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…		…
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	#include <ev.h>	7	#include <ev.h>
8		8
9	=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM	9	=head2 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
10		10
		11	// a single header file is required
11	#include <ev.h>	12	#include <ev.h>
12		13
		14	// every watcher type has its own typedef'd struct
		15	// with the name ev_<type>
13	ev_io stdin_watcher;	16	ev_io stdin_watcher;
14	ev_timer timeout_watcher;	17	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
15		18
		19	// all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
16	/* called when data readable on stdin */	20	// this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
17	static void	21	static void
18	stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)	22	stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
19	{	23	{
20	/* puts ("stdin ready"); */	24	puts ("stdin ready");
21	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */	25	// for one-shot events, one must manually stop the watcher
22	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */	26	// with its corresponding stop function.
		27	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
		28
		29	// this causes all nested ev_loop's to stop iterating
		30	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL);
23	}	31	}
24		32
		33	// another callback, this time for a time-out
25	static void	34	static void
26	timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	35	timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
27	{	36	{
28	/* puts ("timeout"); */	37	puts ("timeout");
29	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */	38	// this causes the innermost ev_loop to stop iterating
		39	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE);
30	}	40	}
31		41
32	int	42	int
33	main (void)	43	main (void)
34	{	44	{
		45	// use the default event loop unless you have special needs
35	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);	46	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
36		47
37	/* initialise an io watcher, then start it */	48	// initialise an io watcher, then start it
		49	// this one will watch for stdin to become readable
38	ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);	50	ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
39	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);	51	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
40		52
		53	// initialise a timer watcher, then start it
41	/* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */	54	// simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout
42	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);	55	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
43	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);	56	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
44		57
45	/* loop till timeout or data ready */	58	// now wait for events to arrive
46	ev_loop (loop, 0);	59	ev_loop (loop, 0);
47		60
		61	// unloop was called, so exit
48	return 0;	62	return 0;
49	}	63	}
50		64
51	=head1 DESCRIPTION	65	=head1 DESCRIPTION
52		66
53	The newest version of this document is also available as a html-formatted	67	The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
54	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first	68	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
55	time: L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.html>.	69	time: L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
56		70
57	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a	71	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
58	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage	72	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
59	these event sources and provide your program with events.	73	these event sources and provide your program with events.
60		74
61	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process	75	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
62	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then	76	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then
63	communicate events via a callback mechanism.	77	communicate events via a callback mechanism.
…		…
65	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event	79	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event
66	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the	80	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
67	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the	81	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
68	watcher.	82	watcher.
69		83
70	=head1 FEATURES	84	=head2 FEATURES
71		85
72	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the	86	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
73	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms	87	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
74	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface	88	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface
75	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers	89	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers
…		…
82		96
83	It also is quite fast (see this	97	It also is quite fast (see this
84	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent	98	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
85	for example).	99	for example).
86		100
87	=head1 CONVENTIONS	101	=head2 CONVENTIONS
88		102
89	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will	103	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
90	be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about	104	configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
91	various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in	105	more info about various configuration options please have a look at
92	this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event	106	B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
93	loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop>	107	for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
94	(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.	108	name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have
		109	this argument.
95		110
96	=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION	111	=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
97		112
98	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the	113	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
99	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near	114	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
100	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is	115	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
101	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases	116	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
102	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on	117	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
103	it, you should treat it as such.	118	it, you should treat it as some floatingpoint value. Unlike the name
		119	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
		120	throughout libev.
104		121
105	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	122	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
106		123
107	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	124	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
108	library in any way.	125	library in any way.
…		…
113		130
114	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	131	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
115	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	132	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
116	you actually want to know.	133	you actually want to know.
117		134
		135	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
		136
		137	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
		138	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
		139	this is a subsecond-resolution C<sleep ()>.
		140
118	=item int ev_version_major ()	141	=item int ev_version_major ()
119		142
120	=item int ev_version_minor ()	143	=item int ev_version_minor ()
121		144
122	You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library	145	You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
123	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and	146	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
124	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global	147	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
125	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the	148	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
126	version of the library your program was compiled against.	149	version of the library your program was compiled against.
127		150
		151	These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
		152	release version.
		153
128	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,	154	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
129	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually	155	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
130	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually	156	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
131	not a problem.	157	not a problem.
132		158
133	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	159	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
134	version.	160	version.
…		…
170	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	196	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
171		197
172	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	198	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
173		199
174	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	200	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
175	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to	201	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
176	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when	202	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
177	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some	203	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
178	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc	204	or take some potentially destructive action.
179	function.	205
		206	Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
		207	correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
		208	C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
180		209
181	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	210	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
182	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	211	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
183	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	212	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
184		213
185	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	214	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
186	retries).	215	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
187		216
188	static void *	217	static void *
189	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	218	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
190	{	219	{
191	for (;;)	220	for (;;)
…		…
230		259
231	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two	260	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two
232	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child	261	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child
233	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.	262	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.
234		263
235	If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop
236	in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you
237	create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking
238	whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
239	threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
240	done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
241
242	=over 4	264	=over 4
243		265
244	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)	266	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
245		267
246	This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised	268	This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised
…		…
248	false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the	270	false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the
249	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	271	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
250		272
251	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	273	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
252	function.	274	function.
		275
		276	Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
		277	from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
		278	as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
		279
		280	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		281	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		282	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your app you can either
		283	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		284	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		285	C<ev_default_init>.
253		286
254	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	287	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
255	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	288	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
256		289
257	The following flags are supported:	290	The following flags are supported:
…		…
279	enabling this flag.	312	enabling this flag.
280		313
281	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,	314	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
282	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop	315	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
283	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my	316	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
284	Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence	317	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
285	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has	318	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
286	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).	319	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
287		320
288	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and	321	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
289	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this	322	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
290	flag.	323	flag.
…		…
295	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	328	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
296		329
297	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	330	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
298	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	331	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
299	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	332	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
300	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	333	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
301	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	334	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		335
		336	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		337	parallelity (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		338	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		339	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		340	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		341	readiness notifications you get per iteration.
