MKBUF (3)
Creates a new message buffer.
SYNOPSIS
B
C int bufid = pvm_mkbuf( int encoding )
Fortran call pvmfmkbuf( encoding, bufid )
PARAMETERS
Integer specifying the buffer's encoding scheme.
0.5i 2.5i 3.0i
Options in C are:
Encoding value MEANING
PvmDataDefault 0 XDR
PvmDataRaw 1 no encoding
PvmDataInPlace 2 data left in place
Option names in Fortran are:
Encoding value MEANING
PVMDEFAULT 0 XDR
PVMRAW 1 no encoding
PVMINPLACE 2 data left in place
Integer message buffer identifier returned.
Values less than zero indicate an error.
DESCRIPTION
The routine
pvm_mkbuf
creates a new message buffer and
sets its encoding status to
encoding.
If pvm_mkbuf is successful,
bufid
will be the identifier
for the new buffer, which can be used as a send buffer.
If some error occurs then
bufid
will be < 0.
With the default setting
XDR encoding is used when packing the message
because PVM can not know
if the user is going to add a heterogeneous machine
before this message is sent.
The other options to encoding allow the user to take advantage
of knowledge about his virtual machine even when it is
heterogeneous. For example, if the user knows that the
next message will only be sent to a machine that understands
the native format, then he can use PvmDataRaw encoding
and save on encoding costs.
PvmDataInPlace encoding specifies that data be left in place during
packing.
The message buffer only contains the sizes and pointers to the items
to be sent. When pvm_send is called the items are copied directly
out of the user's memory. This option decreases the number of
times a message is copied at the expense of requiring the user
to not modify the items between the time they are packed and the time
they are sent.
pvm_mkbuf is required if the user wishes to manage multiple
message buffers and should be used in conjunction with pvm_freebuf.
pvm_freebuf should be called for a send buffer
after a message has been sent and is no longer needed.
Receive buffers are created automatically by the pvm_recv and
pvm_nrecv routines and do not have to be freed unless they
have been explicitly saved with pvm_setrbuf.
Typically multiple send and receive buffers are not needed
and the user can simply use the pvm_initsend routine to
reset the default send buffer.
There are several cases where multiple buffers are useful.
One example where multiple message buffers are needed involves
libraries or graphical interfaces that use PVM and
interact with a running PVM application but do not want
to interfere with the application's own communication.
When multiple buffers are used they generally are made and
freed for each message that is packed.
RESTRICTIONS
PvmDataInPlace allows only dense (stride = 1) data in version 3.3.
It cannot be used on shared memory (*MP) architectures;
a PvmNotImpl error will occur at send time.
EXAMPLES
C:
bufid = pvm_mkbuf( PvmDataRaw );
/* send message */
info = pvm_freebuf( bufid );
Fortran:
CALL PVMFMKBUF(PVMDEFAULT, MBUF)
* SEND MESSAGE HERE
CALL PVMFFREEBUF( MBUF, INFO )
ERRORS
These error conditions can be returned by
pvm_mkbuf
0.5i 2.0i
PvmBadParam giving an invalid encoding value.
PvmNoMem Malloc has failed. There is not enough memory
to create the buffer
SEE ALSO
pvm_initsend(3PVM) pvm_freebuf(3PVM)
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