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Revision 1.98 by root, Sat Dec 22 06:10:25 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.175 by root, Mon Sep 8 16:36:14 2008 UTC

…		…
2		2
3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C	3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
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
16	/* called when data readable on stdin */	19	// all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
		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 occurring), 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
…		…
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 some floatingpoint value. Unlike the name	118	it, you should treat it as some floating point value. Unlike the name
104	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences	119	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
105	throughout libev.	120	throughout libev.
		121
		122	=head1 ERROR HANDLING
		123
		124	Libev knows three classes of errors: operating system errors, usage errors
		125	and internal errors (bugs).
		126
		127	When libev catches an operating system error it cannot handle (for example
		128	a system call indicating a condition libev cannot fix), it calls the callback
		129	set via C<ev_set_syserr_cb>, which is supposed to fix the problem or
		130	abort. The default is to print a diagnostic message and to call C<abort
		131	()>.
		132
		133	When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
		134	it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,
		135	so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
		136	the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
		137
		138	Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions, and also has
		139	extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
		140	circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.
		141
106		142
107	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	143	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
108		144
109	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	145	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
110	library in any way.	146	library in any way.
…		…
119		155
120	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)	156	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
121		157
122	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until	158	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
123	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically	159	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
124	this is a subsecond-resolution C<sleep ()>.	160	this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.
125		161
126	=item int ev_version_major ()	162	=item int ev_version_major ()
127		163
128	=item int ev_version_minor ()	164	=item int ev_version_minor ()
129		165
…		…
142	not a problem.	178	not a problem.
143		179
144	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	180	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
145	version.	181	version.
146		182
147	assert (("libev version mismatch",	183	assert (("libev version mismatch",
148	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR	184	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
149	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));	185	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
150		186
151	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()	187	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()
152		188
153	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>	189	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>
154	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their	190	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
…		…
156	a description of the set values.	192	a description of the set values.
157		193
158	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and	194	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
159	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11	195	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11
160		196
161	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",	197	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",
162	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));	198	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
163		199
164	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()	200	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()
165		201
166	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also	202	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also
167	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one	203	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one
168	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on	204	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on
169	most BSDs and will not be autodetected unless you explicitly request it	205	most BSDs and will not be auto-detected unless you explicitly request it
170	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that	206	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
171	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.	207	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
172		208
173	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()	209	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()
174		210
…		…
181	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	217	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
182		218
183	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	219	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
184		220
185	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	221	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
186	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to	222	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
187	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when	223	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
188	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some	224	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
189	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc	225	or take some potentially destructive action.
190	function.	226
		227	Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
		228	correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
		229	C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
191		230
192	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	231	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
193	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	232	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
194	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	233	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
195		234
196	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	235	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
197	retries).	236	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
198		237
199	static void *	238	static void *
200	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	239	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
201	{	240	{
202	for (;;)	241	for (;;)
…		…
213	...	252	...
214	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);	253	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
215		254
216	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));	255	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));
217		256
218	Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such	257	Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
219	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string	258	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
220	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this	259	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
221	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no	260	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
222	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the	261	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
223	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff	262	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
224	(such as abort).	263	(such as abort).
225		264
226	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.	265	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
…		…
240	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP	279	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP
241		280
242	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two	281	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two
243	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child	282	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child
244	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.	283	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.
245
246	If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop
247	in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you
248	create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking
249	whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
250	threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
251	done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
252		284
253	=over 4	285	=over 4
254		286
255	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)	287	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
256		288
…		…
260	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	292	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
261		293
262	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	294	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
263	function.	295	function.
264		296
		297	Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
		298	from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
		299	as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
		300
		301	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		302	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		303	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your application you can either
		304	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		305	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		306	C<ev_default_init>.
		307
265	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	308	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
266	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	309	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
267		310
268	The following flags are supported:	311	The following flags are supported:
269		312
…		…
274	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right	317	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
275	thing, believe me).	318	thing, believe me).
276		319
277	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>	320	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>
278		321
279	If this flag bit is ored into the flag value (or the program runs setuid	322	If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
280	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable	323	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable
281	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will	324	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
282	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is	325	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
283	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work	326	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
284	around bugs.	327	around bugs.
…		…
290	enabling this flag.	333	enabling this flag.
291		334
292	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,	335	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
293	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop	336	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
294	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my	337	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
295	Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence	338	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
296	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has	339	without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
297	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).	340	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
298		341
299	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and	342	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
300	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this	343	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
301	flag.	344	flag.
302		345
303	This flag setting cannot be overriden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>	346	This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
304	environment variable.	347	environment variable.
305		348
306	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	349	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
307		350
308	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	351	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
309	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	352	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
310	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	353	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
311	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	354	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
312	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	355	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		356
		357	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		358	parallelism (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		359	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		360	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		361	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		362	readiness notifications you get per iteration.
