Gio.ApplicationCommandLine

g GObject.Object GObject.Object Gio.ApplicationCommandLine Gio.ApplicationCommandLine GObject.Object->Gio.ApplicationCommandLine

Subclasses:

None

Methods

Inherited:

GObject.Object (37)

Structs:

GObject.ObjectClass (5)

create_file_for_arg (arg)

done ()

get_arguments ()

get_cwd ()

get_environ ()

get_exit_status ()

get_is_remote ()

get_options_dict ()

get_platform_data ()

get_stdin ()

getenv (name)

print_literal (message)

printerr_literal (message)

set_exit_status (exit_status)

Virtual Methods

Inherited:

GObject.Object (7)

do_done ()

do_get_stdin ()

do_print_literal (message)

do_printerr_literal (message)

Properties

Name

Type

Flags

Short Description

arguments

GLib.Variant

w/co

is-remote

bool

r

options

GLib.Variant

w/co

platform-data

GLib.Variant

w/co

Signals

Inherited:

GObject.Object (1)

Fields

Inherited:

GObject.Object (1)

Name

Type

Access

Description

parent_instance

GObject.Object

r

Class Details

class Gio.ApplicationCommandLine(**kwargs)
Bases:

GObject.Object

Abstract:

No

Structure:

Gio.ApplicationCommandLineClass

GApplicationCommandLine represents a command-line invocation of an application.

It is created by [class`Gio`.Application] and emitted in the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] signal and virtual function.

The class contains the list of arguments that the program was invoked with. It is also possible to query if the commandline invocation was local (ie: the current process is running in direct response to the invocation) or remote (ie: some other process forwarded the commandline to this process).

The GApplicationCommandLine object can provide the argc and argv parameters for use with the [struct`GLib`.OptionContext] command-line parsing API, with the [method`Gio`.ApplicationCommandLine.get_arguments] function. See ‘gapplication-example-cmdline3.c [gapplication-example-cmdline3]’ for an example.

The exit status of the originally-invoked process may be set and messages can be printed to stdout or stderr of that process.

For remote invocation, the originally-invoked process exits when [method`Gio`.ApplicationCommandLine.done] method is called. This method is also automatically called when the object is disposed.

The main use for GApplicationCommandLine (and the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] signal) is ‘Emacs server’ like use cases: You can set the EDITOR environment variable to have e.g. git use your favourite editor to edit commit messages, and if you already have an instance of the editor running, the editing will happen in the running instance, instead of opening a new one. An important aspect of this use case is that the process that gets started by git does not return until the editing is done.

Normally, the commandline is completely handled in the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] handler. The launching instance exits once the signal handler in the primary instance has returned, and the return value of the signal handler becomes the exit status of the launching instance.

```c static int command_line (Gio.Application *application, Gio.ApplicationCommandLine *cmdline) { str **argv; int argc; int i;

argv = Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.get_arguments (cmdline, &argc);

g_application_command_line_print (cmdline, “This text is written back\n” “to stdout of the caller\n”);

for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) g_print (“argument %d: %s\n”, i, argv[i]);

GLib.strfreev (argv);

return 0; } ```

The complete example can be found here: gapplication-example-cmdline.c

In more complicated cases, the handling of the commandline can be split between the launcher and the primary instance.

```c static bool test_local_cmdline (Gio.Application *application, str ***arguments, int *exit_status) { int i, j; str **argv;

argv = *arguments;

if (argv[0] == None) { *exit_status = 0; return False; }

i = 1; while (argv[i]) { if (GLib.str_has_prefix (argv[i], “–local-“)) { g_print (“handling argument %s locally\n”, argv[i]); GLib.free (argv[i]); for (j = i; argv[j]; j++) argv[j] = argv[j + 1]; } else { g_print (“not handling argument %s locally\n”, argv[i]); i++; } }

*exit_status = 0;

return False; }

static void test_application_class_init (TestApplicationClass *class) { G_APPLICATION_CLASS (class)->local_command_line = test_local_cmdline;

… } ```

In this example of split commandline handling, options that start with --local- are handled locally, all other options are passed to the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] handler which runs in the primary instance.

