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<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN"
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<refentry id="cockpit-dbus">
  <refnamediv>
    <refname>cockpit.js: DBus Client</refname>
    <refpurpose>DBus API communication</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <para>Cockpit allows access to DBus services via this API.</para>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-types">
    <title>DBus Types</title>
    <para>DBus values are represented as javascript values and objects as follows:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>BYTE 'y'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>BOOLEAN 'b'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript boolean.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>INT16 'n'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>UINT16 'q'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>INT32 'i'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>UINT32 'u'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>INT64 'x'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>UINT64 't'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>DOUBLE 'd'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript number.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>STRING 's'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript string.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>OBJECT_PATH 'o'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript string.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>SIGNATURE 'g'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Javascript string.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>ARRAY of BYTE 'ay'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A string containing base64 encoded data.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>ARRAY of DICT_ENTRY with STRING keys 'a{s?}'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A javascript plain object with the keys as property names.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>ARRAY of DICT_ENTRY with other keys 'a{??}'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A javascript plain object each key JSON encoded into a string property
            name.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>ARRAY of other</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A javascript array.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>VARIANT</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A javascript plain object with the <code>"t"</code> property set to a DBus type string,
            and the <code>"v"</code> property set to a value.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>HANDLE 'h'</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A javascript object that describes a cockpit channel which represents the
           passed file descriptor. The <code>payload</code> is always set to <code>stream</code>.
           Pass it to <link linkend="cockpit-channels-channel">cockpit.channel()</link> to create
           the channel and start reading or writing on it. Handles can only be
           received, not sent from within cockpit.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-dbus">
    <title>cockpit.dbus()</title>
<programlisting>
client = cockpit.dbus(name, [options])
</programlisting>

    <para>Create a DBus client for the given bus <code>name</code> (eg: service name). Use the
      following functions to make DBus method calls, watch for events, etc. The optional
      <code>options</code> argument is a javascript plain object, and may include:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>"bus"</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The DBus bus to connect to. Specifying <code>"session"</code> will
            connect to the DBus user session bus, <code>"user"</code> will connect to the
            user bus (on some systems this is identical to the session bus), <code>"system"</code>
            will connect to the DBus system bus, and <code>"none"</code> to the non-standard bus
            specified with the <code>address</code> option. This defaults to "system" if not
            present.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>"address"</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The bus address to connect to in case <code>bus</code> is
            <code>"none"</code>.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>"host"</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The host to open the channel to. If an alternate user or port is
          required it can be specified as <code>"user@myhost:port"</code>. If no host is
          specified then the correct one will be automatically selected based on the page
          calling this function.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>"superuser"</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Set to <code>"require"</code> to talk to this service as root.
          The DBus service will see the DBus method calls and accesses as coming from root,
          rather than the logged in user. This is useful for talking to services that do not
          correctly use <ulink url="https://www.freedesktop.org/software/polkit">polkit</ulink>
          to authorize administrative users. If the currently logged in user is not
          permitted to become root (eg: via <code>pkexec</code>) then the <code>client</code> will
          immediately be <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-onclose">closed</link> with a
          <code>"access-denied"</code> problem code.</para>
        <para>Set to <code>"try"</code> to try to talk as root, but if that fails,
          fall back to unprivileged.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>"track"</code></term>
        <listitem><para>It is valid for a DBus service to exit, and be restarted in such a
          way that clients continue to talk to it across the restart. Some services are not
          written with this in mind. If the <code>"track"</code> option is set to
          <code>true</code> then the channel will close when the service exits and/or disconnects
          from the DBus bus.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    <para>If the <code>name</code> argument is null, and no options other than <code>"bus"</code>
      are specified, then a shared DBus <code>client</code> is created. When using such a client
      with a DBus bus, a <code>"name"</code> option must be specified on various other methods
      in order to specify which client to talk to.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-wait">
    <title>client.wait()</title>
<programlisting>
promise = client.wait([callback])
</programlisting>