313		363
314	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	364	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
315		365
316	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	366	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
317	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	367	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
318	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	368	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
319	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	369	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		370	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		371	performance tips.
320		372
321	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	373	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
322		374
323	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	375	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
324	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale	376	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
325	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),	377	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
326	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number	378	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
327	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect	379	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
328	cases and rewiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad	380	cases and requiring a system call per fd change, no fork support and bad
329	support for dup:	381	support for dup.
330		382
331	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration	383	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
332	will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	384	will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such incident
333	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	385	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
334	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work	386	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
335	very well if you register events for both fds.	387	very well if you register events for both fds.
336		388
337	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	389	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
338	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	390	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
339	(or space) is available.	391	(or space) is available.
340		392
		393	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
		394	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
		395	keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
		396
		397	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		398	all kernel versions tested so far.
		399
341	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	400	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
342		401
343	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	402	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
344	was broken on I<all> BSDs (usually it doesn't work with anything but	403	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
345	sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course it's completely	404	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
346	useless. On NetBSD, it seems to work for all the FD types I tested, so it
347	is used by default there). For this reason it's not being "autodetected"	405	it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "auto-detected"
348	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	406	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
349	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)	407	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
350	system like NetBSD.	408	system like NetBSD.
351		409
		410	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		411	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		412	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
		413
352	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	414	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
353	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed,	415	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
354	of course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does	416	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
355	never cause an extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to two event	417	cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
356	changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it drops fds	418	two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
357	silently in similarly hard-to-detetc cases.	419	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
		420
		421	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		422
		423	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		424	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		425	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		426	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		427	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
		428	sockets.
358		429
359	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	430	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
360		431
361	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	432	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		433	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		434	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		435	immensely.
362		436
363	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	437	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
364		438
365	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	439	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
366	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	440	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
367		441
368	Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious	442	Please note that Solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
369	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	443	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
370	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	444	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		445
		446	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		447	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		448	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		449	might perform better.
		450
		451	On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readiness notifications, this
		452	backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
		453	embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
371		454
372	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	455	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
373		456
374	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	457	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
375	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	458	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
376	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	459	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
377		460
		461	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		462
378	=back	463	=back
379		464
380	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	465	If one or more of these are or'ed into the flags value, then only these
381	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	466	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
382	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	467	specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
383	order of their flag values :)
384		468
385	The most typical usage is like this:	469	The most typical usage is like this:
386		470
387	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	471	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
388	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	472	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
389		473
390	Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow	474	Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
391	environment settings to be taken into account:	475	environment settings to be taken into account:
392		476
393	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);	477	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
394		478
395	Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if	479	Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if
396	available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private	480	available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private
397	event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):	481	event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):
398		482
399	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);	483	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
400		484
401	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)	485	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)
402		486
403	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	487	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
404	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	488	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
405	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	489	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
406	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	490	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
407		491
		492	Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and the recommended way to use
		493	libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
		494	default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
		495
408	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	496	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
409		497
410	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	498	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
411	if (!epoller)	499	if (!epoller)
412	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");	500	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
413		501
414	=item ev_default_destroy ()	502	=item ev_default_destroy ()
415		503
416	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	504	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
417	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	505	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
418	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your	506	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
419	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>	507	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yourself I<before>
420	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually	508	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
421	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them	509	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
422	for example).	510	for example).
423		511
424	Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by	512	Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
…		…
435	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	523	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
436	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	524	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
437		525
438	=item ev_default_fork ()	526	=item ev_default_fork ()
439		527
		528	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
440	This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have	529	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
441	one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense	530	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
442	after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that	531	the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
443	again makes little sense).	532	sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
		533	functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
444		534
445	You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and	535	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
446	only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just	536	process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
447	fork+exec, you don't have to call it.	537	you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
448		538
449	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call	539	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
450	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in	540	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
451	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:	541	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
452		542
453	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);	543	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
454		544
455	At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
456	without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
457	do not need to care.
458
459	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	545	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
460		546
461	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	547	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
462	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	548	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
463	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	549	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
		550
		551	=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
		552
		553	Returns true when the given loop actually is the default loop, false otherwise.
464		554
465	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)	555	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
466		556
467	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to	557	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
468	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and	558	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
…		…
503	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle	593	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle
504	those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in	594	those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in
505	case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.	595	case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.
506		596
507	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if	597	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if
508	neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block	598	necessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block
509	your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after	599	your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after
510	one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some	600	one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some
511	external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other	601	external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other
512	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	602	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
513	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	603	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
514		604
515	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	605	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
516		606
517	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.	607	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
518	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	608	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
519	- Queue all prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	609	- If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
		610	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
520	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	611	- If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
		612	as to not disturb the other process.
