PLIB Core API Reference (Psion SIBO / Workabout MX)
Categorised function reference for the core PLIB library, drawn from the
PLIB Reference, Version 2.10 (3 February 1995), (C) Psion PLC.
Conventions
- Signatures are transcribed from the manual. The OCR source occasionally
mangles glyphs; signatures below are corrected to the manual's own C types
where the intent is unambiguous. Uncertain items are marked [?].
- Types:
TEXT = char/byte string, UBYTE/BYTE, UWORD/WORD (16-bit),
UINT/INT (16-bit), ULONG/LONG (32-bit), DOUBLE (64-bit float),
VOID, HANDLE, BOOL.
- Many functions return
0 on success and a negative E_* error number
(defined in p_gen.h etc.) on failure.
f_* twins of p_* allocators/senders behave identically except they call
p_leave(E_GEN_NOMEMORY) / p_leave(err) instead of returning NULL/err.
1. String & Buffer Handling
Declared chiefly in p_std.h / plib.h. Buffers (b*) take an explicit
length; strings (s*) are zero-terminated.
1.1 Copy, length, concatenate, fill
| Signature |
Purpose |
UBYTE *p_bcpy(VOID *target, VOID *source, UINT len); |
Copy len bytes source→target (overlap-safe); returns target+len. |
UINT p_slen(TEXT *str); |
Return length of zero-terminated string, excluding the terminator. |
TEXT *p_scpy(TEXT *target, TEXT *source); |
Copy string source→target; returns address of target's terminating zero. |
TEXT *p_scpym(TEXT *target, ...); |
Copy+concatenate a NULL-terminated list of strings into target. |
TEXT *p_scat(TEXT *lstr, TEXT *rstr); |
Append rstr to lstr; returns address of new terminating zero. |
TEXT *p_scatm(TEXT *lstr, ...); |
Append a NULL-terminated list of strings to lstr. |
UBYTE *p_brep(VOID *buf, INT buf_len, VOID *pattern, INT pat_len); |
Fill buf by replicating a byte pattern; returns buf+buf_len. |
TEXT *p_srep(TEXT *buf, INT buf_len, TEXT *pattern); |
Fill buf by replicating a string pattern (terminator excluded). |
VOID p_bswap(VOID *buf1, VOID *buf2, INT len); |
Swap len bytes between two buffers. |
UBYTE *p_bfil(VOID *buf, UINT buf_len, INT fill_byte); |
Fill buf with a repeated byte; returns buf+buf_len. |
TEXT *p_jtob(TEXT *tbuf, INT tlen, TEXT *sbuf, INT slen, INT type, INT fill); |
Left/right/centre-align sbuf in tbuf (P_JLEFT/P_JRIGHT/P_JCENTRE), padding with fill. |
1.2 Comparison
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_bcmp(VOID *lbuf, INT lbuf_len, VOID *rbuf, INT rbuf_len); |
Compare two buffers byte-wise; returns lbuf−rbuf (<0 / 0 / >0). |
INT p_scmp(TEXT *lstr, TEXT *rstr); |
Compare two strings; returns lstr−rstr. |
INT p_bcmpi(TEXT *lbuf, INT lbuf_len, TEXT *rbuf, INT rbuf_len); |
Case-independent buffer compare. |
INT p_scmpi(TEXT *lstr, TEXT *rstr); |
Case-independent string compare. |
(OCR renders these as p_bemp/p_bempi; the intended names are p_bcmp/p_bcmpi.)