    <para>Returns a <code>promise</code> that is ready when the client is ready, or fails if the
      client closes. If a <code>callback</code> is specified, it is attached to the promise.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-close">
    <title>client.close()</title>
<programlisting>
client.close([problem])
</programlisting>
    <para>Close the DBus client. If <code>problem</code> is specified it should be a
      <link linkend="cockpit-problems">problem code</link> string.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-onclose">
    <title>client.onclose</title>
<programlisting>
client.addEventListener("close", options => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>An event triggered when the DBus client closes. This can happen either because
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-close">client.close()</link> function was called,
      or the DBus service went away, or some other problem or disconnection.</para>
    <para>The <code>options</code> will contain various close information, including a
      <code>"problem"</code> field which will be set if the channel was closed because
      of a problem.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-onowned">
    <title>client.onowner</title>
<programlisting>
client.addEventListener("owner", (event, owner) => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>An event triggered when the owner of the DBus name changes. The owner
      value will be the id of the name owner on the bus or null if the name
      is unowned. The absence of an owner should not be treated as a disconnection.
      However this makes it possible to take some action based on the
      actual status of the service, for example disconnecting a pending signal handler.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-options">
    <title>client.options</title>
    <para>Set to the options used when creating the client. Will not change for the life of
      the client.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-unique-name">
    <title>client.unique_name</title>
    <para>The unique DBus name of the client. Initially null, and becomes valid once the
      the client is ready.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy">
    <title>client.proxy()</title>
<programlisting>
proxy = client.proxy([interface, path], [options])
</programlisting>

    <para>Create proxy javascript object for a DBus <code>interface</code>. At the
      specified DBus object <code>path</code>. The proxy will have
      properties, methods and signals from to the DBus interface, and allows for
      natural interaction. If no <code>interface</code> is specified then the DBus
      bus name of the client is used. If no <code>path</code> is specified, then
      the DBus name of the client is converted to a path.</para>

    <para>If creating lots of proxies for a given <code>interface</code> it is more
      efficient to use the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies"><code>client.proxies()</code></link>
      function.</para>

    <para>The proxy is loaded when the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-valid"><code>proxy.valid</code></link> field is
      <code>true</code>, and it is set to <code>false</code> if the underlying
      <code>interface</code> and/or <code>path</code> don't or no longer exist, or
      the <code>client</code> has closed. You can wait for proxy to become valid
      by passing a callback to its
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-wait"><code>proxy.wait()</code></link> function.
      The <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-onchanged"><code>proxy.onchanged</code></link>
      event will also fire when the proxy becomes valid or invalid. DBus properties and
      methods on the proxy are not defined until the proxy becomes valid.</para>

<programlisting>
value = proxy.Prop1
proxy.WritableProp = value
</programlisting>

    <para>All DBus properties on the <code>interface</code> that start with an upper case
      letter (as is convention) will be automatically defined on this proxy, and will update
      their values as the DBus property values change. In addition the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-onchanged"><code>proxy.onchanged</code></link> event
      will fire every time the properties change.</para>

    <para>If you assign a value to a writable property on the proxy, the proxy will try to set
      that property on the DBus <code>interface</code> at <code>path</code>. The actual proxy
      property value will not update until the DBus service has notified the proxy of the
      change. If setting a property fails a warning will be logged. In order to have more
      reliable setting of properties, or track when they have been set, or if setting fails,
      use the <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-call"><code>client.call()</code></link> directly.
      It should be noted that DBus service implementations may also be inconsistent in
      their behavior when setting a property fails.</para>

    <para>You can access the raw property data using the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-data"><code>proxy.data</code></link> field, including
      data for properties that do not start with an upper case letter.</para>

<programlisting>
proxy.Method(arg1, arg2)
    .then((retval1, retval2) => {
        ...
    })
    .catch(ex => {
        ...
    });
</programlisting>
    <para>All DBus methods on the <code>interface</code> that start with an upper case
      letter (as is convention) will be automatically defined on this proxy. These
      methods are called with arguments as normal javascript arguments. A
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      that will complete successfully when the method returns, or fail if an error occurs.
      The return values from the DBus method will be passed to the <code>then</code> handler
      function directly.</para>

