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4<head> 4<head>
5 <title>libev</title> 5 <title>libev</title>
6 <meta name="description" content="Pod documentation for libev" /> 6 <meta name="description" content="Pod documentation for libev" />
7 <meta name="inputfile" content="&lt;standard input&gt;" /> 7 <meta name="inputfile" content="&lt;standard input&gt;" />
8 <meta name="outputfile" content="&lt;standard output&gt;" /> 8 <meta name="outputfile" content="&lt;standard output&gt;" />
9 <meta name="created" content="Mon Nov 12 20:19:59 2007" /> 9 <meta name="created" content="Sat Nov 24 11:15:15 2007" />
10 <meta name="generator" content="Pod::Xhtml 1.57" /> 10 <meta name="generator" content="Pod::Xhtml 1.57" />
11<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://res.tst.eu/pod.css"/></head> 11<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://res.tst.eu/pod.css"/></head>
12<body> 12<body>
13<div class="pod"> 13<div class="pod">
14<!-- INDEX START --> 14<!-- INDEX START -->
21<li><a href="#CONVENTIONS">CONVENTIONS</a></li> 21<li><a href="#CONVENTIONS">CONVENTIONS</a></li>
22<li><a href="#TIME_REPRESENTATION">TIME REPRESENTATION</a></li> 22<li><a href="#TIME_REPRESENTATION">TIME REPRESENTATION</a></li>
23<li><a href="#GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS">GLOBAL FUNCTIONS</a></li> 23<li><a href="#GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS">GLOBAL FUNCTIONS</a></li>
24<li><a href="#FUNCTIONS_CONTROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP">FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP</a></li> 24<li><a href="#FUNCTIONS_CONTROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP">FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP</a></li>
25<li><a href="#ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</a> 25<li><a href="#ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</a>
26<ul><li><a href="#SUMMARY_OF_GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS">SUMMARY OF GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS</a></li>
26<ul><li><a href="#ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH">ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER</a></li> 27<li><a href="#ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH">ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER</a></li>
27</ul> 28</ul>
28</li> 29</li>
29<li><a href="#WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</a> 30<li><a href="#WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</a>
30<ul><li><a href="#code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable</a></li> 31<ul><li><a href="#code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable</a></li>
31<li><a href="#code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts</a></li> 32<li><a href="#code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts</a></li>
32<li><a href="#code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron</a></li> 33<li><a href="#code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron</a></li>
33<li><a href="#code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled</a></li> 34<li><a href="#code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled</a></li>
34<li><a href="#code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat"><code>ev_child</code> - wait for pid status changes</a></li> 35<li><a href="#code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat"><code>ev_child</code> - wait for pid status changes</a></li>
35<li><a href="#code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do</a></li> 36<li><a href="#code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do</a></li>
36<li><a href="#code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop</a></li> 37<li><a href="#code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop</a></li>
38<li><a href="#code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_"><code>ev_embed</code> - when one backend isn't enough</a></li>
37</ul> 39</ul>
38</li> 40</li>
39<li><a href="#OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</a></li> 41<li><a href="#OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</a></li>
40<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</a></li> 42<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</a></li>
41<li><a href="#C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</a></li> 43<li><a href="#C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</a></li>
44<li><a href="#EMBEDDING">EMBEDDING</a>
45<ul><li><a href="#FILESETS">FILESETS</a>
46<ul><li><a href="#CORE_EVENT_LOOP">CORE EVENT LOOP</a></li>
47<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API">LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API</a></li>
48<li><a href="#AUTOCONF_SUPPORT">AUTOCONF SUPPORT</a></li>
49</ul>
50</li>
51<li><a href="#PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS">PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS</a></li>
52<li><a href="#EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</a></li>
53</ul>
54</li>
42<li><a href="#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a> 55<li><a href="#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a>
43</li> 56</li>
44</ul><hr /> 57</ul><hr />
45<!-- INDEX END --> 58<!-- INDEX END -->
46 59
96<div id="TIME_REPRESENTATION_CONTENT"> 109<div id="TIME_REPRESENTATION_CONTENT">
97<p>Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the 110<p>Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
98(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near 111(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
99the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is 112the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
100called <code>ev_tstamp</code>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases 113called <code>ev_tstamp</code>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
101to the double type in C.</p> 114to the <code>double</code> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
115it, you should treat it as such.</p>
116
117
118
119
102 120
103</div> 121</div>
104<h1 id="GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS">GLOBAL FUNCTIONS</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 122<h1 id="GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS">GLOBAL FUNCTIONS</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
105<div id="GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS_CONTENT"> 123<div id="GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS_CONTENT">
106<p>These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the 124<p>These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
107library in any way.</p> 125library in any way.</p>
108<dl> 126<dl>
109 <dt>ev_tstamp ev_time ()</dt> 127 <dt>ev_tstamp ev_time ()</dt>
110 <dd> 128 <dd>
111 <p>Returns the current time as libev would use it.</p> 129 <p>Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
130<code>ev_now</code> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
131you actually want to know.</p>
112 </dd> 132 </dd>
113 <dt>int ev_version_major ()</dt> 133 <dt>int ev_version_major ()</dt>
114 <dt>int ev_version_minor ()</dt> 134 <dt>int ev_version_minor ()</dt>
115 <dd> 135 <dd>
116 <p>You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library 136 <p>You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library
120version of the library your program was compiled against.</p> 140version of the library your program was compiled against.</p>
121 <p>Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch, 141 <p>Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
122as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually 142as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
123compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually 143compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
124not a problem.</p> 144not a problem.</p>
145 <p>Example: make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
146version:</p>
147<pre> assert ((&quot;libev version mismatch&quot;,
148 ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
149 &amp;&amp; ev_version_minor () &gt;= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
150
151</pre>
152 </dd>
153 <dt>unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()</dt>
154 <dd>
155 <p>Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding <code>EV_BACKEND_*</code>
156value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
157availability on the system you are running on). See <code>ev_default_loop</code> for
158a description of the set values.</p>
159 <p>Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
160a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11</p>
161<pre> assert ((&quot;sorry, no epoll, no sex&quot;,
162 ev_supported_backends () &amp; EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
163
164</pre>
165 </dd>
166 <dt>unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()</dt>
167 <dd>
168 <p>Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also
169recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one
170returned by <code>ev_supported_backends</code>, as for example kqueue is broken on
171most BSDs and will not be autodetected unless you explicitly request it
172(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
173libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.</p>
174 </dd>
175 <dt>unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()</dt>
176 <dd>
177 <p>Returns the set of backends that are embeddable in other event loops. This
178is the theoretical, all-platform, value. To find which backends
179might be supported on the current system, you would need to look at
180<code>ev_embeddable_backends () &amp; ev_supported_backends ()</code>, likewise for
181recommended ones.</p>
182 <p>See the description of <code>ev_embed</code> watchers for more info.</p>
125 </dd> 183 </dd>
126 <dt>ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))</dt> 184 <dt>ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))</dt>
127 <dd> 185 <dd>
128 <p>Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar to the 186 <p>Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar to the
129realloc C function, the semantics are identical). It is used to allocate 187realloc C function, the semantics are identical). It is used to allocate
131needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some potentially 189needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some potentially
132destructive action. The default is your system realloc function.</p> 190destructive action. The default is your system realloc function.</p>
133 <p>You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say, 191 <p>You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
134free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator, 192free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
135or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.</p> 193or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.</p>
194 <p>Example: replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
195retries: better than mine).</p>
196<pre> static void *
197 persistent_realloc (void *ptr, long size)
198 {
199 for (;;)
200 {
201 void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);
202
203 if (newptr)
204 return newptr;
205
206 sleep (60);
207 }
208 }
209
210 ...