1.3 Searching (character, substring, wildcard)
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_bloc(VOID *buf, INT buf_len, INT ch); |
Index of first ch in buffer, or −1. |
INT p_sloc(TEXT *str, INT ch); |
Index of first ch in string, or −1. |
INT p_bloci(TEXT *buf, INT buf_len, INT ch); |
Case-independent forward char search in buffer. |
INT p_sloci(TEXT *str, INT ch); |
Case-independent forward char search in string. |
INT p_slocr(TEXT *str, INT ch); |
Reverse (last-occurrence) char search in string. |
INT p_slocri(TEXT *str, INT ch); |
Case-independent reverse char search in string. |
INT p_bsub(VOID *buf, INT buf_len, VOID *sbuf, INT sbuf_len); |
Index of first occurrence of a byte sequence in buffer, or −1. |
INT p_ssub(TEXT *str, TEXT *substr); |
Index of first occurrence of substring in string, or −1. |
INT p_bsubi(TEXT *buf, INT buf_len, TEXT *sbuf, INT sbuf_len); |
Case-independent buffer subsequence search. |
INT p_ssubi(TEXT *str, TEXT *substr); |
Case-independent substring search. |
INT p_bmatch(TEXT *buf, INT blen, TEXT *mbuf, INT mlen); |
Match buffer against a wildcard spec (*, ?); returns TRUE/FALSE. |
INT p_bmatchi(TEXT *buf, INT blen, TEXT *mbuf, INT mlen); |
Case-independent wildcard buffer match. |
INT p_smatch(TEXT *str, TEXT *mstr); |
Match string against wildcard spec (*, ?). |
INT p_smatchi(TEXT *str, TEXT *mstr); |
Case-independent wildcard string match. |
1.4 Character classification (return TRUE/FALSE for c modulo 256)
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_isupper(INT c); |
Uppercase alphabetic (accented or not). |
INT p_islower(INT c); |
Lowercase alphabetic. |
INT p_isalpha(INT c); |
Alphabetic either case. |
INT p_isdigit(INT c); |
Decimal digit 0–9. |
INT p_isalnum(INT c); |
Alphanumeric. |
INT p_isxdigit(INT c); |
Hex digit 0–9, A–F, a–f. |
INT p_isspace(INT c); |
Whitespace (space, HT, NL, VT, FF, CR). |
INT p_iscntrl(INT c); |
Control character (0–31, 127). |
INT p_ispunct(INT c); |
Printable graphic, not alphanumeric/space. |
INT p_isgraph(INT c); |
Printable graphic (alnum or punct). |
INT p_isprint(INT c); |
Printable, i.e. p_isgraph plus space. |
1.5 Folding & case conversion, skipping
| Signature |
Purpose |
TEXT *p_skipwh(TEXT *str); |
Skip leading whitespace; return first non-white char. |
TEXT *p_skipch(TEXT *str); |
Skip non-white chars; return first whitespace/terminator. |
INT p_tofold(INT c); |
Fold char via built-in fold table (for case-insensitive matching). |
TEXT *p_scpyf(TEXT *target, TEXT *source); |
Copy string folding each char (like p_scpy). |
VOID p_sconf(TEXT *str); |
Fold the characters of a string in place. |
INT p_toupper(INT c); |
Convert char to upper case (display use, not matching). |
INT p_tolower(INT c); |
Convert char to lower case (display use, not matching). |
VOID p_scap(TEXT *str); |
Capitalise string: first char upper, rest lower. (EPOC 2.14+) |
Folding vs. case: p_tofold/p_sconf are for case-insensitive
ordering/matching (symbol tables); p_toupper/p_tolower/p_scap are for
human-visible text and must not be used for comparison.
2. Arrays, Queues & Sorting (misc utilities)
Doubly-linked circular queues use P_QUE headers; delta queues use P_DELTA.
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_bsrch(INT nrec, INT (*compf)(), INT *pmid, UBYTE *pmatch); |
Binary search over nrec records via callback; writes found index to *pmid. |
INT p_qsort(INT nrec, INT (*ordf)(), VOID (*excf)(), UBYTE *base); |
Quicksort nrec records using ordering and exchange callbacks. |
VOID p_enque(P_QUE *pNew, P_QUE *pEntry); |
Insert pNew before pEntry in its doubly-linked queue. |
VOID p_deque(P_QUE *pEntry); |
Unlink pEntry from its queue. |
(The manual also documents p_dequed for delta queues; its clean signature is
not printed in the source text — [?].)
3. CRC & Checksums
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID p_crc(UWORD *pcrc, UBYTE *buf, UINT len); |
Incrementally accumulate CCITT CRC-16 (x¹⁶+x¹²+x⁵+1) over len bytes; init *pcrc to 0 first. |
4. Console I/O
Primitive console services layered on the CON: device / window server. The
console is opened automatically on first use. PLIB offers only line output of
mono-spaced text and simple backspace-edited line input; richer row/column
control lives in the CON: device driver, and full UI in the Window Server.
Internal buffer is P_MAXSYSIO (258) bytes, limiting output to 256 bytes/call.