    <para>Methods that do not start with an upper case letter can be invoked by using
      the usual <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-call"><code>proxy.call()</code></link> directly.</para>

<programlisting>
proxy.addEventListener("Signal", (event, arg1, arg2) => {
    ...
});
</programlisting>

    <para>All DBus signals on the <code>interface</code> that start with an upper case
      letter (as is convention) will be automatically emit events on this proxy. These
      events will contain the signal arguments after the standard <code>event</code>
      argument.</para>

    <para>Signals that do not start with an upper case letter can be subscribed to by
      using <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-signal"><code>proxy.onsignal</code></link>
      directly.</para>

    <para>Usually a proxy asks the <code>client</code> to watch and notify it of changes
      to the relevant object or path. You can pass an <code>options</code> argument with
      the <code>watch</code> field set to <code>false</code> to prevent this.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-client">
    <title>proxy.client</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus client of the proxy. Will not change for the life of
      the proxy.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-path">
    <title>proxy.path</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus object path of the proxy. Will not change for the life of
      the proxy.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-iface">
    <title>proxy.iface</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus interface name of the proxy. Will not change for the life
      of the proxy.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-valid">
    <title>proxy.valid</title>
    <para>Set to <code>true</code> when the proxy's DBus interface is present at its
      DBus path, and all information for the proxy has loaded. Is set to <code>false</code>
      while loading, and after the proxy no longer refers a DBus interface and path.
      Also set to <code>false</code> if the <code>client</code> closes.</para>
    <para>Use the by <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-wait"><code>proxy.wait()</code></link>
      function to wait for a proxy to load. The
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-onchanged"><code>proxy.onchanged</code></link>
      event will also be emitted when the proxy becomes valid or invalid. DBus properties and
      methods on the proxy are not defined until the proxy becomes valid.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-data">
    <title>proxy.data</title>
    <para>A plain javascript object containing all the raw property data that this
      proxy has loaded. This will be updated automatically as the proxy is notified
      of property changes from the DBus service. The
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy-onchanged"><code>proxy.onchanged</code></link>
      event will be emitted when it changes.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-call">
    <title>proxy.call()</title>
<programlisting>
invocation = proxy.call(method, args, [options])
</programlisting>
    <para>Make a DBus method call on this proxy.</para>

    <para>For DBus methods that start with an upper case letter, is usually more convenient
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy">to call the method directly on the proxy</link>.
      However if methods that do not follow the usual DBus convention,
      or specify additional options, or the caller cannot be sure that the method actually
      exists, you can use this method.</para>

    <para>This function also works on proxies that have are still loading and have not
      become valid yet.</para>

    <para>The <code>method</code> should be a DBus method name, and the <code>args</code>
      should be an array of arguments to pass to the method. The <code>options</code>
      are <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-call">described elsewhere</link>.</para>

    <para>The returned value is identical to the one returned from
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-call">client.call()</link>. It is a
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      that will complete successfully when the method returns, or fail if an error occurs.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-wait">
    <title>proxy.wait()</title>
<programlisting>
promise = proxy.wait()
proxy.wait(() => {
    ...
});
</programlisting>
  <para>Wait for a proxy to finish loading. This function returns a promise. If a callback function
      is passed as an argument then that function will be invoked when the proxy is ready.
      If this method is called after a proxy has already loaded, then the promise will be
      resolved immediately, and any callback will be invoked immediately. Use the promise or
      <code>proxy.valid</code> to determine whether the proxy is valid.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-onchanged">
    <title>proxy.onchanged</title>
<programlisting>
proxy.addEventListener("changed", (event, data) => {
    ...
});
</programlisting>
    <para>This event is emitted when the proxy's properties change.</para>

    <para>The <code>data</code> has the following form, and will only include
      properties that have changed:</para>

<programlisting>
{
    "Prop1": "value",
    "Prop2": 5
}
</programlisting>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxy-signal">
    <title>proxy.onsignal</title>
<programlisting>
proxy.addEventListener("signal", (event, name, args) => {
    ...
});
</programlisting>
    <para>This event is emitted when the proxy's emits an event.</para>

