[ViewVC] Diff of: cvs/libev/ev.3

Comparing libev/ev.3 (file contents):
Revision 1.56 by root, Sat Dec 22 05:47:57 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.60 by root, Mon Jan 28 12:23:02 2008 UTC

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+.ie \nF \{\
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 .IX Title "EV 1"
-.TH EV 1 "2007-12-22" "perl v5.8.8" "User Contributed Perl Documentation"
+.TH EV 1 "2008-01-28" "perl v5.10.0" "User Contributed Perl Documentation"
+.\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
+.\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
+.if n .ad l
+.nh
 .SH "NAME"
 libev \- a high performance full\-featured event loop written in C
 .SH "SYNOPSIS"
 .IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
 .Vb 1
 \&  #include <ev.h>
 .Ve
-.SH "EXAMPLE PROGRAM"
+.Sh "\s-1EXAMPLE\s0 \s-1PROGRAM\s0"
-.IX Header "EXAMPLE PROGRAM"
+.IX Subsection "EXAMPLE PROGRAM"
 .Vb 1
 \&  #include <ev.h>
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&  ev_io stdin_watcher;
 \&  ev_timer timeout_watcher;
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 8
 \&  /* called when data readable on stdin */
 \&  static void
 \&  stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    /* puts ("stdin ready"); */
 \&    ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */
 \&    ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&  static void
 \&  timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    /* puts ("timeout"); */
 \&    ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 4
 \&  int
 \&  main (void)
 \&  {
 \&    struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&    /* initialise an io watcher, then start it */
 \&    ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
 \&    ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
-\&    /* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */
+\&    /* simple non\-repeating 5.5 second timeout */
 \&    ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
 \&    ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    /* loop till timeout or data ready */
 \&    ev_loop (loop, 0);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    return 0;
 \&  }
 .Ve
 .SH "DESCRIPTION"
 .IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
 .PP
 You register interest in certain events by registering so-called \fIevent
 watchers\fR, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
 details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by \fIstarting\fR the
 watcher.
-.SH "FEATURES"
+.Sh "\s-1FEATURES\s0"
-.IX Header "FEATURES"
+.IX Subsection "FEATURES"
 Libev supports \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR, the Linux-specific \f(CW\*(C`epoll\*(C'\fR, the
 BSD-specific \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
 for file descriptor events (\f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR), the Linux \f(CW\*(C`inotify\*(C'\fR interface
 (for \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR), relative timers (\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR), absolute timers
 with customised rescheduling (\f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR), synchronous signals
 (\f(CW\*(C`ev_fork\*(C'\fR).
 .PP
 It also is quite fast (see this
 benchmark comparing it to libevent
 for example).
-.SH "CONVENTIONS"
+.Sh "\s-1CONVENTIONS\s0"
-.IX Header "CONVENTIONS"
+.IX Subsection "CONVENTIONS"
 Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will
 be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about
 various configuration options please have a look at \fB\s-1EMBED\s0\fR section in
 this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event
 loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR
 (which is always of type \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR) will not have this argument.
-.SH "TIME REPRESENTATION"
+.Sh "\s-1TIME\s0 \s-1REPRESENTATION\s0"
-.IX Header "TIME REPRESENTATION"
+.IX Subsection "TIME REPRESENTATION"
 Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
 (fractional) number of seconds since the (\s-1POSIX\s0) epoch (somewhere near
 the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
 called \f(CW\*(C`ev_tstamp\*(C'\fR, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
 to the \f(CW\*(C`double\*(C'\fR type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
 .IP "ev_tstamp ev_time ()" 4
 .IX Item "ev_tstamp ev_time ()"
 Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
 \&\f(CW\*(C`ev_now\*(C'\fR function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
 you actually want to know.
-.IP "void ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IP "ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)" 4
-.IX Item "void ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)"
+.IX Item "ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)"
 Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
 either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
 this is a subsecond-resolution \f(CW\*(C`sleep ()\*(C'\fR.
 .IP "int ev_version_major ()" 4
 .IX Item "int ev_version_major ()"
 (assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
 libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
 .IP "unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()" 4
 .IX Item "unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()"
 Returns the set of backends that are embeddable in other event loops. This
-is the theoretical, all\-platform, value. To find which backends
+is the theoretical, all-platform, value. To find which backends
 might be supported on the current system, you would need to look at
 \&\f(CW\*(C`ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_supported_backends ()\*(C'\fR, likewise for
 recommended ones.
 .Sp
 See the description of \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watchers for more info.
 \&   persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
 \&   {
 \&     for (;;)
 \&       {
 \&         void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 2
 \&         if (newptr)
 \&           return newptr;
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 3
 \&         sleep (60);
 \&       }
 \&   }
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 2
 \&   ...
 \&   ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
 .Ve
 .IP "ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));" 4
 .IX Item "ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));"
 \&   fatal_error (const char *msg)
 \&   {
 \&     perror (msg);
 \&     abort ();
 \&   }
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 2
 \&   ...
 \&   ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);
 .Ve
 .SH "FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP"
 .IX Header "FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP"
 false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the
 flags. If that is troubling you, check \f(CW\*(C`ev_backend ()\*(C'\fR afterwards).
 .Sp
 If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
 function.
+.Sp
+The default loop is the only loop that can handle \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
+for \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR. If this is a problem for your app you can either
+create a dynamic loop with \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR that doesn't do that, or you
+can simply overwrite the \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR signal handler \fIafter\fR calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_default_init\*(C'\fR.
 .Sp
 The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
 backends to use, and is usually specified as \f(CW0\fR (or \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_AUTO\*(C'\fR).
 .Sp
 The following flags are supported:
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_SELECT\fR  (value 1, portable select backend)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_SELECT  (value 1, portable select backend)"
 This is your standard \fIselect\fR\|(2) backend. Not \fIcompletely\fR standard, as
 libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
 but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
-using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually
+using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
-the fastest backend for a low number of fds.
+usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
+.Sp
+To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
+parallelity (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
+writing a server, you should \f(CW\*(C`accept ()\*(C'\fR in a loop to accept as many
+connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
+a look at \f(CW\*(C`ev_set_io_collect_interval ()\*(C'\fR to increase the amount of
+readyness notifications you get per iteration.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_POLL""    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_POLL\fR    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_POLL    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)"
-And this is your standard \fIpoll\fR\|(2) backend. It's more complicated than
+And this is your standard \fIpoll\fR\|(2) backend. It's more complicated
-select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the
+than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
-number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a
+limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
-lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).
+considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
+i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR, above, for
+performance tips.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_EPOLL""   (value 4, Linux)" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_EPOLL\fR   (value 4, Linux)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_EPOLL   (value 4, Linux)"
 For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
 but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
 like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
 epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
 of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
 cases and rewiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad
-support for dup:
+support for dup.
 .Sp
 While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
 will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
 (because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
 best to avoid that. Also, \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors might not work
 very well if you register events for both fds.
 .Sp
 Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
 need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
 (or space) is available.
+.Sp
+Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
+watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
+keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
+.Sp
+While nominally embeddeble in other event loops, this feature is broken in
+all kernel versions tested so far.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_KQUEUE""  (value 8, most \s-1BSD\s0 clones)" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_KQUEUE\fR  (value 8, most \s-1BSD\s0 clones)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_KQUEUE  (value 8, most BSD clones)"
 Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
-was broken on \fIall\fR BSDs (usually it doesn't work with anything but
+was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
-sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course it's completely
+with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
-useless. On NetBSD, it seems to work for all the \s-1FD\s0 types I tested, so it
-is used by default there). For this reason it's not being \*(L"autodetected\*(R"
+it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being \*(L"autodetected\*(R"
 unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_KQUEUE\*(C'\fR) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (\-enough)
 system like NetBSD.
 .Sp
+You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
+only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
+the target platform). See \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watchers for more info.
+.Sp
 It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
-kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed,
+kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
-of course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does
+course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
-never cause an extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to two event
+cause an extra syscall as with \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_EPOLL\*(C'\fR, it still adds up to
-changes per incident, support for \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR is very bad and it drops fds
+two event changes per incident, support for \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR is very bad and it
-silently in similarly hard-to-detetc cases.
+drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
+.Sp
+This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
+.Sp
+While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
+everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
+almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
+(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
+(e.g. \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR) and using it only for
+sockets.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL"" (value 16, Solaris 8)" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_DEVPOLL\fR (value 16, Solaris 8)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL (value 16, Solaris 8)"
-This is not implemented yet (and might never be).
+This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
+implementation). According to reports, \f(CW\*(C`/dev/poll\*(C'\fR only supports sockets
+and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
+immensely.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_PORT""    (value 32, Solaris 10)" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_PORT\fR    (value 32, Solaris 10)" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_PORT    (value 32, Solaris 10)"
 This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
 it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
 .Sp
 Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
 notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
 blocking when no data (or space) is available.
+.Sp
+While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
+file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
+descriptors a \*(L"slow\*(R" \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR backend
+might perform better.
+.Sp
+On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readyness notifications, this
+backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
+embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
 .ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_ALL""" 4
 .el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_ALL\fR" 4
 .IX Item "EVBACKEND_ALL"
 Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
 with \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_AUTO\*(C'\fR). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
 .RE
 .RS 4
 .Sp
 If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these
-backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are
+backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
-specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse
+specified, all backends in \f(CW\*(C`ev_recommended_backends ()\*(C'\fR will be tried.
-order of their flag values :)
 .Sp
 The most typical usage is like this:
 .Sp
 .Vb 2
 \&  if (!ev_default_loop (0))
 .IX Item "ev_loop_destroy (loop)"
 Like \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_destroy\*(C'\fR, but destroys an event loop created by an
 earlier call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR.
 .IP "ev_default_fork ()" 4
 .IX Item "ev_default_fork ()"
+This function sets a flag that causes subsequent \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR iterations
-This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have
+to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
-one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense
+name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
-after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that
+the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
-again makes little sense).
+sense). You \fImust\fR call it in the child before using any of the libev
+functions, and it will only take effect at the next \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR iteration.
 .Sp
-You \fImust\fR call this function in the child process after forking if and
+On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
-only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just
+process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
-fork+exec, you don't have to call it.
+you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
 .Sp
 The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
 it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
 quite nicely into a call to \f(CW\*(C`pthread_atfork\*(C'\fR:
 .Sp
 .Vb 1
 \&    pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
 .Ve
-.Sp
-At the moment, \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR are safe to use
-without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
-do not need to care.
 .IP "ev_loop_fork (loop)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_loop_fork (loop)"
 Like \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_fork\*(C'\fR, but acts on an event loop created by
 \&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
 after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
 libev watchers. However, a pair of \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR/\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers is
 usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
 .Sp
 Here are the gory details of what \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR does:
 .Sp
-.Vb 19
+.Vb 10
-\&   - Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
+\&   \- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
-\&   * If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.
+\&   * If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
-\&   - Queue all prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.
+\&   \- If a fork was detected, queue and call all fork watchers.
+\&   \- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
-\&   - If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
+\&   \- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
-\&   - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
+\&   \- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
-\&   - Update the "event loop time".
+\&   \- Update the "event loop time".
-\&   - Calculate for how long to block.
+\&   \- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
+\&     (active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
+\&     any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
+\&   \- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
-\&   - Block the process, waiting for any events.
+\&   \- Block the process, waiting for any events.
-\&   - Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
+\&   \- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
-\&   - Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
+\&   \- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
-\&   - Queue all outstanding timers.
+\&   \- Queue all outstanding timers.
