This file should help you to add new address types and address options to socat. NOTE: socat will in future releases be split into a library "libxio" containing all the address stuff, useful also for many other purposes, and the socat main() and data shuffler. If you intend to perform major changes to the xio part and to publish them, please contact me before! ADDING A NEW ADDRESS TYPE: * Create new files xio-newaddr.c and xio-newaddr.h * Create a new record of struct addrdesc in xio-newaddr.c, with declaration in xio-newaddr.h. * Make a new entry to addressnames[] in xioopen.c with the addresses main name and maybe with alias names. Keep this array ASCII sorted, without uppercase chars. * config.h.in: #undef WITH_NEWADDR * configure.in: Copy the disable part of, e.g., WITH_SOCKS4 and adapt it to NEWADDR * In socat.c, add to socat_version * Write a function xioopen_newaddr() in xio-newaddr.c, declaration in xio-newaddr.h Do not forget the following option processing calls: All groups: _xio_openlate() Group FD: applyopts_cloexec() Group NAMED: applyopts_file() for phases PREOPEN, OPEN, and FD * Describe a tested example in file EXAMPLES, and maybe in the socat manpage source. * Try to define a test for this address type in test.sh * Update file CHANGES ADDING A NEW ADDRESS OPTION: xioopen.c: * If this option depends on a #define that is probably not available on all platforms, make all new code for this option dependent on the existence of this C header define: #ifdef PREFIX_NEWOPTION ... #endif * Add an OPT_NEWOPTION to enum e_optcode in xioopts.h, preferably keeping alphabetic order * Add a struct optdesc opt_newoption record in xio-newaddr.c and its declaration in xio-newaddr.h. The complete structure definition must be in one line without breaks for automatic docu extraction. Build the record from the following components: . A canonical default name (e.g. "newoption") . A short, preferable name (e.g. "newopt") or NULL . OPT_NEWOPTION (from enum e_optcode, see above) . A group membership that restricts appliance of the new option to matching address types (e.g., one of GROUP_ANY, GROUP_IP_TCP, GROUP_EXEC) . A phase specification that positions this option within address processing. Note that the function code can override this value. . A representation type for option arguments (e.g., TYPE_INT, TYPE_STRING etc.; use TYPE_BOOL if this option just triggers an action) . A function or action definition for applying this option. If it does not use one of the standard functions (open(), ioctl(), setsockopt()...), then use OFUNC_SPEC (specific). * For the canonical name and all its aliases and abbreviations, add entries to the array optionnames in xioopts.c. KEEP STRICT ALPHABETIC (ASCII) ORDER! The entries must be embedded in an IF_... macro of their group for conditional compiling. * For options using some predefined action (see OFUNC above), this might be enough - test the option and document it in xio.help! For OFUNC_SPEC, it might suffice to add another "case" to the OFUNC_SPEC branch in applyopts() in xioopts.c. If you need more special handling, you should try to understand the address specific functions and add your code there. * If you use system or low level C library calls or library calls that might hang or induce problems, please invoke them with capitalized name; if no such name is defined, add an appropriate debug function to sycls.c, and a header entry and a wrapper "define" to sycls.h * Update file CHANGES INFO ABOUT ADDRESS PHASES: Each option entry has a field specifying a default phase for its application. Of course, the code that analyses and applies an address may override this default phase. Depending on the type of address there are several major phase sequences: OPEN addresses: PH_INIT retrieving info from original state PH_EARLY before any other processing PH_PREOPEN before file creation/opening (not UNIX sockets) PH_OPEN during file creation/opening (not UNIX sockets) PH_PASTOPEN past file creation/opening (not UNIX sockets) PH_FD soon after FD creation or identification PH_LATE FD is ready, before start of data loop PH_LATE2 FD is ready, dropping privileges SOCKET addresses: PH_INIT retrieving