    <para>For most events, that have names which start with an upper case letter, you can
      just <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy">connect to that event as a signal directly</link>.
      However if you wish to be notified when any signal is emitted, or for signals that do not
      follow the usual DBus convention, you can connect to this event.</para>

    <para>The <code>name</code> is the DBus signal name, and the <code>args</code> is an array
      of arguments that were emitted with the signal.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies">
    <title>client.proxies()</title>
<programlisting>
proxies = client.proxies([interface], [path_namespace], [options])
</programlisting>

    <para>Create <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy">proxy javascript objects</link> for
      a DBus interfaces. The proxies will have properties, methods and signals from
      the DBus <code>interface</code>, and allow for natural interaction. If no
      <code>interface</code> is specified then the DBus bus name of the client is used.
      If no <code>path_namespace</code> is provided then <code>"/"</code> will be used.</para>

    <para>Proxies will be automatically created for instances of the
      <code>interface</code> available at the DBus service. The optional
      <code>path_namespace</code> argument can be used to restrict the proxies for
      instances that have DBus paths which have the namespace path prefix.</para>

<programlisting>
proxy1 = proxies["/dbus/path1"];
proxy2 = proxies["/dbus/path2"];
for (proxy in proxies) {
    ...
}
</programlisting>
    <para>The returned <code>proxies</code> object will is used as a dictionary,
      and will have values containing proxies for DBus interface instances, with the
      keys being the DBus paths of those instances. It is possible to enumerate over
      the returned <code>proxies</code>.</para>

    <para>Proxies will be automatically added and removed from the <code>proxies</code>
      object as they appear and disappear in the service. The
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies-onadded"><code>proxies.onadded</code></link>
      and <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies-onremoved"><code>proxies.onremoved</code></link>
      events will be emitted. DBus services may not support notifications of paths
      disappearing.</para>

    <para>Use the <code>proxies.wait()</code> function to be notified when the initial
      set of proxies has been populated.</para>

    <para>Usually a proxies ask the <code>client</code> to watch and be notified of changes
      to the relevant object or path. You can pass an <code>options</code> argument with
      the <code>watch</code> field set to <code>false</code> to prevent this.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-wait">
    <title>proxies.wait()</title>
<programlisting>
promise = proxies.wait()
proxies.wait(() => {
    ...
});
</programlisting>
    <para>Wait for a <code>proxies</code> object to populate its initial set of proxies.
      This function returns a promise. If a callback function is passed as an argument then
      that function will be invoked when the proxies are ready. If this method is called after
      the proxies have populated, then the promise will be resolved immediately, and any callback
      will be invoked immediately.</para>

  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-client">
    <title>proxies.client</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus client of the proxies. Will not change.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-iface">
    <title>proxies.iface</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus interface name of the proxies. Will not change.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-path_namespace">
    <title>proxies.path_namespace</title>
    <para>Set to the DBus path namespace used which the proxies must have as a DBus
      path prefix. Will not change.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-onadded">
    <title>proxies.onadded</title>
<programlisting>
proxies.addEventListener("added", (event, proxy) => {
    ...
})
</programlisting>
    <para>This event is emitted when a proxy is added to the <code>proxies</code> object.
      The proxy will already have loaded.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-onchanged">
    <title>proxies.onchanged</title>
<programlisting>
proxies.addEventListener("changed", (event, proxy) => {
    ...
})
</programlisting>
    <para>This event is emitted when one of the proxy in the <code>proxies</code> object
      changes its properties.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-proxies-onremoved">
    <title>proxies.onremoved</title>
<programlisting>
proxies.addEventListener("removed", (event, proxy) => {
    ...
})
</programlisting>
    <para>This event is emitted when a proxy is removed to the <code>proxies</code> object.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-call">
    <title>client.call()</title>
<programlisting>
invocation = client.call(path, interface, method, args, [options])
</programlisting>