-\&   - Queue all outstanding periodics.
+\&   \- Queue all outstanding periodics.
-\&   - If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
+\&   \- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
-\&   - Queue all check watchers.
+\&   \- Queue all check watchers.
-\&   - Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
+\&   \- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
 \&     Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
 \&     be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
-\&   - If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
+\&   \- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
-\&     were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.
+\&     were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
+\&     continue with step *.
 .Ve
 .Sp
-Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding
+Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
 anymore.
 .Sp
 .Vb 4
 \&   ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
 \&   ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
 .IX Item "ev_unloop (loop, how)"
 Can be used to make a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR return early (but only after it
 has processed all outstanding events). The \f(CW\*(C`how\*(C'\fR argument must be either
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVUNLOOP_ONE\*(C'\fR, which will make the innermost \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR call return, or
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVUNLOOP_ALL\*(C'\fR, which will make all nested \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR calls return.
+.Sp
+This \*(L"unloop state\*(R" will be cleared when entering \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR again.
 .IP "ev_ref (loop)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_ref (loop)"
 .PD 0
 .IP "ev_unref (loop)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_unref (loop)"
 returning, \fIev_unref()\fR after starting, and \fIev_ref()\fR before stopping it. For
 example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
 visible to the libev user and should not keep \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR from exiting if
 no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
 way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
-libraries. Just remember to \fIunref after start\fR and \fIref before stop\fR.
+libraries. Just remember to \fIunref after start\fR and \fIref before stop\fR
+(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
+respectively).
 .Sp
 Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR
 running when nothing else is active.
 .Sp
 .Vb 4
 .Sp
 .Vb 2
 \&  ev_ref (loop);
 \&  ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
 .Ve
-.IP "ev_set_io_collect_interval (ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IP "ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
-.IX Item "ev_set_io_collect_interval (ev_tstamp interval)"
+.IX Item "ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)"
 .PD 0
-.IP "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IP "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
-.IX Item "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (ev_tstamp interval)"
+.IX Item "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)"
 .PD
 These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
 for events. Both are by default \f(CW0\fR, meaning that libev will try to
 invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.
 .Sp
 overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
 .Sp
 By setting a higher \fIio collect interval\fR you allow libev to spend more
 time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
 at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR and
-\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR) will be not affected.
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
+introduce an additional \f(CW\*(C`ev_sleep ()\*(C'\fR call into most loop iterations.
 .Sp
 Likewise, by setting a higher \fItimeout collect interval\fR you allow libev
 to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
 latency (the watcher callback will be called later). \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watchers
-will not be affected.
+will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
+any overhead in libev.
 .Sp
-Many programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect interval to
+Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect
-a value near \f(CW0.1\fR or so, which is often enough for interactive servers
+interval to a value near \f(CW0.1\fR or so, which is often enough for
-(of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It usually doesn't make
+interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
-much sense to set it to a lower value than \f(CW0.01\fR, as this approsaches
+usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than \f(CW0.01\fR,
-the timing granularity of most systems.
+as this approsaches the timing granularity of most systems.
 .SH "ANATOMY OF A WATCHER"
 .IX Header "ANATOMY OF A WATCHER"
 A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
 interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for \s-1STDIN\s0 to
 become readable, you would create an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher for that:
 \&  static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    ev_io_stop (w);
 \&    ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&  struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
 \&  struct ev_io stdin_watcher;
 \&  ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
 \&  ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
 \&  ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
 In this case getting the pointer to \f(CW\*(C`my_biggy\*(C'\fR is a bit more complicated,
 you need to use \f(CW\*(C`offsetof\*(C'\fR:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
 \&  #include <stddef.h>
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&  static void
 \&  t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
-\&      (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
+\&      (((char *)w) \- offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&  static void
 \&  t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
-\&      (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
+\&      (((char *)w) \- offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
 \&  }
 .Ve
 .SH "WATCHER TYPES"
 .IX Header "WATCHER TYPES"
 This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
 In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
 fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
 descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
 required if you know what you are doing).
 .PP
-You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
-(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
-descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
-to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
-the same underlying \*(L"file open\*(R").
-.PP
 If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
 (at the time of this writing, this includes only \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR and
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR).
 .PP
 Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
 .PP
 \fIThe special problem of dup'ed file descriptors\fR
 .IX Subsection "The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors"
 .PP
 Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
-but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That menas when you
+but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
-have \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors and register events for them, only one
+have \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
-file descriptor might actually receive events.
+events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
 .PP
-There is no workaorund possible except not registering events
+There is no workaround possible except not registering events
-for potentially \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors or to resort to
+for potentially \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR.
 .PP
 \fIThe special problem of fork\fR
 .IX Subsection "The special problem of fork"
 .PP
 The file descriptor being watched.
 .IP "int events [read\-only]" 4
 .IX Item "int events [read-only]"
 The events being watched.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Call \f(CW\*(C`stdin_readable_cb\*(C'\fR when \s-1STDIN_FILENO\s0 has become, well
-readable, but only once. Since it is likely line\-buffered, you could
+readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
 attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
 .PP
 .Vb 6
 \&  static void
 \&  stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&     ev_io_stop (loop, w);
-\&    .. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
+\&    .. read from stdin here (or from w\->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&  ...
 \&  struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
 \&  struct ev_io stdin_readable;
 \&  ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
 \&  ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
 of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
 you suspect event processing to be delayed and you \fIneed\fR to base the timeout
 on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
-\&   ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
+\&   ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () \- ev_time (), 0.);
 .Ve
 .PP
 The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
 but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
 order of execution is undefined.
 .Sp
 .Vb 8
 \&   ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
 \&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
 \&   ...
-\&   timer->again = 17.;
+\&   timer\->again = 17.;
 \&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
 \&   ...
-\&   timer->again = 10.;
+\&   timer\->again = 10.;
 \&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
 .Ve
 .Sp
 This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
 you want to modify its timeout value.