info from original state PH_EARLY before any other processing PH_PRESOCKET before socket call PH_SOCKET for socket call PH_PASTSOCKET after socket call PH_FD soon after FD creation or identification PH_PREBIND before socket bind() PH_BIND during socket bind() PH_PASTBIND past socket bind() PH_PRECONNECT before connect() PH_CONNECT during connect() PH_PASTCONNECT after connect() PH_CONNECTED phase common with listen PH_LATE FD is ready, before start of data loop PH_LATE2 FD is ready, dropping privileges SOCKET with LISTEN and ACCEPT: PH_INIT retrieving info from original state PH_EARLY before any other processing PH_PRESOCKET before socket call PH_SOCKET for socket call PH_PREBIND before socket bind() PH_BIND during socket bind() PH_PASTBIND past socket bind() PH_PRELISTEN before listen() PH_LISTEN during listen() PH_PASTLISTEN after listen() PH_PREACCEPT before accept() PH_ACCEPT during accept() PH_PASTACCEPT after accept() # and the following on the new FD: PH_FD soon after FD creation or identification PH_PASTSOCKET after socket call PH_CONNECTED phase common with connect PH_PREFORK before forking PH_FORK during fork() PH_PASTFORK after fork() PH_LATE FD is ready, before start of data loop PH_LATE2 FD is ready, dropping privileges FD addresses: PH_INIT retrieving info from original state PH_EARLY before any other processing PH_FD soon after FD identification PH_LATE FD is ready, before start of data loop PH_LATE2 FD is ready, dropping privileges EXEC addresses: PH_INIT retrieving info from original state PH_EARLY before any other processing PH_PREBIGEN before socketpair() pipe() openpty() PH_BIGEN during socketpair() pipe() openpty() PH_PASTBIGEN past socketpair() pipe() openpty() PH_PASTSOCKET for socketpair() PH_FD soon after FD creation or identification PH_PREFORK before forking PH_FORK during fork() PH_PASTFORK after fork() PH_LATE FD is ready, before start of data loop PH_LATE2 FD is ready, dropping privileges PH_PREEXEC before exec() or system() PH_EXEC during exec() or system() There are lots of semantic relations between group, phase, and func fields of an option. There exists something like an overall phase sequence: PH_INIT # su-d.1 PH_EARLY # chroot-early PH_PREOPEN, PH_OPEN, PH_PASTOPEN # (chroot before/after?) PH_PRESOCKET, PH_SOCKET, PH_PASTSOCKET # (su after (root for raw)?) PH_PREBIGEN, PH_BIGEN, PH_PASTBIGEN # (chroot before/after (/dev..)?) PH_FD PH_PREBIND, PH_BIND, PH_PASTBIND # (su after(before?)) PH_PRELISTEN, PH_LISTEN, PH_PASTLISTEN PH_PRECONNECT, PH_CONNECT, PH_PASTCONNECT # (chroot before/after (AF_UNIX)?) PH_PREACCEPT, PH_ACCEPT, PH_PASTACCEPT PH_CONNECTED PH_PREFORK, PH_FORK, PH_PASTFORK # (all before/after?) PH_LATE # chroot PH_LATE2 # su, su-d.2 PH_PREEXEC, PH_EXEC # (all before) =============================================================================== // Up to 1.7.2.4 socat used non async signal safe system and library calls in signal handlers, mostly for logging purposes. This problem was fixed in release 1.7.3.0 with the following concepts: Signal handlers set on entry and unset on return the diag_in_handler global variable. The logging system, when this variable is set, queues the text message together with errno and exit info in a UNIX datagram socket. When invoked with unset diag_in_handler it first checks if there are messages in that queue and prints them first. A async signal safe but minimal version of vsnprintf, named vsnprintf_r, was written so no value arguments need to be queued. Because strerror is not async signal safe a new function snprinterr was written that replaces the (glibc compatible) %m format with strerror output. The original errno is passed in the message queue, snprinterr is called when dequeuing messages outside of signal handler. // List of signal handlers in socat socat.c:socat_signal (generic, just logs and maybe exits) xioshutdown.c:signal_kill_pid (SIGALRM, kill child process) xiosigchld.c:childdied (SIGCHLD: get info, log; possibly close channel) xiosignal.c:socatsignalpass: cascades signal to channel child processes; w/ options sighup,sigint,sigquit xio-socket.c:xiosigaction_hasread: SIGUSR1,SIGCHLD, tells parent that datagram has been consumed