    <para>Make a DBus method call.</para>

    <para>The <code>path</code> is the DBus object path to make
      the call on, <code>interface</code> is the DBus interface for the method and
      <code>method</code> is the name of the method to call. The <code>args</code> is an
      array of arguments to pass to the method, each of which must be appropriate for the
      expected <link linkend="cockpit-dbus">DBus type</link> of that argument. The
      <code>args</code> may be <code>null</code> if no arguments are to be sent.</para>

    <para>The returned value is a
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      that will complete successfully when the method returns, or fail if an error occurs.</para>

    <para>If <code>options</code> is specified it should be a plain javascript object,
      which may contain the following properties:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>flags</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A string containing DBus message flags. The character <code>"i"</code>
            indicates to the dbus service that interactive authentication is allowed. If the
            entire <code>flags</code> field is missing, then <code>"i"</code> is set by
            default.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>type</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A valid DBus type signature to use when calling the method. In the
            absence of this, the DBus service will be introspected (and the result cached) to
            ask what the method type signature is.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>timeout</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The timeout of the call in milliseconds. The call will fail with
           the <code>"timeout"</code> problem code. If "timeout" is not given,
           the call will never time out.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-then">
    <title>invocation.then()</title>
<programlisting>
invocation.then((args, options) => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>This is a standard
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      method. It sets up a handler to be called when the DBus method call finishes
      successfully.</para>
    <para>The <code>args</code> argument is an array of return values from the DBus method.
      Each of them will be converted to an appropriate
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus">javascript type</link>.</para>
    <para>The <code>options</code> argument may contain additional information about the
      reply. If the <code>type</code> option was specified when performing the method call,
      then the <code>options</code> in the reply here will also contain a <code>type</code>
      field containing the DBus type signature of the output. If the <code>flags</code> option
      was specified when performing the call then the <code>options</code> in the reply here
      will contain message flags. Possible out message flags are:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>&gt;</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A big endian message.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>&lt;</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A little endian message.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-catch">
    <title>invocation.catch()</title>
<programlisting>
invocation.catch(exception => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>This is a standard
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink> method.
      It sets up a handler to be called when the DBus method call fails.</para>

    <para>The <code>exception</code> object passed to the handler can have the
      following properties:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>problem</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A <link linkend="cockpit-problems">problem code</link> string when
            a problem occurred starting or communicating with the DBus service. This is
            <code>null</code> in the cases where an actual DBus error was occurred.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>name</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The DBus error name. This will be <code>null</code> in cases where the
          failure was not due to a DBus error.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>message</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A DBus error message. This will be <code>null</code> in cases where the
          failure was not due to a DBus error.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-subscribe">
    <title>client.subscribe()</title>
<programlisting>
subscription = client.subscribe(match, (path, interface, signal, args) => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>Subscribe to signals. The <code>match</code> argument is a javascript plain object which
      defines what signals to subscribe to. Each property in the <code>match</code> argument restricts
      signals subscribed to. If a property is not present then it is treated as a wildcard, matching
      anything. If an empty object is specified as <code>match</code> then all signals will be
      subscribed to. The <code>match</code> argument may contain the following properties:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>interface</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A DBus interface to match.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>path</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A DBus object path to match. May not be used together with the
          <code>path_namespace</code> property. It should be a valid DBus object path,
          that is, it should have no trailing slash.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>path_namespace</code></term>
        <listitem><para>A DBus object path prefix to match. Any paths in the hierarchy below this
          top path will match. May not be used together with the <code>path</code>
          property.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>member</code></term>
        <listitem><para>The DBus signal name to match.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>arg0</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Matches the first argument of a DBus message, which must be a
           string.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    <para>The handler passed as the second argument will be invoked when the signal is received.
      A <code>subscription</code> is returned which can be used to remove the subscription by
      calling its <code>subscription.remove()</code> method.</para>

    <para>It is not a problem to subscribe to the same signals more than once, with identical
      or slightly different <code>match</code> arguments.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-remove">
    <title>subscription.remove()</title>
<programlisting>
subscription.remove()
</programlisting>

