LV2: State

# LV2

An open and extensible audio plugin standard

Version | 1.18.10

Data Structures | Macros | Typedefs | Enumerations
State
LV2

## Detailed Description

An interface for LV2 plugins to save and restore state.

See http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state for details.

## Data Structures
struct | LV2_State_Interface
struct | LV2_State_Map_Path
struct | LV2_State_Make_Path
struct | LV2_State_Free_Path

## Macros
#define | LV2_STATE_URI "http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state"
#define | LV2_STATE_PREFIX LV2_STATE_URI "#"
#define | LV2_STATE__State LV2_STATE_PREFIX "State"
#define | LV2_STATE__interface LV2_STATE_PREFIX "interface"
#define | LV2_STATE__loadDefaultState LV2_STATE_PREFIX "loadDefaultState"
#define | LV2_STATE__freePath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "freePath"
#define | LV2_STATE__makePath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "makePath"
#define | LV2_STATE__mapPath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "mapPath"
#define | LV2_STATE__state LV2_STATE_PREFIX "state"
#define | LV2_STATE__threadSafeRestore LV2_STATE_PREFIX "threadSafeRestore"
#define | LV2_STATE__StateChanged LV2_STATE_PREFIX "StateChanged"

## Typedefs
typedef void * | LV2_State_Handle
typedef void * | LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle
typedef void * | LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle
typedef void * | LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle
typedef LV2_State_Status(* | LV2_State_Store_Function) (LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t key, const void *value, size_t size, uint32_t type, uint32_t flags)
typedef const void *(* | LV2_State_Retrieve_Function) (LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t key, size_t *size, uint32_t *type, uint32_t *flags)

## Enumerations
enum | LV2_State_Flags { LV2_STATE_IS_POD = 1U << 0U , LV2_STATE_IS_PORTABLE = 1U << 1U , LV2_STATE_IS_NATIVE = 1U << 2U }
enum | LV2_State_Status { LV2_STATE_SUCCESS = 0 , LV2_STATE_ERR_UNKNOWN = 1 , LV2_STATE_ERR_BAD_TYPE = 2 , LV2_STATE_ERR_BAD_FLAGS = 3 , LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_FEATURE = 4 , LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_PROPERTY = 5 , LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_SPACE = 6 }

## Data Structure Documentation

## ◆ LV2_State_Interface

struct LV2_State_Interface

LV2 Plugin State Interface.

When the plugin's extension_data is called with argument LV2_STATE__interface, the plugin MUST return an LV2_State_Interface structure, which remains valid for the lifetime of the plugin.

The host can use the contained function pointers to save and restore the state of a plugin instance at any time, provided the threading restrictions of the functions are met.

Stored data is only guaranteed to be compatible between instances of plugins with the same URI (i.e. if a change to a plugin would cause a fatal error when restoring state saved by a previous version of that plugin, the plugin URI MUST change just as it must when ports change incompatibly). Plugin authors should consider this possibility, and always store sensible data with meaningful types to avoid such problems in the future.

### Data Fields
LV2_State_Status(* | save )(LV2_Handle instance, LV2_State_Store_Function store, LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t flags, const LV2_Feature *const *features)
LV2_State_Status(* | restore )(LV2_Handle instance, LV2_State_Retrieve_Function retrieve, LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t flags, const LV2_Feature *const *features)

#### Field Documentation

## ◆ save

LV2_State_Status(* LV2_State_Interface::save) (LV2_Handle instance, LV2_State_Store_Function store, LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t flags, const LV2_Feature *const *features)

Save plugin state using a host-provided store callback.

Parameters

  instance | The instance handle of the plugin.
  store | The host-provided store callback.
  handle | An opaque pointer to host data which MUST be passed as the handle parameter to store if it is called.
  flags | Flags describing desired properties of this save. These flags may be used to determine the most appropriate values to store.
  features | Extensible parameter for passing any additional features to be used for this save.

