3 files changed, 62 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/include/io/channel-buffer.h b/include/io/channel-buffer.h
index 91a52b3373..65c498b2c2 100644
--- a/include/io/channel-buffer.h
+++ b/include/io/channel-buffer.h
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ struct QIOChannelBuffer {
     size_t capacity; /* Total allocated memory */
     size_t usage;    /* Current size of data */
     size_t offset;   /* Offset for future I/O ops */
-    char *data;
+    uint8_t *data;
 };
 
 
diff --git a/include/io/channel-socket.h b/include/io/channel-socket.h
index 810537ef6f..70d06b40d9 100644
--- a/include/io/channel-socket.h
+++ b/include/io/channel-socket.h
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ int qio_channel_socket_connect_sync(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
  * Attempt to connect to the address @addr. This method
  * will run in the background so the caller will regain
  * execution control immediately. The function @callback
- * will be invoked on completion or failure.
+ * will be invoked on completion or failure. The @addr
+ * parameter will be copied, so may be freed as soon
+ * as this function returns without waiting for completion.
  */
 void qio_channel_socket_connect_async(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
                                       SocketAddress *addr,
@@ -140,7 +142,9 @@ int qio_channel_socket_listen_sync(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
  * Attempt to listen to the address @addr. This method
  * will run in the background so the caller will regain
  * execution control immediately. The function @callback
- * will be invoked on completion or failure.
+ * will be invoked on completion or failure. The @addr
+ * parameter will be copied, so may be freed as soon
+ * as this function returns without waiting for completion.
  */
 void qio_channel_socket_listen_async(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
                                      SocketAddress *addr,
@@ -181,6 +185,9 @@ int qio_channel_socket_dgram_sync(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
  * This method will run in the background so the caller
  * will regain execution control immediately. The function
  * @callback will be invoked on completion or failure.
+ * The @localAddr and @remoteAddr parameters will be copied,
+ * so may be freed as soon as this function returns without
+ * waiting for completion.
  */
 void qio_channel_socket_dgram_async(QIOChannelSocket *ioc,
                                     SocketAddress *localAddr,
diff --git a/include/io/channel-util.h b/include/io/channel-util.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c93af82884
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/io/channel-util.h
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * QEMU I/O channels utility APIs
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+
+#ifndef QIO_CHANNEL_UTIL_H__
+#define QIO_CHANNEL_UTIL_H__
+
+#include "io/channel.h"
+
+/*
+ * This module provides helper functions that are useful when dealing
+ * with QIOChannel objects
+ */
+
+
+/**
+ * qio_channel_new_fd:
+ * @fd: the file descriptor
+ * @errp: pointer to a NULL-initialized error object
+ *
+ * Create a channel for performing I/O on the file
+ * descriptor @fd. The particular subclass of QIOChannel
+ * that is returned will depend on what underlying object
+ * the file descriptor is associated with. It may be either
+ * a QIOChannelSocket or a QIOChannelFile instance. Upon
+ * success, the returned QIOChannel instance will own
+ * the @fd file descriptor, and take responsibility for
+ * closing it when no longer required. On failure, the
+ * caller is responsible for closing @fd.
+ *
+ * Returns: the channel object, or NULL on error
+ */
+QIOChannel *qio_channel_new_fd(int fd,
+                               Error **errp);
+
+#endif /* QIO_CHANNEL_UTIL_H__ */