    <para>Unsubscribe from the DBus signal subscription.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-watch">
    <title>client.watch()</title>
<programlisting>
watch = client.watch(path)
watch = client.watch({ "path_namespace": path_namespace, "interface": interface })
</programlisting>
    <para>Watch for property and interface changes on the given DBus object
      <code>path</code> DBus <code>path_namespace</code>. If <code>interface</code> is
      specified only properties on that DBus interface will be watched.</para>

    <para>The <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy"><code>client.proxy()</code></link> and
        <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies"><code>client.proxies()</code></link> functions and
      the objects they return are high level wrappers around <code>client.watch()</code>.</para>

    <para>The property and interface changes will be available in raw form on the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-onnotify"><code>client.onnotify</code></link> event.</para>

    <para>Property and interface changes that are caused by a method call or signal will
      show up before that method call reply is received, or signal event is triggered.
      It should be possible to rely on this guarantee, unless the DBus service in question
      behaves incorrectly. Internally these watches work well with code that implements the
      <ulink url="https://dbus.freedesktop.org/doc/dbus-specification.html#standard-interfaces-objectmanager">ObjectManager</ulink>
      portion of the DBus specification. If no ObjectManager implementation is available, the
      watch falls back to using DBus
      <ulink url="https://dbus.freedesktop.org/doc/dbus-specification.html#standard-interfaces-introspectable">Introspection</ulink> along with the usual
      <ulink url="https://dbus.freedesktop.org/doc/dbus-specification.html#standard-interfaces-properties">PropertiesChanged</ulink> signal. If the DBus service implements none of these, or implements them in an
      inconsistent manner, then this function will provide inconsistent or unexpected
      results.</para>

    <para>The parameter is either a DBus <code>path</code> or a plain javascript object
      with zero or more of the following fields. If an empty javascript object is used as
      an argument, then all paths, interfaces and properties will be watched.</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>interface</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Watch properties on this DBus interface.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>path</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Watch interfaces and properties at this DBus path. May not be
            used together with the <code>path_namespace</code> property.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><code>path_namespace</code></term>
        <listitem><para>Watch interfaces and properties under this DBus path. It should
            be a valid DBus object path, that is, it should have no trailing slash.
            If an ObjectManager implementation is available at this interface, then it
            is used. May not be used together with the <code>path</code> property.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    <para>The returned value is a
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      that will complete successfully when the watch has populated its initial set of properties
      and interfaces, and these have been notified via
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-onnotify"><code>client.onnotify</code></link>.</para>

    <para>A watch can be removed by calling the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-watch-remove"><code>watch.remove()</code></link> method on
      the returned value. If identical watches are added more than once, then they must
      also be removed the same number of times before the removal takes effect.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-watch-then">
    <title>watch.then()</title>
<programlisting>
watch.then(() => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>This is a standard
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      method. It sets up a handler to be called when the watch has populated its initial
      properties and interfaces.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-watch-catch">
    <title>watch.catch()</title>
<programlisting>
watch.catch(ex => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>This is a standard
      <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise">Promise</ulink>
      method. It sets up a handler to be called if the watch fails to populate its initial
      properties and interfaces. Note that a watch will only fail if the DBus client
      closes or is somehow disconnected. It does not fail in the case of missing
      interfaces or properties.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-watch-remove">
    <title>watch.remove()</title>
<programlisting>
watch.remove()
</programlisting>
    <para>Remove the watch. This may not have any immediate effect if other watches are in
      place. In particular, if identical watches are added more than once, then they must
      also be removed the same number of times before the removal takes effect.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-onnotify">
    <title>client.onnotify</title>
<programlisting>
client.addEventListener("notify", data => { ... })
</programlisting>
    <para>An event triggered when
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-watch">watched</link> properties or interfaces change.</para>

    <para>The <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy"><code>client.proxy()</code></link> and
        <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies"><code>client.proxies()</code></link> functions and
        the objects they return are high level wrappers around the <code>data</code> provided
        by this event.</para>

    <para>The <code>data</code> has the following form:</para>

<programlisting>
{
    "/path1": {
        "org.Interface1": {
            "Prop1": "value",
            "Prop2": 5
        },
        "org.Interface2": null
    }
}
</programlisting>

