# $Id: PipeDream.README,v 1.1.1.1 1999/03/09 06:56:02 mpetullo Exp $

#   FILE: PipeDream.README -- A brief synopsis of the PipeDream class.
# AUTHOR: W. Michael Petullo, wp0002@drake.edu
#   DATE: 23 SEPT 1997

PipeDream.py simplifies communication over pipe.  It provides a class PipeDream
which allows you to:
      
        * execute a child process with a complete (stdin, stdout, stderr) pipe
          system (constructor)
        * send data to the child over the pipe (PipeDream.Send ())
        * receive an expected protocol (PipeDream.ReceiveProtocol ())
        * receive a line of data from the pipe (PipeDream.ReadLine ())
        * receive characters from the pipe until a delimiting character is
          received (PipeDream.ConsumeUpTo ()
        * get the child process's PID (PipeDream.ChildPID ())
        * shutdown the child process (PipeDream.Shutdown ())
        
When a read off the pipe takes longer than a specified length of time, a
PipeTimeout exception is raised by PipeDream.  In addition, if communication some how
gets out of sync, a SyncError exception will be raised by ReceiveProtocol.
