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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="Sat Nov 24 08:13:46 2007" /> 9 <meta name="created" content="Tue Nov 27 09:11:42 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="#GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS">GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS</a></li>
27<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>
28</ul> 28</ul>
29</li> 29</li>
30<li><a href="#WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</a> 30<li><a href="#WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</a>
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<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>
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_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts</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_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron?</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_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!</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_child_code_watch_out_for_pro"><code>ev_child</code> - watch out for process status changes</a></li>
36<li><a href="#code_ev_stat_code_did_the_file_attri"><code>ev_stat</code> - did the file attributes just change?</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> 37<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>
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_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> 39<li><a href="#code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_"><code>ev_embed</code> - when one backend isn't enough...</a></li>
39</ul> 40</ul>
40</li> 41</li>
41<li><a href="#OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</a></li> 42<li><a href="#OTHER_FUNCTIONS">OTHER FUNCTIONS</a></li>
42<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</a></li> 43<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_EMULATION">LIBEVENT EMULATION</a></li>
43<li><a href="#C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</a></li> 44<li><a href="#C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</a></li>
45<li><a href="#EMBEDDING">EMBEDDING</a>
46<ul><li><a href="#FILESETS">FILESETS</a>
47<ul><li><a href="#CORE_EVENT_LOOP">CORE EVENT LOOP</a></li>
48<li><a href="#LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API">LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API</a></li>
49<li><a href="#AUTOCONF_SUPPORT">AUTOCONF SUPPORT</a></li>
50</ul>
51</li>
52<li><a href="#PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS">PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS</a></li>
53<li><a href="#EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</a></li>
54</ul>
55</li>
56<li><a href="#COMPLEXITIES">COMPLEXITIES</a></li>
44<li><a href="#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a> 57<li><a href="#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a>
45</li> 58</li>
46</ul><hr /> 59</ul><hr />
47<!-- INDEX END --> 60<!-- INDEX END -->
48 61
364</pre> 377</pre>
365 </dd> 378 </dd>
366 <dt>ev_default_destroy ()</dt> 379 <dt>ev_default_destroy ()</dt>
367 <dd> 380 <dd>
368 <p>Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state 381 <p>Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
369etc.). This stops all registered event watchers (by not touching them in 382etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
370any way whatsoever, although you cannot rely on this :).</p> 383sense, so e.g. <code>ev_is_active</code> might still return true. It is your
384responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef <i>before</i>
385calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
386the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or <code>free ()</code> them
387for example).</p>
371 </dd> 388 </dd>
372 <dt>ev_loop_destroy (loop)</dt> 389 <dt>ev_loop_destroy (loop)</dt>
373 <dd> 390 <dd>
374 <p>Like <code>ev_default_destroy</code>, but destroys an event loop created by an 391 <p>Like <code>ev_default_destroy</code>, but destroys an event loop created by an
375earlier call to <code>ev_loop_new</code>.</p> 392earlier call to <code>ev_loop_new</code>.</p>
498 515
499</pre> 516</pre>
500 </dd> 517 </dd>
501</dl> 518</dl>
502 519
520
521
522
523
503</div> 524</div>
504<h1 id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 525<h1 id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER">ANATOMY OF A WATCHER</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
505<div id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER_CONTENT"> 526<div id="ANATOMY_OF_A_WATCHER_CONTENT">
506<p>A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your 527<p>A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
507interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to 528interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
566 </dd> 587 </dd>
567 <dt><code>EV_CHILD</code></dt> 588 <dt><code>EV_CHILD</code></dt>
568 <dd> 589 <dd>
569 <p>The pid specified in the <code>ev_child</code> watcher has received a status change.</p> 590 <p>The pid specified in the <code>ev_child</code> watcher has received a status change.</p>
570 </dd> 591 </dd>
592 <dt><code>EV_STAT</code></dt>
593 <dd>
594 <p>The path specified in the <code>ev_stat</code> watcher changed its attributes somehow.</p>
595 </dd>
571 <dt><code>EV_IDLE</code></dt> 596 <dt><code>EV_IDLE</code></dt>
572 <dd> 597 <dd>
573 <p>The <code>ev_idle</code> watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.</p> 598 <p>The <code>ev_idle</code> watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.</p>
574 </dd> 599 </dd>
575 <dt><code>EV_PREPARE</code></dt> 600 <dt><code>EV_PREPARE</code></dt>
597programs, though, so beware.</p> 622programs, though, so beware.</p>
598 </dd> 623 </dd>
599</dl> 624</dl>
600 625
601</div> 626</div>
602<h2 id="SUMMARY_OF_GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS">SUMMARY OF GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS</h2> 627<h2 id="GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS">GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS</h2>
603<div id="SUMMARY_OF_GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS-2"> 628<div id="GENERIC_WATCHER_FUNCTIONS_CONTENT">
604<p>In the following description, <code>TYPE</code> stands for the watcher type, 629<p>In the following description, <code>TYPE</code> stands for the watcher type,
605e.g. <code>timer</code> for <code>ev_timer</code> watchers and <code>io</code> for <code>ev_io</code> watchers.</p> 630e.g. <code>timer</code> for <code>ev_timer</code> watchers and <code>io</code> for <code>ev_io</code> watchers.</p>
606<dl> 631<dl>
607 <dt><code>ev_init</code> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)</dt> 632 <dt><code>ev_init</code> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)</dt>
608 <dd> 633 <dd>
612the type-specific <code>ev_TYPE_set</code> macro afterwards to initialise the 637the type-specific <code>ev_TYPE_set</code> macro afterwards to initialise the
613type-specific parts. For each type there is also a <code>ev_TYPE_init</code> macro 638type-specific parts. For each type there is also a <code>ev_TYPE_init</code> macro
614which rolls both calls into one.</p> 639which rolls both calls into one.</p>
615 <p>You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped 640 <p>You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
616(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.</p> 641(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.</p>
617 <p>The callbakc is always of type <code>void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, 642 <p>The callback is always of type <code>void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
618int revents)</code>.</p> 643int revents)</code>.</p>
619 </dd> 644 </dd>
620 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_set</code> (ev_TYPE *, [args])</dt> 645 <dt><code>ev_TYPE_set</code> (ev_TYPE *, [args])</dt>
621 <dd> 646 <dd>
622 <p>This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to 647 <p>This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
712 737
713</div> 738</div>
714<h1 id="WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 739<h1 id="WATCHER_TYPES">WATCHER TYPES</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
715<div id="WATCHER_TYPES_CONTENT"> 740<div id="WATCHER_TYPES_CONTENT">
716<p>This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat 741<p>This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
717information given in the last section.</p> 742information given in the last section. Any initialisation/set macros,
743functions and members specific to the watcher type are explained.</p>
744<p>Members are additionally marked with either <i>[read-only]</i>, meaning that,
745while the watcher is active, you can look at the member and expect some
746sensible content, but you must not modify it (you can modify it while the
747watcher is stopped to your hearts content), or <i>[read-write]</i>, which
