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rpcgen(1)

NAME

     rpcgen -- an RPC protocol compiler

SYNOPSIS

     rpcgen infile
     rpcgen [-a] [-b] [-C] [-Dname[=value]] [-i size] [-I -P [-K seconds]]
	    [-L] [-M] [-N] [-T] [-Y pathname] infile
     rpcgen [-c | -h | -l | -m | -t | -Sc | -Ss | -Sm] [-o outfile] [infile]
     rpcgen [-s nettype] [-o outfile] [infile]
     rpcgen [-n netid] [-o outfile] [infile]

DESCRIPTION

     The rpcgen utility is a tool that generates C code to implement an RPC
     protocol.	The input to rpcgen is a language similar to C known as RPC
     Language (Remote Procedure Call Language).

     The rpcgen utility is normally used as in the first synopsis where it
     takes an input file and generates three output files.  If the infile is
     named proto.x, then rpcgen generates a header in proto.h, XDR routines in
     proto_xdr.c, server-side stubs in proto_svc.c, and client-side stubs in
     proto_clnt.c.  With the -T option, it also generates the RPC dispatch ta-
     ble in proto_tbl.i.

     The rpcgen utility can also generate sample client and server files that
     can be customized to suit a particular application.  The -Sc, -Ss and -Sm
     options generate sample client, server and makefile, respectively.  The
     -a option generates all files, including sample files.  If the infile is
     proto.x, then the client side sample file is written to proto_client.c,
     the server side sample file to proto_server.c and the sample makefile to
     makefile.proto.

     If option -I is set, the server created can be started both by the port
     monitors (for example, inetd(8)) or by itself.  When it is started by a
     port monitor, it creates servers only for the transport for which the
     file descriptor 0 was passed.  The name of the transport may be specified
     by setting up the environment variable NLSPROVIDER.  When the server gen-
     erated by rpcgen is executed, it creates server handles for all the
     transports specified in NETPATH environment variable, or if it is unset,
     it creates server handles for all the visible transports from
     /etc/netconfig file.  Note: the transports are chosen at run time and not
     at compile time.  When the server is self-started, it backgrounds itself
     by default.  A special define symbol RPC_SVC_FG can be used to run the
     server process in foreground.

     The second synopsis provides special features which allow for the cre-
     ation of more sophisticated RPC servers.  These features include support
     for user provided #defines and RPC dispatch tables.  The entries in the
     RPC dispatch table contain:
	   o   pointers to the service routine corresponding to that proce-
	       dure,
	   o   a pointer to the input and output arguments,
	   o   the size of these routines.
     A server can use the dispatch table to check authorization and then to
     execute the service routine; a client library may use it to deal with the
     details of storage management and XDR data conversion.

     The other three synopses shown above are used when one does not want to
     interpreted by rpcgen.  For each type of output file, rpcgen defines a
     special preprocessor symbol for use by the rpcgen programmer:

     RPC_HDR
	     defined when compiling into headers

     RPC_XDR
	     defined when compiling into XDR routines

     RPC_SVC
	     defined when compiling into server-side stubs

     RPC_CLNT
	     defined when compiling into client-side stubs

     RPC_TBL
	     defined when compiling into RPC dispatch tables

     Any line beginning with ``%'' is passed directly into the output file,
     uninterpreted by rpcgen.  To specify the path name of the C preprocessor
     use -Y flag.

     For every data type referred to in infile, rpcgen assumes that there
     exists a routine with the string xdr_ prepended to the name of the data
     type.  If this routine does not exist in the RPC/XDR library, it must be
     provided.	Providing an undefined data type allows customization of
     xdr(3) routines.

OPTIONS

     The following options are available:

     -a      Generate all files, including sample files.

     -b      Backward compatibility mode.  Generate transport specific RPC
	     code for older versions of the operating system.

     -c      Compile into XDR routines.

     -C      Generate header and stub files which can be used with ANSI C com-
	     pilers.  Headers generated with this flag can also be used with
	     C++ programs.

     -Dname

     -Dname=value
	     Define a symbol name.  Equivalent to the #define directive in the
	     source.  If no value is given, value is defined as 1.  This
	     option may be specified more than once.

     -h      Compile into C data-definitions (a header).  -T option can be
	     used in conjunction to produce a header which supports RPC dis-
	     patch tables.