211 ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
212
213</pre>
136 </dd> 214 </dd>
137 <dt>ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));</dt> 215 <dt>ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));</dt>
138 <dd> 216 <dd>
139 <p>Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such 217 <p>Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such
140as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string 218as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
141indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this 219indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
142callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no 220callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no
143matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the 221matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
144requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff 222requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
145(such as abort).</p> 223(such as abort).</p>
224 <p>Example: do the same thing as libev does internally:</p>
225<pre> static void
226 fatal_error (const char *msg)
227 {
228 perror (msg);
229 abort ();
230 }
231
232 ...
233 ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);
234
235</pre>
146 </dd> 236 </dd>
147</dl> 237</dl>
148 238
149</div> 239</div>
150<h1 id="FUNCTIONS_CONTROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP">FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 240<h1 id="FUNCTIONS_CONTROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP">FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
162 <dt>struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)</dt> 252 <dt>struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)</dt>
163 <dd> 253 <dd>
164 <p>This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised 254 <p>This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised
165yet and return it. If the default loop could not be initialised, returns 255yet and return it. If the default loop could not be initialised, returns
166false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the 256false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the
167flags).</p> 257flags. If that is troubling you, check <code>ev_backend ()</code> afterwards).</p>
168 <p>If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this 258 <p>If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
169function.</p> 259function.</p>
170 <p>The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific 260 <p>The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
171backends to use, and is usually specified as 0 (or EVFLAG_AUTO).</p> 261backends to use, and is usually specified as <code>0</code> (or <code>EVFLAG_AUTO</code>).</p>
172 <p>It supports the following flags:</p> 262 <p>The following flags are supported:</p>
173 <p> 263 <p>
174 <dl> 264 <dl>
175 <dt><code>EVFLAG_AUTO</code></dt> 265 <dt><code>EVFLAG_AUTO</code></dt>
176 <dd> 266 <dd>
177 <p>The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right 267 <p>The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
184<code>LIBEV_FLAGS</code>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will 274<code>LIBEV_FLAGS</code>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
185override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is 275override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
186useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work 276useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
187around bugs.</p> 277around bugs.</p>
188 </dd> 278 </dd>
189 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_SELECT</code> (portable select backend)</dt> 279 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> (value 1, portable select backend)</dt>
190 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_POLL</code> (poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)</dt> 280 <dd>
191 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_EPOLL</code> (linux only)</dt> 281 <p>This is your standard select(2) backend. Not <i>completely</i> standard, as
192 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_KQUEUE</code> (some bsds only)</dt> 282libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
193 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_DEVPOLL</code> (solaris 8 only)</dt> 283but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
194 <dt><code>EVMETHOD_PORT</code> (solaris 10 only)</dt> 284using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually
285the fastest backend for a low number of fds.</p>
195 <dd> 286 </dd>
196 <p>If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these 287 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)</dt>
197backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If one are 288 <dd>
198specified, any backend will do.</p> 289 <p>And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than
290select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the
291number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a
292lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).</p>
293 </dd>
294 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_EPOLL</code> (value 4, Linux)</dt>
295 <dd>
296 <p>For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
297but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like
298O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales
299either O(1) or O(active_fds).</p>
300 <p>While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will
301result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
302(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
303best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very
304well if you register events for both fds.</p>
305 <p>Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
306need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
307(or space) is available.</p>
308 </dd>
309 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_KQUEUE</code> (value 8, most BSD clones)</dt>
310 <dd>
311 <p>Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
312was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with
313anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its
314completely useless). For this reason its not being &quot;autodetected&quot;
315unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
316<code>EVBACKEND_KQUEUE</code>).</p>
317 <p>It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
318kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
319course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an
320extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per
321incident, so its best to avoid that.</p>
322 </dd>
323 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL</code> (value 16, Solaris 8)</dt>
324 <dd>
325 <p>This is not implemented yet (and might never be).</p>
326 </dd>
327 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_PORT</code> (value 32, Solaris 10)</dt>
328 <dd>
329 <p>This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
330it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).</p>
331 <p>Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious
332notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
333blocking when no data (or space) is available.</p>
334 </dd>
335 <dt><code>EVBACKEND_ALL</code></dt>
336 <dd>
337 <p>Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
338with <code>EVFLAG_AUTO</code>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
339<code>EVBACKEND_ALL &amp; ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE</code>.</p>
199 </dd> 340 </dd>
200 </dl> 341 </dl>
201 </p> 342 </p>
343 <p>If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these
344backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are
345specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse
346order of their flag values :)</p>
347 <p>The most typical usage is like this:</p>
348<pre> if (!ev_default_loop (0))
349 fatal (&quot;could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?&quot;);
350
351</pre>
352 <p>Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
353environment settings to be taken into account:</p>
354<pre> ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
355
356</pre>
357 <p>Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if
358available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private
359event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):</p>
360<pre> ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
361
362</pre>
202 </dd> 363 </dd>
203 <dt>struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)</dt> 364 <dt>struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)</dt>
204 <dd> 365 <dd>
205 <p>Similar to <code>ev_default_loop</code>, but always creates a new event loop that is 366 <p>Similar to <code>ev_default_loop</code>, but always creates a new event loop that is
206always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot 367always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
207handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by 368handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
208undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).</p> 369undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).</p>
370 <p>Example: try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.</p>
371<pre> struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
372 if (!epoller)
373 fatal (&quot;no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair&quot;);
374
375</pre>
209 </dd> 376 </dd>
210 <dt>ev_default_destroy ()</dt> 377 <dt>ev_default_destroy ()</dt>
211 <dd> 378 <dd>
212 <p>Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state 379 <p>Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
213etc.). This stops all registered event watchers (by not touching them in 380etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
214any way whatsoever, although you cannot rely on this :).</p> 381sense, so e.g. <code>ev_is_active</code> might still return true. It is your
382responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef <i>before</i>
383calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
384the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or <code>free ()</code> them
385for example).</p>
215 </dd> 386 </dd>