302		342
303	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	343	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
304		344
305	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	345	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
306	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	346	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
307	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	347	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
308	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	348	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		349	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		350	performance tips.
309		351
310	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	352	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
311		353
312	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	354	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
313	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like	355	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
314	O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales	356	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
315	either O(1) or O(active_fds).	357	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
		358	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
		359	cases and requiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad
		360	support for dup.
316		361
317	While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will	362	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
318	result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	363	will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
319	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	364	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
320	best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very	365	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
321	well if you register events for both fds.	366	very well if you register events for both fds.
322		367
323	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	368	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
324	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	369	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
325	(or space) is available.	370	(or space) is available.
326		371
		372	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
		373	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
		374	keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
		375
		376	While nominally embeddeble in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		377	all kernel versions tested so far.
		378
327	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	379	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
328		380
329	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	381	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
330	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with	382	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
331	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its	383	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
332	completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"	384	it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "autodetected"
333	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	385	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
334	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).	386	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
		387	system like NetBSD.
		388
		389	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		390	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		391	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
335		392
336	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	393	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
337	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	394	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
338	course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an	395	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
339	extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per	396	cause an extra syscall as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
340	incident, so its best to avoid that.	397	two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
		398	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
		399
		400	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		401
		402	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		403	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		404	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		405	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		406	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
		407	sockets.
341		408
342	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	409	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
343		410
344	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	411	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		412	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		413	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		414	immensely.
345		415
346	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	416	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
347		417
348	This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	418	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
349	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	419	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
350		420
351	Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious	421	Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
352	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	422	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
353	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	423	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		424
		425	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		426	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		427	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		428	might perform better.
		429
		430	On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readiness notifications, this
		431	backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
		432	embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
354		433
355	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	434	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
356		435
357	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	436	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
358	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	437	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
359	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	438	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
360		439
		440	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		441
361	=back	442	=back
362		443
363	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	444	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these
364	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	445	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
365	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	446	specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
366	order of their flag values :)
367		447
368	The most typical usage is like this:	448	The most typical usage is like this:
369		449
370	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	450	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
371	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	451	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
…		…
385		465
386	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	466	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
387	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	467	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
388	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	468	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
389	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	469	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
		470
		471	Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and the recommended way to use
		472	libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
		473	default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
390		474
391	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	475	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
392		476
393	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	477	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
394	if (!epoller)	478	if (!epoller)
…		…
399	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	483	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
400	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	484	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
401	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your	485	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
402	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>	486	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>
403	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually	487	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
404	the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them	488	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
405	for example).	489	for example).
		490
		491	Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
		492	this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
		493	would need to be stopped manually.
		494
		495	In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
		496	rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
		497	pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
		498	C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
406		499
407	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	500	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
408		501
409	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	502	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
410	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	503	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
411		504
412	=item ev_default_fork ()	505	=item ev_default_fork ()
413		506
		507	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
414	This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have	508	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
415	one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense	509	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
416	after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that	510	the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
417	again makes little sense).	511	sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
		512	functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
418		513
419	You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and	514	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
420	only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just	515	process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
421	fork+exec, you don't have to call it.	516	you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
422		517
423	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call	518	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
424	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in	519	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
425	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:	520	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
426		521
427	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);	522	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
428		523
429	At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
430	without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
431	do not need to care.
432
433	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	524	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
434		525
435	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	526	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
436	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	527	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
437	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	528	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
		529
		530	=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
		531
		532	Returns true when the given loop actually is the default loop, false otherwise.
438		533
439	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)	534	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
440		535
441	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to	536	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
442	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and	537	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
…		…
455		550
456	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop	551	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
457	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not	552	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
458	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base	553	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
459	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the	554	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
460	event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).	555	event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
461		556
462	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)	557	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
463		558
464	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	559	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
465	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling	560	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
…		…
487	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	582	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
488		583
489	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	584	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
490		585
491	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.	586	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
492	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	587	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
493	- Queue all prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	588	- If a fork was detected, queue and call all fork watchers.
		589	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
494	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	590	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
495	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	591	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
496	- Update the "event loop time".	592	- Update the "event loop time".
497	- Calculate for how long to block.	593	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		594	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		595	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		596	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
498	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	597	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
499	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	598	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
500	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	599	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
501	- Queue all outstanding timers.	600	- Queue all outstanding timers.
502	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	601	- Queue all outstanding periodics.
503	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	602	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
504	- Queue all check watchers.	603	- Queue all check watchers.
505	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	604	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
506	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	605	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
507	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	606	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
508	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	607	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
509	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	608	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		609	continue with step *.
510		610
511	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	611	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
512	anymore.	612	anymore.
513		613
514	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	614	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
515	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	615	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
516	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	616	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
…		…
520		620
521	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	621	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
522	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	622	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
523	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	623	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
524	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	624	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
		625
		626	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
525		627
526	=item ev_ref (loop)	628	=item ev_ref (loop)
527		629
528	=item ev_unref (loop)	630	=item ev_unref (loop)
529		631
…		…
534	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	636	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
535	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	637	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
536	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	638	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
537	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	639	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
538	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	640	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
539	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	641	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
		642	(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
		643	respectively).
540		644
541	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	645	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
542	running when nothing else is active.	646	running when nothing else is active.
543		647
544	struct ev_signal exitsig;	648	struct ev_signal exitsig;
…		…
548		652
549	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	653	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
550		654
551	ev_ref (loop);	655	ev_ref (loop);
552	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	656	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
		657
		658	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		659
		660	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		661
		662	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
		663	for events. Both are by default C<0>, meaning that libev will try to
		664	invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.
		665
		666	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
		667	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks to
		668	increase efficiency of loop iterations.
		669
		670	The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
		671	handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
		672	the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
		673	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
		674	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
		675
		676	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
		677	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
		678	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
		679	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		680	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
		681
		682	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
		683	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
		684	latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
		685	will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
		686	any overhead in libev.
		687
		688	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect
		689	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
		690	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
		691	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
		692	as this approsaches the timing granularity of most systems.
