Unicode C

Poll an SSH Channel for Incoming Data

Demonstrates the Chilkat Ssh.ChannelPoll method, which polls a channel for incoming messages, waiting at most the given number of milliseconds. The first argument is the channel number and the second is the poll timeout; pass 0 for a nonblocking poll.

The integer return value is -1 on error, -2 if nothing arrived before the timeout, 0 if EOF or channel close was processed, or — when greater than 0 — the total bytes currently buffered for the channel (not the bytes newly received by this call).

Background: ChannelPoll gives you an explicit, per-call wait, which is what an event loop or responsive UI needs — poll briefly, do other work, poll again. Importantly, the timeout you pass governs the wait: shorter ReadTimeoutMs or IdleTimeoutMs values do not cut it short. A -2 return simply means nothing new arrived, which is normal when polling.

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#include <C_CkSshW.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    BOOL success;
    HCkSshW ssh;
    int sshPort;
    const wchar_t *password;
    int channelNum;
    int pollTimeoutMs;
    int result;
    const wchar_t *output;

    success = FALSE;

    //  Demonstrates the Ssh.ChannelPoll method, which polls a channel for incoming messages, waiting
    //  at most the given number of milliseconds.  The 1st argument is the channel number and the 2nd
    //  is the poll timeout.  Pass 0 for a nonblocking poll.

    ssh = CkSshW_Create();

    sshPort = 22;
    success = CkSshW_Connect(ssh,L"ssh.example.com",sshPort);
    if (success == FALSE) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    //  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
    //  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
    password = L"mySshPassword";

    success = CkSshW_AuthenticatePw(ssh,L"mySshLogin",password);
    if (success == FALSE) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    channelNum = CkSshW_OpenSessionChannel(ssh);
    if (channelNum < 0) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    //  Start a shell WITHOUT requesting a PTY.  Without a PTY the shell sees it is connected to a
    //  raw data pipe and enters non-interactive mode: it suppresses the command prompt, does not
    //  echo typed commands back, and skips interactive login scripts.  The output is therefore
    //  clean and easily parseable -- but because no prompt is ever sent, code must not wait for
    //  one.  Instead, have each command print a predictable marker, or wait for EOF / channel close.
    success = CkSshW_SendReqShell(ssh,channelNum);
    if (success == FALSE) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    success = CkSshW_ChannelSendString(ssh,channelNum,L"date\n",L"utf-8");
    if (success == FALSE) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    //  Wait up to 3 seconds for channel data.
    pollTimeoutMs = 3000;
    //  The return value is: -1 on error, -2 if nothing arrived before the timeout, 0 if EOF or
    //  channel close was processed, or the total number of buffered bytes when greater than 0.
    result = CkSshW_ChannelPoll(ssh,channelNum,pollTimeoutMs);
    if (result == -1) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    if (result == -2) {
        wprintf(L"No channel data arrived before the timeout.\n");
    }

    if (result == 0) {
        wprintf(L"EOF or channel close was processed.  Buffered data may still remain.\n");
    }

    if (result > 0) {
        wprintf(L"Total bytes buffered: %d\n",result);
    }

    output = CkSshW_getReceivedText(ssh,channelNum,L"utf-8");
    if (CkSshW_getLastMethodSuccess(ssh) == FALSE) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",CkSshW_lastErrorText(ssh));
        CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);
        return;
    }

    wprintf(L"%s\n",output);

    CkSshW_Disconnect(ssh);


    CkSshW_Dispose(ssh);

    }