521	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	613	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
522	- Update the "event loop time".	614	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
523	- Calculate for how long to block.	615	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		616	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		617	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		618	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
524	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	619	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
525	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	620	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
526	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	621	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
527	- Queue all outstanding timers.	622	- Queue all outstanding timers.
528	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	623	- Queue all outstanding periodics.
529	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	624	- Unless any events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
530	- Queue all check watchers.	625	- Queue all check watchers.
531	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	626	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
532	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	627	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
533	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	628	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
534	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	629	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
535	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	630	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		631	continue with step *.
536		632
537	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	633	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
538	anymore.	634	anymore.
539		635
540	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	636	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
541	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	637	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
542	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	638	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
543	... jobs done. yeah!	639	... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
544		640
545	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)	641	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)
546		642
547	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	643	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
548	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	644	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
549	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	645	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
550	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	646	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
		647
		648	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
551		649
552	=item ev_ref (loop)	650	=item ev_ref (loop)
553		651
554	=item ev_unref (loop)	652	=item ev_unref (loop)
555		653
…		…
560	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	658	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
561	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	659	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
562	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	660	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
563	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	661	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
564	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	662	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
565	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	663	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
		664	(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
		665	respectively).
566		666
567	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	667	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
568	running when nothing else is active.	668	running when nothing else is active.
569		669
570	struct ev_signal exitsig;	670	struct ev_signal exitsig;
571	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);	671	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
572	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);	672	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
573	evf_unref (loop);	673	evf_unref (loop);
574		674
575	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	675	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
576		676
577	ev_ref (loop);	677	ev_ref (loop);
578	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	678	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
579		679
580	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)	680	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
581		681
582	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)	682	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
583		683
584	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting	684	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
585	for events. Both are by default C<0>, meaning that libev will try to	685	for events. Both time intervals are by default C<0>, meaning that libev
586	invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.	686	will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
		687	latency.
587		688
588	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)	689	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
589	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks to	690	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
590	increase efficiency of loop iterations.	691	to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
		692	opportunities).
591		693
592	The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to	694	The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
593	handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes	695	handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
594	the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new	696	the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
595	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high	697	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
596	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.	698	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
597		699
598	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more	700	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
599	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,	701	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
600	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and	702	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
601	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected.	703	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		704	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
602		705
603	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev	706	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
604	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased	707	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
605	latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers	708	latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
606	will not be affected.	709	will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
		710	any overhead in libev.
607		711
608	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect	712	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
609	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for	713	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
610	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It	714	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
611	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,	715	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
612	as this approsaches the timing granularity of most systems.	716	as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems.
		717
		718	Setting the I<timeout collect interval> can improve the opportunity for
		719	saving power, as the program will "bundle" timer callback invocations that
		720	are "near" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
		721	times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
		722	reduce iterations/wake-ups is to use C<ev_periodic> watchers and make sure
		723	they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
		724
		725	=item ev_loop_verify (loop)
		726
		727	This function only does something when C<EV_VERIFY> support has been
		728	compiled in. It tries to go through all internal structures and checks
		729	them for validity. If anything is found to be inconsistent, it will print
		730	an error message to standard error and call C<abort ()>.
		731
		732	This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
		733	circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
		734	data structures consistent.
613		735
614	=back	736	=back
615		737
616		738
617	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	739	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
618		740
619	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your	741	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
620	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to	742	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
621	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:	743	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:
622		744
623	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	745	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
624	{	746	{
625	ev_io_stop (w);	747	ev_io_stop (w);
626	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	748	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
627	}	749	}
628		750
629	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);	751	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
630	struct ev_io stdin_watcher;	752	struct ev_io stdin_watcher;
631	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);	753	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
632	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	754	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
633	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);	755	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
634	ev_loop (loop, 0);	756	ev_loop (loop, 0);
635		757
636	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your	758	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
637	watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,	759	watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,
638	although this can sometimes be quite valid).	760	although this can sometimes be quite valid).
639		761
640	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init	762	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init
641	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This	763	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This
642	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of io	764	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of I/O
643	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given	765	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given
644	is readable and/or writable).	766	is readable and/or writable).
645		767
646	Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro	768	Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro
647	with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro	769	with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro
…		…
717	=item C<EV_FORK>	839	=item C<EV_FORK>
718		840
719	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see	841	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
720	C<ev_fork>).	842	C<ev_fork>).
721		843
		844	=item C<EV_ASYNC>
		845
		846	The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
		847
722	=item C<EV_ERROR>	848	=item C<EV_ERROR>
723		849
724	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	850	An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
725	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	851	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
726	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other	852	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
727	problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping	853	problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping
728	with the watcher being stopped.	854	with the watcher being stopped.