553		693
554	=back	694	=back
555		695
556		696
557	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	697	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
…		…
656		796
657	=item C<EV_FORK>	797	=item C<EV_FORK>
658		798
659	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see	799	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
660	C<ev_fork>).	800	C<ev_fork>).
		801
		802	=item C<EV_ASYNC>
		803
		804	The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
661		805
662	=item C<EV_ERROR>	806	=item C<EV_ERROR>
663		807
664	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	808	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might
665	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	809	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
…		…
883	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1027	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
884	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1028	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
885	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1029	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
886	required if you know what you are doing).	1030	required if you know what you are doing).
887		1031
888	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
889	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
890	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
891	to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
892	the same underlying "file open").
893
894	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend	1032	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
895	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and	1033	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
896	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).	1034	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
897		1035
898	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1036	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
899	receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might	1037	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
900	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block	1038	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
901	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a	1039	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
902	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into	1040	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
903	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus	1041	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
904	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning	1042	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
…		…
908	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test	1046	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test
909	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface	1047	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
910	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on	1048	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
911	its own, so its quite safe to use).	1049	its own, so its quite safe to use).
912		1050
		1051	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
		1052
		1053	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
		1054	descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
		1055	such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
		1056	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
		1057	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
		1058	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
		1059	fact, a different file descriptor.
		1060
		1061	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
		1062	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
		1063	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
		1064	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
		1065	you I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
		1066	descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
		1067
		1068	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
		1069	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
		1070	optimisations to libev.
		1071
		1072	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
		1073
		1074	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
		1075	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
		1076	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
		1077	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
		1078
		1079	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
		1080	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
		1081	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1082
		1083	=head3 The special problem of fork
		1084
		1085	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
		1086	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
		1087	it in the child.
		1088
		1089	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
		1090	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
		1091	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
		1092	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1093
		1094	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
		1095
		1096	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about SIGPIPE:
		1097	when reading from a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program
		1098	gets send a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most
		1099	programs this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually
		1100	undesirable.
		1101
		1102	So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
		1103	ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
		1104	somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
		1105
		1106
		1107	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
		1108
913	=over 4	1109	=over 4
914		1110
915	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1111	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
916		1112
917	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)	1113	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
…		…
927	=item int events [read-only]	1123	=item int events [read-only]
928		1124
929	The events being watched.	1125	The events being watched.
930		1126
931	=back	1127	=back
		1128
		1129	=head3 Examples
932		1130
933	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1131	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
934	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1132	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
935	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.	1133	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
936		1134
…		…
953		1151
954	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a	1152	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
955	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.	1153	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
956		1154
957	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that	1155	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
958	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years	1156	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to january last
959	time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because	1157	year, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because
960	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the	1158	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
961	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).	1159	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
962		1160
963	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>	1161	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
964	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time	1162	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
…		…
966	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout	1164	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout
967	on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:	1165	on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
968		1166
969	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);	1167	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
970		1168
971	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,	1169	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only after its timeout has passed,
972	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then	1170	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
973	order of execution is undefined.	1171	order of execution is undefined.
974		1172
		1173	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1174
975	=over 4	1175	=over 4
976		1176
977	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1177	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
978		1178
979	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1179	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
980		1180
981	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat> is	1181	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>
982	C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped. If it is positive, then the	1182	is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
983	timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds	1183	reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
984	later, again, and again, until stopped manually.	1184	configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,
		1185	until stopped manually.
985		1186
986	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if you	1187	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
987	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at	1188	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
988	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with	1189	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
989	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the	1190	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
990	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	1191	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
991		1192
992	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1193	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
993		1194
994	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1195	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
995	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1196	repeating. The exact semantics are:
996		1197
997	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	1198	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
…		…
1032	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),	1233	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
1033	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.	1234	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
1034		1235
1035	=back	1236	=back
1036		1237
		1238	=head3 Examples
		1239
1037	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1240	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
1038		1241
1039	static void	1242	static void
1040	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1243	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
1041	{	1244	{
…		…
1070	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	1273	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
1071	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	1274	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
1072		1275
1073	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)	1276	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
1074	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1277	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
1075	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1278	to trigger after some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
1076	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()	1279	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()
1077	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1280	+ 10.>, that is, an absolute time not a delay) and then reset your system
		1281	clock to january of the previous year, then it will take more than year
1078	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1282	to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger
1079	roughly 10 seconds later).	1283	roughly 10 seconds later as it uses a relative timeout).
1080		1284
1081	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1285	C<ev_periodic>s can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers,
1082	triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,	1286	such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or other
1083	rules.	1287	complicated, rules.
1084		1288
1085	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1289	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the
1086	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1290	time (C<at>) has passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
1087	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1291	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
		1292
		1293	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1088		1294
1089	=over 4	1295	=over 4
1090		1296
1091	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)	1297	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1092		1298
…		…
1097		1303
1098	=over 4	1304	=over 4
1099		1305
1100	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	1306	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
1101		1307
1102	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	1308	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wallclock
1103	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	1309	time C<at> has passed and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time
1104	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	1310	jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will
1105	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	1311	run when the system time reaches or surpasses this time.
1106		1312
1107	=item * non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	1313	=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1108		1314
1109	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	1315	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1110	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)	1316	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
1111	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.	1317	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
1112		1318
1113	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	1319	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
1114	time:	1320	time, for example, here is a C<ev_periodic> that triggers each hour, on
		1321	the hour:
1115		1322
1116	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	1323	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
1117		1324
1118	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,	1325	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
1119	but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a	1326	but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a
…		…
1124	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	1331	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1125	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	1332	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1126		1333
1127	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near	1334	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
1128	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for	1335	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
1129	this value.	1336	this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
		1337
		1338	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (cpu
		1339	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
		1340	will of course detoriate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
		1341	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
1130		1342
1131	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)	1343	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1132		1344
1133	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	1345	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
1134	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	1346	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1135	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	1347	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1136	current time as second argument.	1348	current time as second argument.
1137		1349
1138	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	1350	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
1139	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	1351	ever, or make ANY event loop modifications whatsoever>.