The complete example can be found here: gapplication-example-cmdline2.c

If handling the commandline requires a lot of work, it may be better to defer it.

```c static bool my_cmdline_handler (object data) { Gio.ApplicationCommandLine *cmdline = data;

// do the heavy lifting in an idle

Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.set_exit_status (cmdline, 0); GObject.Object.unref (cmdline); // this releases the application

return GLib.SOURCE_REMOVE; }

static int command_line (Gio.Application *application, Gio.ApplicationCommandLine *cmdline) { // keep the application running until we are done with this commandline Gio.Application.hold (application);

g_object_set_data_full (G_OBJECT (cmdline), “application”, application, (GLib.DestroyNotify):obj:Gio.Application.release);

GObject.Object.ref (cmdline); GLib.idle_add (my_cmdline_handler, cmdline);

return 0; } ```

In this example the commandline is not completely handled before the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] handler returns. Instead, we keep a reference to the GApplicationCommandLine object and handle it later (in this example, in an idle). Note that it is necessary to hold the application until you are done with the commandline.

The complete example can be found here: gapplication-example-cmdline3.c

create_file_for_arg(arg)[source]
Parameters:

arg (str) – an argument from self

Returns:

a new Gio.File

Return type:

Gio.File

Creates a Gio.File corresponding to a filename that was given as part of the invocation of self.

This differs from Gio.File.new_for_commandline_arg() in that it resolves relative pathnames using the current working directory of the invoking process rather than the local process.

New in version 2.36.

done()[source]

Signals that command line processing is completed.

For remote invocation, it causes the invoking process to terminate.

For local invocation, it does nothing.

This method should be called in the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] handler, after the exit status is set and all messages are printed.

After this call, Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.set_exit_status() has no effect. Subsequent calls to this method are no-ops.

This method is automatically called when the Gio.ApplicationCommandLine object is disposed — so you can omit the call in non-garbage collected languages.

New in version 2.80.

get_arguments()[source]
Returns:

the string array containing the arguments (the argv)

Return type:

[str]

Gets the list of arguments that was passed on the command line.

The strings in the array may contain non-UTF-8 data on UNIX (such as filenames or arguments given in the system locale) but are always in UTF-8 on Windows.

If you wish to use the return value with GLib.OptionContext, you must use GLib.OptionContext.parse_strv().

The return value is None-terminated and should be freed using GLib.strfreev().

New in version 2.28.

get_cwd()[source]
Returns:

the current directory, or None

Return type:

str or None

Gets the working directory of the command line invocation. The string may contain non-utf8 data.

It is possible that the remote application did not send a working directory, so this may be None.

The return value should not be modified or freed and is valid for as long as self exists.

New in version 2.28.

get_environ()[source]
Returns:

the environment strings, or None if they were not sent

Return type:

[str]

Gets the contents of the ‘environ’ variable of the command line invocation, as would be returned by GLib.get_environ(), ie as a None-terminated list of strings in the form ‘NAME=VALUE’. The strings may contain non-utf8 data.

The remote application usually does not send an environment. Use Gio.ApplicationFlags.SEND_ENVIRONMENT to affect that. Even with this flag set it is possible that the environment is still not available (due to invocation messages from other applications).

The return value should not be modified or freed and is valid for as long as self exists.

See Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.getenv() if you are only interested in the value of a single environment variable.

New in version 2.28.

get_exit_status()[source]
Returns:

the exit status

Return type:

int

Gets the exit status of self. See Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.set_exit_status() for more information.

New in version 2.28.

get_is_remote()[source]
Returns:

True if the invocation was remote

Return type:

bool

Determines if self represents a remote invocation.

New in version 2.28.

get_options_dict()[source]
Returns:

a GLib.VariantDict with the options

Return type:

GLib.VariantDict

Gets the options that were passed to g_application_command_line().

If you did not override local_command_line() then these are the same options that were parsed according to the GLib.OptionEntrys added to the application with Gio.Application.add_main_option_entries() and possibly modified from your Gio.Application ::handle-local-options handler.

If no options were sent then an empty dictionary is returned so that you don’t need to check for None.

The data has been passed via an untrusted external process, so the types of all values must be checked before being used.

New in version 2.40.

get_platform_data()[source]
Returns:

the platform data, or None

Return type:

GLib.Variant or None

Gets the platform data associated with the invocation of self.

This is a GLib.Variant dictionary containing information about the context in which the invocation occurred. It typically contains information like the current working directory and the startup notification ID.

It comes from an untrusted external process and hence the types of all values must be validated before being used.

For local invocation, it will be None.

New in version 2.28.

get_stdin()[source]
Returns:

a Gio.InputStream for stdin

Return type:

Gio.InputStream or None

Gets the stdin of the invoking process.