729		855
730	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,	856	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,
731	for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if	857	for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if
732	your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope	858	your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope
733	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded	859	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
734	programs, though, so beware.	860	programs, though, so beware.
735		861
736	=back	862	=back
737		863
738	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS	864	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
…		…
768	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments	894	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
769	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.	895	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.
770		896
771	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])	897	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])
772		898
773	This convinience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro	899	This convenience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro
774	calls into a single call. This is the most convinient method to initialise	900	calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
775	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.	901	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
776		902
777	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)	903	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
778		904
779	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive	905	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
…		…
862	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and	988	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
863	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data	989	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
864	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own	990	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
865	data:	991	data:
866		992
867	struct my_io	993	struct my_io
868	{	994	{
869	struct ev_io io;	995	struct ev_io io;
870	int otherfd;	996	int otherfd;
871	void *somedata;	997	void *somedata;
872	struct whatever *mostinteresting;	998	struct whatever *mostinteresting;
873	}	999	}
874		1000
875	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you	1001	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
876	can cast it back to your own type:	1002	can cast it back to your own type:
877		1003
878	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)	1004	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)
879	{	1005	{
880	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;	1006	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
881	...	1007	...
882	}	1008	}
883		1009
884	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type	1010	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
885	instead have been omitted.	1011	instead have been omitted.
886		1012
887	Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple	1013	Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple
888	watchers:	1014	watchers:
889		1015
890	struct my_biggy	1016	struct my_biggy
891	{	1017	{
892	int some_data;	1018	int some_data;
893	ev_timer t1;	1019	ev_timer t1;
894	ev_timer t2;	1020	ev_timer t2;
895	}	1021	}
896		1022
897	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,	1023	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,
898	you need to use C<offsetof>:	1024	you need to use C<offsetof>:
899		1025
900	#include <stddef.h>	1026	#include <stddef.h>
901		1027
902	static void	1028	static void
903	t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1029	t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
904	{	1030	{
905	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1031	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
906	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));	1032	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
907	}	1033	}
908		1034
909	static void	1035	static void
910	t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1036	t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
911	{	1037	{
912	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1038	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
913	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));	1039	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
914	}	1040	}
915		1041
916		1042
917	=head1 WATCHER TYPES	1043	=head1 WATCHER TYPES
918		1044
919	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat	1045	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
…		…
943	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1069	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
944	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1070	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
945	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1071	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
946	required if you know what you are doing).	1072	required if you know what you are doing).
947		1073
948	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
949	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
950	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
951	to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
952	the same underlying "file open").
953
954	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend	1074	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
955	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and	1075	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
956	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).	1076	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
957		1077
958	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1078	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
959	receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might	1079	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
960	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block	1080	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
961	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a	1081	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
962	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into	1082	lot of those (for example Solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
963	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus	1083	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
964	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning	1084	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
965	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.	1085	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
966		1086
967	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not	1087	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
968	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test	1088	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately re-test
969	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface	1089	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
970	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on	1090	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
971	its own, so its quite safe to use).	1091	its own, so its quite safe to use).
972		1092
973	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors	1093	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
…		…
992	optimisations to libev.	1112	optimisations to libev.
993		1113
994	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors	1114	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
995		1115
996	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,	1116	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
997	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That menas when you	1117	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
998	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors and register events for them, only one	1118	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
999	file descriptor might actually receive events.	1119	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
1000		1120
1001	There is no workaorund possible except not registering events	1121	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
1002	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or to resort to	1122	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
1003	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.	1123	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1004		1124
1005	=head3 The special problem of fork	1125	=head3 The special problem of fork
1006		1126
1007	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit	1127	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
…		…
1011	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call	1131	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
1012	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,	1132	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
1013	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or	1133	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
1014	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.	1134	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1015		1135
		1136	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
		1137
		1138	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about SIGPIPE:
		1139	when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
		1140	send a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
		1141	this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
		1142
		1143	So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
		1144	ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
		1145	somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
		1146
1016		1147
1017	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions	1148	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
1018		1149
1019	=over 4	1150	=over 4
1020		1151
1021	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1152	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
1022		1153
1023	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)	1154	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
1024		1155
1025	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to	1156	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
1026	rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or	1157	receive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
1027	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.	1158	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
1028		1159
1029	=item int fd [read-only]	1160	=item int fd [read-only]
1030		1161
1031	The file descriptor being watched.	1162	The file descriptor being watched.
…		…
1033	=item int events [read-only]	1164	=item int events [read-only]
1034		1165
1035	The events being watched.	1166	The events being watched.
1036		1167
1037	=back	1168	=back
		1169
		1170	=head3 Examples
1038		1171
1039	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1172	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
1040	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1173	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
1041	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.	1174	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
1042		1175
1043	static void	1176	static void
1044	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1177	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
1045	{	1178	{
1046	ev_io_stop (loop, w);	1179	ev_io_stop (loop, w);
1047	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors	1180	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
1048	}	1181	}
1049		1182
1050	...	1183	...