1140	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
1141	starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
1142		1352
		1353	If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
		1354	it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
		1355	only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
		1356
1143	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	1357	The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic
1144	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	1358	*w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1145		1359
1146	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1360	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1147	{	1361	{
1148	return now + 60.;	1362	return now + 60.;
1149	}	1363	}
…		…
1151	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value	1365	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
1152	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It	1366	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
1153	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but	1367	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
1154	might be called at other times, too.	1368	might be called at other times, too.
1155		1369
1156	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is later than the	1370	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
1157	passed C<now> value >>. Not even C<now> itself will do, it I<must> be larger.	1371	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
1158		1372
1159	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that	1373	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
1160	triggers on each midnight, local time. To do this, you would calculate the	1374	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the
1161	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How	1375	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How
1162	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main	1376	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
1163	reason I omitted it as an example).	1377	reason I omitted it as an example).
1164		1378
1165	=back	1379	=back
…		…
1169	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	1383	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1170	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	1384	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1171	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	1385	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1172	program when the crontabs have changed).	1386	program when the crontabs have changed).
1173		1387
		1388	=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
		1389
		1390	When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
		1391	trigger next.
		1392
1174	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]	1393	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
1175		1394
1176	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the	1395	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
1177	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).	1396	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
1178		1397
…		…
1190	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is	1409	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
1191	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when	1410	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1192	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.	1411	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1193		1412
1194	=back	1413	=back
		1414
		1415	=head3 Examples
1195		1416
1196	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	1417	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1197	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	1418	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1198	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	1419	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
1199		1420
…		…
1239	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	1460	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
1240	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	1461	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
1241	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	1462	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
1242	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	1463	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
1243		1464
		1465	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
		1466	C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so syscalls should not be unduly
		1467	interrupted. If you have a problem with syscalls getting interrupted by
		1468	signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher and unblock
		1469	them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
		1470
		1471	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1472
1244	=over 4	1473	=over 4
1245		1474
1246	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)	1475	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
1247		1476
1248	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)	1477	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)
…		…
1254		1483
1255	The signal the watcher watches out for.	1484	The signal the watcher watches out for.
1256		1485
1257	=back	1486	=back
1258		1487
		1488	=head3 Examples
		1489
		1490	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
		1491
		1492	static void
		1493	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
		1494	{
		1495	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
		1496	}
		1497
		1498	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
		1499	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
		1500	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
		1501
1259		1502
1260	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes	1503	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1261		1504
1262	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	1505	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1263	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	1506	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). It
		1507	is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child has been
		1508	forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long as the event
		1509	loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher).
		1510
		1511	Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
		1512	you can only rgeister child watchers in the default event loop.
		1513
		1514	=head3 Process Interaction
		1515
		1516	Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
		1517	initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if
		1518	the first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurance
		1519	of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
		1520	synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
		1521	children, even ones not watched.
		1522
		1523	=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
		1524
		1525	Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
		1526	processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
		1527	handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
		1528	C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
		1529	default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
		1530	event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
		1531	that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
		1532
		1533	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1264		1534
1265	=over 4	1535	=over 4
1266		1536
1267	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	1537	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1268		1538
1269	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)	1539	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1270		1540
1271	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or	1541	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1272	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look	1542	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1273	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	1543	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1274	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	1544	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1275	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	1545	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1276	process causing the status change.	1546	process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
		1547	activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
		1548	activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1277		1549
1278	=item int pid [read-only]	1550	=item int pid [read-only]
1279		1551
1280	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.	1552	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1281		1553
…		…
1288	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems	1560	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1289	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).	1561	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1290		1562
1291	=back	1563	=back
1292		1564
1293	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	1565	=head3 Examples
		1566
		1567	Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
		1568	its completion.
		1569
		1570	ev_child cw;
1294		1571
1295	static void	1572	static void
1296	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	1573	child_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_child *w, int revents)
1297	{	1574	{
1298	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	1575	ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1576	printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1299	}	1577	}
1300		1578
1301	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	1579	pid_t pid = fork ();
1302	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	1580
1303	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	1581	if (pid < 0)
		1582	// error
		1583	else if (pid == 0)
		1584	{
		1585	// the forked child executes here
		1586	exit (1);
		1587	}
		1588	else
		1589	{
		1590	ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
		1591	ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
		1592	}
1304		1593
1305		1594
1306	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	1595	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1307		1596
1308	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	1597	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
…		…
1331	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be	1620	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1332	resource-intensive.	1621	resource-intensive.
1333		1622
1334	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is	1623	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
1335	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the	1624	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
		1625	reader, note, however, that the author sees no way of implementing ev_stat
1336	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the	1626	semantics with kqueue). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should
1337	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs	1627	not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev
1338	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are	1628	sometimes needs to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify,
1339	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no	1629	but changes are usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there
1340	polling.	1630	will be no polling.
		1631
		1632	=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
		1633
		1634	Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
		1635	compilation environment, which means that on systems with optionally
		1636	disabled large file support, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
		1637	structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
		1638	use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
		1639	compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
		1640	obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
		1641	most noticably with ev_stat and largefile support.
		1642
		1643	=head3 Inotify
		1644
		1645	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
		1646	available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
		1647	change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
		1648	when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
		1649
		1650	Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		1651	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		1652	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
		1653	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
		1654
		1655	(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		1656	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		1657	descriptor open on the object at all times).
		1658
		1659	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		1660
		1661	The C<stat ()> syscall only supports full-second resolution portably, and
		1662	even on systems where the resolution is higher, many filesystems still
		1663	only support whole seconds.
		1664
		1665	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
		1666	easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
		1667	calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
		1668	within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it as the stat
		1669	data does not change.
		1670
		1671	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
		1672	than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
		1673	a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
		1674	ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
		1675
		1676	The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
		1677	of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
		1678	might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
		1679	C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
		1680	a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
		1681	update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
		1682	the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
		1683	the timer callback).
		1684
		1685	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1341		1686
1342	=over 4	1687	=over 4
1343		1688
1344	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)	1689	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
1345		1690
…		…
1349	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to	1694	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1350	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose	1695	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1351	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same	1696	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1352	path for as long as the watcher is active.	1697	path for as long as the watcher is active.