748means you can expect it to have some sensible content while the watcher
749is active, but you can also modify it. Modifying it may not do something
750sensible or take immediate effect (or do anything at all), but libev will
751not crash or malfunction in any way.</p>
718 752
719 753
720 754
721 755
722 756
723</div> 757</div>
724<h2 id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable</h2> 758<h2 id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip"><code>ev_io</code> - is this file descriptor readable or writable?</h2>
725<div id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip-2"> 759<div id="code_ev_io_code_is_this_file_descrip-2">
726<p>I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable 760<p>I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable
727in each iteration of the event loop (This behaviour is called 761in each iteration of the event loop, or, more precisely, when reading
728level-triggering because you keep receiving events as long as the 762would not block the process and writing would at least be able to write
729condition persists. Remember you can stop the watcher if you don't want to 763some data. This behaviour is called level-triggering because you keep
730act on the event and neither want to receive future events).</p> 764receiving events as long as the condition persists. Remember you can stop
765the watcher if you don't want to act on the event and neither want to
766receive future events.</p>
731<p>In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per 767<p>In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
732fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file 768fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
733descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not 769descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
734required if you know what you are doing).</p> 770required if you know what you are doing).</p>
735<p>You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends 771<p>You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
736(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file 772(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
737descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing 773descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
738to the same underlying file/socket etc. description (that is, they share 774to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
739the same underlying &quot;file open&quot;).</p> 775the same underlying &quot;file open&quot;).</p>
740<p>If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend 776<p>If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
741(at the time of this writing, this includes only <code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> and 777(at the time of this writing, this includes only <code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> and
742<code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code>).</p> 778<code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code>).</p>
779<p>Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
780receive &quot;spurious&quot; readyness notifications, that is your callback might
781be called with <code>EV_READ</code> but a subsequent <code>read</code>(2) will actually block
782because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
783lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
784this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
785it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra <code>read</code>(2) returning
786<code>EAGAIN</code> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.</p>
787<p>If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
788play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test
789wether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
790such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
791its own, so its quite safe to use).</p>
743<dl> 792<dl>
744 <dt>ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)</dt> 793 <dt>ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)</dt>
745 <dt>ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)</dt> 794 <dt>ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)</dt>
746 <dd> 795 <dd>
747 <p>Configures an <code>ev_io</code> watcher. The fd is the file descriptor to rceeive 796 <p>Configures an <code>ev_io</code> watcher. The <code>fd</code> is the file descriptor to
748events for and events is either <code>EV_READ</code>, <code>EV_WRITE</code> or <code>EV_READ | 797rceeive events for and events is either <code>EV_READ</code>, <code>EV_WRITE</code> or
749EV_WRITE</code> to receive the given events.</p> 798<code>EV_READ | EV_WRITE</code> to receive the given events.</p>
750 <p>Please note that most of the more scalable backend mechanisms (for example 799 </dd>
751epoll and solaris ports) can result in spurious readyness notifications 800 <dt>int fd [read-only]</dt>
752for file descriptors, so you practically need to use non-blocking I/O (and 801 <dd>
753treat callback invocation as hint only), or retest separately with a safe 802 <p>The file descriptor being watched.</p>
754interface before doing I/O (XLib can do this), or force the use of either 803 </dd>
755<code>EVBACKEND_SELECT</code> or <code>EVBACKEND_POLL</code>, which don't suffer from this 804 <dt>int events [read-only]</dt>
756problem. Also note that it is quite easy to have your callback invoked 805 <dd>
757when the readyness condition is no longer valid even when employing 806 <p>The events being watched.</p>
758typical ways of handling events, so its a good idea to use non-blocking
759I/O unconditionally.</p>
760 </dd> 807 </dd>
761</dl> 808</dl>
762<p>Example: call <code>stdin_readable_cb</code> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well 809<p>Example: call <code>stdin_readable_cb</code> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
763readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could 810readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
764attempt to read a whole line in the callback:</p> 811attempt to read a whole line in the callback:</p>
780 827
781 828
782</pre> 829</pre>
783 830
784</div> 831</div>
785<h2 id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts</h2> 832<h2 id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti"><code>ev_timer</code> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts</h2>
786<div id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti-2"> 833<div id="code_ev_timer_code_relative_and_opti-2">
787<p>Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a 834<p>Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
788given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.</p> 835given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.</p>
789<p>The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that 836<p>The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
790times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years 837times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years
822repeating. The exact semantics are:</p> 869repeating. The exact semantics are:</p>
823 <p>If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it.</p> 870 <p>If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it.</p>
824 <p>If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the repeat 871 <p>If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the repeat
825value), or reset the running timer to the repeat value.</p> 872value), or reset the running timer to the repeat value.</p>
826 <p>This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical 873 <p>This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
827example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle 874example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called
828timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60 875idle timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been,
829seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to 876say, 60 seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do
830configure an <code>ev_timer</code> with after=repeat=60 and calling ev_timer_again each 877this is to configure an <code>ev_timer</code> with <code>after</code>=<code>repeat</code>=<code>60</code> and calling
831time you successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle 878<code>ev_timer_again</code> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
832state where you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can stop 879you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
833the timer, and again will automatically restart it if need be.</p> 880socket, you can stop the timer, and again will automatically restart it if
881need be.</p>
882 <p>You can also ignore the <code>after</code> value and <code>ev_timer_start</code> altogether
883and only ever use the <code>repeat</code> value:</p>
884<pre> ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
885 ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
886 ...