216 <dt>ev_loop_destroy (loop)</dt> 387 <dt>ev_loop_destroy (loop)</dt>
217 <dd> 388 <dd>
218 <p>Like <code>ev_default_destroy</code>, but destroys an event loop created by an 389 <p>Like <code>ev_default_destroy</code>, but destroys an event loop created by an
219earlier call to <code>ev_loop_new</code>.</p> 390earlier call to <code>ev_loop_new</code>.</p>
222 <dd> 393 <dd>
223 <p>This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have 394 <p>This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have
224one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense 395one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense
225after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that 396after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that
226again makes little sense).</p> 397again makes little sense).</p>
227 <p>You <i>must</i> call this function after forking if and only if you want to 398 <p>You <i>must</i> call this function in the child process after forking if and
228use the event library in both processes. If you just fork+exec, you don't 399only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just
229have to call it.</p> 400fork+exec, you don't have to call it.</p>
230 <p>The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call 401 <p>The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
231it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in 402it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
232quite nicely into a call to <code>pthread_atfork</code>:</p> 403quite nicely into a call to <code>pthread_atfork</code>:</p>
233<pre> pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork); 404<pre> pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
234 405
235</pre> 406</pre>
407 <p>At the moment, <code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> and <code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code> are safe to use
408without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
409do not need to care.</p>
236 </dd> 410 </dd>
237 <dt>ev_loop_fork (loop)</dt> 411 <dt>ev_loop_fork (loop)</dt>
238 <dd> 412 <dd>
239 <p>Like <code>ev_default_fork</code>, but acts on an event loop created by 413 <p>Like <code>ev_default_fork</code>, but acts on an event loop created by
240<code>ev_loop_new</code>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop 414<code>ev_loop_new</code>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
241after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.</p> 415after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.</p>
242 </dd> 416 </dd>
243 <dt>unsigned int ev_method (loop)</dt> 417 <dt>unsigned int ev_backend (loop)</dt>
244 <dd> 418 <dd>
245 <p>Returns one of the <code>EVMETHOD_*</code> flags indicating the event backend in 419 <p>Returns one of the <code>EVBACKEND_*</code> flags indicating the event backend in
246use.</p> 420use.</p>
247 </dd> 421 </dd>
248 <dt>ev_tstamp ev_now (loop)</dt> 422 <dt>ev_tstamp ev_now (loop)</dt>
249 <dd> 423 <dd>
250 <p>Returns the current &quot;event loop time&quot;, which is the time the event loop 424 <p>Returns the current &quot;event loop time&quot;, which is the time the event loop
251got events and started processing them. This timestamp does not change 425received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
252as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base time 426change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
253used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the event 427time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
254occuring (or more correctly, the mainloop finding out about it).</p> 428event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).</p>
255 </dd> 429 </dd>
256 <dt>ev_loop (loop, int flags)</dt> 430 <dt>ev_loop (loop, int flags)</dt>
257 <dd> 431 <dd>
258 <p>Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called 432 <p>Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
259after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling 433after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
260events.</p> 434events.</p>
261 <p>If the flags argument is specified as 0, it will not return until either 435 <p>If the flags argument is specified as <code>0</code>, it will not return until
262no event watchers are active anymore or <code>ev_unloop</code> was called.</p> 436either no event watchers are active anymore or <code>ev_unloop</code> was called.</p>
437 <p>Please note that an explicit <code>ev_unloop</code> is usually better than
438relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
439finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program that
440automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue of
441relying on its watchers stopping correctly is a thing of beauty.</p>
263 <p>A flags value of <code>EVLOOP_NONBLOCK</code> will look for new events, will handle 442 <p>A flags value of <code>EVLOOP_NONBLOCK</code> will look for new events, will handle
264those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in 443those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in
265case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.</p> 444case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.</p>
266 <p>A flags value of <code>EVLOOP_ONESHOT</code> will look for new events (waiting if 445 <p>A flags value of <code>EVLOOP_ONESHOT</code> will look for new events (waiting if
267neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block 446neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block
268your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after 447your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after
269one iteration of the loop.</p> 448one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some
270 <p>This flags value could be used to implement alternative looping 449external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other
271constructs, but the <code>prepare</code> and <code>check</code> watchers provide a better and 450libev watchers. However, a pair of <code>ev_prepare</code>/<code>ev_check</code> watchers is
272more generic mechanism.</p> 451usually a better approach for this kind of thing.</p>
452 <p>Here are the gory details of what <code>ev_loop</code> does:</p>
453<pre> * If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.
454 - Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.
455 - If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
456 - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
457 - Update the &quot;event loop time&quot;.
458 - Calculate for how long to block.
459 - Block the process, waiting for any events.
460 - Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
461 - Update the &quot;event loop time&quot; and do time jump handling.
462 - Queue all outstanding timers.
463 - Queue all outstanding periodics.
464 - If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
465 - Queue all check watchers.
466 - Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
467 Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
468 be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
469 - If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
470 were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.
471
472</pre>
473 <p>Example: queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding
474anymore.</p>
475<pre> ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
476 ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
477 ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
478 ... jobs done. yeah!
479
480</pre>
273 </dd> 481 </dd>
274 <dt>ev_unloop (loop, how)</dt> 482 <dt>ev_unloop (loop, how)</dt>
275 <dd> 483 <dd>
276 <p>Can be used to make a call to <code>ev_loop</code> return early (but only after it 484 <p>Can be used to make a call to <code>ev_loop</code> return early (but only after it
277has processed all outstanding events). The <code>how</code> argument must be either 485has processed all outstanding events). The <code>how</code> argument must be either
278<code>EVUNLOOP_ONCE</code>, which will make the innermost <code>ev_loop</code> call return, or 486<code>EVUNLOOP_ONE</code>, which will make the innermost <code>ev_loop</code> call return, or
279<code>EVUNLOOP_ALL</code>, which will make all nested <code>ev_loop</code> calls return.</p> 487<code>EVUNLOOP_ALL</code>, which will make all nested <code>ev_loop</code> calls return.</p>
280 </dd> 488 </dd>
281 <dt>ev_ref (loop)</dt> 489 <dt>ev_ref (loop)</dt>
282 <dt>ev_unref (loop)</dt> 490 <dt>ev_unref (loop)</dt>
283 <dd> 491 <dd>
289example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not 497example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
290visible to the libev user and should not keep <code>ev_loop</code> from exiting if 498visible to the libev user and should not keep <code>ev_loop</code> from exiting if
291no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent 499no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
292way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party 500way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
293libraries. Just remember to <i>unref after start</i> and <i>ref before stop</i>.</p> 501libraries. Just remember to <i>unref after start</i> and <i>ref before stop</i>.</p>
502 <p>Example: create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping <code>ev_loop</code>
503running when nothing else is active.</p>
504<pre> struct dv_signal exitsig;
505 ev_signal_init (&amp;exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
506 ev_signal_start (myloop, &amp;exitsig);
507 evf_unref (myloop);
508
509</pre>
510 <p>Example: for some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.</p>
511<pre> ev_ref (myloop);
512 ev_signal_stop (myloop, &amp;exitsig);
513
514</pre>
294 </dd> 515 </dd>
295</dl> 516</dl>
296 517
297</div> 518</div>
298<h1 id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 519<h1 id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
330with a watcher-specific start function (<code>ev_&lt;type&gt;_start (loop, watcher 551with a watcher-specific start function (<code>ev_&lt;type&gt;_start (loop, watcher
331*)</code>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the 552*)</code>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the