1353		1698
1354	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,	1699	The callback will receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, relative
1355	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the	1700	to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the last change
1356	last change was detected).	1701	was detected).
1357		1702
1358	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)	1703	=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1359		1704
1360	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the	1705	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1361	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid	1706	watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1362	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be	1707	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1363	useful simply to find out the new values.	1708	the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
		1709	new values.
1364		1710
1365	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]	1711	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1366		1712
1367	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of	1713	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1368	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types	1714	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1369	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there	1715	suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
		1716	members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1370	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.	1717	some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1371		1718
1372	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]	1719	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1373		1720
1374	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever	1721	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1375	C<prev> != C<attr>.	1722	C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
		1723	differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
		1724	C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1376		1725
1377	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]	1726	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1378		1727
1379	The specified interval.	1728	The specified interval.
1380		1729
1381	=item const char *path [read-only]	1730	=item const char *path [read-only]
1382		1731
1383	The filesystem path that is being watched.	1732	The filesystem path that is being watched.
1384		1733
1385	=back	1734	=back
		1735
		1736	=head3 Examples
1386		1737
1387	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.	1738	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1388		1739
1389	static void	1740	static void
1390	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)	1741	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
…		…
1403	}	1754	}
1404		1755
1405	...	1756	...
1406	ev_stat passwd;	1757	ev_stat passwd;
1407		1758
1408	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");	1759	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1409	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);	1760	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1761
		1762	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		1763	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		1764	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		1765	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		1766
		1767	static ev_stat passwd;
		1768	static ev_timer timer;
		1769
		1770	static void
		1771	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1772	{
		1773	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1774
		1775	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		1776	}
		1777
		1778	static void
		1779	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		1780	{
		1781	/* reset the one-second timer */
		1782	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		1783	}
		1784
		1785	...
		1786	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		1787	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1788	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
1410		1789
1411		1790
1412	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...	1791	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1413		1792
1414	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher	1793	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
…		…
1428	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful	1807	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
1429	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do	1808	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
1430	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the	1809	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
1431	event loop has handled all outstanding events.	1810	event loop has handled all outstanding events.
1432		1811
		1812	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1813
1433	=over 4	1814	=over 4
1434		1815
1435	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)	1816	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1436		1817
1437	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any	1818	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
1438	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	1819	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1439	believe me.	1820	believe me.
1440		1821
1441	=back	1822	=back
		1823
		1824	=head3 Examples
1442		1825
1443	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the	1826	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1444	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	1827	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1445		1828
1446	static void	1829	static void
1447	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	1830	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1448	{	1831	{
1449	free (w);	1832	free (w);
1450	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	1833	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1451	// no longer asnything immediate to do.	1834	// no longer anything immediate to do.
1452	}	1835	}
1453		1836
1454	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	1837	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1455	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	1838	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1456	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	1839	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
…		…
1498		1881
1499	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)	1882	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
1500	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers	1883	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
1501	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,	1884	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
1502	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully	1885	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
1503	supports this, they will be called before other C<ev_check> watchers did	1886	supports this, they might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers
1504	their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other event	1887	did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
1505	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their	1888	(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
1506	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with	1889	state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
1507	others).	1890	coexist peacefully with others).
		1891
		1892	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1508		1893
1509	=over 4	1894	=over 4
1510		1895
1511	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)	1896	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
1512		1897
…		…
1516	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	1901	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1517	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	1902	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
1518		1903
1519	=back	1904	=back
1520		1905
		1906	=head3 Examples
		1907
1521	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules	1908	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
1522	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev	1909	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
1523	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could	1910	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
1524	use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib>	1911	use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
1525	embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV	1912	Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
1526	into the Glib event loop).	1913	Glib event loop).
1527		1914
1528	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,	1915	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1529	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows	1916	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1530	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low	1917	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
1531	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as	1918	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
…		…
1693	portable one.	2080	portable one.
1694		2081
1695	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	2082	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1696	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	2083	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1697	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	2084	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1698	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	2085	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
		2086
		2087	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2088
		2089	=over 4
		2090
		2091	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		2092
		2093	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		2094
		2095	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
		2096	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
		2097	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
		2098	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
		2099	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
		2100
		2101	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
		2102
		2103	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
		2104	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
		2105	apropriate way for embedded loops.
		2106
		2107	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
		2108
		2109	The embedded event loop.
		2110
		2111	=back
		2112
		2113	=head3 Examples
		2114
		2115	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		2116	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		2117	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the mebeddable loop is stored in
		2118	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the acse no embeddable loop can be
		2119	used).
1699		2120
1700	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	2121	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
1701	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;	2122	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1702	struct ev_embed embed;	2123	struct ev_embed embed;
1703		2124
…		…
1714	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);	2135	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
1715	}	2136	}
1716	else	2137	else
1717	loop_lo = loop_hi;	2138	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1718		2139
1719	=over 4	2140	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2141	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2142	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2143	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
1720		2144
1721	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2145	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2146	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2147	struct ev_embed embed;
		2148
		2149	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2150	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2151	{
		2152	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2153	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2154	}
1722		2155
1723	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2156	if (!loop_socket)
		2157	loop_socket = loop;
1724		2158
1725	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2159	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1726	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1727	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1728	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1729	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1730
1731	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1732
1733	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1734	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1735	apropriate way for embedded loops.
1736
1737	=item struct ev_loop *loop [read-only]
1738
1739	The embedded event loop.
1740
1741	=back
1742		2160
1743		2161
1744	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	2162	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1745		2163
1746	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	2164	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
…		…
1749	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,	2167	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
1750	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling	2168	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
1751	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork	2169	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
1752	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.	2170	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
1753		2171
		2172	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2173
1754	=over 4	2174	=over 4
1755		2175
1756	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)	2176	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1757		2177
1758	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any	2178	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
1759	kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	2179	kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1760	believe me.	2180	believe me.