887 timer-&gt;again = 17.;
888 ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
889 ...
890 timer-&gt;again = 10.;
891 ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
892
893</pre>
894 <p>This is more efficient then stopping/starting the timer eahc time you want
895to modify its timeout value.</p>
896 </dd>
897 <dt>ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]</dt>
898 <dd>
899 <p>The current <code>repeat</code> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
900or <code>ev_timer_again</code> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
901which is also when any modifications are taken into account.</p>
834 </dd> 902 </dd>
835</dl> 903</dl>
836<p>Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.</p> 904<p>Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.</p>
837<pre> static void 905<pre> static void
838 one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 906 one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
866 934
867 935
868</pre> 936</pre>
869 937
870</div> 938</div>
871<h2 id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron</h2> 939<h2 id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not"><code>ev_periodic</code> - to cron or not to cron?</h2>
872<div id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not-2"> 940<div id="code_ev_periodic_code_to_cron_or_not-2">
873<p>Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile 941<p>Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
874(and unfortunately a bit complex).</p> 942(and unfortunately a bit complex).</p>
875<p>Unlike <code>ev_timer</code>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time) 943<p>Unlike <code>ev_timer</code>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
876but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher 944but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
877to trigger &quot;at&quot; some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a 945to trigger &quot;at&quot; some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
878periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. c&lt;ev_now () 946periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. <code>ev_now ()
879+ 10.&gt;) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will 947+ 10.</code>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will
880take a year to trigger the event (unlike an <code>ev_timer</code>, which would trigger 948take a year to trigger the event (unlike an <code>ev_timer</code>, which would trigger
881roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time 949roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time
882again).</p> 950again).</p>
883<p>They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as 951<p>They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as
884triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.</p> 952triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.</p>
956 <p>Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful 1024 <p>Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
957when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return 1025when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
958a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like 1026a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
959program when the crontabs have changed).</p> 1027program when the crontabs have changed).</p>
960 </dd> 1028 </dd>
1029 <dt>ev_tstamp interval [read-write]</dt>
1030 <dd>
1031 <p>The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
1032take effect when the periodic timer fires or <code>ev_periodic_again</code> is being
1033called.</p>
1034 </dd>
1035 <dt>ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]</dt>
1036 <dd>
1037 <p>The current reschedule callback, or <code>0</code>, if this functionality is
1038switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1039the periodic timer fires or <code>ev_periodic_again</code> is being called.</p>
1040 </dd>
961</dl> 1041</dl>
962<p>Example: call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the 1042<p>Example: call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
963system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have 1043system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
964potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.</p> 1044potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.</p>
965<pre> static void 1045<pre> static void
995 1075
996 1076
997</pre> 1077</pre>
998 1078
999</div> 1079</div>
1000<h2 id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled</h2> 1080<h2 id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a"><code>ev_signal</code> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!</h2>
1001<div id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a-2"> 1081<div id="code_ev_signal_code_signal_me_when_a-2">
1002<p>Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific 1082<p>Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
1003signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev 1083signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
1004will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the 1084will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
1005normal event processing, like any other event.</p> 1085normal event processing, like any other event.</p>
1014 <dt>ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)</dt> 1094 <dt>ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)</dt>
1015 <dd> 1095 <dd>
1016 <p>Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one 1096 <p>Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one
1017of the <code>SIGxxx</code> constants).</p> 1097of the <code>SIGxxx</code> constants).</p>
1018 </dd> 1098 </dd>
1099 <dt>int signum [read-only]</dt>
1100 <dd>
1101 <p>The signal the watcher watches out for.</p>
1102 </dd>
1019</dl> 1103</dl>
1020 1104
1021 1105
1022 1106
1023 1107
1024 1108
1025</div> 1109</div>
1026<h2 id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat"><code>ev_child</code> - wait for pid status changes</h2> 1110<h2 id="code_ev_child_code_watch_out_for_pro"><code>ev_child</code> - watch out for process status changes</h2>
1027<div id="code_ev_child_code_wait_for_pid_stat-2"> 1111<div id="code_ev_child_code_watch_out_for_pro-2">
1028<p>Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to 1112<p>Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1029some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).</p> 1113some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).</p>