1051	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);	1184	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
1052	struct ev_io stdin_readable;	1185	struct ev_io stdin_readable;
1053	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	1186	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
1054	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);	1187	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
1055	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1188	ev_loop (loop, 0);
1056		1189
1057		1190
1058	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts	1191	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
1059		1192
1060	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a	1193	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
1061	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.	1194	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
1062		1195
1063	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that	1196	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
1064	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years	1197	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
1065	time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because	1198	year, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because
1066	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the	1199	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
1067	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).	1200	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
		1201
		1202	The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only after its timeout has passed,
		1203	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
		1204	order of execution is undefined.
		1205
		1206	=head3 The special problem of time updates
		1207
		1208	Requesting the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
		1209	least two syscalls): EV therefore updates it's idea of the current time
		1210	only before and after C<ev_loop> polls for new events, which causes the
		1211	difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()>.
1068		1212
1069	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>	1213	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
1070	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time	1214	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
1071	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If	1215	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
1072	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout	1216	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
1073	on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:	1217	timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
1074		1218
1075	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);	1219	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
1076		1220
1077	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
1078	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
1079	order of execution is undefined.
1080
1081	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1221	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1082		1222
1083	=over 4	1223	=over 4
1084		1224
1085	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1225	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1086		1226
1087	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1227	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1088		1228
1089	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat> is	1229	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>
1090	C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped. If it is positive, then the	1230	is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
1091	timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds	1231	reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
1092	later, again, and again, until stopped manually.	1232	configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,
		1233	until stopped manually.
1093		1234
1094	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if you	1235	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
1095	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at	1236	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
1096	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with	1237	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
1097	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the	1238	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
1098	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	1239	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
1099		1240
1100	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1241	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
1101		1242
1102	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1243	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
1103	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1244	repeating. The exact semantics are:
1104		1245
1105	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	1246	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
1106		1247
1107	If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out).	1248	If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
1108		1249
1109	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the	1250	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
1110	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.	1251	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
1111		1252
1112	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical	1253	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
1113	example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle	1254	example: Imagine you have a TCP connection and you want a so-called idle
1114	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60	1255	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
1115	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to	1256	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
1116	configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call	1257	configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
1117	C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If	1258	C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
1118	you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the	1259	you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
…		…
1140	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),	1281	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
1141	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.	1282	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
1142		1283
1143	=back	1284	=back
1144		1285
		1286	=head3 Examples
		1287
1145	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1288	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
1146		1289
1147	static void	1290	static void
1148	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1291	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
1149	{	1292	{
1150	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here	1293	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
1151	}	1294	}
1152		1295
1153	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1296	struct ev_timer mytimer;
1154	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);	1297	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
1155	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);	1298	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
1156		1299
1157	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of	1300	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
1158	inactivity.	1301	inactivity.
1159		1302
1160	static void	1303	static void
1161	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1304	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
1162	{	1305	{
1163	.. ten seconds without any activity	1306	.. ten seconds without any activity
1164	}	1307	}
1165		1308
1166	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1309	struct ev_timer mytimer;
1167	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */	1310	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
1168	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */	1311	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
1169	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1312	ev_loop (loop, 0);
1170		1313
1171	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":	1314	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
1172	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds	1315	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
1173	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);	1316	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
1174		1317
1175		1318
1176	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?	1319	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?
1177		1320
1178	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	1321	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
1179	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	1322	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
1180		1323
1181	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)	1324	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
1182	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1325	but on wall clock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
1183	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1326	to trigger after some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
1184	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()	1327	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now ()
1185	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1328	+ 10.>, that is, an absolute time not a delay) and then reset your system
		1329	clock to January of the previous year, then it will take more than year
1186	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1330	to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger
1187	roughly 10 seconds later).	1331	roughly 10 seconds later as it uses a relative timeout).
1188		1332
1189	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1333	C<ev_periodic>s can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers,
1190	triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,	1334	such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or other
1191	rules.	1335	complicated, rules.
1192		1336
1193	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1337	As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
1194	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1338	time (C<at>) has passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
1195	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1339	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
1196		1340
1197	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1341	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1198		1342
1199	=over 4	1343	=over 4
…		…
1207		1351
1208	=over 4	1352	=over 4
1209		1353
1210	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	1354	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
1211		1355
1212	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	1356	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
1213	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	1357	time C<at> has passed and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time
1214	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	1358	jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will
1215	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	1359	run when the system time reaches or surpasses this time.