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID p_putch(UINT c); |
Write one character to the console. |
VOID p_puts(TEXT *str); |
Write a string and start a new line. |
VOID p_printf(TEXT *fstr, ...); |
Format args (as p_atob), write line, advance to next line. |
VOID p_print(TEXT *fstr, ...); |
As p_printf but no automatic newline (use \r,\n). |
INT p_getch(VOID); |
Wait for a keypress; return its character code. |
INT p_gets(TEXT *str); |
Read a line (backspace editing) up to P_MAXSYSIO-1; returns length. |
INT p_getl(TEXT *pmt, TEXT *str, INT len); |
Write prompt pmt, read up to len chars into str; returns length. |
5. Number ↔ String Conversion
Declared in the Integer Conversion and Rectangle Functions chapter.
5.1 Integer/long → text
| Signature |
Purpose |
UINT p_itob(TEXT *buf, INT value); |
Signed decimal of INT → buf; returns chars written. |
INT p_ltob(TEXT *buf, LONG value); |
Signed decimal of LONG → buf; returns chars written. |
INT p_gtob(TEXT *buf, UINT value, INT radix); |
Unsigned UINT in any radix → buf. |
INT p_gltob(TEXT *buf, ULONG value, INT radix); |
Unsigned ULONG in any radix → buf. |
5.2 Formatted multi-argument output
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_atob(TEXT *buf, TEXT *fstr, VOID *parg); |
printf-style format of arg list parg into buf; returns chars written. |
VOID p_atos(TEXT *str, TEXT *fstr, ...); |
Convenience variadic wrapper over p_atob producing a zero-terminated string. |
Format %[<align>][<fill>]<width><type>; types: b binary, c char, d
signed dec, f fill only, m/w 2-byte MSB/LSB binary (EPOC 2.17+), o
octal, s string, u unsigned dec, x hex. Widen to long with l/L or
upper-case type; <width>/<fill> may be * (taken from args).
5.3 Text → integer/long (radix conversions)
All take TEXT **pstr (advanced past the parsed field on success), return 0 or
E_GEN_OVER/E_GEN_FAIL.
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_stoi(TEXT **pstr, WORD *pval); |
Signed decimal string → 16-bit WORD. |
INT p_stol(TEXT **pstr, LONG *pval); |
Signed decimal string → 32-bit LONG. |
INT p_stog(TEXT **pstr, UWORD *pval, INT radix); |
Unsigned string in any radix → 16-bit UWORD. |
INT p_stogl(TEXT **pstr, ULONG *pval, INT radix); |
Unsigned string in any radix → 32-bit ULONG. |
INT p_stoa(TEXT **pstr, TEXT *fstr, ...); |
Scan multiple fields from a string into args per format fstr. |
5.4 Double ↔ text (floating point conversion)
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_dtob(TEXT *pbuf, DOUBLE *pval, P_DTOB *pformat); |
Format a double to text per P_DTOB (type/width/decimals/point/triad); returns chars or E_GEN_*. |
INT p_stod(TEXT **pstr, DOUBLE *pval, INT point); |
Parse a floating-point number from text (point = decimal-point char) → double. |
Note: the manual provides no p_dtos — double→string is p_dtob.
6. Floating Point, Scientific & Math
Declared in p_math.h. Trig args are in radians. E_CONFIG/config via
p_getctd. Two families exist:
- Scientific functions (
p_sin … p_pow) and p_rand/p_frand require the
8087 emulator (sys$8087.ldd).
- Arithmetic primitives (
p_fld … p_longtof) are emulator-independent —
usable to do FP without loading the emulator.
Macros (also emulator-triggering with FP operands): ABS(x), MAX(a,b), MIN(a,b).
6.1 Scientific (require emulator)
All return 0 or E_GEN_ARG/E_GEN_UNDER/E_GEN_OVER.
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_sin(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Sine. |
INT p_cos(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Cosine. |
INT p_tan(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Tangent (arg magnitude limited). |
INT p_asin(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Arc sine (ABS(*parg)<=1). |
INT p_acos(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Arc cosine (ABS(*parg)<=1). |
INT p_atan(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Arc tangent. |
INT p_ln(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Natural (base-e) log. |
INT p_exp(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
e raised to *parg. |
INT p_log(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Base-10 log. |
INT p_sqrt(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Square root. |
INT p_pow(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg1, DOUBLE *parg2); |
*parg1 raised to *parg2. |
6.2 Emulator-independent FP arithmetic
For one-arg functions, pret and parg may alias. Return 0 or E_GEN_*.