332corresponding stop function (<code>ev_&lt;type&gt;_stop (loop, watcher *)</code>.</p> 553corresponding stop function (<code>ev_&lt;type&gt;_stop (loop, watcher *)</code>.</p>
333<p>As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you 554<p>As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you
334must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never 555must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never
335reinitialise it or call its set method.</p> 556reinitialise it or call its <code>set</code> macro.</p>
336<p>You can check whether an event is active by calling the <code>ev_is_active
337(watcher *)</code> macro. To see whether an event is outstanding (but the
338callback for it has not been called yet) you can use the <code>ev_is_pending
339(watcher *)</code> macro.</p>
340<p>Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the 557<p>Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the
341registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as 558registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as
342third argument.</p> 559third argument.</p>
343<p>The received events usually include a single bit per event type received 560<p>The received events usually include a single bit per event type received
344(you can receive multiple events at the same time). The possible bit masks 561(you can receive multiple events at the same time). The possible bit masks
393your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope 610your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope
394with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded 611with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded
395programs, though, so beware.</p> 612programs, though, so beware.</p>
396 </dd> 613 </dd>
397</dl> 614</dl>
615
616</div>
617<h2 id="SUMMARY_OF_GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS">SUMMARY OF GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS</h2>
618<div id="SUMMARY_OF_GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS-2">
619<p>In the following description, <code>TYPE</code> stands for the watcher type,
620e.g. <code>timer</code> for <code>ev_timer</code> watchers and <code>io</code> for <code>ev_io</code> watchers.</p>
621<dl>
622 <dt><code>ev_init</code> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)</dt>
623 <dd>
624 <p>This macro initialises the generic portion of a watcher. The contents
625of the watcher object can be arbitrary (so <code>malloc</code> will do). Only
626the generic parts of the watcher are initialised, you <i>need</i> to call
627the type-specific <code>ev_TYPE_set</code> macro afterwards to initialise the
628type-specific parts. For each type there is also a <code>ev_TYPE_init</code> macro
629which rolls both calls into one.</p>
630 <p>You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
631(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.</p>
632 <p>The callbakc is always of type <code>void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
633int revents)</code>.</p>
634 </dd>
635 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_set</code> (ev_TYPE *, [args])</dt>
636 <dd>
637 <p>This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
638call <code>ev_init</code> at least once before you call this macro, but you can
639call <code>ev_TYPE_set</code> any number of times. You must not, however, call this
640macro on a watcher that is active (it can be pending, however, which is a
641difference to the <code>ev_init</code> macro).</p>
642 <p>Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
643(e.g. <code>ev_prepare</code>) you still need to call its <code>set</code> macro.</p>
644 </dd>
645 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_init</code> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])</dt>
646 <dd>
647 <p>This convinience macro rolls both <code>ev_init</code> and <code>ev_TYPE_set</code> macro
648calls into a single call. This is the most convinient method to initialise
649a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.</p>
650 </dd>
651 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_start</code> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)</dt>
652 <dd>
653 <p>Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
654events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.</p>
655 </dd>
656 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_stop</code> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)</dt>
657 <dd>
658 <p>Stops the given watcher again (if active) and clears the pending
659status. It is possible that stopped watchers are pending (for example,
660non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending), but
661<code>ev_TYPE_stop</code> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor pending. If
662you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is therefore a
663good idea to always call its <code>ev_TYPE_stop</code> function.</p>
664 </dd>
665 <dt>bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)</dt>
666 <dd>
667 <p>Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started
668and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify
669it.</p>
670 </dd>
671 <dt>bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)</dt>
672 <dd>
673 <p>Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
674events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
675is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
676<code>ev_TYPE_set</code> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to
677libev (e.g. you cnanot <code>free ()</code> it).</p>
678 </dd>
679 <dt>callback = ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)</dt>
680 <dd>
681 <p>Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.</p>
682 </dd>
683 <dt>ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)</dt>
684 <dd>
685 <p>Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
686(modulo threads).</p>
687 </dd>
688</dl>
689
690
691
692
398 693
399</div> 694</div>
400<h2 id="ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH">ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER</h2> 695<h2 id="ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH">ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER</h2>
401<div id="ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH-2"> 696<div id="ASSOCIATING_CUSTOM_DATA_WITH_A_WATCH-2">
402<p>Each watcher has, by default, a member <code>void *data</code> that you can change 697<p>Each watcher has, by default, a member <code>void *data</code> that you can change
433</div> 728</div>
434<h1 id="WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 729<h1 id="WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
435<div id="WATCHER_TYPES_CONTENT"> 730<div id="WATCHER_TYPES_CONTENT">
436<p>This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat 731<p>This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
437information given in the last section.</p> 732information given in the last section.</p>
733
734
735
736
438 737
439</div> 738</div>
440<h2 id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable</h2> 739<h2 id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable</h2>
441<div id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip-2"> 740<div id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip-2">
442<p>I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable 741<p>I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable
452(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file 751(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
453descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing 752descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
454to the same underlying file/socket etc. description (that is, they share 753to the same underlying file/socket etc. description (that is, they share
455the same underlying &quot;file open&quot;).</p> 754the same underlying &quot;file open&quot;).</p>
456<p>If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend 755<p>If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
457(at the time of this writing, this includes only EVMETHOD_SELECT and 756(at the time of this writing, this includes only <code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> and
458EVMETHOD_POLL).</p> 757<code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code>).</p>
459<dl> 758<dl>
460 <dt>ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)</dt> 759 <dt>ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)</dt>
461 <dt>ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)</dt> 760 <dt>ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)</dt>
462 <dd> 761 <dd>
463 <p>Configures an <code>ev_io</code> watcher. The fd is the file descriptor to rceeive 762 <p>Configures an <code>ev_io</code> watcher. The fd is the file descriptor to rceeive
464events for and events is either <code>EV_READ</code>, <code>EV_WRITE</code> or <code>EV_READ | 763events for and events is either <code>EV_READ</code>, <code>EV_WRITE</code> or <code>EV_READ |
465EV_WRITE</code> to receive the given events.</p> 764EV_WRITE</code> to receive the given events.</p>
765 <p>Please note that most of the more scalable backend mechanisms (for example
766epoll and solaris ports) can result in spurious readyness notifications
767for file descriptors, so you practically need to use non-blocking I/O (and
768treat callback invocation as hint only), or retest separately with a safe
769interface before doing I/O (XLib can do this), or force the use of either
770<code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> or <code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code>, which don't suffer from this
771problem. Also note that it is quite easy to have your callback invoked
772when the readyness condition is no longer valid even when employing
773typical ways of handling events, so its a good idea to use non-blocking
774I/O unconditionally.</p>
466 </dd> 775 </dd>
467</dl> 776</dl>
777<p>Example: call <code>stdin_readable_cb</code> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
778readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
779attempt to read a whole line in the callback:</p>
780<pre> static void
781 stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
782 {
783 ev_io_stop (loop, w);
784 .. read from stdin here (or from w-&gt;fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
785 }
786
787 ...
