## GOutputStream

GOutputStream — Base class for implementing streaming output

## Synopsis

    #include <gio/gio.h>

    enum                GOutputStreamSpliceFlags;
                        GOutputStream;
    gssize              g_output_stream_write               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_write_all           (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             gsize *bytes_written,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);
    gssize              g_output_stream_splice              (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GInputStream *source,
                                                             GOutputStreamSpliceFlags flags,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_flush               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_close               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);
    void                g_output_stream_write_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);
    gssize              g_output_stream_write_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);
    void                g_output_stream_splice_async        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GInputStream *source,
                                                             GOutputStreamSpliceFlags flags,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);
    gssize              g_output_stream_splice_finish       (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);
    void                g_output_stream_flush_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_flush_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);
    void                g_output_stream_close_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_close_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_is_closing          (GOutputStream *stream);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_is_closed           (GOutputStream *stream);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_has_pending         (GOutputStream *stream);
    gboolean            g_output_stream_set_pending         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GError **error);
    void                g_output_stream_clear_pending       (GOutputStream *stream);

## Object Hierarchy

      GObject
       +----GOutputStream
             +----GFilterOutputStream
             +----GFileOutputStream
             +----GMemoryOutputStream
             +----GUnixOutputStream

## Description

GOutputStream has functions to write to a stream (`g_output_stream_write()`), to close a stream (`g_output_stream_close()`) and to flush pending writes (`g_output_stream_flush()`).

To copy the content of an input stream to an output stream without manually handling the reads and writes, use `g_output_stream_splice()`.

All of these functions have async variants too.

## Details

### enum GOutputStreamSpliceFlags

    typedef enum {
      G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_NONE         = 0,
      G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_CLOSE_SOURCE = (1 << 0),
      G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_CLOSE_TARGET = (1 << 1)
    } GOutputStreamSpliceFlags;

GOutputStreamSpliceFlags determine how streams should be spliced.

`G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_NONE` | Do not close either stream.
`G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_CLOSE_SOURCE` | Close the source stream after the splice.
`G_OUTPUT_STREAM_SPLICE_CLOSE_TARGET` | Close the target stream after the splice.

### GOutputStream

    typedef struct _GOutputStream GOutputStream;

Base class for writing output.

All classes derived from GOutputStream should implement synchronous writing, splicing, flushing and closing streams, but may implement asynchronous versions.

### g_output_stream_write ()

    gssize              g_output_stream_write               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);

Tries to write `count` bytes from `buffer` into the stream. Will block during the operation.

If count is zero returns zero and does nothing. A value of `count` larger than `G_MAXSSIZE` will cause a `G_IO_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT` error.

On success, the number of bytes written to the stream is returned. It is not an error if this is not the same as the requested size, as it can happen e.g. on a partial i/o error, or if there is not enough storage in the stream. All writes either block until at least one byte is written, so zero is never returned (unless `count` is zero).

If `cancellable` is not NULL, then the operation can be cancelled by triggering the cancellable object from another thread. If the operation was cancelled, the error G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED will be returned. If an operation was partially finished when the operation was cancelled the partial result will be returned, without an error.

On error -1 is returned and `error` is set accordingly.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`buffer` : | the buffer containing the data to write.
`count` : | the number of bytes to write
`cancellable` : | optional cancellable object
`error` : | location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore
Returns : | Number of bytes written, or -1 on error

### g_output_stream_write_all ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_write_all           (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             gsize *bytes_written,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);

Tries to write `count` bytes from `buffer` into the stream. Will block during the operation.

This function is similar to `g_output_stream_write()`, except it tries to write as many bytes as requested, only stopping on an error.

On a successful write of `count` bytes, `TRUE` is returned, and `bytes_written` is set to `count`.