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_fld(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Load: *pret = *parg. |
INT p_fadd(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
*pret += *parg. |
INT p_fsub(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
*pret -= *parg. |
INT p_fmul(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
*pret *= *parg. |
INT p_fdiv(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
*pret /= *parg. |
INT p_fcmp(DOUBLE *parg1, DOUBLE *parg2); |
Compare: returns 1 / 0 / −1. (OCR: p_femp.) |
INT p_fneg(DOUBLE *parg); |
Negate *parg in place. |
INT p_mod(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg1, DOUBLE *parg2); |
Remainder of *parg1 / *parg2. |
INT p_int(DOUBLE *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Integer part (toward zero) → double. |
INT p_inti(WORD *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Integer part → 16-bit WORD (range-checked). |
INT p_intl(LONG *pret, DOUBLE *parg); |
Integer part → 32-bit LONG (range-checked). |
VOID p_itof(DOUBLE *pret, WORD *parg); |
Convert WORD → double. |
VOID p_longtof(DOUBLE *pret, LONG *parg); |
Convert LONG → double. |
6.3 Random numbers
| Signature |
Purpose |
ULONG p_randl(ULONG *pseed); |
Next pseudo-random 32-bit long; updates *pseed. (No emulator.) |
DOUBLE p_rand(ULONG *pseed); |
Random double in [0,1); updates *pseed. (Emulator required.) |
VOID p_frand(DOUBLE *pret, ULONG *pseed); |
Random double in [0,1) → *pret; updates *pseed. |
Long integer arithmetic: PLIB exposes no dedicated p_lmul/p_ldiv
helpers; 32-bit LONG/ULONG work is done with native C, the l*
conversion routines above, and p_ltob/p_stol/p_stogl/p_randl.
7. Rectangle & Geometry Utilities
Operate on P_RECT / P_POINT (declared with the integer-conversion chapter).
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID p_offrec(P_RECT *rect, INT xoffset, INT yoffset); |
Move a rectangle by an offset. |
VOID p_insrec(P_RECT *rect, INT xinset, INT yinset); |
Shrink/expand a rectangle about its centre. |
VOID p_unirec(P_RECT *rect1, P_RECT *rect2, P_RECT *result); |
Union (smallest enclosing rectangle). |
INT p_intrec(P_RECT *rect1, P_RECT *rect2, P_RECT *result); |
Intersection; returns TRUE if they intersect. |
INT p_pinrec(P_POINT *point, P_RECT *rect); |
TRUE if point lies inside rectangle. |
INT p_emprec(P_RECT *rect); |
TRUE if rectangle is empty. |
VOID p_absrec(P_RECT *rect, P_RECT *result); |
Normalise negative sides to positive. |
8. Memory Allocation & the Heap
Heap cells are allocated from the process data segment (max ~64K). f_*
variants leave with E_GEN_NOMEMORY instead of returning NULL.
8.1 Cell allocation
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID *p_alloc(UINT size); |
Allocate a heap cell ≥ size bytes; returns address or NULL. |
VOID *f_alloc(UINT size); |
As p_alloc but leaves on failure. |
VOID p_free(VOID *pcell); |
Free a cell (no-op if pcell is 0). |
VOID *p_realloc(VOID *pcell, UINT size); |
Resize a cell (preserving contents); pcell==0 ⇒ p_alloc. |
VOID *f_realloc(VOID *pcell, UINT size); |
As p_realloc but leaves on failure. |
VOID *p_adjust(VOID *pcell, UINT offset, INT amount); |
Open (+) or close (−) a gap mid-cell for insert/delete. |
UINT p_alen(VOID *pcell); |
Return actual cell length in bytes (≥ requested). |
8.2 Heap tuning & diagnostics
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID p_hgran(UINT nparas); |
Set heap growth granularity (paragraphs of 16 bytes; ≤ E_MAX_GROWBY). |
VOID p_allwalk(VOID (*fptr)(VOID *fpar, INT isalloc, UINT len), VOID *fpar); |
Walk every heap cell, calling fptr; panics on inconsistency. |
VOID p_allchk(INT num); |
Check allocated cells vs. free list; p_panic(0xff) with diagnostics if corrupt. |
UINT p_allspc(VOID **pheap); |
Return potential free heap space; write heap start to *pheap. |
p_altchk(...) [?] |
Thorough heap-integrity check (referenced by name; full signature not printed in source). |
8.3 System memory info
| Signature |
Purpose |
UINT p_getram(VOID); |
Addressable system RAM in 16-byte paragraphs (≤ 32768). |
UINT p_totalK(VOID); |
Total machine RAM in KB, ignoring bank-switching. (EPOC 3.50+) |
UINT p_sgfree(VOID); |
