/unix/io/index.html
//! [`os::windows`]: ../os/windows/io/index.html
//! [`OwnedFd`]: ../os/fd/struct.OwnedFd.html
//! [`BorrowedFd<'a>`]: ../os/fd/struct.BorrowedFd.html
//! [`Arc`]: crate::sync::Arc

#![stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests;

#[unstable(feature = "raw_os_error_ty", issue = "107792")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::RawOsError;
#[doc(hidden)]
#[unstable(feature = "io_const_error_internals", issue = "none")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::SimpleMessage;
#[unstable(feature = "io_const_error", issue = "133448")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::const_error;
#[stable(feature = "io_read_to_string", since = "1.65.0")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::read_to_string;
#[unstable(feature = "read_buf", issue = "78485")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::{BorrowedBuf, BorrowedCursor};
#[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::{
    BufRead, Bytes, Chain, Cursor, Empty, Error, ErrorKind, Lines, Read, Repeat, Result, Seek,
    SeekFrom, Sink, Split, Take, Write, empty, repeat, sink,
};
#[allow(unused_imports, reason = "only used by certain platforms")]
pub(crate) use alloc_crate::io::{
    DEFAULT_BUF_SIZE, default_read_buf, default_read_vectored, default_write_vectored,
};
pub(crate) use alloc_crate::io::{
    IoHandle, SpecReadByte, append_to_string, default_read_buf_exact, default_read_exact,
    default_read_to_end, default_read_to_string, stream_len_default, uninlined_slow_read_byte,
};
#[stable(feature = "iovec", since = "1.36.0")]
pub use alloc_crate::io::{IoSlice, IoSliceMut};
use alloc_crate::io::{OsFunctions, SizeHint};

#[stable(feature = "bufwriter_into_parts", since = "1.56.0")]
pub use self::buffered::WriterPanicked;
#[stable(feature = "anonymous_pipe", since = "1.87.0")]
pub use self::pipe::{PipeReader, PipeWriter, pipe};
#[stable(feature = "is_terminal", since = "1.70.0")]
pub use self::stdio::IsTerminal;
pub(crate) use self::stdio::attempt_print_to_stderr;
#[unstable(feature = "print_internals", issue = "none")]
#[doc(hidden)]
pub use self::stdio::{_eprint, _print};
#[unstable(feature = "internal_output_capture", issue = "none")]
#[doc(no_inline, hidden)]
pub use self::stdio::{set_output_capture, try_set_output_capture};
#[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
pub use self::{
    buffered::{BufReader, BufWriter, IntoInnerError, LineWriter},
    copy::copy,
    stdio::{Stderr, StderrLock, Stdin, StdinLock, Stdout, StdoutLock, stderr, stdin, stdout},
};

mod buffered;
pub(crate) mod copy;
mod cursor;
mod error;
mod impls;
mod pipe;
pub mod prelude;
mod stdio;
mod util;

pub(crate) use stdio::cleanup;