1030<dl> 1114<dl>
1031 <dt>ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)</dt> 1115 <dt>ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)</dt>
1032 <dt>ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)</dt> 1116 <dt>ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)</dt>
1035<i>any</i> process if <code>pid</code> is specified as <code>0</code>). The callback can look 1119<i>any</i> process if <code>pid</code> is specified as <code>0</code>). The callback can look
1036at the <code>rstatus</code> member of the <code>ev_child</code> watcher structure to see 1120at the <code>rstatus</code> member of the <code>ev_child</code> watcher structure to see
1037the status word (use the macros from <code>sys/wait.h</code> and see your systems 1121the status word (use the macros from <code>sys/wait.h</code> and see your systems
1038<code>waitpid</code> documentation). The <code>rpid</code> member contains the pid of the 1122<code>waitpid</code> documentation). The <code>rpid</code> member contains the pid of the
1039process causing the status change.</p> 1123process causing the status change.</p>
1124 </dd>
1125 <dt>int pid [read-only]</dt>
1126 <dd>
1127 <p>The process id this watcher watches out for, or <code>0</code>, meaning any process id.</p>
1128 </dd>
1129 <dt>int rpid [read-write]</dt>
1130 <dd>
1131 <p>The process id that detected a status change.</p>
1132 </dd>
1133 <dt>int rstatus [read-write]</dt>
1134 <dd>
1135 <p>The process exit/trace status caused by <code>rpid</code> (see your systems
1136<code>waitpid</code> and <code>sys/wait.h</code> documentation for details).</p>
1040 </dd> 1137 </dd>
1041</dl> 1138</dl>
1042<p>Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.</p> 1139<p>Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.</p>
1043<pre> static void 1140<pre> static void
1044 sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents) 1141 sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
1054 1151
1055 1152
1056</pre> 1153</pre>
1057 1154
1058</div> 1155</div>
1156<h2 id="code_ev_stat_code_did_the_file_attri"><code>ev_stat</code> - did the file attributes just change?</h2>
1157<div id="code_ev_stat_code_did_the_file_attri-2">
1158<p>This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
1159<code>stat</code> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
1160compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.</p>
1161<p>The path does not need to exist: changing from &quot;path exists&quot; to &quot;path does
1162not exist&quot; is a status change like any other. The condition &quot;path does
1163not exist&quot; is signified by the <code>st_nlink</code> field being zero (which is
1164otherwise always forced to be at least one) and all the other fields of
1165the stat buffer having unspecified contents.</p>
1166<p>Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply
1167calls <code>stat (2)</code> regulalry on the path to see if it changed somehow. You
1168can specify a recommended polling interval for this case. If you specify
1169a polling interval of <code>0</code> (highly recommended!) then a <i>suitable,
1170unspecified default</i> value will be used (which you can expect to be around
1171five seconds, although this might change dynamically). Libev will also
1172impose a minimum interval which is currently around <code>0.1</code>, but thats
1173usually overkill.</p>
1174<p>This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
1175as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1176resource-intensive.</p>
1177<p>At the time of this writing, no specific OS backends are implemented, but
1178if demand increases, at least a kqueue and inotify backend will be added.</p>
1179<dl>
1180 <dt>ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)</dt>
1181 <dt>ev_stat_set (ev_stat *, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)</dt>
1182 <dd>
1183 <p>Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of the given
1184<code>path</code>. The <code>interval</code> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1185be detected and should normally be specified as <code>0</code> to let libev choose
1186a suitable value. The memory pointed to by <code>path</code> must point to the same
1187path for as long as the watcher is active.</p>
1188 <p>The callback will be receive <code>EV_STAT</code> when a change was detected,
1189relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
1190last change was detected).</p>
1191 </dd>
1192 <dt>ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)</dt>
1193 <dd>
1194 <p>Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1195watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid
1196detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be
1197useful simply to find out the new values.</p>
1198 </dd>
1199 <dt>ev_statdata attr [read-only]</dt>
1200 <dd>
1201 <p>The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of
1202<code>ev_statdata</code>, this is usually the (or one of the) <code>struct stat</code> types
1203suitable for your system. If the <code>st_nlink</code> member is <code>0</code>, then there
1204was some error while <code>stat</code>ing the file.</p>
1205 </dd>
1206 <dt>ev_statdata prev [read-only]</dt>
1207 <dd>
1208 <p>The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1209<code>prev</code> != <code>attr</code>.</p>
1210 </dd>
1211 <dt>ev_tstamp interval [read-only]</dt>
1212 <dd>
1213 <p>The specified interval.</p>
1214 </dd>
1215 <dt>const char *path [read-only]</dt>
1216 <dd>
1217 <p>The filesystem path that is being watched.</p>
1218 </dd>
1219</dl>
1220<p>Example: Watch <code>/etc/passwd</code> for attribute changes.</p>
1221<pre> static void
1222 passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
1223 {
1224 /* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
1225 if (w-&gt;attr.st_nlink)
1226 {
1227 printf (&quot;passwd current size %ld\n&quot;, (long)w-&gt;attr.st_size);
1228 printf (&quot;passwd current atime %ld\n&quot;, (long)w-&gt;attr.st_mtime);
1229 printf (&quot;passwd current mtime %ld\n&quot;, (long)w-&gt;attr.st_mtime);
1230 }
1231 else
1232 /* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
1233 puts (&quot;wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. &quot;
1234 &quot;if this is windows, they already arrived\n&quot;);
1235 }
1236
1237 ...