1216		1360
1217	=item * non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	1361	=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1218		1362
1219	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	1363	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1220	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)	1364	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
1221	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.	1365	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
1222		1366
1223	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	1367	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
1224	time:	1368	time, for example, here is a C<ev_periodic> that triggers each hour, on
		1369	the hour:
1225		1370
1226	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	1371	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
1227		1372
1228	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,	1373	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
1229	but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a	1374	but only that the callback will be called when the system time shows a
1230	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible	1375	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible
1231	by 3600.	1376	by 3600.
1232		1377
1233	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	1378	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
1234	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	1379	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1235	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	1380	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1236		1381
1237	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near	1382	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
1238	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for	1383	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
1239	this value.	1384	this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
		1385
		1386	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU
		1387	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
		1388	will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
		1389	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
1240		1390
1241	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)	1391	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1242		1392
1243	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	1393	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
1244	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	1394	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1245	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	1395	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1246	current time as second argument.	1396	current time as second argument.
1247		1397
1248	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	1398	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
1249	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	1399	ever, or make ANY event loop modifications whatsoever>.
1250	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
1251	starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
1252		1400
		1401	If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
		1402	it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
		1403	only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
		1404
1253	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	1405	The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic
1254	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	1406	*w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1255		1407
1256	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1408	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1257	{	1409	{
1258	return now + 60.;	1410	return now + 60.;
1259	}	1411	}
…		…
1261	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value	1413	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
1262	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It	1414	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
1263	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but	1415	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
1264	might be called at other times, too.	1416	might be called at other times, too.
1265		1417
1266	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is later than the	1418	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
1267	passed C<now> value >>. Not even C<now> itself will do, it I<must> be larger.	1419	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
1268		1420
1269	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that	1421	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
1270	triggers on each midnight, local time. To do this, you would calculate the	1422	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the
1271	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How	1423	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How
1272	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main	1424	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
1273	reason I omitted it as an example).	1425	reason I omitted it as an example).
1274		1426
1275	=back	1427	=back
…		…
1279	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	1431	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1280	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	1432	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1281	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	1433	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1282	program when the crontabs have changed).	1434	program when the crontabs have changed).
1283		1435
		1436	=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
		1437
		1438	When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
		1439	trigger next.
		1440
1284	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]	1441	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
1285		1442
1286	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the	1443	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
1287	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).	1444	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
1288		1445
…		…
1299		1456
1300	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is	1457	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
1301	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when	1458	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1302	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.	1459	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1303		1460
1304	=item ev_tstamp at [read-only]
1305
1306	When active, contains the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
1307	trigger next.
1308
1309	=back	1461	=back
		1462
		1463	=head3 Examples
1310		1464
1311	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	1465	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1312	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	1466	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1313	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	1467	potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
1314		1468
1315	static void	1469	static void
1316	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1470	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
1317	{	1471	{
1318	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)	1472	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
1319	}	1473	}
1320		1474
1321	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1475	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1322	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);	1476	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
1323	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1477	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1324		1478
1325	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:	1479	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
1326		1480
1327	#include <math.h>	1481	#include <math.h>
1328		1482
1329	static ev_tstamp	1483	static ev_tstamp
1330	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1484	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1331	{	1485	{
1332	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;	1486	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
1333	}	1487	}
1334		1488
1335	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);	1489	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
1336		1490
1337	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:	1491	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
1338		1492
1339	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1493	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1340	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,	1494	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
1341	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);	1495	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
1342	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1496	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1343		1497
1344		1498
1345	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!	1499	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
1346		1500
1347	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific	1501	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
…		…
1354	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	1508	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
1355	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	1509	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
1356	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	1510	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
1357	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	1511	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
1358		1512
		1513	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
		1514	C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so system calls should not be unduly
		1515	interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting interrupted by
		1516	signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher and unblock
		1517	them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
		1518
1359	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1519	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1360		1520
1361	=over 4	1521	=over 4
1362		1522
1363	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)	1523	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
…		…
1371		1531
1372	The signal the watcher watches out for.	1532	The signal the watcher watches out for.
1373		1533
1374	=back	1534	=back
1375		1535
		1536	=head3 Examples
		1537
		1538	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
		1539
		1540	static void
		1541	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
		1542	{
		1543	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
		1544	}
		1545
		1546	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
		1547	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
		1548	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
		1549
1376		1550
1377	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes	1551	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1378		1552
1379	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	1553	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1380	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	1554	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). It
		1555	is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child has been
		1556	forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long as the event
		1557	loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher).