If there is an error during the operation FALSE is returned and `error` is set to indicate the error status, `bytes_written` is updated to contain the number of bytes written into the stream before the error occurred.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`buffer` : | the buffer containing the data to write.
`count` : | the number of bytes to write
`bytes_written` : | location to store the number of bytes that was written to the stream
`cancellable` : | optional GCancellable object, `NULL` to ignore.
`error` : | location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore
Returns : | `TRUE` on success, `FALSE` if there was an error

### g_output_stream_splice ()

    gssize              g_output_stream_splice              (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GInputStream *source,
                                                             GOutputStreamSpliceFlags flags,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);

Splices an input stream into an output stream.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`source` : | a GInputStream.
`flags` : | a set of GOutputStreamSpliceFlags.
`cancellable` : | optional GCancellable object, `NULL` to ignore.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | a gssize containing the size of the data spliced, or -1 if an error occurred.

### g_output_stream_flush ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_flush               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);

Flushed any outstanding buffers in the stream. Will block during the operation. Closing the stream will implicitly cause a flush.

This function is optional for inherited classes.

If `cancellable` is not `NULL`, then the operation can be cancelled by triggering the cancellable object from another thread. If the operation was cancelled, the error `G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED` will be returned.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`cancellable` : | optional cancellable object
`error` : | location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore
Returns : | `TRUE` on success, `FALSE` on error

### g_output_stream_close ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_close               (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GError **error);

Closes the stream, releasing resources related to it.

Once the stream is closed, all other operations will return `G_IO_ERROR_CLOSED`. Closing a stream multiple times will not return an error.

Closing a stream will automatically flush any outstanding buffers in the stream.

Streams will be automatically closed when the last reference is dropped, but you might want to call this function to make sure resources are released as early as possible.

Some streams might keep the backing store of the stream (e.g. a file descriptor) open after the stream is closed. See the documentation for the individual stream for details.

On failure the first error that happened will be reported, but the close operation will finish as much as possible. A stream that failed to close will still return `G_IO_ERROR_CLOSED` for all operations. Still, it is important to check and report the error to the user, otherwise there might be a loss of data as all data might not be written.

If `cancellable` is not NULL, then the operation can be cancelled by triggering the cancellable object from another thread. If the operation was cancelled, the error `G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED` will be returned. Cancelling a close will still leave the stream closed, but there some streams can use a faster close that doesn't block to e.g. check errors. On cancellation (as with any error) there is no guarantee that all written data will reach the target.

`stream` : | A GOutputStream.
`cancellable` : | optional cancellable object
`error` : | location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore
Returns : | `TRUE` on success, `FALSE` on failure

### g_output_stream_write_async ()

    void                g_output_stream_write_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             const void *buffer,
                                                             gsize count,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);

Request an asynchronous write of `count` bytes from `buffer` into the stream. When the operation is finished `callback` will be called. You can then call `g_output_stream_write_finish()` to get the result of the operation.

During an async request no other sync and async calls are allowed, and will result in `G_IO_ERROR_PENDING` errors.

A value of `count` larger than `G_MAXSSIZE` will cause a `G_IO_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT` error.

On success, the number of bytes written will be passed to the `callback`. It is not an error if this is not the same as the requested size, as it can happen e.g. on a partial I/O error, but generally we try to write as many bytes as requested.

Any outstanding I/O request with higher priority (lower numerical value) will be executed before an outstanding request with lower priority. Default priority is `G_PRIORITY_DEFAULT`.

The asyncronous methods have a default fallback that uses threads to implement asynchronicity, so they are optional for inheriting classes. However, if you override one you must override all.

For the synchronous, blocking version of this function, see `g_output_stream_write()`.

`stream` : | A GOutputStream.
`buffer` : | the buffer containing the data to write.
`count` : | the number of bytes to write
`io_priority` : | the io priority of the request.
`cancellable` : | optional GCancellable object, `NULL` to ignore.
`callback` : | callback to call when the request is satisfied
`user_data` : | the data to pass to callback function

### g_output_stream_write_finish ()

    gssize              g_output_stream_write_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);

Finishes a stream write operation.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`result` : | a GAsyncResult.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | a gssize containing the number of bytes written to the stream.

