Returning directory entries
In the example for the read I/O function handler above, we saw how to return data. As
mentioned in the description of the read I/O function handler (in the Alphabetical listing of
Connect and I/O functions
), this handler may return directory entries as well.
Since this isn't something that everyone will want to do, I discuss it here.
First of all, let's look at why and when you'd want to return directory entries rather than raw data from the read I/O function handler.
If you discretely manifest entries in the pathname space, and those entries are not marked
with the _RESMGR_FLAG_DIR, then you won't have to return directory entries in the
read I/O function handler. If you think about this from a filesystem
perspective, you're
effectively creating file
types of objects. If, on the other hand, you do specify
_RESMGR_FLAG_DIR, then you're creating a directory
type of object. Nobody
other than you knows what the contents of that directory are, so you have to be the one to
supply this data. That's exactly why you'd return directory entries from your read I/O function
handler.