1238 ev_stat passwd;
1239
1240 ev_stat_init (&amp;passwd, passwd_cb, &quot;/etc/passwd&quot;);
1241 ev_stat_start (loop, &amp;passwd);
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246</pre>
1247
1248</div>
1059<h2 id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do</h2> 1249<h2 id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no"><code>ev_idle</code> - when you've got nothing better to do...</h2>
1060<div id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no-2"> 1250<div id="code_ev_idle_code_when_you_ve_got_no-2">
1061<p>Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending 1251<p>Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending
1062(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long 1252(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long
1063as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals, 1253as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals,
1064imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle 1254imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle
1097 1287
1098 1288
1099</pre> 1289</pre>
1100 1290
1101</div> 1291</div>
1102<h2 id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop</h2> 1292<h2 id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che"><code>ev_prepare</code> and <code>ev_check</code> - customise your event loop!</h2>
1103<div id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che-2"> 1293<div id="code_ev_prepare_code_and_code_ev_che-2">
1104<p>Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem: 1294<p>Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
1105prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers 1295prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
1106afterwards.</p> 1296afterwards.</p>
1297<p>You <i>must not</i> call <code>ev_loop</code> or similar functions that enter
1298the current event loop from either <code>ev_prepare</code> or <code>ev_check</code>
1299watchers. Other loops than the current one are fine, however. The
1300rationale behind this is that you do not need to check for recursion in
1301those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be <code>ev_prepare</code>, blocking,
1302<code>ev_check</code> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
1303called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.</p>
1107<p>Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and 1304<p>Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
1108their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track 1305their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track
1109variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a 1306variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
1110coroutine library and lots more.</p> 1307coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
1308you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
1309in X programs you might want to do an <code>XFlush ()</code> in an <code>ev_prepare</code>
1310watcher).</p>
1111<p>This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need 1311<p>This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
1112to be watched by the other library, registering <code>ev_io</code> watchers for 1312to be watched by the other library, registering <code>ev_io</code> watchers for
1113them and starting an <code>ev_timer</code> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries 1313them and starting an <code>ev_timer</code> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
1114provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for 1314provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
1115any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers 1315any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers
1131 <p>Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no 1331 <p>Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no
1132parameters of any kind. There are <code>ev_prepare_set</code> and <code>ev_check_set</code> 1332parameters of any kind. There are <code>ev_prepare_set</code> and <code>ev_check_set</code>
1133macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.</p> 1333macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.</p>
1134 </dd> 1334 </dd>
1135</dl> 1335</dl>
1136<p>Example: *TODO*.</p> 1336<p>Example: To include a library such as adns, you would add IO watchers
1337and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler, as required by libadns, and
1338in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows is
1339pseudo-code only of course:</p>
1340<pre> static ev_io iow [nfd];
1341 static ev_timer tw;
1137 1342
1343 static void
1344 io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1345 {
1346 // set the relevant poll flags
1347 // could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1348 struct pollfd *fd = (struct pollfd *)w-&gt;data;
1349 if (revents &amp; EV_READ ) fd-&gt;revents |= fd-&gt;events &amp; POLLIN;
1350 if (revents &amp; EV_WRITE) fd-&gt;revents |= fd-&gt;events &amp; POLLOUT;
1351 }
1138 1352
1353 // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1354 static void
1355 adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
1356 {
1357 int timeout = 3600000;truct pollfd fds [nfd];
1358 // actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
1359 adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &amp;nfd, &amp;timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
1139 1360
1361 /* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1362 ev_timer_init (&amp;tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
1363 ev_timer_start (loop, &amp;tw);
1140 1364
1365 // create on ev_io per pollfd
1366 for (int i = 0; i &lt; nfd; ++i)
1367 {
1368 ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1369 ((fds [i].events &amp; POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1370 | (fds [i].events &amp; POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1141 1371
1372 fds [i].revents = 0;
1373 iow [i].data = fds + i;
1374 ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1375 }
1376 }
1377
1378 // stop all watchers after blocking
1379 static void
1380 adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1381 {
1382 ev_timer_stop (loop, &amp;tw);
1383
1384 for (int i = 0; i &lt; nfd; ++i)
1385 ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
1386
1387 adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
1388 }
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393</pre>
1394
1142</div> 1395</div>
1143<h2 id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_"><code>ev_embed</code> - when one backend isn't enough</h2> 1396<h2 id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_"><code>ev_embed</code> - when one backend isn't enough...</h2>
1144<div id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_-2"> 1397<div id="code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_-2">
1145<p>This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop 1398<p>This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1146into another (currently only <code>ev_io</code> events are supported in the embedded 1399into another (currently only <code>ev_io</code> events are supported in the embedded
1147loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect 1400loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
1148fashion and must not be used).</p> 1401fashion and must not be used).</p>
1216 <dd> 1469 <dd>
1217 <p>Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works 1470 <p>Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1218similarly to <code>ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)</code>, but in the most 1471similarly to <code>ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)</code>, but in the most
1219apropriate way for embedded loops.</p> 1472apropriate way for embedded loops.</p>
1220 </dd> 1473 </dd>
1474 <dt>struct ev_loop *loop [read-only]</dt>
1475 <dd>
1476 <p>The embedded event loop.</p>
1477 </dd>
1221</dl> 1478</dl>
1222 1479
1223 1480
1224 1481
1225 1482
1302</dl> 1559</dl>
1303 1560
1304</div> 1561</div>
1305<h1 id="C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1562<h1 id="C_SUPPORT">C++ SUPPORT</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
1306<div id="C_SUPPORT_CONTENT"> 1563<div id="C_SUPPORT_CONTENT">
1307<p>TBD.</p> 1564<p>Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1565you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1566the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.</p>
1567<p>To use it,</p>
1568<pre> #include &lt;ev++.h&gt;
1569
1570</pre>
1571<p>(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes <cite>ev.h</cite>
1572and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global
1573namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the <code>ev</code> namespace.</p>
1574<p>It should support all the same embedding options as <cite>ev.h</cite>, most notably
1575<code>EV_MULTIPLICITY</code>.</p>
1576<p>Here is a list of things available in the <code>ev</code> namespace:</p>
1577<dl>
1578 <dt><code>ev::READ</code>, <code>ev::WRITE</code> etc.</dt>
1579 <dd>
1580 <p>These are just enum values with the same values as the <code>EV_READ</code> etc.