 .IX Item "ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]"
 The current \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
 or \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
 which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
 .PP
 .Vb 5
 \&  static void
 \&  one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&  struct ev_timer mytimer;
 \&  ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
 \&  ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
 .Ve
 .PP
 \&  static void
 \&  timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    .. ten seconds without any activity
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 4
 \&  struct ev_timer mytimer;
 \&  ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
 \&  ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
 \&  ev_loop (loop, 0);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&  // and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
 \&  // reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
 \&  ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
 .Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_periodic"" \- to cron or not to cron?"
 .IX Item "ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)"
 .PD
 Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
 operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
 .RS 4
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)" 4
+absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
-.IX Item "absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)"
+.Sp
 In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time
 \&\f(CW\*(C`at\*(C'\fR and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,
 that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the
 system time reaches or surpasses this time.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)" 4
+non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
-.IX Item "non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)"
+.Sp
 In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
 \&\f(CW\*(C`at + N * interval\*(C'\fR time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
 and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
 .Sp
 This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
 time where \f(CW\*(C`time = at (mod interval)\*(C'\fR, regardless of any time jumps.
 .Sp
 For numerical stability it is preferable that the \f(CW\*(C`at\*(C'\fR value is near
 \&\f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
 this value.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)" 4
+manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
-.IX Item "manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)"
+.Sp
 In this mode the values for \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`at\*(C'\fR are both being
 ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
 reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
 current time as second argument.
 .Sp
 .IP "ev_tstamp at [read\-only]" 4
 .IX Item "ev_tstamp at [read-only]"
 When active, contains the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
 trigger next.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
 system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
 potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
 .PP
 .Vb 5
 \&  static void
 \&  clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&  struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
 \&  ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
 \&  ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
 .Ve
 .PP
 Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
 \&  #include <math.h>
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 5
 \&  static ev_tstamp
 \&  my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
 \&  {
 \&    return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 1
 \&  ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
 .Ve
 .PP
 Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
 .PP
 Child watchers trigger when your process receives a \s-1SIGCHLD\s0 in response to
 some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).
 .PP
 \fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
 .IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
-.IP "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)" 4
+.IP "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)" 4
-.IX Item "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)"
+.IX Item "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)"
 .PD 0
-.IP "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)" 4
+.IP "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)" 4
-.IX Item "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)"
+.IX Item "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)"
 .PD
 Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process \f(CW\*(C`pid\*(C'\fR (or
 \&\fIany\fR process if \f(CW\*(C`pid\*(C'\fR is specified as \f(CW0\fR). The callback can look
 at the \f(CW\*(C`rstatus\*(C'\fR member of the \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watcher structure to see
 the status word (use the macros from \f(CW\*(C`sys/wait.h\*(C'\fR and see your systems
 \&\f(CW\*(C`waitpid\*(C'\fR documentation). The \f(CW\*(C`rpid\*(C'\fR member contains the pid of the
-process causing the status change.
+process causing the status change. \f(CW\*(C`trace\*(C'\fR must be either \f(CW0\fR (only
+activate the watcher when the process terminates) or \f(CW1\fR (additionally
+activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
 .IP "int pid [read\-only]" 4
 .IX Item "int pid [read-only]"
 The process id this watcher watches out for, or \f(CW0\fR, meaning any process id.
 .IP "int rpid [read\-write]" 4
 .IX Item "int rpid [read-write]"
 .IP "int rstatus [read\-write]" 4
 .IX Item "int rstatus [read-write]"
 The process exit/trace status caused by \f(CW\*(C`rpid\*(C'\fR (see your systems
 \&\f(CW\*(C`waitpid\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`sys/wait.h\*(C'\fR documentation for details).
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Try to exit cleanly on \s-1SIGINT\s0 and \s-1SIGTERM\s0.
 .PP
 .Vb 5
 \&  static void
 \&  sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&  struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
 \&  ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
 \&  ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
 .Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_stat"" \- did the file attributes just change?"
 impose a minimum interval which is currently around \f(CW0.1\fR, but thats
 usually overkill.
 .PP
 This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
 as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
-resource\-intensive.
+resource-intensive.
 .PP
 At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
 implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
 reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the
 semantics of \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs
 to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are
 usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no
 polling.
+.PP
+\fIInotify\fR
+.IX Subsection "Inotify"
+.PP
+When \f(CW\*(C`inotify (7)\*(C'\fR support has been compiled into libev (generally only
+available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
+change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
+when the first \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watcher is being started.
+.PP
+Inotify presense does not change the semantics of \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers
+except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
+making regular \f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fR calls. Even in the presense of inotify support
+there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular \f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fR polling.
+.PP
+(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
+implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
+descriptor open on the object at all times).
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of stat time resolution\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of stat time resolution"
+.PP
+The \f(CW\*(C`stat ()\*(C'\fR syscall only supports full-second resolution portably, and
+even on systems where the resolution is higher, many filesystems still
+only support whole seconds.
+.PP
+That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you might
+miss updates: on the first update, \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR detects a change and calls
+your callback, which does something. When there is another update within
+the same second, \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR will be unable to detect it.
+.PP
+The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for a second (or till
+the next second boundary), using a roughly one-second delay \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR
+(\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.01); ev_timer_again (loop, w)\*(C'\fR). The \f(CW.01\fR
+is added to work around small timing inconsistencies of some operating
+systems.
 .PP
 \fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
 .IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
 .IP "ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)"
 The specified interval.
 .IP "const char *path [read\-only]" 4
 .IX Item "const char *path [read-only]"
 The filesystem path that is being watched.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Watch \f(CW\*(C`/etc/passwd\*(C'\fR for attribute changes.
