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NAME

fileassoc — in-kernel, file system independent, file meta-data association

SYNOPSIS

#include <sys/fileassoc.h>

int
fileassoc_register(const char *name, fileassoc_cleanup_cb_t cleanup_cb, fileassoc_t *result);

int
fileassoc_deregister(fileassoc_t id);

void *
fileassoc_lookup(struct vnode *vp, fileassoc_t id);

int
fileassoc_table_delete(struct mount *mp);

int
fileassoc_table_clear(struct mount *mp, fileassoc_t id);

int
fileassoc_table_run(struct mount *mp, fileassoc_t id, fileassoc_cb_t cb, void *cookie);

int
fileassoc_file_delete(struct vnode *vp);

int
fileassoc_add(struct vnode *vp, fileassoc_t id, void *data);

int
fileassoc_clear(struct vnode *vp, fileassoc_t id);

DESCRIPTION

The fileassoc KPI allows association of meta-data with files independent of file system support for such elaborate meta-data.

When plugging a new fileassoc to the system, a developer can specify private data to be associated with every file, as well as (potentially different) private data to be associated with every file system mount.

For example, a developer might choose to associate a custom ACL with every file, and a count of total files with ACLs with the mount.

KERNEL PROGRAMMING INTERFACE

Designed with simplicity in mind, the fileassoc KPI usually accepts four different types of parameters to the most commonly used routines:

struct mount * mp

Describing a mount on which to take action.

struct vnode * vp

Describing a file on which to take action.

fileassoc_t id

Describing an id, as returned from a successful call to fileassoc_register().

void * data

Describing a custom private data block, attached to either a file or a mount.

Before using the fileassoc KPI it is important to keep in mind that the interface provides memory management only for fileassoc internal memory. Any additional memory stored in the tables (such as private data structures used by custom fileassocs) should be allocated and freed by the developer.

fileassoc provides the ability to specify a “cleanup” routine to fileassoc_register() (see below) to be called whenever an entry for a file or a mount is deleted.

EXAMPLES

The following code examples should give you a clue on using fileassoc for your purposes.

First, we'll begin with registering a new id. We need to do that to save a slot for private data storage with each mount and/or file:

fileassoc_t myhook_id;
int error;

error = fileassoc_register("my_hook", myhook_cleanup, &myhook_id);
if (error != 0)
	...handle error...

In the above example we pass a myhook_cleanup() routine. It could look something like this:

void
myhook_cleanup(void *data)
{

	printf("Myhook: Removing entry for file.\n");
	...handle file entry removal...
	free(data, M_TEMP);
}

Another useful thing would be to add our private data to a file. For example, let's assume we keep a custom ACL with each file:

int
myhook_acl_add(struct vnode *vp, struct myhook_acl *acl)
{
	int error;

	error = fileassoc_add(vp, myhook_id, acl);
	if (error) {
		printf("Myhook: Could not add ACL.\n");
		...handle error...
	}

	printf("Myhook: Added ACL.\n");

	return (0);
}

Adding an entry will override any entry that previously exists.

Whatever your plug is, eventually you'll want to access the private data you store with each file. To do that you can use the following:

int
myhook_acl_access(struct vnode *vp, int access_flags)
{
	struct myhook_acl *acl;

	acl = fileassoc_lookup(vp, myhook_id);
	if (acl == NULL)
		return (0);

	error = myhook_acl_eval(acl, access_flags);
	if (error) {
		printf("Myhook: Denying access based on ACL decision.\n");
		return (error);
	}

	return (0);
}

And, in some cases, it may be desired to remove private data associated with an file:

int error;

error = fileassoc_clear(vp, myhook_id);
if (error) {
	printf("Myhook: Error occurred during fileassoc removal.\n");
	...handle error...
}

As mentioned previously, the call to fileassoc_clear() will result in a call to the “cleanup routine” specified in the initial call to fileassoc_register().

The above should be enough to get you started.

For example usage of fileassoc, see the Veriexec code.

CODE REFERENCES

The fileassoc is implemented within src/sys/kern/kern_fileassoc.c.

SEE ALSO

veriexec(9)

HISTORY

The fileassoc KPI first appeared in NetBSD 4.0.

AUTHORS

Elad Efrat <elad@NetBSD.org>
Brett Lymn <blymn@NetBSD.org>