788 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
789 struct ev_io stdin_readable;
790 ev_io_init (&amp;stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
791 ev_io_start (loop, &amp;stdin_readable);
792 ev_loop (loop, 0);
793
794
795
796
797</pre>
468 798
469</div> 799</div>
470<h2 id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts</h2> 800<h2 id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts</h2>
471<div id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti-2"> 801<div id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti-2">
472<p>Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a 802<p>Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
473given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.</p> 803given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.</p>
474<p>The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that 804<p>The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
475times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years 805times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years
476time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. &quot;Roughly&quot; because 806time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. &quot;Roughly&quot; because
477detecting time jumps is hard, and soem inaccuracies are unavoidable (the 807detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
478monotonic clock option helps a lot here).</p> 808monotonic clock option helps a lot here).</p>
479<p>The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the <code>ev_now ()</code> 809<p>The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the <code>ev_now ()</code>
480time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time 810time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
481of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If 811of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
482you suspect event processing to be delayed and you *need* to base the timeout 812you suspect event processing to be delayed and you <i>need</i> to base the timeout
483on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:</p> 813on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:</p>
484<pre> ev_timer_set (&amp;timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.); 814<pre> ev_timer_set (&amp;timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
485 815
486</pre> 816</pre>
817<p>The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
818but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
819order of execution is undefined.</p>
487<dl> 820<dl>
488 <dt>ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)</dt> 821 <dt>ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)</dt>
489 <dt>ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)</dt> 822 <dt>ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)</dt>
490 <dd> 823 <dd>
491 <p>Configure the timer to trigger after <code>after</code> seconds. If <code>repeat</code> is 824 <p>Configure the timer to trigger after <code>after</code> seconds. If <code>repeat</code> is
513time you successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle 846time you successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle
514state where you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can stop 847state where you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can stop
515the timer, and again will automatically restart it if need be.</p> 848the timer, and again will automatically restart it if need be.</p>
516 </dd> 849 </dd>
517</dl> 850</dl>
851<p>Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.</p>
852<pre> static void
853 one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
854 {
855 .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
856 }
857
858 struct ev_timer mytimer;
859 ev_timer_init (&amp;mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
860 ev_timer_start (loop, &amp;mytimer);
861
862</pre>
863<p>Example: create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
864inactivity.</p>
865<pre> static void
866 timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
867 {
868 .. ten seconds without any activity
869 }
870
871 struct ev_timer mytimer;
872 ev_timer_init (&amp;mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
873 ev_timer_again (&amp;mytimer); /* start timer */
874 ev_loop (loop, 0);
875
876 // and in some piece of code that gets executed on any &quot;activity&quot;:
877 // reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
878 ev_timer_again (&amp;mytimer);
879
880
881
882
883</pre>
518 884
519</div> 885</div>
520<h2 id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron</h2> 886<h2 id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron</h2>
521<div id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not-2"> 887<div id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not-2">
522<p>Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile 888<p>Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
523(and unfortunately a bit complex).</p> 889(and unfortunately a bit complex).</p>
524<p>Unlike <code>ev_timer</code>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time) 890<p>Unlike <code>ev_timer</code>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
525but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher 891but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
526to trigger &quot;at&quot; some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a 892to trigger &quot;at&quot; some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
527periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. c&lt;ev_now () 893periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. <code>ev_now ()
528+ 10.&gt;) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will 894+ 10.</code>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will
529take a year to trigger the event (unlike an <code>ev_timer</code>, which would trigger 895take a year to trigger the event (unlike an <code>ev_timer</code>, which would trigger
530roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time 896roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time
531again).</p> 897again).</p>
532<p>They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as 898<p>They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as
533triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.</p> 899triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.</p>
900<p>As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the
901time (<code>at</code>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
902during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.</p>
534<dl> 903<dl>
535 <dt>ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)</dt> 904 <dt>ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)</dt>
536 <dt>ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)</dt> 905 <dt>ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)</dt>
537 <dd> 906 <dd>
538 <p>Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of 907 <p>Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
539operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:</p> 908operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:</p>
540
541
542
543
544 <p> 909 <p>
545 <dl> 910 <dl>
546 <dt>* absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)</dt> 911 <dt>* absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)</dt>
547 <dd> 912 <dd>
548 <p>In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time 913 <p>In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time
607when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return 972when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
608a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like 973a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
609program when the crontabs have changed).</p> 974program when the crontabs have changed).</p>
610 </dd> 975 </dd>
611</dl> 976</dl>
977<p>Example: call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
978system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
979potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.</p>
980<pre> static void
981 clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
982 {
983 ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
984 }
985
986 struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
987 ev_periodic_init (&amp;hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
988 ev_periodic_start (loop, &amp;hourly_tick);
989
990</pre>
991<p>Example: the same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:</p>
992<pre> #include &lt;math.h&gt;
993
994 static ev_tstamp
995 my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
996 {
997 return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
998 }
999
1000 ev_periodic_init (&amp;hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
1001
1002</pre>
1003<p>Example: call a callback every hour, starting now:</p>
1004<pre> struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1005 ev_periodic_init (&amp;hourly_tick, clock_cb,
1006 fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
1007 ev_periodic_start (loop, &amp;hourly_tick);
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012</pre>
612 1013
613</div> 1014</div>
614<h2 id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled</h2> 1015<h2 id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled</h2>
615<div id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a-2"> 1016<div id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a-2">
616<p>Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific 1017<p>Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
630 <p>Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one 1031 <p>Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one
631of the <code>SIGxxx</code> constants).</p> 1032of the <code>SIGxxx</code> constants).</p>
632 </dd> 1033 </dd>
633</dl> 1034</dl>
634 1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
635</div> 1040</div>
636<h2 id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat"><code>ev_child</code> - wait for pid status changes</h2> 1041<h2 id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat"><code>ev_child</code> - wait for pid status changes</h2>
637<div id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat-2"> 1042<div id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat-2">
638<p>Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to 1043<p>Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
639some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).</p> 1044some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).</p>
647the status word (use the macros from <code>sys/wait.h</code> and see your systems 1052the status word (use the macros from <code>sys/wait.h</code> and see your systems
648<code>waitpid</code> documentation). The <code>rpid</code> member contains the pid of the 1053<code>waitpid</code> documentation). The <code>rpid</code> member contains the pid of the
649process causing the status change.</p> 1054process causing the status change.</p>
650 </dd> 1055 </dd>
651</dl> 1056</dl>
1057<p>Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.</p>
1058<pre> static void
1059 sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
1060 {
1061 ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
1062 }
1063
1064 struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
1065 ev_signal_init (&amp;signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
1066 ev_signal_start (loop, &amp;sigint_cb);
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071</pre>
652 1072
653</div> 1073</div>
654<h2 id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do</h2> 1074<h2 id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do</h2>
655<div id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no-2"> 1075<div id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no-2">
656<p>Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending 1076<p>Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending
672 <p>Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any 1092 <p>Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
673kind. There is a <code>ev_idle_set</code> macro, but using it is utterly pointless, 1093kind. There is a <code>ev_idle_set</code> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
674believe me.</p> 1094believe me.</p>
675 </dd> 1095 </dd>
676</dl> 1096</dl>
1097<p>Example: dynamically allocate an <code>ev_idle</code>, start it, and in the
1098callback, free it. Alos, use no error checking, as usual.</p>
1099<pre> static void
1100 idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1101 {
1102 free (w);
1103 // now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1104 // no longer asnything immediate to do.