 .PP
-.Vb 15
+.Vb 10
 \&  static void
 \&  passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    /* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
-\&    if (w->attr.st_nlink)
+\&    if (w\->attr.st_nlink)
 \&      {
-\&        printf ("passwd current size  %ld\en", (long)w->attr.st_size);
+\&        printf ("passwd current size  %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_size);
-\&        printf ("passwd current atime %ld\en", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
+\&        printf ("passwd current atime %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_mtime);
-\&        printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\en", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
+\&        printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_mtime);
 \&      }
 \&    else
 \&      /* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
 \&      puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
 \&            "if this is windows, they already arrived\en");
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&  ...
 \&  ev_stat passwd;
+\&
+\&  ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
+\&  ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
 .Ve
+.PP
+Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
+miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
+one might do the work both on \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR callback invocation \fIand\fR on
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR callback invocation).
 .PP
 .Vb 2
+\&  static ev_stat passwd;
+\&  static ev_timer timer;
+\&
+\&  static void
+\&  timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&  {
+\&    ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&
+\&    /* now it\*(Aqs one second after the most recent passwd change */
+\&  }
+\&
+\&  static void
+\&  stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
+\&  {
+\&    /* reset the one\-second timer */
+\&    ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
+\&  }
+\&
+\&  ...
-\&  ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");
+\&  ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
 \&  ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
+\&  ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.01);
 .Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_idle"" \- when you've got nothing better to do..."
 .el .Sh "\f(CWev_idle\fP \- when you've got nothing better to do..."
 .IX Subsection "ev_idle - when you've got nothing better to do..."
 Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
 The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
 active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
 .PP
 Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
 effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
-\&\*(L"pseudo\-background processing\*(R", or delay processing stuff to after the
+\&\*(L"pseudo-background processing\*(R", or delay processing stuff to after the
 event loop has handled all outstanding events.
 .PP
 \fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
 .IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
 .IP "ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)"
 Initialises and configures the idle watcher \- it has no parameters of any
 kind. There is a \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle_set\*(C'\fR macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
 believe me.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 Example: Dynamically allocate an \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watcher, start it, and in the
 callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
 .PP
 .Vb 7
 \&  static void
 \&  idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    free (w);
 \&    // now do something you wanted to do when the program has
-\&    // no longer asnything immediate to do.
+\&    // no longer anything immediate to do.
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&  struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
 \&  ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
 \&  ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
 .Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_prepare""\fP and \f(CW""ev_check"" \- customise your event loop!"
 .PP
 It is recommended to give \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers highest (\f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR)
 priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
 after the poll. Also, \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers (and \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watchers,
 too) should not activate (\*(L"feed\*(R") events into libev. While libev fully
-supports this, they will be called before other \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers did
+supports this, they will be called before other \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers
-their job. As \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers are often used to embed other event
+did their job. As \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers are often used to embed other
-loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
+(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
-\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
+state until their \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watcher ran (always remind yourself to
-others).
+coexist peacefully with others).
 .PP
 \fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
 .IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
 .IP "ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)"
 .PD
 Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher \- they have no
 parameters of any kind. There are \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare_set\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_check_set\*(C'\fR
 macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
 .PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
 There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
 into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
 (there is a Perl module named \f(CW\*(C`EV::ADNS\*(C'\fR that does this, which you could
 use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named \f(CW\*(C`EV::Glib\*(C'\fR
 embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, \f(CW\*(C`Glib::EV\*(C'\fR embeds \s-1EV\s0
 the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
 .PP
 .Vb 2
 \&  static ev_io iow [nfd];
 \&  static ev_timer tw;
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 4
 \&  static void
 \&  io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 8
 \&  // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
 \&  static void
 \&  adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    int timeout = 3600000;
 \&    struct pollfd fds [nfd];
 \&    // actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
 \&    adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
-\&    /* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
+\&    /* the callback is illegal, but won\*(Aqt be called as we stop during check */
-\&    ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
+\&    ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e\-3);
 \&    ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 6
 \&    // create one ev_io per pollfd
 \&    for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
 \&      {
 \&        ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
 \&          ((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
 \&           | (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 4
 \&        fds [i].revents = 0;
 \&        ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
 \&      }
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 5
 \&  // stop all watchers after blocking
 \&  static void
 \&  adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 8
 \&    for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
 \&      {
 \&        // set the relevant poll flags
 \&        // could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
 \&        struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
 \&        int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
-\&        if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
+\&        if (revents & EV_READ ) fd\->revents |= fd\->events & POLLIN;
-\&        if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
+\&        if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd\->revents |= fd\->events & POLLOUT;
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&        // now stop the watcher
 \&        ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
 \&      }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
 \&  }
 .Ve
 .PP
 Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run \f(CW\*(C`adns_afterpoll\*(C'\fR
 .PP
 .Vb 5
 \&  static void
 \&  timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
-\&    adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
+\&    adns_state ads = (adns_state)w\->data;
 \&    update_now (EV_A);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 5
 \&  static void
 \&  io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
 \&  {
-\&    adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
+\&    adns_state ads = (adns_state)w\->data;
 \&    update_now (EV_A);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
-\&    if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable  (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
+\&    if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable  (ads, w\->fd, &tv_now);
-\&    if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
+\&    if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w\->fd, &tv_now);
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 1
 \&  // do not ever call adns_afterpoll
 .Ve
 .PP
 Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
 want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override
 .Vb 4
 \&  static gint
 \&  event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
 \&  {
 \&    int got_events = 0;
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
 \&      // create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    if (timeout >= 0)
 \&      // create/start timer
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    // poll
 \&    ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
 \&    // stop timer again
 \&    if (timeout >= 0)
 \&      ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 3
-\&    // stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
+\&    // stop io watchers again \- their callbacks should have set
 \&    for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
 \&      ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
 \&    return got_events;
 \&  }
 .Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_embed"" \- when one backend isn't enough..."
 .el .Sh "\f(CWev_embed\fP \- when one backend isn't enough..."
