NAME ObtainDataTypeA - Examines a handle and return its datatype. (V39) SYNOPSIS dtn = ObtainDataTypeA (type, handle, attrs); d0 d0 a0 a1 struct datatype *obtaindatatypea (ulong, aptr, struct tagitem *); dtn = ObtainDataType (type, handle, tag1, ...); struct datatype *obtaindatatype (ulong, aptr, tag tag1, ...); FUNCTION This function examines the data that the handle points to, and returns a datatype record that describes the data. INPUTS type - Type of handle. handle - Handle to examine. For DTST_FILE, handle must be bptr lock. For DTST_CLIPBOARD, handle must be struct iffhandle *. For DTST_MEMORY, handle will be ignored (you need to specify the additional information required by this source type through the attrs list). attrs - Additional attributes (see TAGS). TAGS DTA_SourceAddress (APTR) -- For DTST_MEMORY source data, this specifies the memory address at which the source data is located. This must be non-NULL. This attribute is required for DTST_MEMORY source data (V44). DTA_SourceSize (ULONG) -- For DTST_MEMORY source data, this specifies the size of the source data (in bytes). This must be greater than 0. This attribute is required for DTST_MEMORY source data (V44). NOTES The datatypes.library maintains a sorted list of all the datatype descriptors. the descriptor can consist of a function, a data mask for the first 64 bytes of the data, and a name pattern. The sort order for the list is: Descriptors with a function and no mask or name pattern. Descriptors with a function and a mask or name pattern. Descriptors with no function and a mask or name pattern. Within each group, they are also sorted in descending priority and descending mask length. The DTST_MEMORY source type introduced in V44 makes in-memory data available to subclasses as if the data were stored in a file. Thus, subclasses will see the data as DTST_FILE. Since the data does not correspond to an on-disk file, subclasses and examine hook code must not assume that they will be able to reopen the "file" whose data has been provided to them. RETURNS Success returns a pointer to a datatype. you must call FreeDataType() when you are done with the handle. A NULL return indicates failure. Use ioerr() to get error value. Following is a summary of the error number used and there meaning as it relates to DataTypes. ERROR_NO_FREE_STORE - Not enough memory. ERROR_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND - Unable to open the data object. ERROR_NOT_IMPLEMENTED - Unknown handle type. SEE ALSO FreeDataType()