1105 }
1106
1107 struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1108 ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1109 ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114</pre>
677 1115
678</div> 1116</div>
679<h2 id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop</h2> 1117<h2 id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop</h2>
680<div id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che-2"> 1118<div id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che-2">
681<p>Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem: 1119<p>Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
682prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers 1120prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
683afterwards.</p> 1121afterwards.</p>
684<p>Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev. This 1122<p>Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
685could be used, for example, to track variable changes, implement your own 1123their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track
686watchers, integrate net-snmp or a coroutine library and lots more.</p> 1124variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
1125coroutine library and lots more.</p>
687<p>This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need 1126<p>This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
688to be watched by the other library, registering <code>ev_io</code> watchers for 1127to be watched by the other library, registering <code>ev_io</code> watchers for
689them and starting an <code>ev_timer</code> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries 1128them and starting an <code>ev_timer</code> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
690provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for 1129provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
691any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers 1130any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers
707 <p>Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no 1146 <p>Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no
708parameters of any kind. There are <code>ev_prepare_set</code> and <code>ev_check_set</code> 1147parameters of any kind. There are <code>ev_prepare_set</code> and <code>ev_check_set</code>
709macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.</p> 1148macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.</p>
710 </dd> 1149 </dd>
711</dl> 1150</dl>
1151<p>Example: *TODO*.</p>
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157</div>
1158<h2 id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_"><code>ev_embed</code> - when one backend isn't enough</h2>
1159<div id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_-2">
1160<p>This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1161into another (currently only <code>ev_io</code> events are supported in the embedded
1162loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
1163fashion and must not be used).</p>
1164<p>There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and
1165prioritise I/O.</p>
1166<p>As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
1167sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you
1168still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales
1169so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed it
1170into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation will
1171be a bit slower because first libev has to poll and then call kevent, but
1172at least you can use both at what they are best.</p>
1173<p>As for prioritising I/O: rarely you have the case where some fds have
1174to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency), and even
1175priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In this case
1176you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all the rest in
1177a second one, and embed the second one in the first.</p>
1178<p>As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every time
1179there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback must then
1180call <code>ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)</code> to make a single sweep and invoke
1181their callbacks (you could also start an idle watcher to give the embedded
1182loop strictly lower priority for example). You can also set the callback
1183to <code>0</code>, in which case the embed watcher will automatically execute the
1184embedded loop sweep.</p>
1185<p>As long as the watcher is started it will automatically handle events. The
1186callback will be invoked whenever some events have been handled. You can
1187set the callback to <code>0</code> to avoid having to specify one if you are not
1188interested in that.</p>
1189<p>Also, there have not currently been made special provisions for forking:
1190when you fork, you not only have to call <code>ev_loop_fork</code> on both loops,
1191but you will also have to stop and restart any <code>ev_embed</code> watchers
1192yourself.</p>
1193<p>Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable, only the ones returned by
1194<code>ev_embeddable_backends</code> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any
1195portable one.</p>
1196<p>So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1197that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1198this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1199create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:</p>
1200<pre> struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
1201 struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1202 struct ev_embed embed;
1203
1204 // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
1205 // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
1206 loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () &amp; ev_recommended_backends ()
1207 ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () &amp; ev_recommended_backends ())
1208 : 0;
1209
1210 // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
1211 if (loop_lo)
1212 {
1213 ev_embed_init (&amp;embed, 0, loop_lo);
1214 ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &amp;embed);
1215 }
1216 else
1217 loop_lo = loop_hi;
1218
1219</pre>
1220<dl>
1221 <dt>ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)</dt>
1222 <dt>ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)</dt>
1223 <dd>
1224 <p>Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
1225embeddable. If the callback is <code>0</code>, then <code>ev_embed_sweep</code> will be
1226invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1227to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1228if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).</p>
1229 </dd>
1230 <dt>ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)</dt>
1231 <dd>
1232 <p>Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1233similarly to <code>ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)</code>, but in the most
1234apropriate way for embedded loops.</p>
1235 </dd>
1236</dl>
1237
1238
1239
1240
712 1241
713</div> 1242</div>
714<h1 id="OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1243<h1 id="OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
715<div id="OTHER_FUNCTIONS_CONTENT"> 1244<div id="OTHER_FUNCTIONS_CONTENT">
716<p>There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.</p> 1245<p>There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.</p>
743 1272
744 ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0); 1273 ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
745 1274
746</pre> 1275</pre>
747 </dd> 1276 </dd>
748 <dt>ev_feed_event (loop, watcher, int events)</dt> 1277 <dt>ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)</dt>
749 <dd> 1278 <dd>
750 <p>Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event 1279 <p>Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
751had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an 1280had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
752initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).</p> 1281initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).</p>
753 </dd> 1282 </dd>
754 <dt>ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)</dt> 1283 <dt>ev_feed_fd_event (ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)</dt>
755 <dd> 1284 <dd>
756 <p>Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected 1285 <p>Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
757the given events it.</p> 1286the given events it.</p>
758 </dd> 1287 </dd>
759 <dt>ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)</dt> 1288 <dt>ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)</dt>
760 <dd> 1289 <dd>
761 <p>Feed an event as if the given signal occured (loop must be the default loop!).</p> 1290 <p>Feed an event as if the given signal occured (<code>loop</code> must be the default
1291loop!).</p>
762 </dd> 1292 </dd>
763</dl> 1293</dl>
1294
1295
1296
1297
764 1298
765</div> 1299</div>
766<h1 id="LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1300<h1 id="LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
767<div id="LIBEVENT_EMULATION_CONTENT"> 1301<div id="LIBEVENT_EMULATION_CONTENT">
768<p>Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot 1302<p>Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot
783</dl> 1317</dl>
784 1318
785</div> 1319</div>
786<h1 id="C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1320<h1 id="C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
787<div id="C_SUPPORT_CONTENT"> 1321<div id="C_SUPPORT_CONTENT">
788<p>TBD.</p> 1322<p>Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1323you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1324the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.</p>
1325<p>To use it,</p>
1326<pre> #include &lt;ev++.h&gt;
1327
1328</pre>
1329<p>(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes <cite>ev.h</cite>
1330and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global
1331namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the <code>ev</code> namespace.</p>
1332<p>It should support all the same embedding options as <cite>ev.h</cite>, most notably
1333<code>EV_MULTIPLICITY</code>.</p>
1334<p>Here is a list of things available in the <code>ev</code> namespace:</p>
1335<dl>
1336 <dt><code>ev::READ</code>, <code>ev::WRITE</code> etc.</dt>
1337 <dd>
1338 <p>These are just enum values with the same values as the <code>EV_READ</code> etc.