 .IX Subsection "ev_embed - when one backend isn't enough..."
 This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
 into another (currently only \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR events are supported in the embedded
 loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
-fashion and must not be used). (See portability notes, below).
+fashion and must not be used).
 .PP
 There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and
 prioritise I/O.
 .PP
 As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
 portable one.
 .PP
 So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
 that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
 this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
-create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:
+create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
-.PP
-.Vb 3
-\&  struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
-\&  struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
-\&  struct ev_embed embed;
-.Ve
-.PP
-.Vb 5
-\&  // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
-\&  // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
-\&  loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
-\&    ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
-\&    : 0;
-.Ve
-.PP
-.Vb 8
-\&  // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
-\&  if (loop_lo)
-\&    {
-\&      ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
-\&      ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
-\&    }
-\&  else
-\&    loop_lo = loop_hi;
-.Ve
-.Sh "Portability notes"
-.IX Subsection "Portability notes"
-Kqueue is nominally embeddable, but this is broken on all BSDs that I
-tried, in various ways. Usually the embedded event loop will simply never
-receive events, sometimes it will only trigger a few times, sometimes in a
-loop. Epoll is also nominally embeddable, but many Linux kernel versions
-will always eport the epoll fd as ready, even when no events are pending.
-.PP
-While libev allows embedding these backends (they are contained in
-\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_embeddable_backends ()\*(C'\fR), take extreme care that it will actually
-work.
-.PP
-When in doubt, create a dynamic event loop forced to use sockets (this
-usually works) and possibly another thread and a pipe or so to report to
-your main event loop.
 .PP
 \fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
 .IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
 .IP "ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)"
 similarly to \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)\*(C'\fR, but in the most
 apropriate way for embedded loops.
 .IP "struct ev_loop *other [read\-only]" 4
 .IX Item "struct ev_loop *other [read-only]"
 The embedded event loop.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
+event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
+loop is stored in \f(CW\*(C`loop_hi\*(C'\fR, while the mebeddable loop is stored in
+\&\f(CW\*(C`loop_lo\*(C'\fR (which is \f(CW\*(C`loop_hi\*(C'\fR in the acse no embeddable loop can be
+used).
+.PP
+.Vb 3
+\&  struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
+\&  struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
+\&  struct ev_embed embed;
+\&
+\&  // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
+\&  // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
+\&  loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
+\&    ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
+\&    : 0;
+\&
+\&  // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
+\&  if (loop_lo)
+\&    {
+\&      ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
+\&      ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
+\&    }
+\&  else
+\&    loop_lo = loop_hi;
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
+a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
+kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket\-only event loop in
+\&\f(CW\*(C`loop_socket\*(C'\fR. (One might optionally use \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_NOENV\*(C'\fR, too).
+.PP
+.Vb 3
+\&  struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
+\&  struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
+\&  struct ev_embed embed;
+\&
+\&  if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
+\&    if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
+\&      {
+\&        ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
+\&        ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
+\&      }
+\&
+\&  if (!loop_socket)
+\&    loop_socket = loop;
+\&
+\&  // now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
+.Ve
 .ie n .Sh """ev_fork"" \- the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
 .el .Sh "\f(CWev_fork\fP \- the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
 .IX Subsection "ev_fork - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
 Fork watchers are called when a \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR was detected (usually because
 whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling
 \&    if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
 \&      /* doh, nothing entered */;
 \&    else if (revents & EV_READ)
 \&      /* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 1
 \&  ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
 .Ve
 .IP "ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)" 4
 .IX Item "ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)"
 Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
 loop!).
 .SH "LIBEVENT EMULATION"
 .IX Header "LIBEVENT EMULATION"
 Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot
 emulate the internals of libevent, so here are some usage hints:
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* Use it by including <event.h>, as usual." 4
+Use it by including <event.h>, as usual.
-.IX Item "Use it by including <event.h>, as usual."
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.PD 0
+The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback,
-.IP "* The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback, ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events." 4
+ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events.
-.IX Item "The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback, ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events."
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* Avoid using ev_flags and the EVLIST_*\-macros, while it is maintained by libev, it does not work exactly the same way as in libevent (consider it a private \s-1API\s0)." 4
+Avoid using ev_flags and the EVLIST_*\-macros, while it is
-.IX Item "Avoid using ev_flags and the EVLIST_*-macros, while it is maintained by libev, it does not work exactly the same way as in libevent (consider it a private API)."
+maintained by libev, it does not work exactly the same way as in libevent (consider
-.IP "* Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there is an ev_pri field." 4
+it a private \s-1API\s0).
-.IX Item "Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there is an ev_pri field."
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
+will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
+is an ev_pri field.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* Other members are not supported." 4
+Other members are not supported.
-.IX Item "Other members are not supported."
+.IP "\(bu" 4
-.IP "* The libev emulation is \fInot\fR \s-1ABI\s0 compatible to libevent, you need to use the libev header file and library." 4
+The libev emulation is \fInot\fR \s-1ABI\s0 compatible to libevent, you need
-.IX Item "The libev emulation is not ABI compatible to libevent, you need to use the libev header file and library."
+to use the libev header file and library.
-.PD
 .SH "\*(C+ SUPPORT"
 .IX Header " SUPPORT"
 Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for \*(C+ that mainly allow
 you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
 the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
 .Vb 4
 \&  struct myclass
 \&  {
 \&    void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 3
 \&  myclass obj;
 \&  ev::io iow;
 \&  iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
 .Ve
 .IP "w\->set<function> (void *data = 0)" 4
 the constructor.