1581macros from <cite>ev.h</cite>.</p>
1582 </dd>
1583 <dt><code>ev::tstamp</code>, <code>ev::now</code></dt>
1584 <dd>
1585 <p>Aliases to the same types/functions as with the <code>ev_</code> prefix.</p>
1586 </dd>
1587 <dt><code>ev::io</code>, <code>ev::timer</code>, <code>ev::periodic</code>, <code>ev::idle</code>, <code>ev::sig</code> etc.</dt>
1588 <dd>
1589 <p>For each <code>ev_TYPE</code> watcher in <cite>ev.h</cite> there is a corresponding class of
1590the same name in the <code>ev</code> namespace, with the exception of <code>ev_signal</code>
1591which is called <code>ev::sig</code> to avoid clashes with the <code>signal</code> macro
1592defines by many implementations.</p>
1593 <p>All of those classes have these methods:</p>
1594 <p>
1595 <dl>
1596 <dt>ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *)</dt>
1597 <dt>ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *)</dt>
1598 <dt>ev::TYPE::~TYPE</dt>
1599 <dd>
1600 <p>The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to
1601the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls
1602<code>ev_init</code> for you, which means you have to call the <code>set</code> method
1603before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor
1604automatically associates the default loop with this watcher.</p>
1605 <p>The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.</p>
1606 </dd>
1607 <dt>w-&gt;set (struct ev_loop *)</dt>
1608 <dd>
1609 <p>Associates a different <code>struct ev_loop</code> with this watcher. You can only
1610do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).</p>
1611 </dd>
1612 <dt>w-&gt;set ([args])</dt>
1613 <dd>
1614 <p>Basically the same as <code>ev_TYPE_set</code>, with the same args. Must be
1615called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
1616automatically stopped and restarted.</p>
1617 </dd>
1618 <dt>w-&gt;start ()</dt>
1619 <dd>
1620 <p>Starts the watcher. Note that there is no <code>loop</code> argument as the
1621constructor already takes the loop.</p>
1622 </dd>
1623 <dt>w-&gt;stop ()</dt>
1624 <dd>
1625 <p>Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no <code>loop</code> argument.</p>
1626 </dd>
1627 <dt>w-&gt;again () <code>ev::timer</code>, <code>ev::periodic</code> only</dt>
1628 <dd>
1629 <p>For <code>ev::timer</code> and <code>ev::periodic</code>, this invokes the corresponding
1630<code>ev_TYPE_again</code> function.</p>
1631 </dd>
1632 <dt>w-&gt;sweep () <code>ev::embed</code> only</dt>
1633 <dd>
1634 <p>Invokes <code>ev_embed_sweep</code>.</p>
1635 </dd>
1636 </dl>
1637 </p>
1638 </dd>
1639</dl>
1640<p>Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1641the constructor.</p>
1642<pre> class myclass
1643 {
1644 ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &amp;w, int revents);
1645 ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &amp;w, int revents);
1646
1647 myclass ();
1648 }
1649
1650 myclass::myclass (int fd)
1651 : io (this, &amp;myclass::io_cb),
1652 idle (this, &amp;myclass::idle_cb)
1653 {
1654 io.start (fd, ev::READ);
1655 }
1656
1657</pre>
1658
1659</div>
1660<h1 id="EMBEDDING">EMBEDDING</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
1661<div id="EMBEDDING_CONTENT">
1662<p>Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
1663applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
1664Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
1665and rxvt-unicode.</p>
1666<p>The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your
1667source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
1668you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
1669libev somewhere in your source tree).</p>
1670
1671</div>
1672<h2 id="FILESETS">FILESETS</h2>
1673<div id="FILESETS_CONTENT">
1674<p>Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
1675in your app.</p>
1676
1677</div>
1678<h3 id="CORE_EVENT_LOOP">CORE EVENT LOOP</h3>
1679<div id="CORE_EVENT_LOOP_CONTENT">
1680<p>To include only the libev core (all the <code>ev_*</code> functions), with manual
1681configuration (no autoconf):</p>
1682<pre> #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1683 #include &quot;ev.c&quot;
1684
1685</pre>
1686<p>This will automatically include <cite>ev.h</cite>, too, and should be done in a
1687single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
1688it, do the same for <cite>ev.h</cite> in all files wishing to use this API (best
1689done by writing a wrapper around <cite>ev.h</cite> that you can include instead and
1690where you can put other configuration options):</p>
1691<pre> #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1692 #include &quot;ev.h&quot;
1693
1694</pre>
1695<p>Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
1696compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
1697as a bug).</p>
1698<p>You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
1699in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):</p>
1700<pre> ev.h
1701 ev.c
1702 ev_vars.h
1703 ev_wrap.h
1704
1705 ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
1706
1707 ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is by default)
1708 ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1709 ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1710 ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1711 ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1712
1713</pre>
1714<p><cite>ev.c</cite> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
1715to compile this single file.</p>
1716
1717</div>
1718<h3 id="LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API">LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API</h3>
1719<div id="LIBEVENT_COMPATIBILITY_API_CONTENT">
1720<p>To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:</p>
1721<pre> #include &quot;event.c&quot;
1722
1723</pre>
1724<p>in the file including <cite>ev.c</cite>, and:</p>
1725<pre> #include &quot;event.h&quot;
1726
1727</pre>
1728<p>in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes <cite>ev.h</cite>.</p>