		1558
		1559	Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
		1560	you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
		1561
		1562	=head3 Process Interaction
		1563
		1564	Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
		1565	initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if
		1566	the first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurrence
		1567	of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
		1568	synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
		1569	children, even ones not watched.
		1570
		1571	=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
		1572
		1573	Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
		1574	processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
		1575	handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
		1576	C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
		1577	default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
		1578	event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
		1579	that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
		1580
		1581	=head3 Stopping the Child Watcher
		1582
		1583	Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
		1584	child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
		1585	callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
		1586	when a child exit is detected.
1381		1587
1382	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1588	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1383		1589
1384	=over 4	1590	=over 4
1385		1591
1386	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	1592	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1387		1593
1388	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)	1594	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1389		1595
1390	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or	1596	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1391	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look	1597	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1392	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	1598	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1393	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	1599	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1394	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	1600	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1395	process causing the status change.	1601	process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
		1602	activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
		1603	activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1396		1604
1397	=item int pid [read-only]	1605	=item int pid [read-only]
1398		1606
1399	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.	1607	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1400		1608
…		…
1407	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems	1615	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1408	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).	1616	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1409		1617
1410	=back	1618	=back
1411		1619
1412	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	1620	=head3 Examples
1413		1621
		1622	Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
		1623	its completion.
		1624
		1625	ev_child cw;
		1626
1414	static void	1627	static void
1415	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	1628	child_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_child *w, int revents)
1416	{	1629	{
1417	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	1630	ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1631	printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1418	}	1632	}
1419		1633
1420	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	1634	pid_t pid = fork ();
1421	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	1635
1422	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	1636	if (pid < 0)
		1637	// error
		1638	else if (pid == 0)
		1639	{
		1640	// the forked child executes here
		1641	exit (1);
		1642	}
		1643	else
		1644	{
		1645	ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
		1646	ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
		1647	}
1423		1648
1424		1649
1425	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	1650	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1426		1651
1427	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	1652	This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
1428	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed	1653	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
1429	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.	1654	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
1430		1655
1431	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does	1656	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
1432	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does	1657	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
…		…
1450	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be	1675	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1451	resource-intensive.	1676	resource-intensive.
1452		1677
1453	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is	1678	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
1454	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the	1679	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
		1680	reader, note, however, that the author sees no way of implementing ev_stat
1455	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the	1681	semantics with kqueue). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should
1456	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs	1682	not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev
1457	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are	1683	sometimes needs to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify,
1458	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no	1684	but changes are usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there
1459	polling.	1685	will be no polling.
		1686
		1687	=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
		1688
		1689	Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
		1690	compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
		1691	support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
		1692	structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
		1693	use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
		1694	compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
		1695	obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
		1696	most noticeably disabled with ev_stat and large file support.
		1697
		1698	The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
		1699	file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
		1700	optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
		1701	to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
		1702	default compilation environment.
		1703
		1704	=head3 Inotify
		1705
		1706	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
		1707	available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
		1708	change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
		1709	when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
		1710
		1711	Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		1712	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		1713	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
		1714	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
		1715
		1716	(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		1717	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		1718	descriptor open on the object at all times).
		1719
		1720	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		1721
		1722	The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably, and
		1723	even on systems where the resolution is higher, many file systems still
		1724	only support whole seconds.
		1725
		1726	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
		1727	easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
		1728	calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
		1729	within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it as the stat
		1730	data does not change.
		1731
		1732	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
		1733	than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
		1734	a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
		1735	ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
		1736
		1737	The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
		1738	of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
		1739	might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
		1740	C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
		1741	a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
		1742	update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
		1743	the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
		1744	the timer callback).
1460		1745
1461	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1746	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1462		1747
1463	=over 4	1748	=over 4
1464		1749
…		…
1470	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to	1755	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1471	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose	1756	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1472	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same	1757	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1473	path for as long as the watcher is active.	1758	path for as long as the watcher is active.
1474		1759
1475	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,	1760	The callback will receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, relative
1476	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the	1761	to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the last change
1477	last change was detected).	1762	was detected).
1478		1763
1479	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)	1764	=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1480		1765
1481	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the	1766	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1482	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid	1767	watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1483	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be	1768	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1484	useful simply to find out the new values.	1769	the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
		1770	new values.