The plugin is expected to store everything necessary to completely restore its state later. Plugins SHOULD store simple POD data whenever possible, and consider the possibility of state being restored much later on a different machine.

The handle pointer and store function MUST NOT be used beyond the scope of save().

This function has its own special threading class: it may not be called concurrently with any "Instantiation" function, but it may be called concurrently with functions in any other class, unless the definition of that class prohibits it (for example, it may not be called concurrently with a "Discovery" function, but it may be called concurrently with an "Audio" function. The plugin is responsible for any locking or lock-free techniques necessary to make this possible.

Note that in the simple case where state is only modified by restore(), there are no synchronization issues since save() is never called concurrently with restore() (though run() may read it during a save).

Plugins that dynamically modify state while running, however, must take care to do so in such a way that a concurrent call to save() will save a consistent representation of plugin state for a single instant in time.

## ◆ restore

LV2_State_Status(* LV2_State_Interface::restore) (LV2_Handle instance, LV2_State_Retrieve_Function retrieve, LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t flags, const LV2_Feature *const *features)

Restore plugin state using a host-provided retrieve callback.

Parameters

  instance | The instance handle of the plugin.
  retrieve | The host-provided retrieve callback.
  handle | An opaque pointer to host data which MUST be passed as the handle parameter to retrieve if it is called.
  flags | Currently unused.
  features | Extensible parameter for passing any additional features to be used for this restore.

The plugin MAY assume a restored value was set by a previous call to LV2_State_Interface.save() by a plugin with the same URI.

The plugin MUST gracefully fall back to a default value when a value can not be retrieved. This allows the host to reset the plugin state with an empty map.

The handle pointer and store function MUST NOT be used beyond the scope of restore().

This function is in the "Instantiation" threading class as defined by LV2. This means it MUST NOT be called concurrently with any other function on the same plugin instance.

## ◆ LV2_State_Map_Path

struct LV2_State_Map_Path

Feature data for state:mapPath (LV2_STATE__mapPath).

### Data Fields
LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle | handle
char *(* | abstract_path )(LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle handle, const char *absolute_path)
char *(* | absolute_path )(LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle handle, const char *abstract_path)

#### Field Documentation

## ◆ handle

LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle LV2_State_Map_Path::handle

Opaque host data.

## ◆ abstract_path

char *(* LV2_State_Map_Path::abstract_path) (LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle handle, const char *absolute_path)

Map an absolute path to an abstract path for use in plugin state.

Parameters

  handle | MUST be the handle member of this struct.
  absolute_path | The absolute path of a file.

Returns
  An abstract path suitable for use in plugin state.

The plugin MUST use this function to map any paths that will be stored in plugin state. The returned value is an abstract path which MAY not be an actual file system path; absolute_path() MUST be used to map it to an actual path in order to use the file.

Plugins MUST NOT make any assumptions about abstract paths except that they can be mapped back to the absolute path of the "same" file (though not necessarily the same original path) using absolute_path().

This function may only be called within the context of LV2_State_Interface methods. The caller must free the returned value with LV2_State_Free_Path.free_path().

## ◆ absolute_path

char *(* LV2_State_Map_Path::absolute_path) (LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle handle, const char *abstract_path)

Map an abstract path from plugin state to an absolute path.

Parameters

  handle | MUST be the handle member of this struct.
  abstract_path | An abstract path (typically from plugin state).

Returns
  An absolute file system path.

The plugin MUST use this function in order to actually open or otherwise use any paths loaded from plugin state.

This function may only be called within the context of LV2_State_Interface methods. The caller must free the returned value with LV2_State_Free_Path.free_path().

## ◆ LV2_State_Make_Path

struct LV2_State_Make_Path

Feature data for state:makePath (LV2_STATE__makePath).

### Data Fields
LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle | handle
char *(* | path )(LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle handle, const char *path)

#### Field Documentation

## ◆ handle

LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle LV2_State_Make_Path::handle

Opaque host data.

## ◆ path

char *(* LV2_State_Make_Path::path) (LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle handle, const char *path)

Return a path the plugin may use to create a new file.