		2181
		2182	=back
		2183
		2184
		2185	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
		2186
		2187	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
		2188	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
		2189	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
		2190
		2191	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
		2192	control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
		2193	C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
		2194	can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
		2195	safe.
		2196
		2197	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
		2198	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
		2199	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
		2200	C<ev_async_sent> calls).
		2201
		2202	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
		2203	just the default loop.
		2204
		2205	=head3 Queueing
		2206
		2207	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
		2208	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
		2209	multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
		2210	need elaborate support such as pthreads.
		2211
		2212	That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
		2213	queue. But at least I can tell you would implement locking around your
		2214	queue:
		2215
		2216	=over 4
		2217
		2218	=item queueing from a signal handler context
		2219
		2220	To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
		2221	handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is an example that does that for
		2222	some fictitiuous SIGUSR1 handler:
		2223
		2224	static ev_async mysig;
		2225
		2226	static void
		2227	sigusr1_handler (void)
		2228	{
		2229	sometype data;
		2230
		2231	// no locking etc.
		2232	queue_put (data);
		2233	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2234	}
		2235
		2236	static void
		2237	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2238	{
		2239	sometype data;
		2240	sigset_t block, prev;
		2241
		2242	sigemptyset (&block);
		2243	sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
		2244	sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
		2245
		2246	while (queue_get (&data))
		2247	process (data);
		2248
		2249	if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
		2250	sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
		2251	}
		2252
		2253	(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
		2254	instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
		2255	either...).
		2256
		2257	=item queueing from a thread context
		2258
		2259	The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
		2260	threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
		2261	employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
		2262
		2263	static ev_async mysig;
		2264	static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
		2265
		2266	static void
		2267	otherthread (void)
		2268	{
		2269	// only need to lock the actual queueing operation
		2270	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2271	queue_put (data);
		2272	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2273
		2274	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2275	}
		2276
		2277	static void
		2278	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2279	{
		2280	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2281
		2282	while (queue_get (&data))
		2283	process (data);
		2284
		2285	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2286	}
		2287
		2288	=back
		2289
		2290
		2291	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2292
		2293	=over 4
		2294
		2295	=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
		2296
		2297	Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
		2298	kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
		2299	believe me.
		2300
		2301	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
		2302
		2303	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
		2304	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
		2305	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do in other threads, signal or
		2306	similar contexts (see the dicusssion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
		2307	section below on what exactly this means).
		2308
		2309	This call incurs the overhead of a syscall only once per loop iteration,
		2310	so while the overhead might be noticable, it doesn't apply to repeated
		2311	calls to C<ev_async_send>.
		2312
		2313	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
		2314
		2315	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
		2316	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
		2317	event loop.
		2318
		2319	C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
		2320	the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
		2321	it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
		2322	quickly check wether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
		2323
		2324	Not that this does I<not> check wether the watcher itself is pending, only
		2325	wether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
1761		2326
1762	=back	2327	=back
1763		2328
1764		2329
1765	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	2330	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
…		…
1837		2402
1838	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities	2403	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1839	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there	2404	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1840	is an ev_pri field.	2405	is an ev_pri field.
1841		2406
		2407	=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
		2408	first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
		2409
1842	=item * Other members are not supported.	2410	=item * Other members are not supported.
1843		2411
1844	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need	2412	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1845	to use the libev header file and library.	2413	to use the libev header file and library.
1846		2414
…		…
1974		2542
1975	=item w->stop ()	2543	=item w->stop ()
1976		2544
1977	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.	2545	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
1978		2546
1979	=item w->again () C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only	2547	=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
1980		2548
1981	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding	2549	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
1982	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.	2550	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
1983		2551
1984	=item w->sweep () C<ev::embed> only	2552	=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
1985		2553
1986	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.	2554	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
1987		2555
1988	=item w->update () C<ev::stat> only	2556	=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
1989		2557
1990	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.	2558	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
1991		2559
1992	=back	2560	=back
1993		2561
…		…
1996	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in	2564	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1997	the constructor.	2565	the constructor.
1998		2566
1999	class myclass	2567	class myclass
2000	{	2568	{
2001	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	2569	ev::io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
2002	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	2570	ev:idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
2003		2571
2004	myclass ();	2572	myclass (int fd)
2005	}
2006
2007	myclass::myclass (int fd)
2008	{	2573	{
2009	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);	2574	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
2010	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);	2575	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
2011		2576
2012	io.start (fd, ev::READ);	2577	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		2578	}
2013	}	2579	};
		2580
		2581
		2582	=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
		2583
		2584	Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
		2585	numbe rof languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
		2586	any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
		2587	me a note.
		2588
		2589	=over 4
		2590
		2591	=item Perl
		2592
		2593	The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
		2594	libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
		2595	there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
		2596	to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>), C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the
		2597	C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV> and C<EV::Glib>).
		2598
		2599	It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is found at
		2600	L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
		2601
		2602	=item Ruby
		2603
		2604	Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
		2605	of the libev API and adds filehandle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
		2606	more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
		2607	L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
		2608
		2609	=item D
		2610
		2611	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
		2612	be found at L<http://git.llucax.com.ar/?p=software/ev.d.git;a=summary>.
		2613
		2614	=back
2014		2615
2015		2616
2016	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	2617	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
2017		2618
2018	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundemantal is	2619	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal
2019	C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most) functions and	2620	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
2020	callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.	2621	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
2021		2622
2022	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the	2623	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
2023	following macros are defined:	2624	following macros are defined:
2024		2625
2025	=over 4	2626	=over 4
…		…
2054		2655
2055	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	2656	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
2056		2657
2057	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	2658	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
2058	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	2659	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
		2660
		2661	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
		2662
		2663	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
		2664	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
		2665	is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
		2666	execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
		2667
		2668	It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
		2669	watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
2059		2670
2060	=back	2671	=back
2061		2672
2062	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above	2673	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
2063	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported	2674	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
…		…
2079	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host	2690	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
2080	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra	2691	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
2081	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)	2692	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
2082	and rxvt-unicode.	2693	and rxvt-unicode.