The Gio.InputStream can be used to read data passed to the standard input of the invoking process. This doesn’t work on all platforms. Presently, it is only available on UNIX when using a D-Bus daemon capable of passing file descriptors. If stdin is not available then None will be returned. In the future, support may be expanded to other platforms.

You must only call this function once per commandline invocation.

New in version 2.34.

getenv(name)[source]
Parameters:

name (str) – the environment variable to get

Returns:

the value of the variable, or None if unset or unsent

Return type:

str or None

Gets the value of a particular environment variable of the command line invocation, as would be returned by GLib.getenv(). The strings may contain non-utf8 data.

The remote application usually does not send an environment. Use Gio.ApplicationFlags.SEND_ENVIRONMENT to affect that. Even with this flag set it is possible that the environment is still not available (due to invocation messages from other applications).

The return value should not be modified or freed and is valid for as long as self exists.

New in version 2.28.

print_literal(message)[source]
Parameters:

message (str) – the message

Prints a message using the stdout print handler in the invoking process.

Unlike g_application_command_line_print(), message is not a printf()-style format string. Use this function if message contains text you don’t have control over, that could include printf() escape sequences.

New in version 2.80.

printerr_literal(message)[source]
Parameters:

message (str) – the message

Prints a message using the stderr print handler in the invoking process.

Unlike g_application_command_line_printerr(), message is not a printf()-style format string. Use this function if message contains text you don’t have control over, that could include printf() escape sequences.

New in version 2.80.

set_exit_status(exit_status)[source]
Parameters:

exit_status (int) – the exit status

Sets the exit status that will be used when the invoking process exits.

The return value of the Gio.Application ::command-line signal is passed to this function when the handler returns. This is the usual way of setting the exit status.

In the event that you want the remote invocation to continue running and want to decide on the exit status in the future, you can use this call. For the case of a remote invocation, the remote process will typically exit when the last reference is dropped on self. The exit status of the remote process will be equal to the last value that was set with this function.

In the case that the commandline invocation is local, the situation is slightly more complicated. If the commandline invocation results in the mainloop running (ie: because the use-count of the application increased to a non-zero value) then the application is considered to have been ‘successful’ in a certain sense, and the exit status is always zero. If the application use count is zero, though, the exit status of the local Gio.ApplicationCommandLine is used.

This method is a no-op if Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.done() has been called.

New in version 2.28.

do_done() virtual

Signals that command line processing is completed.

For remote invocation, it causes the invoking process to terminate.

For local invocation, it does nothing.

This method should be called in the [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] handler, after the exit status is set and all messages are printed.

After this call, Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.set_exit_status() has no effect. Subsequent calls to this method are no-ops.

This method is automatically called when the Gio.ApplicationCommandLine object is disposed — so you can omit the call in non-garbage collected languages.

New in version 2.80.

do_get_stdin() virtual
Returns:

a Gio.InputStream for stdin

Return type:

Gio.InputStream or None

Gets the stdin of the invoking process.

The Gio.InputStream can be used to read data passed to the standard input of the invoking process. This doesn’t work on all platforms. Presently, it is only available on UNIX when using a D-Bus daemon capable of passing file descriptors. If stdin is not available then None will be returned. In the future, support may be expanded to other platforms.

You must only call this function once per commandline invocation.

New in version 2.34.

do_print_literal(message) virtual
Parameters:

message (str) – the message

Prints a message using the stdout print handler in the invoking process.

Unlike g_application_command_line_print(), message is not a printf()-style format string. Use this function if message contains text you don’t have control over, that could include printf() escape sequences.

New in version 2.80.

do_printerr_literal(message) virtual
Parameters:

message (str) – the message

Prints a message using the stderr print handler in the invoking process.

Unlike g_application_command_line_printerr(), message is not a printf()-style format string. Use this function if message contains text you don’t have control over, that could include printf() escape sequences.

New in version 2.80.

Property Details

Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.props.arguments
Name:

arguments

Type:

GLib.Variant

Default Value:

None

Flags:

WRITABLE, CONSTRUCT_ONLY

The commandline that caused this [signal`Gio`.Application::command-line] signal emission.

New in version 2.28.

Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.props.is_remote
Name:

is-remote

Type:

bool

Default Value:

False

Flags:

READABLE

Whether this is a remote commandline.

New in version 2.28.

Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.props.options
Name:

options

Type:

GLib.Variant

Default Value:

None

Flags:

WRITABLE, CONSTRUCT_ONLY

The options sent along with the commandline.

New in version 2.28.

Gio.ApplicationCommandLine.props.platform_data
Name:

platform-data

Type:

GLib.Variant

Default Value:

None

Flags:

WRITABLE, CONSTRUCT_ONLY

Platform-specific data for the commandline.

New in version 2.28.