Parameters

  handle | MUST be the handle member of this struct.
  path | The path of the new file within a namespace unique to this plugin instance.

Returns
  The absolute path to use for the new file.

This function can be used by plugins to create files and directories, either at state saving time (if this feature is passed to LV2_State_Interface.save()) or any time (if this feature is passed to LV2_Descriptor.instantiate()).

The host MUST do whatever is necessary for the plugin to be able to create a file at the returned path (for example, using fopen()), including creating any leading directories.

If this function is passed to LV2_Descriptor.instantiate(), it may be called from any non-realtime context. If it is passed to LV2_State_Interface.save(), it may only be called within the dynamic scope of that function call.

The caller must free the returned value with LV2_State_Free_Path.free_path().

## ◆ LV2_State_Free_Path

struct LV2_State_Free_Path

Feature data for state:freePath (LV2_STATE__freePath).

### Data Fields
LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle | handle
void(* | free_path )(LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle handle, char *path)

#### Field Documentation

## ◆ handle

LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle LV2_State_Free_Path::handle

Opaque host data.

## ◆ free_path

void(* LV2_State_Free_Path::free_path) (LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle handle, char *path)

Free a path returned by a state feature.

Parameters

  handle | MUST be the handle member of this struct.
  path | The path previously returned by a state feature.

This function can be used by plugins to free paths allocated by the host and returned by state features (LV2_State_Map_Path.abstract_path(), LV2_State_Map_Path.absolute_path(), and LV2_State_Make_Path.path()).

## Macro Definition Documentation

## ◆ LV2_STATE_URI

#define LV2_STATE_URI "http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state

## ◆ LV2_STATE_PREFIX

#define LV2_STATE_PREFIX LV2_STATE_URI "#"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#

## ◆ LV2_STATE__State

#define LV2_STATE__State LV2_STATE_PREFIX "State"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#State

## ◆ LV2_STATE__interface

#define LV2_STATE__interface LV2_STATE_PREFIX "interface"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#interface

## ◆ LV2_STATE__loadDefaultState

#define LV2_STATE__loadDefaultState LV2_STATE_PREFIX "loadDefaultState"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#loadDefaultState

## ◆ LV2_STATE__freePath

#define LV2_STATE__freePath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "freePath"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#freePath

## ◆ LV2_STATE__makePath

#define LV2_STATE__makePath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "makePath"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#makePath

## ◆ LV2_STATE__mapPath

#define LV2_STATE__mapPath LV2_STATE_PREFIX "mapPath"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#mapPath

## ◆ LV2_STATE__state

#define LV2_STATE__state LV2_STATE_PREFIX "state"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#state

## ◆ LV2_STATE__threadSafeRestore

#define LV2_STATE__threadSafeRestore LV2_STATE_PREFIX "threadSafeRestore"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#threadSafeRestore

## ◆ LV2_STATE__StateChanged

#define LV2_STATE__StateChanged LV2_STATE_PREFIX "StateChanged"

http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/state#StateChanged

## Typedef Documentation

## ◆ LV2_State_Handle

typedef void* LV2_State_Handle

Opaque handle for state save/restore.

## ◆ LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle

typedef void* LV2_State_Free_Path_Handle

Opaque handle for state:freePath feature.

## ◆ LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle

typedef void* LV2_State_Map_Path_Handle

Opaque handle for state:mapPath feature.

## ◆ LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle

typedef void* LV2_State_Make_Path_Handle

Opaque handle for state:makePath feature.

## ◆ LV2_State_Store_Function

typedef LV2_State_Status(* LV2_State_Store_Function) (LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t key, const void *value, size_t size, uint32_t type, uint32_t flags)

A host-provided function to store a property.

Parameters

  handle | Must be the handle passed to LV2_State_Interface.save().
  key | The key to store value under (URID).
  value | Pointer to the value to be stored.
  size | The size of value in bytes.
  type | The type of value (URID).
  flags | LV2_State_Flags for value.