2083		2694
2084	The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your	2695	The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
2085	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so	2696	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
2086	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of	2697	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
2087	libev somewhere in your source tree).	2698	libev somewhere in your source tree).
2088		2699
2089	=head2 FILESETS	2700	=head2 FILESETS
…		…
2159		2770
2160	libev.m4	2771	libev.m4
2161		2772
2162	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS	2773	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
2163		2774
2164	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define	2775	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
2165	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity	2776	define before including any of its files. The default in the absense of
2166	and only include the select backend.	2777	autoconf is noted for every option.
2167		2778
2168	=over 4	2779	=over 4
2169		2780
2170	=item EV_STANDALONE	2781	=item EV_STANDALONE
2171		2782
…		…
2179		2790
2180	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2791	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2181	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use	2792	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use
2182	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you	2793	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
2183	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when	2794	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
2184	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have	2795	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
2185	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>	2796	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
2186	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).	2797	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
2187		2798
2188	=item EV_USE_REALTIME	2799	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
2189		2800
2190	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2801	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2191	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at	2802	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
2192	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will	2803	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
2193	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get	2804	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
2194	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries	2805	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
2195	in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.	2806	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
		2807
		2808	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
		2809
		2810	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
		2811	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
		2812
		2813	=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
		2814
		2815	If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
		2816	available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
		2817	C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
		2818	If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
		2819	2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2196		2820
2197	=item EV_USE_SELECT	2821	=item EV_USE_SELECT
2198		2822
2199	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the	2823	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
2200	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no	2824	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no
…		…
2219	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call	2843	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
2220	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,	2844	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
2221	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even	2845	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
2222	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.	2846	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
2223		2847
		2848	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
		2849
		2850	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		2851	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		2852	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		2853	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		2854	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		2855
2224	=item EV_USE_POLL	2856	=item EV_USE_POLL
2225		2857
2226	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	2858	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
2227	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	2859	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
2228	takes precedence over select.	2860	takes precedence over select.
2229		2861
2230	=item EV_USE_EPOLL	2862	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2231		2863
2232	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	2864	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2233	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	2865	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2234	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the	2866	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2235	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.	2867	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
		2868	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2236		2869
2237	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	2870	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2238		2871
2239	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	2872	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2240	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	2873	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
2259		2892
2260	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY	2893	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2261		2894
2262	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	2895	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2263	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	2896	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2264	be detected at runtime.	2897	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
		2898	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		2899
		2900	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
		2901
		2902	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
		2903	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
		2904	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
		2905	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
		2906	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
		2907
		2908	In the absense of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
		2909	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
2265		2910
2266	=item EV_H	2911	=item EV_H
2267		2912
2268	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if	2913	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2269	undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This	2914	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2270	can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.	2915	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2271		2916
2272	=item EV_CONFIG_H	2917	=item EV_CONFIG_H
2273		2918
2274	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override	2919	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2275	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to	2920	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2276	C<EV_H>, above.	2921	C<EV_H>, above.
2277		2922
2278	=item EV_EVENT_H	2923	=item EV_EVENT_H
2279		2924
2280	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea	2925	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2281	of how the F<event.h> header can be found.	2926	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2282		2927
2283	=item EV_PROTOTYPES	2928	=item EV_PROTOTYPES
2284		2929
2285	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function	2930	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2286	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is	2931	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
…		…
2337	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE	2982	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2338		2983
2339	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If	2984	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
2340	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	2985	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2341		2986
		2987	=item EV_ASYNC_ENABLE
		2988
		2989	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then async watchers are supported. If
		2990	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		2991
2342	=item EV_MINIMAL	2992	=item EV_MINIMAL
2343		2993
2344	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some	2994	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
2345	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override	2995	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently this is used to override some
2346	some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.	2996	inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64. It also selects a
		2997	much smaller 2-heap for timer management over the default 4-heap.
2347		2998
2348	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE	2999	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
2349		3000
2350	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3001	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2351	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more	3002	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
2352	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to	3003	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
2353	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).	3004	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2354		3005
2355	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE	3006	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2356		3007
2357	C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3008	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2358	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),	3009	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
2359	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>	3010	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
2360	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of	3011	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
2361	two).	3012	two).
2362		3013
		3014	=item EV_USE_4HEAP
		3015
		3016	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3017	timer and periodics heap, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
		3018	to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has
		3019	noticably faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
		3020
		3021	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3022	(disabled).
		3023
		3024	=item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
		3025
		3026	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3027	timer and periodics heap, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
		3028	the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
		3029	which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
		3030	but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
		3031	noticably with with many (hundreds) of watchers.
		3032
		3033	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3034	(disabled).
		3035
2363	=item EV_COMMON	3036	=item EV_COMMON
2364		3037
2365	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining	3038	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
2366	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of	3039	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
2367	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,	3040	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
…		…
2379		3052
2380	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)	3053	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
2381		3054
2382	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,	3055	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
2383	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member	3056	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
2384	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.v> header file for	3057	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
2385	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to	3058	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
2386	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use	3059	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2387	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.	3060	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
		3061
		3062	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
		3063
		3064	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of
		3065	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
		3066	all public symbols, one per line:
		3067
		3068	Symbols.ev for libev proper
		3069	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
		3070
		3071	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
		3072	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
		3073	itself, but sometimes it is inconvinient to avoid this).
		3074
		3075	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
		3076	include before including F<ev.h>:
		3077
		3078	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
		3079
		3080	This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
		3081
		3082	#define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
		3083	#define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
		3084	#define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
		3085	...
2388		3086
2389	=head2 EXAMPLES	3087	=head2 EXAMPLES
2390		3088
2391	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev	3089	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
2392	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module	3090	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
…		…
2415		3113
2416	#include "ev_cpp.h"	3114	#include "ev_cpp.h"
2417	#include "ev.c"	3115	#include "ev.c"
2418		3116
2419		3117
		3118	=head1 THREADS AND COROUTINES
		3119
		3120	=head2 THREADS
		3121
		3122	Libev itself is completely threadsafe, but it uses no locking. This
		3123	means that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as
		3124	only one thread ever calls into one libev function with the same loop
		3125	parameter.