 .PP
 .Vb 4
 \&  class myclass
 \&  {
-\&    ev_io   io;   void io_cb   (ev::io   &w, int revents);
+\&    ev::io   io;  void io_cb   (ev::io   &w, int revents);
-\&    ev_idle idle  void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
+\&    ev:idle idle  void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
-\&    myclass ();
+\&    myclass (int fd)
-\&  }
-.Ve
-.PP
-.Vb 4
-\&  myclass::myclass (int fd)
-\&  {
+\&    {
-\&    io  .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb  > (this);
+\&      io  .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb  > (this);
-\&    idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
+\&      idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 2
-\&    io.start (fd, ev::READ);
+\&      io.start (fd, ev::READ);
+\&    }
-\&  }
+\&  };
 .Ve
 .SH "MACRO MAGIC"
 .IX Header "MACRO MAGIC"
 Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal
 of which is \f(CW\*(C`EV_MULTIPLICITY\*(C'\fR. This option determines whether (most)
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EV_P_\*(C'\fR is used when other parameters are following. Example:
 .Sp
 .Vb 2
 \&  // this is how ev_unref is being declared
 \&  static void ev_unref (EV_P);
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 2
 \&  // this is how you can declare your typical callback
 \&  static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
 .Ve
 .Sp
 It declares a parameter \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR of type \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR, quite
 \&  static void
 \&  check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
 \&  {
 \&    ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
 \&  }
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 4
 \&  ev_check check;
 \&  ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
 \&  ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
 \&  ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
 .Ve
 .SH "EMBEDDING"
 .IX Header "EMBEDDING"
 Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
 applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
 Game Server, the \s-1EV\s0 perl module, the \s-1GNU\s0 Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
-and rxvt\-unicode.
+and rxvt-unicode.
 .PP
 The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
 source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
 you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
 libev somewhere in your source tree).
 .Vb 4
 \&  ev.h
 \&  ev.c
 \&  ev_vars.h
 \&  ev_wrap.h
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 1
 \&  ev_win32.c      required on win32 platforms only
-.Ve
+\&
-.PP
-.Vb 5
 \&  ev_select.c     only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
 \&  ev_poll.c       only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
 \&  ev_epoll.c      only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
 \&  ev_kqueue.c     only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
 \&  ev_port.c       only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
 wants osf handles on win32 (this is the case when the select to
 be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
 \&\f(CW\*(C`_get_osfhandle\*(C'\fR on the fd to convert it to an \s-1OS\s0 handle. Otherwise,
 it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
 on win32. Should not be defined on non\-win32 platforms.
+.IP "\s-1EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE"
+If \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\*(C'\fR is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
+file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
+default), then libev will call \f(CW\*(C`_get_osfhandle\*(C'\fR, which is usually
+correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
+in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
 .IP "\s-1EV_USE_POLL\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_USE_POLL"
 If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR(2)
 backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non\-win32 platforms. It
 takes precedence over select.
 interface to speed up \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers. Its actual availability will
 be detected at runtime.
 .IP "\s-1EV_H\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_H"
 The name of the \fIev.h\fR header file used to include it. The default if
-undefined is \f(CW\*(C`<ev.h>\*(C'\fR in \fIevent.h\fR and \f(CW"ev.h"\fR in \fIev.c\fR. This
+undefined is \f(CW"ev.h"\fR in \fIevent.h\fR, \fIev.c\fR and \fIev++.h\fR. This can be
-can be used to virtually rename the \fIev.h\fR header file in case of conflicts.
+used to virtually rename the \fIev.h\fR header file in case of conflicts.
 .IP "\s-1EV_CONFIG_H\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_CONFIG_H"
 If \f(CW\*(C`EV_STANDALONE\*(C'\fR isn't \f(CW1\fR, this variable can be used to override
 \&\fIev.c\fR's idea of where to find the \fIconfig.h\fR file, similarly to
 \&\f(CW\*(C`EV_H\*(C'\fR, above.
 .IP "\s-1EV_EVENT_H\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_EVENT_H"
 Similarly to \f(CW\*(C`EV_H\*(C'\fR, this macro can be used to override \fIevent.c\fR's idea
-of how the \fIevent.h\fR header can be found.
+of how the \fIevent.h\fR header can be found, the default is \f(CW"event.h"\fR.
 .IP "\s-1EV_PROTOTYPES\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_PROTOTYPES"
 If defined to be \f(CW0\fR, then \fIev.h\fR will not define any function
 prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
 occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
 pid. The default size is \f(CW16\fR (or \f(CW1\fR with \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINIMAL\*(C'\fR), usually more
 than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
 increase this value (\fImust\fR be a power of two).
 .IP "\s-1EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE\s0" 4
 .IX Item "EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE"
-\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_staz\*(C'\fR watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
 inotify watch id. The default size is \f(CW16\fR (or \f(CW1\fR with \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINIMAL\*(C'\fR),
 usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR
 watchers you might want to increase this value (\fImust\fR be a power of
 two).
 .IP "\s-1EV_COMMON\s0" 4
 .Sh "\s-1EXPORTED\s0 \s-1API\s0 \s-1SYMBOLS\s0"
 .IX Subsection "EXPORTED API SYMBOLS"
 If you need to re-export the \s-1API\s0 (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of
 exported symbols, you can use the provided \fISymbol.*\fR files which list
 all public symbols, one per line:
-.Sp
+.PP
 .Vb 2
 \&  Symbols.ev      for libev proper
 \&  Symbols.event   for the libevent emulation
 .Ve
-.Sp
+.PP
 This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
 multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
 itself, but sometimes it is inconvinient to avoid this).
-.Sp
+.PP
 A sed command like this will create wrapper \f(CW\*(C`#define\*(C'\fR's that you need to
 include before including \fIev.h\fR:
-.Sp
+.PP
 .Vb 1
-\&   <Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
+\&   <Symbols.ev sed \-e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
 .Ve
-.Sp
+.PP
 This would create a file \fIwrap.h\fR which essentially looks like this:
-.Sp
+.PP
 .Vb 4
 \&   #define ev_backend     myprefix_ev_backend
 \&   #define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
 \&   #define ev_check_stop  myprefix_ev_check_stop
 \&   ...
