FindDirectory.h File Reference

Provides the find_directory function. More...

Enumerations
enum	directory_which {   B_DESKTOP_DIRECTORY = 0,   B_TRASH_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY = 1000,   B_SYSTEM_ADDONS_DIRECTORY = 1002,   B_SYSTEM_BOOT_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_FONTS_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_LIB_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_SERVERS_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_APPS_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_BIN_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_DOCUMENTATION_DIRECTORY = 1010,   B_SYSTEM_PREFERENCES_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_TRANSLATORS_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_MEDIA_NODES_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_SOUNDS_DIRECTORY,   B_SYSTEM_DATA_DIRECTORY ,   B_COMMON_DIRECTORY = 2000 ,   B_COMMON_DEVELOP_DIRECTORY,   B_COMMON_LOG_DIRECTORY ,   B_COMMON_DATA_DIRECTORY,   B_COMMON_CACHE_DIRECTORY ,   B_USER_DIRECTORY = 3000 ,   B_USER_SETTINGS_DIRECTORY,   B_USER_DESKBAR_DIRECTORY }
	Directory constants to use with find_directory. More...
Functions
status_t	find_directory (directory_which which, dev_t volume, bool createIt, char *pathString, int32 length)
	C interface to find_directory.
status_t	find_directory (directory_which which, BPath *path, bool createIt=false, BVolume *volume=NULL)
	C++ interface to find_directory.

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Detailed Description

Provides the find_directory function.

Haiku provides a set of directories for applications to use. These can be accessed using the find_directory function. It is very important to use the function at runtime and not hardcode the path, as it may change in future versions of Haiku, and already changed in past ones. Using this function makes your application more future-proof, and makes sure everyone puts data in the same place, which makes the system cleaner and easier to manage.

Note this function can be accessed from C code, to make it easy to use also in ported applications.

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Enumeration Type Documentation

enum directory_which

Directory constants to use with find_directory.

There are four kind of directories. Volume-local directories exist on each volume. They may be at a different place in each of them, for example the trash location depends on the filesystem. System and common directories are system-wide. They live on only one volume. The difference is system is only meant for internal system management and shouldn't be used by applications. The common directories have a similar hierarchy, and they are ignored when the user disable user add-ons in the boot menu. User directories have a different value depending on the UID of the application calling the function. They are usually located in the user home directory.

Use common directories for system-wide filessuch as drivers. Use user directories for application settings, since each user may want different settings.

Enumerator:

B_DESKTOP_DIRECTORY	The desktop for a given volume.
B_TRASH_DIRECTORY	The trash for a given volume.
B_SYSTEM_DIRECTORY	The system directory.
B_SYSTEM_ADDONS_DIRECTORY	The system add-ons directory
B_SYSTEM_BOOT_DIRECTORY	The system boot directory. Contains the minimal set of files required for booting Haiku.
B_SYSTEM_FONTS_DIRECTORY	The system fonts directory
B_SYSTEM_LIB_DIRECTORY	The system lib directory.
B_SYSTEM_SERVERS_DIRECTORY	The system servers directory.
B_SYSTEM_APPS_DIRECTORY	The system applications direcotry. Contains applications executable from Tracker.
B_SYSTEM_BIN_DIRECTORY	The system bin directory. Contains command-line applications runnable from Terminal.
B_SYSTEM_DOCUMENTATION_DIRECTORY	The system documentation directory. Contains manpages.
B_SYSTEM_PREFERENCES_DIRECTORY	The system preferences directory.
B_SYSTEM_TRANSLATORS_DIRECTORY	The system translator directory.
B_SYSTEM_MEDIA_NODES_DIRECTORY	The system media nodes directory.
B_SYSTEM_SOUNDS_DIRECTORY	The system sounds directory.
B_SYSTEM_DATA_DIRECTORY	The system data directory.
B_COMMON_DIRECTORY	The common directory.
B_COMMON_DEVELOP_DIRECTORY	The common development directory. Contains toolchains, include files, and other tools related to application development.
B_COMMON_LOG_DIRECTORY	The common log directory. Log files are stored here.
B_COMMON_DATA_DIRECTORY	The common data directory. You may store application data here, such as resources (graphics, music) for your application.
B_COMMON_CACHE_DIRECTORY	The common cache directory. You may store temporary data here, such as thumbnails for a picture viewer application, or a web browser data cache.
B_USER_DIRECTORY	The user home directory. Do NOT store application settings here as on unix, instead use B_USER_SETTINGS_DIRECTORY.
B_USER_SETTINGS_DIRECTORY	The user settings directory. You may store your application settings here. Create a subdirectory for your application if you have multiple files to store, else, put a single file. The file or directory should have the same name as your application, so the user knows what it's used for.
B_USER_DESKBAR_DIRECTORY	The user deskbar directory. You may add a link to your application here, so it shows up in the user deskbar's leaf menu.

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Function Documentation

status_t find_directory	(	directory_which	which,
		dev_t	volume,
		bool	createIt,
		char *	pathString,
		int32	length
	)

C interface to find_directory.

Fills up to length characters of pathString with the path to which on volume. Creates the directory if it doesn't exists and creqteIt is set.

status_t find_directory	(	directory_which	which,
		BPath *	path,
		bool	createIt = false,
		BVolume *	volume = NULL
	)

C++ interface to find_directory.

Set path to which on volume.