Returns
  0 on success, otherwise a non-zero error code.

The host passes a callback of this type to LV2_State_Interface.save(). This callback is called repeatedly by the plugin to store all the properties that describe its current state.

DO NOT INVENT NONSENSE URI SCHEMES FOR THE KEY. Best is to use keys from existing vocabularies. If nothing appropriate is available, use http URIs that point to somewhere you can host documents so documentation can be made resolvable (typically a child of the plugin or project URI). If this is not possible, invent a URN scheme, e.g. urn:myproj:whatever. The plugin MUST NOT pass an invalid URI key.

The host MAY fail to store a property for whatever reason, but SHOULD store any property that is LV2_STATE_IS_POD and LV2_STATE_IS_PORTABLE. Implementations SHOULD use the types from the LV2 Atom extension (http://lv2plug.in/ns/ext/atom) wherever possible. The plugin SHOULD attempt to fall-back and avoid the error if possible.

Note that size MUST be > 0, and value MUST point to a valid region of memory size bytes long (this is required to make restore unambiguous).

The plugin MUST NOT attempt to use this function outside of the LV2_State_Interface.restore() context.

## ◆ LV2_State_Retrieve_Function

typedef const void *(* LV2_State_Retrieve_Function) (LV2_State_Handle handle, uint32_t key, size_t *size, uint32_t *type, uint32_t *flags)

A host-provided function to retrieve a property.

Parameters

  handle | Must be the handle passed to LV2_State_Interface.restore().
  key | The key of the property to retrieve (URID).
  size | (Output) If non-NULL, set to the size of the restored value.
  type | (Output) If non-NULL, set to the type of the restored value.
  flags | (Output) If non-NULL, set to the flags for the restored value.

Returns
  A pointer to the restored value (object), or NULL if no value has been stored under key.

A callback of this type is passed by the host to LV2_State_Interface.restore(). This callback is called repeatedly by the plugin to retrieve any properties it requires to restore its state.

The returned value MUST remain valid until LV2_State_Interface.restore() returns. The plugin MUST NOT attempt to use this function, or any value returned from it, outside of the LV2_State_Interface.restore() context.

## Enumeration Type Documentation

## ◆ LV2_State_Flags

enum LV2_State_Flags

Flags describing value characteristics.

These flags are used along with the value's type URI to determine how to (de-)serialise the value data, or whether it is even possible to do so.

Enumerator
LV2_STATE_IS_POD | Plain Old Data. Values with this flag contain no pointers or references to other areas of memory. It is safe to copy POD values with a simple memcpy and store them for the duration of the process. A POD value is not necessarily safe to transmit between processes or machines (for example, filenames are POD), see LV2_STATE_IS_PORTABLE for details. Implementations MUST NOT attempt to copy or serialise a non-POD value if they do not understand its type (and thus know how to correctly do so).
LV2_STATE_IS_PORTABLE | Portable (architecture independent) data. Values with this flag are in a format that is usable on any architecture. A portable value saved on one machine can be restored on another machine regardless of architecture. The format of portable values MUST NOT depend on architecture-specific properties like endianness or alignment. Portable values MUST NOT contain filenames.
LV2_STATE_IS_NATIVE | Native data. This flag is used by the host to indicate that the saved data is only going to be used locally in the currently running process (for things like instance duplication or snapshots), so the plugin should use the most efficient representation possible and not worry about serialisation and portability.

## ◆ LV2_State_Status

enum LV2_State_Status

A status code for state functions.

Enumerator
LV2_STATE_SUCCESS | Completed successfully.
LV2_STATE_ERR_UNKNOWN | Unknown error.
LV2_STATE_ERR_BAD_TYPE | Failed due to unsupported type.
LV2_STATE_ERR_BAD_FLAGS | Failed due to unsupported flags.
LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_FEATURE | Failed due to missing features.
LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_PROPERTY | Failed due to missing property.
LV2_STATE_ERR_NO_SPACE | Failed due to insufficient space.