     -i size
	     Size at which to start generating inline code.  This option is
	     useful for optimization.  The default size is 5.

	     Note: in order to provide backwards compatibility with the older
	     special define symbol RPC_SVC_FG can be used to run the server
	     process in foreground, or the user may simply compile without the
	     -I option.

	     If there are no pending client requests, the inetd(8) servers
	     exit after 120 seconds (default).	The default can be changed
	     with the -K option.  All the error messages for inetd(8) servers
	     are always logged with syslog(3).

	     Note: Contrary to some systems, in FreeBSD this option is needed
	     to generate servers that can be invoked through portmonitors and
	     inetd(8).

     -K seconds
	     By default, services created using rpcgen and invoked through
	     port monitors wait 120 seconds after servicing a request before
	     exiting.  That interval can be changed using the -K flag.	To
	     create a server that exits immediately upon servicing a request,
	     use -K 0.	To create a server that never exits, the appropriate
	     argument is -k -1.

	     When monitoring for a server, some portmonitors always spawn a
	     new process in response to a service request.  If it is known
	     that a server will be used with such a monitor, the server should
	     exit immediately on completion.  For such servers, rpcgen should
	     be used with -K 0.

     -l      Compile into client-side stubs.

     -L      When the servers are started in foreground, use syslog(3) to log
	     the server errors instead of printing them on the standard error.

     -m      Compile into server-side stubs, but do not generate a "main" rou-
	     tine.  This option is useful for doing callback-routines and for
	     users who need to write their own "main" routine to do initial-
	     ization.

     -M      Generate multithread-safe stubs for passing arguments and results
	     between rpcgen generated code and user written code.  This option
	     is useful for users who want to use threads in their code.  How-
	     ever, the rpc_svc_calls(3) functions are not yet MT-safe, which
	     means that rpcgen generated server-side code will not be MT-safe.

     -N      Allow procedures to have multiple arguments.  It also uses the
	     style of parameter passing that closely resembles C.  So, when
	     passing an argument to a remote procedure, you do not have to
	     pass a pointer to the argument, but can pass the argument itself.
	     This behavior is different from the old style of rpcgen generated
	     code.  To maintain backward compatibility, this option is not the
	     default.

     -n netid
	     Compile into server-side stubs for the transport specified by
	     netid.  There should be an entry for netid in the netconfig data-
	     base.  This option may be specified more than once, so as to com-
	     pile a server that serves multiple transports.

     -o outfile

	     If the -I option has been specified, -P is turned off automati-
	     cally.

     -s nettype
	     Compile into server-side stubs for all the transports belonging
	     to the class nettype.  The supported classes are netpath,
	     visible, circuit_n, circuit_v, datagram_n, datagram_v, tcp, and
	     udp (see rpc(3) for the meanings associated with these classes).
	     This option may be specified more than once.  Note: the trans-
	     ports are chosen at run time and not at compile time.

     -Sc     Generate sample client code that uses remote procedure calls.

     -Sm     Generate a sample Makefile which can be used for compiling the
	     application.

     -Ss     Generate sample server code that uses remote procedure calls.

     -t      Compile into RPC dispatch table.

     -T      Generate the code to support RPC dispatch tables.

	     The options -c, -h, -l, -m, -s, -Sc, -Sm, -Ss, and -t are used
	     exclusively to generate a particular type of file, while the
	     options -D and -T are global and can be used with the other
	     options.

     -Y pathname
	     Give the name of the directory where rpcgen will start looking
	     for the C-preprocessor.

EXAMPLES

     The following example:
	   example% rpcgen -T prot.x

     generates all the five files: prot.h, prot_clnt.c, prot_svc.c, prot_xdr.c
     and prot_tbl.i.

     The following example sends the C data-definitions (header) to the stan-
     dard output.
	   example% rpcgen -h prot.x

     To send the test version of the -DTEST, server side stubs for all the
     transport belonging to the class datagram_n to standard output, use:
	   example% rpcgen -s datagram_n -DTEST prot.x

     To create the server side stubs for the transport indicated by netid tcp,
     use:
	   example% rpcgen -n tcp -o prot_svc.c prot.x

SEE ALSO

     cc(1), rpc(3), rpc_svc_calls(3), syslog(3), xdr(3), inetd(8)

     The rpcgen chapter in the NETP manual.

FreeBSD 5.4			March 28, 1993			   FreeBSD 5.4

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