doc.txt

linux-proc-apm.scm: Linux /proc/apm APM Data Access in Scheme

linux-proc-apm.scm: Linux /proc/apm APM Data Access in Scheme
*************************************************************

Version 0.2, 2005-04-08,
`http://www.neilvandyke.org/linux-proc-apm-scm/'

by Neil W. Van Dyke <neil@neilvandyke.org>

     Copyright (C) 2004 - 2005 Neil W. Van Dyke.  This program is Free
     Software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
     of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
     Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at
     your option) any later version.  This program is distributed in
     the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without
     even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a
     particular purpose.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License
     [LGPL] for details.  For other license options and consulting,
     contact the author.

Introduction
************

This Scheme library is used to access Linux APM (Advanced Power
Management) power information.  It can be used for reporting battery
status information, for monitoring battery charge and taking action
when the charge is low, for ensuring that a laptop is on line power
before performing a disk-intensive batch job, etc.

   This library works by parsing the string format of the `/proc/apm'
file interface.  Information about the format was gleaned from the Linux
kernel source files [apm.c] and [apm_bios.h], and from the usermode
programs of [apmd].  It does not support ACPI, nor is it a more
generalized power data interface.

   This library is currently slightly specific to PLT Scheme, but was
written in such a manner as to make easy the porting to other Scheme
implementations.

Data Format
***********

The "linux-proc-apm-data" abstract data type can be thought of as
having nine attributes, with the accessors described in this section.
Unless specified otherwise in the examples, `d' is sample APM data,
such as might be yielded by `(define d (linux-proc-apm-data))'.

> (linux-proc-apm-data:driver-version data)
> (linux-proc-apm-data:bios-version data)
     Yield the APM kernel driver version number and the APM BIOS
     version number, respectively, as a strings.

          (linux-proc-apm-data:driver-version d) => "1.16"
          (linux-proc-apm-data:bios-version   d) => "1.2"

> (linux-proc-apm-data:apm-flags data)
     Yields the APM flags as a list of any subset of the symbols
     `bits16', `bits32', `idle-slows-clock', `disabled', and
     `disengaged'.  For example:

          (linux-proc-apm-data:apm-flags d) => (bits16 bits32)

> (linux-proc-apm-data:ac-line-status data)
     Yields the AC line power status as the symbol `off', `on', or
     `backup', or `#f' if unknown.  For example:

          (linux-proc-apm-data:ac-line-status d) => off

> (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-status data)
     Yields the battery status as the symbol `high', `low', `critical',
     `charging', or `absent', or `#f' if unknown.  For example:

          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-status d) => high

> (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-flags data)
     Yields APM battery flags as a list of any subset of the symbols
     `high', `low', `critical', `charging', and `absent'.  For example:

          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-flags d) => (high charging)

> (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-percent data)
     Yields the estimated battery charge percentage as an integer, or
     `#f' if unknown.

          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-percent d) => 99

> (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-time data)
> (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-time-units data)
     This pair of procedures yield, respectively, the estimated
     remaining battery charge as an integer and a string representing
     the units.  The units string is likely to be `"min"'.  Either or
     both value can be `#f' if unknown.

          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-time       d) => 335
          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-time-units d) => "min"

> (linux-proc-apm-data:kludged-battery-percent data)
     Yields the estimated battery charge percentage as an integer, or
     `#f' if all fails.  This works by first attempting to use APM's
     estimated percentage, but if that is unavailable, falling back to
     to a very crude fake percentage based on the "battery-status" or
     `battery-flags' attribute.  This procedure is of questionable
     utility, yet may still find use in, say, a noncritical display of
     approximate battery charge.

          (define d (parse-linux-proc-apm-string
                     "1.16 1.2 0x03 0x01 0x03 0x09 -1% -1 ?"))
          (linux-proc-apm-data:battery-percent         d) => #f
          (linux-proc-apm-data:kludged-battery-percent d) => 90

Parsing
*******

These procedures are concerned with parsing the data, and are not
normally used directly.

> (parse-linux-proc-apm-string str)
     Yields the APM data parsed from string STR, or `#f' if the string
     could not be parsed.

> (parse-linux-proc-apm-file filename)
     Yields the APM data from file FILENAME, or `#f' if the data is
     unavailable (e.g., the file could not be accessed, or the data
     could not be parsed).

Data Access
***********

The normal procedure for acquiring APM data is `linux-proc-apm-data'.

> current-linux-proc-apm-file
     Parameter for the file name of the default APM data file,
     defaulting to `"/proc/apm"', surprisingly enough.

> (linux-proc-apm-data)
     Yields the APM data from the file given by the
     `current-linux-proc-apm-file' parameter, or `#f' if the data is
     unavailable.

Tests
*****

The `linux-proc-apm.scm' test suite can be enabled by editing the
source code file and loading [Testeez]; the test suite is disabled by
default.

History
*******

Version 0.2 -- 2005-04-08
     Added Testeez-based test suite.  Minor documentation changes.
     Changed to `not-break-exn?' use to PLT 3xx `exn:fail?'.

Version 0.1 -- 2004-08-03
     Initial version.


References
**********

[apm.c]
     `http://lxr.linux.no/source/arch/i386/kernel/apm.c?v=2.4.26'

[apm_bios.h]
     `http://lxr.linux.no/source/include/linux/apm_bios.h?v=2.4.26'

[apmd]
     `http://www.worldvisions.ca/~apenwarr/apmd/'

[LGPL]
     Free Software Foundation, "GNU Lesser General Public License,"
     Version 2.1, 1999-02, 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA
     02111-1307 USA.
     `http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html'

[Testeez]
     Neil W. Van Dyke, "Testeez: Simple Test Mechanism for Scheme,"
     Version 0.1.
     `http://www.neilvandyke.org/testeez/'