1/* 2 * Copyright 2007-2010, Haiku, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 * Distributed under the terms of the MIT License. 4 * 5 * Documentation by: 6 * Niels Sascha Reedijk <niels.reedijk@gmail.com> 7 * Nicolas de Leon <insdel@haqr.net> 8 */ 9 10/*! 11 \page support_intro Introduction to the Support Kit 12 13 The Support Kit provides a handy set of classes that you can use in your 14 applications. These classes provide: 15 16 - \b Thread \b Safety. Haiku can execute multiple threads of an application 17 in parallel, letting certain parts of an application continue when one part 18 is stalled, as well as letting an application process multiple pieces of 19 data at the same time on multicore or multiprocessor systems. However, 20 there are times when multiple threads desire to work on the same piece of 21 data at the same time, potentially causing a conflict where variables or 22 pointers are changed by one thread causing another to execute incorrectly. 23 To prevent this, Haiku implements a \"locking\" mechanism, allowing one 24 thread to \"lock out\" other threads from executing code that might modify 25 the same data. 26 - \b Archiving \b and \b IO. These classes allow a programmer to convert 27 objects into a form that can more easily be transferred to other 28 applications or stored to disk, as well as performing basic input and 29 output operations. 30 - \b Memory \b Allocation. This class allows a programmer to hand off some of 31 the duties of memory accounting and management. 32 - \b Common \b Datatypes. To avoid unnecessary duplication of code and to 33 make life easier for programmers, Haiku includes classes that handle 34 management of ordered lists and strings. 35 36 There are also a number of utility functions to time actions, play system 37 alert sounds, compare strings, and atomically manipulate integers. Have a 38 look at the overview, or go straight to the complete 39 \link support list of components \endlink of this kit. 40 41 \section Overview 42 - Thread Safety: 43 - BLocker provides a semaphore-like locking mechanism allowing for 44 recursive locks. 45 - BAutolock provides a simple method of automatically removing a lock 46 when a function ends. 47 - \ref TLS.h "Thread Local Storage" allows a global variable\'s content to 48 be sensitive to thread context. 49 - Archiving and IO: 50 - BArchivable provides an interface for \"archiving\" objects so that they 51 may be sent to other applications where an identical copy will be 52 recreated. 53 - BArchiver simplifies archiving of BArchivable hierarchies. 54 - BUnarchiver simplifies unarchiving hierarchies that have been archived 55 using BArchiver. 56 - BFlattenable provides an interface for \"flattening\" objects so that 57 they may be easily stored to disk. 58 - BDataIO provides an interface for generalized read/write streams. 59 - BPositionIO extends BDataIO to allow seeking within the data. 60 - BBufferIO creates a buffer and attaches it to a BPositionIO stream, 61 allowing for reduced load on the underlying stream. 62 - BMemoryIO allows operation on an already-existing buffer. 63 - BMallocIO creates and allows operation on a buffer. 64 - Memory Allocation: 65 - BBlockCache allows an application to allocate a \"pool\" of memory blocks 66 that the application can fetch and dispose of as it pleases, letting the 67 application make only a few large memory allocations, instead of many 68 expensive small allocations. 69 - Common Datatypes: 70 - BList allows simple ordered lists and provides common access, 71 modification, and comparison functions. 72 - BString allows strings and provides common access, modification, and 73 comparison functions. 74 - BStopWatch allows an application to measure the time an action takes. 75 - \ref support_globals "Global functions" 76 - \ref TypeConstants.h "Common types and constants" 77 - Error codes for all kits 78*/ 79 80// Short listing of documents that belong to this module so that people can 81// find these from the module overview. 82// This should become standardized in Doxygen though. There is an item on 83// the todo list on this. 84 85/*! 86 \addtogroup support 87 88 For a better overview, have a look at \ref support_intro . 89*/ 90 91