### g_output_stream_splice_async ()

    void                g_output_stream_splice_async        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GInputStream *source,
                                                             GOutputStreamSpliceFlags flags,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);

Splices a stream asynchronously. When the operation is finished `callback` will be called. You can then call `g_output_stream_splice_finish()` to get the result of the operation.

For the synchronous, blocking version of this function, see `g_output_stream_splice()`.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`source` : | a GInputStream.
`flags` : | a set of GOutputStreamSpliceFlags.
`io_priority` : | the io priority of the request.
`cancellable` : | optional GCancellable object, `NULL` to ignore.
`callback` : | a GAsyncReadyCallback.
`user_data` : | user data passed to `callback`.

### g_output_stream_splice_finish ()

    gssize              g_output_stream_splice_finish       (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);

Finishes an asynchronous stream splice operation.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`result` : | a GAsyncResult.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | a gssize of the number of bytes spliced.

### g_output_stream_flush_async ()

    void                g_output_stream_flush_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);

Flushes a stream asynchronously. For behaviour details see `g_output_stream_flush()`.

When the operation is finished `callback` will be called. You can then call `g_output_stream_flush_finish()` to get the result of the operation.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`io_priority` : | the io priority of the request.
`cancellable` : | optional GCancellable object, `NULL` to ignore.
`callback` : | a GAsyncReadyCallback to call when the request is satisfied
`user_data` : | the data to pass to callback function

### g_output_stream_flush_finish ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_flush_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);

Finishes flushing an output stream.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`result` : | a GAsyncResult.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | `TRUE` if flush operation suceeded, `FALSE` otherwise.

### g_output_stream_close_async ()

    void                g_output_stream_close_async         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             int io_priority,
                                                             GCancellable *cancellable,
                                                             GAsyncReadyCallback callback,
                                                             gpointer user_data);

Requests an asynchronous close of the stream, releasing resources related to it. When the operation is finished `callback` will be called. You can then call `g_output_stream_close_finish()` to get the result of the operation.

For behaviour details see `g_output_stream_close()`.

The asyncronous methods have a default fallback that uses threads to implement asynchronicity, so they are optional for inheriting classes. However, if you override one you must override all.

`stream` : | A GOutputStream.
`io_priority` : | the io priority of the request.
`cancellable` : | optional cancellable object
`callback` : | callback to call when the request is satisfied
`user_data` : | the data to pass to callback function

### g_output_stream_close_finish ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_close_finish        (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GAsyncResult *result,
                                                             GError **error);

Closes an output stream.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`result` : | a GAsyncResult.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | `TRUE` if stream was successfully closed, `FALSE` otherwise.

### g_output_stream_is_closing ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_is_closing          (GOutputStream *stream);

Checks if an output stream is being closed. This can be used inside e.g. a flush implementation to see if the flush (or other i/o operation) is called from within the closing operation.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
Returns : | `TRUE` if `stream` is being closed. `FALSE` otherwise.

Since 2.24

### g_output_stream_is_closed ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_is_closed           (GOutputStream *stream);

Checks if an output stream has already been closed.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
Returns : | `TRUE` if `stream` is closed. `FALSE` otherwise.

### g_output_stream_has_pending ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_has_pending         (GOutputStream *stream);

Checks if an ouput stream has pending actions.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
Returns : | `TRUE` if `stream` has pending actions.

### g_output_stream_set_pending ()

    gboolean            g_output_stream_set_pending         (GOutputStream *stream,
                                                             GError **error);

Sets `stream` to have actions pending. If the pending flag is already set or `stream` is closed, it will return `FALSE` and set `error`.

`stream` : | a GOutputStream.
`error` : | a GError location to store the error occuring, or `NULL` to ignore.
Returns : | `TRUE` if pending was previously unset and is now set.

### g_output_stream_clear_pending ()

    void                g_output_stream_clear_pending       (GOutputStream *stream);

Clears the pending flag on `stream`.

`stream` : | output stream