 (<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html>). It has the libev files in
 the \fIlibev/\fR subdirectory and includes them in the \fI\s-1EV/EVAPI\s0.h\fR (public
 interface) and \fI\s-1EV\s0.xs\fR (implementation) files. Only the \fI\s-1EV\s0.xs\fR file
 will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
 file.
-.Sp
+.PP
 The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a \fIev_cpp.h\fR header file
 that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
-.Sp
+.PP
 .Vb 9
 \&  #define EV_MINIMAL 1
 \&  #define EV_USE_POLL 0
 \&  #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
 \&  #define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
 \&  #define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
 \&  #define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
 \&  #define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
 \&  #define EV_MINPRI 0
 \&  #define EV_MAXPRI 0
-.Ve
+\&
-.Sp
-.Vb 1
 \&  #include "ev++.h"
 .Ve
-.Sp
+.PP
 And a \fIev_cpp.C\fR implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
-.Sp
+.PP
 .Vb 2
 \&  #include "ev_cpp.h"
 \&  #include "ev.c"
 .Ve
 .SH "COMPLEXITIES"
 .IX Header "COMPLEXITIES"
 In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
 libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
 documentation for \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_init\*(C'\fR.
-.Sp
+.PP
 All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
 extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
 happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
 mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
 it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
-.RS 4
 .IP "Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)" 4
 .IX Item "Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)"
 This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
 there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
-have to skip those 100 watchers.
+have to skip roughly seven (\f(CW\*(C`ld 100\*(C'\fR) of these watchers.
-.IP "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)" 4
+.IP "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)" 4
-.IX Item "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)"
+.IX Item "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)"
-That means that for changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
+That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
 as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
 .IP "Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)" 4
 .IX Item "Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)"
 These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
+.IP "Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)" 4
-=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)
+.IX Item "Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)"
+.PD 0
 .IP "Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % \s-1EV_PID_HASHSIZE\s0))" 4
 .IX Item "Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))"
+.PD
 These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
 correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
 have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
-.IP "Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)" 4
+.IP "Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)" 4
-.IX Item "Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)"
+.IX Item "Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)"
-.PD 0
+By virtue of using a binary heap, the next timer is always found at the
+beginning of the storage array.
 .IP "Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)" 4
 .IX Item "Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)"
-.PD
 A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
-libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel).
+libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
-.IP "Activating one watcher: O(1)" 4
+on backend and wether \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_set\*(C'\fR was used).
-.IX Item "Activating one watcher: O(1)"
+.IP "Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)"
 .PD 0
 .IP "Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)" 4
 .IX Item "Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)"
 .PD
 Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
 priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
-linearly search all the priorities.
+linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
-.RE
+watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. prioritiy handling.
-.RS 4
+.SH "Win32 platform limitations and workarounds"
+.IX Header "Win32 platform limitations and workarounds"
+Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. \s-1POSIX\s0) that libev
+requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the \s-1POSIX\s0
+model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
+the form of the \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR backend, and only supports socket
+descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
+e.g. cygwin.
+.PP
+There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
+embedding it into other applications.
+.PP
+Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and the
+abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets is not
+recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use more than
+a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally different
+implementation for windows, as libev offers the \s-1POSIX\s0 model, which cannot
+be implemented efficiently on windows (microsoft monopoly games).
+.IP "The winsocket select function" 4
+.IX Item "The winsocket select function"
+The winsocket \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR function doesn't follow \s-1POSIX\s0 in that it requires
+socket \fIhandles\fR and not socket \fIfile descriptors\fR. This makes select
+very inefficient, and also requires a mapping from file descriptors
+to socket handles. See the discussion of the \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET\*(C'\fR,
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE\*(C'\fR preprocessor
+symbols for more info.
+.Sp
+The configuration for a \*(L"naked\*(R" win32 using the microsoft runtime
+libraries and raw winsocket select is:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&  #define EV_USE_SELECT 1
+\&  #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1   /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
+complexity in the O(nA\*^X) range when using win32.
+.IP "Limited number of file descriptors" 4
+.IX Item "Limited number of file descriptors"
+Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things. Early versions
+of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a max. of \f(CW64\fR handles
+(probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels can only wait for
+\&\f(CW64\fR things at the same time internally; microsoft recommends spawning a
+chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the previous thread in each).
+.Sp
+Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define \f(CW\*(C`FD_SETSIZE\*(C'\fR
+to some high number (e.g. \f(CW2048\fR) before compiling the winsocket select
+call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
+select emulation on windows).
+.Sp
+Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the microsoft runtime
+libraries, which by default is \f(CW64\fR (there must be a hidden \fI64\fR fetish
+or something like this inside microsoft). You can increase this by calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`_setmaxstdio\*(C'\fR, which can increase this limit to \f(CW2048\fR (another
+arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the microsoft runtime
+libraries.
+.Sp
+This might get you to about \f(CW512\fR or \f(CW2048\fR sockets (depending on
+windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
+wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
+calling select (O(nA\*^X)) will likely make this unworkable.
 .SH "AUTHOR"
 .IX Header "AUTHOR"
 Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
+.SH "POD ERRORS"
+.IX Header "POD ERRORS"
+Hey! \fBThe above document had some coding errors, which are explained below:\fR
+.IP "Around line 2686:" 4
+.IX Item "Around line 2686:"
+You forgot a '=back' before '=head2'

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Comparing libev/ev.3 (file contents): Revision 1.56 by root, Sat Dec 22 05:47:57 2007 UTC vs. Revision 1.60 by root, Mon Jan 28 12:23:02 2008 UTC

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Comparing libev/ev.3 (file contents):
Revision 1.56 by root, Sat Dec 22 05:47:57 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.60 by root, Mon Jan 28 12:23:02 2008 UTC