    <para>Multiple paths may be present, each of which may have multiple interfaces, each
      of which may have multiple properties. The first time a given path and interface is
      emitted from this signal, it will have all its properties and interfaces. Thereafter
      only changes are noted. If an interface is set to <code>null</code>, then that
      interface has disappeared.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-notify">
    <title>client.notify()</title>
<programlisting>
client.notify(data)
</programlisting>
  <para>Emits a synthetic <link
  linkend="cockpit-dbus-onnotify"><code>notify</code></link> event.
  The <code>data</code> argument should follow the same layout as
  described for the <code>notify</code> event.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-onmeta">
    <title>client.onmeta</title>
<programlisting>
client.onmeta = (ev, data) => { ... }
</programlisting>
    <para>An event triggered when the meta data about
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-watch">watched</link> interfaces is loaded.</para>

    <para>The <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy"><code>client.proxy()</code></link> and
        <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxies"><code>client.proxies()</code></link> functions and
        the objects they return are high level wrappers around the <code>data</code> provided
        by this event.</para>

    <para>The <code>data</code> has the following form:</para>

<programlisting>
  {
      "org.Interface": {
          "methods": {
              "Method1": {
                  "in": [ "s", "v" ],
                  "out": [ "i" ]
              },
              "Method2": { }
          },
          "signals": {
              "Signal": {
                  "in": [ "b", "s" ]
              }
          },
          "properties": {
              "Prop1": {
                  "flags": "rw",
                  "type": "s"
              },
              "Prop2": {
                  "flags": "r",
                  "type": "b"
              }
          }
      }
  }
</programlisting>

    <para>Multiple interfaces may be present, each of which may have methods and properties.
      This is emitted before the first <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-proxy"><code>client.onnotify</code></link>
      event for the relevant interface.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-meta">
    <title>client.meta()</title>
<programlisting>
client.meta(data)
</programlisting>
    <para>Populate DBus introspection metadata about DBus interfaces. Usually this metadata
      is automatically introspected from the DBus services called by the <code>client</code>,
      but in certain cases it is useful to populate this info from javascript code. One such
      case is when exporting a DBus service from javascript.</para>

    <para>The <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-onmeta"><code>client.onmeta</code></link> event will
      be emitted by this method call. It's documentation includes information about the form
      of the <code>data</code>.</para>

  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-publish">
    <title>client.publish()</title>
<programlisting>
published = client.publish(path, interface, object, [options])
</programlisting>

    <para>Publish a DBus <code>interface</code> at the specified object <code>path</code>.
      Methods on the Javascript <code>object</code> will be invoked when DBus methods on the
      specified <code>interface</code> are invoked by callers.</para>

    <para>The meta data for the DBus interface must have been populated using the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-meta"><code>client.meta()</code></link> function. The
      returned <code>published</code> object is a promise object. It will resolve when the
      DBus interface has been published on the bus. It is not an error to publish the same
      interface and path repeatedly: Previously published objects at the interface and
      path are replaced by those published later.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-published">
    <title>published.remove()</title>
<programlisting>
published.remove()
</programlisting>

    <para>Un-publishes a DBus interface at an object path. This method can be invoked
      on the <code>published</code> result returned from the
      <link linkend="cockpit-dbus-publish"><code>client.publish()</code></link> function.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-variant">
    <title>cockpit.variant()</title>
<programlisting>
variant = cockpit.variant(type, value)
</programlisting>

    <para>A DBus variant is represented as a plain javascript object with a
      <code>"t"</code> property represesting the full DBus type of the variant,
      and a <code>"v"</code> property containing the variant value.</para>

    <para>This is a helper function for creating such a variant object.</para>
  </refsection>

  <refsection id="cockpit-dbus-byte-array">
    <title>cockpit.byte_array()</title>
<programlisting>
byte_array = cockpit.byte_array(value)
</programlisting>

    <para>A DBus byte array is represented as base64 data encoded in a string. This
      is a helper function for creating such a byte array.</para>
  </refsection>
</refentry>