Available addressable segmented memory in paragraphs. |
UINT p_sgramdisk(VOID); |
Paragraphs of addressable RAM used by the internal RAM disk. |
8.4 External data segments (shared memory / IPC)
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_sgdelete(TEXT *pName); |
Delete a named external data segment. |
INT p_sgcopyto(HANDLE nHandle, LONG pos, VOID *source, UINT len); |
Write len bytes into an open segment at pos. |
INT p_sgcopyfr(HANDLE nHandle, LONG pos, VOID *target, UINT len); |
Read len bytes from an open segment at pos. |
UINT p_sgsize(HANDLE nHandle); |
Size of an open segment in 16-byte paragraphs. |
INT p_sgadjust(HANDLE nHandle, INT nParas); |
Grow/shrink an open segment by nParas paragraphs. |
INT p_sgclose(HANDLE nHandle); |
Close an open segment. |
VOID p_sglock(HANDLE nHandle); |
Lock a segment against relocation. |
VOID p_sgunlock(HANDLE nHandle); |
Unlock a previously locked segment. |
(The chapter also references p_sgcreate/p_sgopen/p_sgfind; their clean
signatures are not isolated in the source text — [?].)
8.5 Environment variables
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_getenv(TEXT *pMatch, TEXT *pValue); |
Get value of matching env var (string). |
INT p_getenviron(TEXT *pMatch, INT mLength, VOID *pValue); |
Get env var value (binary, length-specified match). |
INT p_setenv(TEXT *pName, TEXT *pValue); |
Set/create a string env var. |
INT p_setenviron(TEXT *pName, INT nLength, VOID *pValue, INT vLength); |
Set a binary env var. |
INT p_delenv(TEXT *pMatch); |
Delete matching env var. |
INT p_delenviron(TEXT *pMatch, INT mLength); |
Delete env var (length-specified match). |
INT p_fndenv(TEXT *pMatch, TEXT *pName, TEXT *pValue, HANDLE *pHandle); |
Iterate/find env vars by name pattern. |
INT p_findenviron(TEXT *pMatch, INT mLength, UBYTE *pBuf, HANDLE *pHandle); |
Iterate/find env vars (binary). |
9. Date, Time & Timers
System time = seconds since 00:00:00 1 Jan 1970 (ULONG). Day-based math uses
P_DAYSEC (days since 1900 + seconds in day); human form uses P_DATE
(year-1900, month 0–11, day 0–30, h/m/s, yrday). Declared in p_date.h.
9.1 System clock
| Signature |
Purpose |
ULONG p_date(VOID); |
Return current system time (seconds since 1970). |
VOID p_sdate(ULONG newTime); |
Set system time (may fire due absolute timers). |
9.2 Sleeping / synchronous timers
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_sleep(ULONG n); |
Sleep n tenths of a second (relative timer). |
INT p_sleept(LONG nTicks); |
Sleep nTicks system ticks (32/s SIBO). |
INT p_sleepa(ULONG time); |
Sleep until absolute system time (wakes machine). |
(Asynchronous timers are driven through an open TIM: channel via
p_ioc(P_FRELATIVE) / p_ioc(P_FABSOLUTE) and cancelled with p_iow(...,P_FCANCEL).)
9.3 Date/time conversions
| Signature |
Purpose |
VOID p_sttods(ULONG *pstim, P_DAYSEC *pds); |
System time → days-since-1900 + seconds-in-day. |
INT p_dstost(P_DAYSEC *pds, ULONG *pstim); |
P_DAYSEC → system time. |
INT p_dstodt(P_DAYSEC *pds, P_DATE *pdt); |
P_DAYSEC → P_DATE (fills yrday). |
INT p_dttods(P_DATE *pdt, P_DAYSEC *pds); |
Validate P_DATE → P_DAYSEC. |
INT p_dayinm(INT year, INT month); |
Days in given month (leap-aware); year since 1900. |
INT p_wkday(ULONG nDay); |
Weekday (0=Mon … 6=Sun) for day-since-1900. |
INT p_weekno(ULONG nDay); |
Week number 1–53 for day-since-1900. |
9.4 Localised name/text lookups
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_nmday(TEXT *buf, INT daynum); |
Language day name (0=Mon … 6). |
INT p_nmdaya(TEXT *buf, INT daynum); |
Abbreviated day name. (EPOC 3.18+) |
INT p_nmmon(TEXT *buf, INT monthnum); |
Language month name (0=Jan … 11). |
INT p_nmmona(TEXT *buf, INT monthnum); |
Abbreviated month name. (EPOC 3.18+; OCR prints this as a second p_nmmon.) |
VOID p_getsuffixes(TEXT *buf); |
Fill array of 31 day-of-month suffixes (3-byte elements). |
VOID p_getampmtext(TEXT *buf, INT n); |
am (n=0) / pm (n=1) suffix text. |
VOID p_getctd(E_CONFIG *pcfg); |
Copy system locale/config (E_CONFIG) struct. |
10. Object-Oriented Programming Primitives (brief)
PLIB provides run-time OOP: categories (load modules of classes) identified by
category number or HANDLE; objects are heap instances with a class header.