1339macros from <cite>ev.h</cite>.</p>
1340 </dd>
1341 <dt><code>ev::tstamp</code>, <code>ev::now</code></dt>
1342 <dd>
1343 <p>Aliases to the same types/functions as with the <code>ev_</code> prefix.</p>
1344 </dd>
1345 <dt><code>ev::io</code>, <code>ev::timer</code>, <code>ev::periodic</code>, <code>ev::idle</code>, <code>ev::sig</code> etc.</dt>
1346 <dd>
1347 <p>For each <code>ev_TYPE</code> watcher in <cite>ev.h</cite> there is a corresponding class of
1348the same name in the <code>ev</code> namespace, with the exception of <code>ev_signal</code>
1349which is called <code>ev::sig</code> to avoid clashes with the <code>signal</code> macro
1350defines by many implementations.</p>
1351 <p>All of those classes have these methods:</p>
1352 <p>
1353 <dl>
1354 <dt>ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *)</dt>
1355 <dt>ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *)</dt>
1356 <dt>ev::TYPE::~TYPE</dt>
1357 <dd>
1358 <p>The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to
1359the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls
1360<code>ev_init</code> for you, which means you have to call the <code>set</code> method
1361before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor
1362automatically associates the default loop with this watcher.</p>
1363 <p>The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.</p>
1364 </dd>
1365 <dt>w-&gt;set (struct ev_loop *)</dt>
1366 <dd>
1367 <p>Associates a different <code>struct ev_loop</code> with this watcher. You can only
1368do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).</p>
1369 </dd>
1370 <dt>w-&gt;set ([args])</dt>
1371 <dd>
1372 <p>Basically the same as <code>ev_TYPE_set</code>, with the same args. Must be
1373called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
1374automatically stopped and restarted.</p>
1375 </dd>
1376 <dt>w-&gt;start ()</dt>
1377 <dd>
1378 <p>Starts the watcher. Note that there is no <code>loop</code> argument as the
1379constructor already takes the loop.</p>
1380 </dd>
1381 <dt>w-&gt;stop ()</dt>
1382 <dd>
1383 <p>Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no <code>loop</code> argument.</p>
1384 </dd>
1385 <dt>w-&gt;again () <code>ev::timer</code>, <code>ev::periodic</code> only</dt>
1386 <dd>
1387 <p>For <code>ev::timer</code> and <code>ev::periodic</code>, this invokes the corresponding
1388<code>ev_TYPE_again</code> function.</p>
1389 </dd>
1390 <dt>w-&gt;sweep () <code>ev::embed</code> only</dt>
1391 <dd>
1392 <p>Invokes <code>ev_embed_sweep</code>.</p>
1393 </dd>
1394 </dl>
1395 </p>
1396 </dd>
1397</dl>
1398<p>Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1399the constructor.</p>
1400<pre> class myclass
1401 {
1402 ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &amp;w, int revents);
1403 ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &amp;w, int revents);
1404
1405 myclass ();
1406 }
1407
1408 myclass::myclass (int fd)
1409 : io (this, &amp;myclass::io_cb),
1410 idle (this, &amp;myclass::idle_cb)
1411 {
1412 io.start (fd, ev::READ);
1413 }
1414
1415</pre>
1416
1417</div>
1418<h1 id="EMBEDDING">EMBEDDING</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
1419<div id="EMBEDDING_CONTENT">
1420<p>Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
1421applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
1422Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
1423and rxvt-unicode.</p>
1424<p>The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your
1425source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
1426you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
1427libev somewhere in your source tree).</p>
1428
1429</div>
1430<h2 id="FILESETS">FILESETS</h2>
1431<div id="FILESETS_CONTENT">
1432<p>Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
1433in your app.</p>
1434
1435</div>
1436<h3 id="CORE_EVENT_LOOP">CORE EVENT LOOP</h3>
1437<div id="CORE_EVENT_LOOP_CONTENT">
1438<p>To include only the libev core (all the <code>ev_*</code> functions), with manual
1439configuration (no autoconf):</p>
1440<pre> #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1441 #include &quot;ev.c&quot;
1442
1443</pre>
1444<p>This will automatically include <cite>ev.h</cite>, too, and should be done in a
1445single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
1446it, do the same for <cite>ev.h</cite> in all files wishing to use this API (best
1447done by writing a wrapper around <cite>ev.h</cite> that you can include instead and
1448where you can put other configuration options):</p>
1449<pre> #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1450 #include &quot;ev.h&quot;
1451
1452</pre>
1453<p>Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
1454compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
1455as a bug).</p>
1456<p>You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
1457in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):</p>
1458<pre> ev.h
1459 ev.c
1460 ev_vars.h
1461 ev_wrap.h
1462
1463 ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
1464
1465 ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is is by default)
1466 ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1467 ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1468 ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1469 ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1470
1471</pre>
1472<p><cite>ev.c</cite> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
1473to compile a single file.</p>
1474
1475</div>
1476<h3 id="LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API">LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API</h3>
1477<div id="LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API_CONTENT">
1478<p>To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:</p>
1479<pre> #include &quot;event.c&quot;
1480
1481</pre>
1482<p>in the file including <cite>ev.c</cite>, and:</p>
1483<pre> #include &quot;event.h&quot;
1484
1485</pre>
1486<p>in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes <cite>ev.h</cite>.</p>
1487<p>You need the following additional files for this:</p>
1488<pre> event.h
1489 event.c
1490
1491</pre>
1492
1493</div>
1494<h3 id="AUTOCONF_SUPPORT">AUTOCONF SUPPORT</h3>
1495<div id="AUTOCONF_SUPPORT_CONTENT">
1496<p>Instead of using <code>EV_STANDALONE=1</code> and providing your config in
1497whatever way you want, you can also <code>m4_include([libev.m4])</code> in your
1498<cite>configure.ac</cite> and leave <code>EV_STANDALONE</code> off. <cite>ev.c</cite> will then include
1499<cite>config.h</cite> and configure itself accordingly.</p>
1500<p>For this of course you need the m4 file:</p>
1501<pre> libev.m4
1502
1503</pre>
1504
1505</div>
1506<h2 id="PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS">PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS</h2>
1507<div id="PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS_CONTENT">
1508<p>Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define
1509before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity
1510and only include the select backend.</p>
1511<dl>
1512 <dt>EV_STANDALONE</dt>
1513 <dd>
1514 <p>Must always be <code>1</code> if you do not use autoconf configuration, which
1515keeps libev from including <cite>config.h</cite>, and it also defines dummy
1516implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not
1517supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
1518<cite>event.h</cite> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.</p>
1519 </dd>
1520 <dt>EV_USE_MONOTONIC</dt>
1521 <dd>
1522 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1523monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use
1524of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
1525usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
1526the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have
1527to make sure you link against any libraries where the <code>clock_gettime</code>
1528function is hiding in (often <cite>-lrt</cite>).</p>
1529 </dd>
1530 <dt>EV_USE_REALTIME</dt>
1531 <dd>
1532 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1533realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