1729<p>You need the following additional files for this:</p>
1730<pre> event.h
1731 event.c
1732
1733</pre>
1734
1735</div>
1736<h3 id="AUTOCONF_SUPPORT">AUTOCONF SUPPORT</h3>
1737<div id="AUTOCONF_SUPPORT_CONTENT">
1738<p>Instead of using <code>EV_STANDALONE=1</code> and providing your config in
1739whatever way you want, you can also <code>m4_include([libev.m4])</code> in your
1740<cite>configure.ac</cite> and leave <code>EV_STANDALONE</code> undefined. <cite>ev.c</cite> will then
1741include <cite>config.h</cite> and configure itself accordingly.</p>
1742<p>For this of course you need the m4 file:</p>
1743<pre> libev.m4
1744
1745</pre>
1746
1747</div>
1748<h2 id="PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS">PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS</h2>
1749<div id="PREPROCESSOR_SYMBOLS_MACROS_CONTENT">
1750<p>Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define
1751before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity
1752and only include the select backend.</p>
1753<dl>
1754 <dt>EV_STANDALONE</dt>
1755 <dd>
1756 <p>Must always be <code>1</code> if you do not use autoconf configuration, which
1757keeps libev from including <cite>config.h</cite>, and it also defines dummy
1758implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not
1759supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
1760<cite>event.h</cite> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.</p>
1761 </dd>
1762 <dt>EV_USE_MONOTONIC</dt>
1763 <dd>
1764 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1765monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use
1766of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
1767usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
1768the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have
1769to make sure you link against any libraries where the <code>clock_gettime</code>
1770function is hiding in (often <cite>-lrt</cite>).</p>
1771 </dd>
1772 <dt>EV_USE_REALTIME</dt>
1773 <dd>
1774 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1775realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
1776runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
1777be attempted. This effectively replaces <code>gettimeofday</code> by <code>clock_get
1778(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)</code> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries
1779in the description of <code>EV_USE_MONOTONIC</code>, though.</p>
1780 </dd>
1781 <dt>EV_USE_SELECT</dt>
1782 <dd>
1783 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the
1784<code>select</code>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no
1785other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
1786will not be compiled in.</p>
1787 </dd>
1788 <dt>EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET</dt>
1789 <dd>
1790 <p>If defined to <code>1</code>, then the select backend will use the system <code>fd_set</code>
1791structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
1792<code>NFDBITS</code> or <code>fd_mask</code> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on
1793exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
1794low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
1795allows 64 sockets). The <code>FD_SETSIZE</code> macro, set before compilation, might
1796influence the size of the <code>fd_set</code> used.</p>
1797 </dd>
1798 <dt>EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET</dt>
1799 <dd>
1800 <p>When defined to <code>1</code>, the select backend will assume that
1801select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but
1802wants osf handles on win32 (this is the case when the select to
1803be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
1804<code>_get_osfhandle</code> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
1805it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
1806on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.</p>
1807 </dd>
1808 <dt>EV_USE_POLL</dt>
1809 <dd>
1810 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the <code>poll</code>(2)
1811backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
1812takes precedence over select.</p>
1813 </dd>
1814 <dt>EV_USE_EPOLL</dt>
1815 <dd>
1816 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
1817<code>epoll</code>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
1818otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the
1819preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.</p>
1820 </dd>
1821 <dt>EV_USE_KQUEUE</dt>
1822 <dd>
1823 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
1824<code>kqueue</code>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
1825otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
1826backend for BSD and BSD-like systems, although on most BSDs kqueue only
1827supports some types of fds correctly (the only platform we found that
1828supports ptys for example was NetBSD), so kqueue might be compiled in, but
1829not be used unless explicitly requested. The best way to use it is to find
1830out whether kqueue supports your type of fd properly and use an embedded
1831kqueue loop.</p>
1832 </dd>
1833 <dt>EV_USE_PORT</dt>
1834 <dd>
1835 <p>If defined to be <code>1</code>, libev will compile in support for the Solaris
183610 port style backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
1837otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
1838backend for Solaris 10 systems.</p>
1839 </dd>
1840 <dt>EV_USE_DEVPOLL</dt>
1841 <dd>
1842 <p>reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.</p>
1843 </dd>
1844 <dt>EV_H</dt>
1845 <dd>
1846 <p>The name of the <cite>ev.h</cite> header file used to include it. The default if
1847undefined 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
1848can be used to virtually rename the <cite>ev.h</cite> header file in case of conflicts.</p>
1849 </dd>
1850 <dt>EV_CONFIG_H</dt>
1851 <dd>
