open_rawresource(3)

🌸 open_rawresource(3) — Arcan Lua API 🌸

Hey bestie! Welcome to the open_rawresource(3) page from the Arcan Lua API — it's all about opening a private or shared resource for reading/writing, and we're gonna get into it 💖

✨ NAME ✨

open_rawresource — Open a private or shared resource for reading/writing 🎀

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

success_bool
open_rawresource( resstr )

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

Okay so each session can have one globally opened and synchronously managed text file, and it's worked with in a rather limited fashion. It's primarily intended for debugging or quick temporary hacks — no cap. Typically, user/appl data should be stored in the database if at all possible, and binary data should only be in forms that the indirect functions can work with (like load_image etc.). Other I/O operations — e.g. named pipes — should go through the open_nonblock style functions.

🎀 NOTES 🎀

1. If the resource exists, it will be opened in a read-only mode.
2. If the resource doesn't exist, it will be created and opened for writing (in appl, shared resources are read-only).
3. This function is blocking, and should only be used where possible I/O stalls is desired.

🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

Here's a tiny example, bestie:

function open_rawresource0()
      if (open_rawresource("test.txt")) then
            print("resource opened");
      else
            print("couldn't open resource");
      end
end

💀 MISUSE 💀

Do not do this one, fr fr — it's giving "danger will robinson!" for a reason:

function open_rawresource0()
      if (open_rawresource("../../../../../../../etc/passwd")) then
            print("danger will robinson!");
      end
end

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• close_rawresource(3)
• read_rawresource(3)
• zap_rawresource(3)
• open_nonblock(3)

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Signed, sealed, slayed: this page's source/version is resource, dated October 2026 🫶💖