1534runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
1535be attempted. This effectively replaces <code>gettimeofday</code> by <code>clock_get
1536(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)</code> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries
1537in the description of <code>EV_USE_MONOTONIC</code>, though.</p>
1538 </dd>
1539 <dt>EV_USE_SELECT</dt>
1540 <dd>
1541 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the
1542<code>select</code>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no
1543other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
1544will not be compiled in.</p>
1545 </dd>
1546 <dt>EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET</dt>
1547 <dd>
1548 <p>If defined to <code>1</code>, then the select backend will use the system <code>fd_set</code>
1549structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
1550<code>NFDBITS</code> or <code>fd_mask</code> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on
1551exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
1552low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
1553allows 64 sockets). The <code>FD_SETSIZE</code> macro, set before compilation, might
1554influence the size of the <code>fd_set</code> used.</p>
1555 </dd>
1556 <dt>EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET</dt>
1557 <dd>
1558 <p>When defined to <code>1</code>, the select backend will assume that
1559select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but
1560wants osf handles on win32 (this is the case when the select to
1561be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
1562<code>_get_osfhandle</code> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
1563it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
1564on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.</p>
1565 </dd>
1566 <dt>EV_USE_POLL</dt>
1567 <dd>
1568 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the <code>poll</code>(2)
1569backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
1570takes precedence over select.</p>
1571 </dd>
1572 <dt>EV_USE_EPOLL</dt>
1573 <dd>
1574 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
1575<code>epoll</code>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
1576otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the
1577preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.</p>
1578 </dd>
1579 <dt>EV_USE_KQUEUE</dt>
1580 <dd>
1581 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
1582<code>kqueue</code>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
1583otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
1584backend for BSD and BSD-like systems, although on most BSDs kqueue only
1585supports some types of fds correctly (the only platform we found that
1586supports ptys for example was NetBSD), so kqueue might be compiled in, but
1587not be used unless explicitly requested. The best way to use it is to find
1588out wether kqueue supports your type of fd properly and use an embedded
1589kqueue loop.</p>
1590 </dd>
1591 <dt>EV_USE_PORT</dt>
1592 <dd>
1593 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the Solaris
159410 port style backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
1595otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
1596backend for Solaris 10 systems.</p>
1597 </dd>
1598 <dt>EV_USE_DEVPOLL</dt>
1599 <dd>
1600 <p>reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.</p>
1601 </dd>
1602 <dt>EV_H</dt>
1603 <dd>
1604 <p>The name of the <cite>ev.h</cite> header file used to include it. The default if
1605undefined is <code>&lt;ev.h&gt;</code> in <cite>event.h</cite> and <code>&quot;ev.h&quot;</code> in <cite>ev.c</cite>. This
1606can be used to virtually rename the <cite>ev.h</cite> header file in case of conflicts.</p>
1607 </dd>
1608 <dt>EV_CONFIG_H</dt>
1609 <dd>
1610 <p>If <code>EV_STANDALONE</code> isn't <code>1</code>, this variable can be used to override
1611<cite>ev.c</cite>'s idea of where to find the <cite>config.h</cite> file, similarly to
1612<code>EV_H</code>, above.</p>
1613 </dd>
1614 <dt>EV_EVENT_H</dt>
1615 <dd>
1616 <p>Similarly to <code>EV_H</code>, this macro can be used to override <cite>event.c</cite>'s idea
1617of how the <cite>event.h</cite> header can be found.</p>
1618 </dd>
1619 <dt>EV_PROTOTYPES</dt>
1620 <dd>
1621 <p>If defined to be <code>0</code>, then <cite>ev.h</cite> will not define any function
1622prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
1623occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
1624around libev functions.</p>
1625 </dd>
1626 <dt>EV_MULTIPLICITY</dt>
1627 <dd>
1628 <p>If undefined or defined to <code>1</code>, then all event-loop-specific functions
1629will have the <code>struct ev_loop *</code> as first argument, and you can create
1630additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
1631for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
1632argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.</p>
1633 </dd>
1634 <dt>EV_PERIODICS</dt>
1635 <dd>
1636 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, then periodic timers are supported,
1637otherwise not. This saves a few kb of code.</p>
1638 </dd>
1639 <dt>EV_COMMON</dt>
1640 <dd>
1641 <p>By default, all watchers have a <code>void *data</code> member. By redefining
1642this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
1643members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
1644though, and it must be identical each time.</p>
1645 <p>For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:</p>
1646<pre> #define EV_COMMON \
1647 SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
1648 SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing &quot;;&quot; */
1649
1650</pre>
1651 </dd>
1652 <dt>EV_CB_DECLARE(type)</dt>
1653 <dt>EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher,revents)</dt>
1654 <dt>ev_set_cb(ev,cb)</dt>
1655 <dd>
1656 <p>Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
1657and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
1658definition and a statement, respectively. See the <cite>ev.v</cite> header file for
1659their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
1660avoid the ev_loop pointer as first argument in all cases, or to use method
1661calls instead of plain function calls in C++.</p>
1662
1663</div>
1664<h2 id="EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</h2>
1665<div id="EXAMPLES_CONTENT">
1666 <p>For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
1667verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
1668(<a href="http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html">http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html</a>). It has the libev files in
1669the <cite>libev/</cite> subdirectory and includes them in the <cite>EV/EVAPI.h</cite> (public
1670interface) and <cite>EV.xs</cite> (implementation) files. Only the <cite>EV.xs</cite> file
1671will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
1672file.</p>
1673 <p>The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a <cite>ev_cpp.h</cite> header file
1674that everybody includes and which overrides some autoconf choices:</p>
1675<pre> #define EV_USE_POLL 0
1676 #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
1677 #define EV_PERIODICS 0
1678 #define EV_CONFIG_H &lt;config.h&gt;
1679
1680 #include &quot;ev++.h&quot;
1681
1682</pre>
1683 <p>And a <cite>ev_cpp.C</cite> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:</p>
1684<pre> #include &quot;ev_cpp.h&quot;
1685 #include &quot;ev.c&quot;
1686
1687</pre>
789 1688
790</div> 1689</div>
791<h1 id="AUTHOR">AUTHOR</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1690<h1 id="AUTHOR">AUTHOR</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
792<div id="AUTHOR_CONTENT"> 1691<div id="AUTHOR_CONTENT">
793<p>Marc Lehmann &lt;libev@schmorp.de&gt;.</p> 1692 <p>Marc Lehmann &lt;libev@schmorp.de&gt;.</p>
794 1693
795</div> 1694</div>
796</div></body> 1695</div></body>
797</html> 1696</html>

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