1852 <p>If <code>EV_STANDALONE</code> isn't <code>1</code>, this variable can be used to override
1853<cite>ev.c</cite>'s idea of where to find the <cite>config.h</cite> file, similarly to
1854<code>EV_H</code>, above.</p>
1855 </dd>
1856 <dt>EV_EVENT_H</dt>
1857 <dd>
1858 <p>Similarly to <code>EV_H</code>, this macro can be used to override <cite>event.c</cite>'s idea
1859of how the <cite>event.h</cite> header can be found.</p>
1860 </dd>
1861 <dt>EV_PROTOTYPES</dt>
1862 <dd>
1863 <p>If defined to be <code>0</code>, then <cite>ev.h</cite> will not define any function
1864prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
1865occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
1866around libev functions.</p>
1867 </dd>
1868 <dt>EV_MULTIPLICITY</dt>
1869 <dd>
1870 <p>If undefined or defined to <code>1</code>, then all event-loop-specific functions
1871will have the <code>struct ev_loop *</code> as first argument, and you can create
1872additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
1873for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
1874argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.</p>
1875 </dd>
1876 <dt>EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE</dt>
1877 <dd>
1878 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, then periodic timers are supported. If
1879defined to be <code>0</code>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
1880code.</p>
1881 </dd>
1882 <dt>EV_EMBED_ENABLE</dt>
1883 <dd>
1884 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, then embed watchers are supported. If
1885defined to be <code>0</code>, then they are not.</p>
1886 </dd>
1887 <dt>EV_STAT_ENABLE</dt>
1888 <dd>
1889 <p>If undefined or defined to be <code>1</code>, then stat watchers are supported. If
1890defined to be <code>0</code>, then they are not.</p>
1891 </dd>
1892 <dt>EV_MINIMAL</dt>
1893 <dd>
1894 <p>If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
1895speed, define this symbol to <code>1</code>. Currently only used for gcc to override
1896some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.</p>
1897 </dd>
1898 <dt>EV_COMMON</dt>
1899 <dd>
1900 <p>By default, all watchers have a <code>void *data</code> member. By redefining
1901this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
1902members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
1903though, and it must be identical each time.</p>
1904 <p>For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:</p>
1905<pre> #define EV_COMMON \
1906 SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
1907 SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing &quot;;&quot; */
1908
1909</pre>
1910 </dd>
1911 <dt>EV_CB_DECLARE (type)</dt>
1912 <dt>EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)</dt>
1913 <dt>ev_set_cb (ev, cb)</dt>
1914 <dd>
1915 <p>Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
1916and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
1917definition and a statement, respectively. See the <cite>ev.v</cite> header file for
1918their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
1919avoid the <code>struct ev_loop *</code> as first argument in all cases, or to use
1920method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.</p>
1921
1922</div>
1923<h2 id="EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</h2>
1924<div id="EXAMPLES_CONTENT">
1925 <p>For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
1926verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
1927(<a href="http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html">http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html</a>). It has the libev files in
1928the <cite>libev/</cite> subdirectory and includes them in the <cite>EV/EVAPI.h</cite> (public
1929interface) and <cite>EV.xs</cite> (implementation) files. Only the <cite>EV.xs</cite> file
1930will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
1931file.</p>
1932 <p>The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a <cite>ev_cpp.h</cite> header file
1933that everybody includes and which overrides some autoconf choices:</p>
1934<pre> #define EV_USE_POLL 0
1935 #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
1936 #define EV_PERIODICS 0
1937 #define EV_CONFIG_H &lt;config.h&gt;
1938
1939 #include &quot;ev++.h&quot;
1940
1941</pre>
1942 <p>And a <cite>ev_cpp.C</cite> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:</p>
1943<pre> #include &quot;ev_cpp.h&quot;
1944 #include &quot;ev.c&quot;
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949</pre>
1950
1951</div>
1952<h1 id="COMPLEXITIES">COMPLEXITIES</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
1953<div id="COMPLEXITIES_CONTENT">
1954 <p>In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
1955libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
1956documentation for <code>ev_default_init</code>.</p>
1957 <p>
1958 <dl>
1959 <dt>Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)</dt>
1960 <dt>Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)</dt>
1961 <dt>Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)</dt>
1962 <dt>Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)</dt>
1963 <dt>Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % 16))</dt>
1964 <dt>Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)</dt>
1965 <dt>Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)</dt>
1966 <dt>Activating one watcher: O(1)</dt>
1967 </dl>
1968 </p>
1969
1970
1971
1972
1308 1973
1309</div> 1974</div>
1310<h1 id="AUTHOR">AUTHOR</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p> 1975<h1 id="AUTHOR">AUTHOR</h1><p><a href="#TOP" class="toplink">Top</a></p>
1311<div id="AUTHOR_CONTENT"> 1976<div id="AUTHOR_CONTENT">
1312<p>Marc Lehmann &lt;libev@schmorp.de&gt;.</p> 1977 <p>Marc Lehmann &lt;libev@schmorp.de&gt;.</p>
1313 1978
1314</div> 1979</div>
1315</div></body> 1980</div></body>
1316</html> 1981</html>

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