f_* twins leave with p_leave on failure. Declared with the OOP chapter.
10.1 Category / object creation & class management
| Signature |
Purpose |
HANDLE p_getlibh(INT catNum); |
Convert a category number to a category handle (0 = local). |
VOID *p_new(INT catNum, INT classNum); |
Create an instance of classNum in category catNum; property zeroed. |
VOID *f_new(INT catNum, INT classNum); |
As p_new, leaves on OOM. |
VOID *p_newlibh(HANDLE catHandle, INT classNum); |
Create instance by category handle. |
VOID *f_newlibh(HANDLE catHandle, INT classNum); |
As p_newlibh, leaves on OOM. |
VOID *f_newsend(INT catNum, INT classNum, INT methodNum, ...); |
Create then send init methodNum; cleans up (destroy) on leave. |
VOID *f_newlibhsend(HANDLE catHandle, INT classNum, INT methodNum, ...); |
As f_newsend but by category handle. |
VOID p_reclass(INT catNum, INT classNum, VOID *pObject); |
Change an object's class (same property length). |
VOID p_reclassbyhandle(HANDLE catHandle, INT classNum, VOID *pObject); |
Reclass by category handle. |
INT p_loadfilelib(VOID *fcb, UINT n, HANDLE *pCatHandle, INT link); |
Load an external category (load module) and get its handle. |
VOID p_linklib(HANDLE catHandle); |
Link a loaded category to the local process. |
VOID p_ccpy(VOID *pTarget, VOID *pSource, UINT count); |
Copy count bytes (category/object helper copy). |
10.2 Message sending
p_send* use the stack (CDECL) convention; the p_send2..5 / f_send2..5
numbered variants use the faster register convention. f_* leaves with
p_leave(err) if the method returns negative.
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_send(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, ...); |
Dispatch methodNum to object, searching class then superclasses. |
INT f_send(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, ...); |
As p_send, leaves on negative return. |
INT p_send2(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum); … p_send5(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, VOID *p1, VOID *p2, VOID *p3); |
Register-convention sends with 0–3 extra args (f_send2..5 twins). |
INT p_supersend(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, ...); |
Dispatch starting at the superclass of the calling method (p_supersend2..5). |
INT p_entersend(VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, ...); |
Dispatch as if via p_enter (unwinds on p_leave) (p_entersend2..5). |
INT p_exactsend(HANDLE catHandle, INT classNum, VOID *pObject, INT methodNum, ...); |
Dispatch starting at an explicitly named class. |
11. Related Error/Process Primitives (referenced above)
These appear alongside the categories above and are commonly used with them:
| Signature |
Purpose |
INT p_enter(VOID *pfunc, ...); |
Enter a function under structured error trapping. |
VOID p_panic(INT nPanic); |
Abort the process with a panic number (unrecoverable). |
VOID p_exit(INT nReason); |
Graceful process termination. |
(Full error-handling and process/IPC APIs are outside this core-PLIB scope but
p_enter/p_leave/p_panic underpin the f_* allocator and sender twins.)
Uncertainty notes
- OCR corrected:
p_bcmp/p_bcmpi (src p_bemp), p_fcmp (src p_femp),
p_pow (src fragment p (…)1_POw), p_nmmona (src duplicate p_nmmon).
p_altchk, p_dequed, p_sgcreate, p_sgopen, p_sgfind are named in the
manual but their clean C signatures are not isolated in the source text; marked [?].- Version-gated functions annotated where the manual states a minimum EPOC version.
