.TH hal_init "3hal" "2006-10-12" "LinuxCNC Documentation" "HAL"
.SH NAME

hal_init \- Sets up HAL and RTAPI

.SH SYNTAX
.HP
 int hal_init(const char *\fImodname\fR)

.SH ARGUMENTS
.IP \fImodname\fR
The name of this hal module

.SH DESCRIPTION

\fBhal_init\fR sets up HAL and RTAPI.  It must be called by any
module that intends to use the API, before any other RTAPI
calls.

\fImodname\fR can optionally point to a string that identifies
the module.  The string may be no longer than \fBRTAPI_NAME_LEN\fR
characters.  If \fImodname\fR is \fBNULL\fR, the system will assign a
name.

.SH REALTIME CONSIDERATIONS
Call only from within user or init/cleanup code, not from relatime tasks.

.SH RETURN VALUE
On success, returns a positive integer module ID, which is
used for subsequent calls to hal and rtapi APIs.
On failure, returns a HAL error code.