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Virtual Filesystem

The ZeroIPC CLI tool features a virtual filesystem interface that lets you navigate shared memory segments and structures like a directory tree.

Concept

Shared memory is presented as a hierarchical filesystem:

/                          # Root - all shared memory segments
├── sensor_data/          # Shared memory segment
│   ├── temperatures      # Array structure
│   ├── pressure          # Array structure
│   └── alerts            # Queue structure
└── analytics/            # Another segment
    ├── results           # Array structure
    └── cache             # Map structure

Entering REPL Mode

Start the interactive REPL:

zeroipc -r

You'll see: 

ZeroIPC Interactive Shell v3.0 - Virtual Filesystem Interface
Type 'help' for available commands, 'quit' to exit

zeroipc>

ls - List Contents

List contents at current location.

Syntax: 

ls [path]

At root (/): 

zeroipc> ls

=== Shared Memory Segments ===
Name                Size
--------------------------------------------------
/sensor_data        10.0 MB
/analytics          50.0 MB
/messages           1.0 MB

In a segment: 

/sensor_data> ls

=== Table Entries ===
#   Name                Type        Offset      Size
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
0   temperatures        array       1024        4000
1   pressure            array       5024        8000
2   alerts              queue       13024       8192

Specific path: 

zeroipc> ls /sensor_data
[shows structures in /sensor_data]

cd - Change Directory

Navigate to different locations.

Syntax: 

cd <path>

Examples:

Absolute path: 

zeroipc> cd /sensor_data
/sensor_data>

Relative path: 

/sensor_data> cd ../analytics
/analytics>

Parent directory: 

/analytics> cd ..
zeroipc>

Root: 

/analytics> cd /
zeroipc>

pwd - Print Working Directory

Show current location.

Syntax: 

pwd

Example: 

/sensor_data> pwd
/sensor_data

cat - Display Contents

Show structure contents (like Unix cat).

Syntax: 

cat <structure_name>
cat <structure_name>[range]

Examples:

Show entire array: 

/sensor_data> cat temperatures
Array: temperatures
Capacity: 1000
[0] = 23.45
[1] = 24.12
...

Show specific range: 

/sensor_data> cat temperatures[0:10]
Array: temperatures
Elements [0:10]:
[0] = 23.45
[1] = 24.12
...
[9] = 24.87

Show queue: 

/messages> cat task_queue
Queue: task_queue
Size: 27/100
Head: 15
Tail: 42

Contents:
[0] = Task{...}
[1] = Task{...}
...

Example Session

Here's a complete interactive session:

$ zeroipc -r
ZeroIPC Interactive Shell v3.0
Type 'help' for available commands, 'quit' to exit

zeroipc> pwd
/

zeroipc> ls
=== Shared Memory Segments ===
/sensor_data        10.0 MB
/analytics          50.0 MB

zeroipc> cd /sensor_data
/sensor_data> ls
=== Table Entries ===
#   Name              Type      Offset    Size
0   temperatures      array     1024      4000
1   pressure          array     5024      8000
2   alerts            queue     13024     8192

/sensor_data> cat temperatures[0:5]
Array: temperatures
Elements [0:5]:
[0] = 23.45
[1] = 24.12
[2] = 22.89
[3] = 25.01
[4] = 23.67

/sensor_data> cd /analytics
/analytics> ls
=== Table Entries ===
#   Name          Type      Offset    Size
0   results       array     1024      80000
1   cache         map       81024     65536

/analytics> cd /
zeroipc> quit
Goodbye!

Advanced Features

Tab Completion

The REPL supports tab completion (future enhancement):

zeroipc> cd /sen<TAB>
# Completes to: cd /sensor_data

/sensor_data> cat tem<TAB>
# Completes to: cat temperatures

Command History

Use arrow keys to navigate command history:

  • Up arrow: Previous command
  • Down arrow: Next command
  • Ctrl+R: Reverse search

Shortcuts

Convenient shortcuts (future enhancement):

# .. changes to parent directory
/sensor_data> ..
zeroipc>

# ~ changes to root
/sensor_data> ~
zeroipc>

# ll shows detailed listing
/sensor_data> ll
# Same as: ls -l

Prompt Customization

The prompt shows your current location:

zeroipc>           # At root
/sensor_data>      # In a segment

Colors (when terminal supports it): - Green: Root - Blue: Segment name - Yellow: Structure name (future)

REPL Commands

help

Show available commands.

zeroipc> help

Navigation Commands:
  ls [path]              List contents
  cd <path>              Change directory
  pwd                    Print working directory
  cat <name>[range]      Display contents

Segment Commands:
  show                   Show current segment info
  create <type> <name>   Create new structure

General Commands:
  help                   Show this message
  quit, exit             Exit REPL
  clear                  Clear screen

show

Show detailed information about current segment.

/sensor_data> show
Segment: /sensor_data
Size: 10.0 MB
Table: 3/64 entries used
Memory: 45632 bytes allocated

create

Create a new structure in current segment.

/sensor_data> create array test_data --capacity 100 --type float
Created array 'test_data' with capacity 100

/sensor_data> ls
# test_data now appears in listing

clear

Clear the screen.

zeroipc> clear
[screen clears]

quit / exit

Exit the REPL.

zeroipc> quit
Goodbye!

Tips and Tricks

1. Quick Navigation

Jump directly to any path: 

zeroipc> cd /sensor_data
/sensor_data> cat temperatures[0:10]

# Or combine:
zeroipc> cat /sensor_data/temperatures[0:10]

2. Path Verification

Always use pwd to verify location: 

/somewhere> pwd
/sensor_data

3. Exploring Unknown Segments

zeroipc> ls           # See what exists
zeroipc> cd /mystery  # Navigate to unknown segment
/mystery> ls          # See what's inside
/mystery> cat struct1 # Examine structures

4. Quick Checks

# Quick check of all segments
zeroipc> ls
/sensor_data        10.0 MB
/analytics          50.0 MB

# Quick check of specific structure
zeroipc> cat /sensor_data/temperatures[0]
[0] = 23.45

Next Steps