		3126
		3127	Or put differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done in
		3128	parallel from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter must be
		3129	done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as only one
		3130	thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using a mutex
		3131	per loop).
		3132
		3133	If you want to know which design is best for your problem, then I cannot
		3134	help you but by giving some generic advice:
		3135
		3136	=over 4
		3137
		3138	=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
		3139	in that thread, or create a seperate thread running only the default loop.
		3140
		3141	This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
		3142	themselves and don't care/know about threading.
		3143
		3144	=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
		3145
		3146	Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
		3147	exists, but it is always a good start.
		3148
		3149	=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
		3150	loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robbin fashion.
		3151
		3152	Chosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you cna do
		3153	better than you currently do :-)
		3154
		3155	=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
		3156	event loop - C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other
		3157	threads safely (or from signal contexts...).
		3158
		3159	=back
		3160
		3161	=head2 COROUTINES
		3162
		3163	Libev is much more accomodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
		3164	libev fully supports nesting calls to it's functions from different
		3165	coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
		3166	different coroutines and switch freely between both coroutines running the
		3167	loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
		3168	you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
		3169
		3170	Care has been invested into making sure that libev does not keep local
		3171	state inside C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow coroutine
		3172	switches.
		3173
		3174
2420	=head1 COMPLEXITIES	3175	=head1 COMPLEXITIES
2421		3176
2422	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside	3177	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
2423	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the	3178	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
2424	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.	3179	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
…		…
2433		3188
2434	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)	3189	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2435		3190
2436	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and	3191	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
2437	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will	3192	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
2438	have to skip those 100 watchers.	3193	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
2439		3194
2440	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)	3195	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2441		3196
2442	That means that for changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them	3197	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
2443	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.	3198	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
2444		3199
2445	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)	3200	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2446		3201
2447	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.	3202	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		3203
2448	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)	3204	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2449		3205
2450	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))	3206	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2451		3207
2452	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the	3208	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
2453	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually	3209	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
2454	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).	3210	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
2455		3211
2456	=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)	3212	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		3213
		3214	By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
		3215	fixed position in the storage array.
2457		3216
2458	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)	3217	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2459		3218
2460	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires	3219	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
2461	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel).	3220	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		3221	on backend and wether C<ev_io_set> was used).
2462		3222
2463	=item Activating one watcher: O(1)	3223	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
2464		3224
2465	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)	3225	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
2466		3226
2467	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each	3227	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
2468	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to	3228	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
2469	linearly search all the priorities.	3229	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		3230	watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. priority handling.
		3231
		3232	=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
		3233
		3234	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
		3235
		3236	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
		3237
		3238	Sending involves a syscall I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
		3239	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
		3240	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2470		3241
2471	=back	3242	=back
2472		3243
2473		3244
		3245	=head1 Win32 platform limitations and workarounds
		3246
		3247	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		3248	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		3249	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		3250	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		3251	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		3252	e.g. cygwin.
		3253
		3254	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
		3255	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
		3256	things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
		3257	way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
		3258
		3259	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		3260	embedding it into other applications.
		3261
		3262	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
		3263	the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
		3264	is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
		3265	more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
		3266	different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
		3267	notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
		3268	(microsoft monopoly games).
		3269
		3270	=over 4
		3271
		3272	=item The winsocket select function
		3273
		3274	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it requires
		3275	socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors>. This makes select
		3276	very inefficient, and also requires a mapping from file descriptors
		3277	to socket handles. See the discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>,
		3278	C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor
		3279	symbols for more info.
		3280
		3281	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the microsoft runtime
		3282	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		3283
		3284	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		3285	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		3286
		3287	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		3288	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		3289
		3290	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		3291
		3292	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
		3293
		3294	Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
		3295	of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
		3296	can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; microsoft
		3297	recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
		3298	previous thread in each. Great).
		3299
		3300	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		3301	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		3302	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
		3303	select emulation on windows).
		3304
		3305	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the microsoft runtime
		3306	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
		3307	or something like this inside microsoft). You can increase this by calling
		3308	C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
		3309	arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the microsoft runtime
		3310	libraries.
		3311
		3312	This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
		3313	windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
		3314	wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
		3315	calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		3316
		3317	=back
		3318
		3319
		3320	=head1 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
		3321
		3322	In addition to a working ISO-C implementation, libev relies on a few
		3323	additional extensions:
		3324
		3325	=over 4
		3326
		3327	=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
		3328
		3329	The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
		3330	C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic w.r.t. accesses from different
		3331	threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
		3332	believed to be sufficiently portable.
		3333
		3334	=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
		3335
		3336	Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
		3337	allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
		3338	pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
		3339	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
		3340	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
		3341	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
		3342
		3343	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
		3344	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
		3345	well.
		3346
		3347	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
		3348
		3349	To improve portability and simplify using libev, libev uses C<long>
		3350	internally instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On
		3351	non-POSIX systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but
		3352	is still at least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of
		3353	millions of watchers.
		3354
		3355	=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
		3356
		3357	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
		3358	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
		3359	enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
		3360	implementations implementing IEEE 754 (basically all existing ones).
		3361
		3362	=back
		3363
		3364	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
		3365
		3366
		3367	=head1 VALGRIND
		3368
		3369	Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
		3370	highly useful, but valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
		3371
		3372	If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
		3373	in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
		3374
		3375	==2274== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3376	==2274== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3377	==2274== still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
		3378
		3379	then there is no memory leak. Similarly, under some circumstances,
		3380	valgrind might report kernel bugs as if it were a bug in libev, or it
		3381	might be confused (it is a very good tool, but only a tool).
		3382
		3383	If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
		3384	with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this is
		3385	a bug in libev. However, don't be annoyed when you get a brisk "this is
		3386	no bug" answer and take the chance of learning how to interpret valgrind
		3387	properly.
		3388
		3389	If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
		3390	I suggest using suppression lists.
		3391
		3392
2474	=head1 AUTHOR	3393	=head1 AUTHOR
2475		3394
2476	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.	3395	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
2477		3396

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