OSF DCE Application Development Guide--Core Components

Interface Definition Language
• Structures
• Unions
• Enumerations
• Pipes
• Arrays
• Strings
In IDL, as in C, arrays and pointers are specified via declarator constructs. The other
constructed types are specified via type specifiers.
17.14.1 Structures
The type_specifier for a structure type can take the following forms:
struct [tag]
{
struct_member;
...
}
struct tag
A tag, if supplied in a specifier of the first form, becomes a shorthand form for the set of
member declarations that follows it. Such a tag can subsequently be used in a specifier
of the second form.
A struct_member takes the following form:
[[struct_member_attribute, ...]] type_specifier declarator, ...;
A struct_member_attribute can be any of the following:
• array_attribute: One of several attributes that specify characteristics of arrays.
• ignore: An attribute indicating that the pointer member being declared is not to be
transmitted in remote procedure calls.
• ref: An attribute indicating that the pointer member being declared is a reference
pointer; it cannot be NULL and cannot be an alias.
• ptr: An attribute indicating that the pointer member being declared is a full pointer;
it can be NULL and can be an alias.
• unique: An attribute indicating that the pointer member being declared is a unique
pointer.
• string: An attribute indicating that the array member being declared is a string.
• switch_is:
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