1485		1771
1486	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]	1772	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1487		1773
1488	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of	1774	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1489	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types	1775	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1490	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there	1776	suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
		1777	members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1491	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.	1778	some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1492		1779
1493	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]	1780	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1494		1781
1495	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever	1782	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1496	C<prev> != C<attr>.	1783	C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
		1784	differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
		1785	C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1497		1786
1498	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]	1787	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1499		1788
1500	The specified interval.	1789	The specified interval.
1501		1790
1502	=item const char *path [read-only]	1791	=item const char *path [read-only]
1503		1792
1504	The filesystem path that is being watched.	1793	The file system path that is being watched.
1505		1794
1506	=back	1795	=back
1507		1796
		1797	=head3 Examples
		1798
1508	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.	1799	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1509		1800
1510	static void	1801	static void
1511	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)	1802	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
1512	{	1803	{
1513	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */	1804	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
1514	if (w->attr.st_nlink)	1805	if (w->attr.st_nlink)
1515	{	1806	{
1516	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);	1807	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
1517	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	1808	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1518	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	1809	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1519	}	1810	}
1520	else	1811	else
1521	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */	1812	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
1522	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "	1813	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
1523	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");	1814	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");
1524	}	1815	}
1525		1816
1526	...	1817	...
1527	ev_stat passwd;	1818	ev_stat passwd;
1528		1819
1529	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");	1820	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1530	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);	1821	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1822
		1823	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		1824	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		1825	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		1826	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		1827
		1828	static ev_stat passwd;
		1829	static ev_timer timer;
		1830
		1831	static void
		1832	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1833	{
		1834	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1835
		1836	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		1837	}
		1838
		1839	static void
		1840	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		1841	{
		1842	/* reset the one-second timer */
		1843	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		1844	}
		1845
		1846	...
		1847	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		1848	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1849	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
1531		1850
1532		1851
1533	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...	1852	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1534		1853
1535	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher	1854	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
…		…
1561	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	1880	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1562	believe me.	1881	believe me.
1563		1882
1564	=back	1883	=back
1565		1884
		1885	=head3 Examples
		1886
1566	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the	1887	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1567	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	1888	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1568		1889
1569	static void	1890	static void
1570	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	1891	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1571	{	1892	{
1572	free (w);	1893	free (w);
1573	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	1894	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1574	// no longer asnything immediate to do.	1895	// no longer anything immediate to do.
1575	}	1896	}
1576		1897
1577	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	1898	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1578	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	1899	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1579	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	1900	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
1580		1901
1581		1902
1582	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!	1903	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
1583		1904
1584	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:	1905	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
…		…
1603		1924
1604	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need	1925	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
1605	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for	1926	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for
1606	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries	1927	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
1607	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for	1928	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
1608	any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers	1929	any events that occurred (by checking the pending status of all watchers
1609	and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer	1930	and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer
1610	callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,	1931	callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,
1611	because you never know, you know?).	1932	because you never know, you know?).
1612		1933
1613	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate	1934	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
…		…
1621		1942
1622	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)	1943	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
1623	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers	1944	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
1624	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,	1945	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
1625	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully	1946	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
1626	supports this, they will be called before other C<ev_check> watchers did	1947	supports this, they might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers
1627	their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other event	1948	did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
1628	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their	1949	(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
1629	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with	1950	state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
1630	others).	1951	coexist peacefully with others).
1631		1952
1632	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1953	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1633		1954
1634	=over 4	1955	=over 4
1635		1956
…		…
1641	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	1962	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1642	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	1963	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
1643		1964
1644	=back	1965	=back
1645		1966
		1967	=head3 Examples
		1968
1646	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules	1969	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
1647	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev	1970	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
1648	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could	1971	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
1649	use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib>	1972	use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
1650	embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV	1973	Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
1651	into the Glib event loop).	1974	Glib event loop).
1652		1975
1653	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,	1976	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1654	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows	1977	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1655	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low	1978	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
1656	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as	1979	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
1657	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.	1980	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
1658		1981
1659	static ev_io iow [nfd];	1982	static ev_io iow [nfd];
1660	static ev_timer tw;	1983	static ev_timer tw;
1661		1984
1662	static void	1985	static void
1663	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)	1986	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1664	{	1987	{
1665	}	1988	}
1666		1989
1667	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking	1990	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1668	static void	1991	static void
1669	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)	1992	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
1670	{	1993	{
1671	int timeout = 3600000;	1994	int timeout = 3600000;
1672	struct pollfd fds [nfd];	1995	struct pollfd fds [nfd];
1673	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.	1996	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
1674	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));	1997	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
1675		1998
1676	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */	1999	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1677	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);	2000	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
1678	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);	2001	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
1679		2002
1680	// create one ev_io per pollfd	2003	// create one ev_io per pollfd
1681	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2004	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1682	{	2005	{
1683	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,	2006	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1684	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)	2007	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1685	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));	2008	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1686		2009
1687	fds [i].revents = 0;	2010	fds [i].revents = 0;
1688	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);	2011	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1689	}	2012	}
1690	}	2013	}
1691		2014
1692	// stop all watchers after blocking	2015	// stop all watchers after blocking
1693	static void	2016	static void
1694	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)	2017	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1695	{	2018	{
1696	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);	2019	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
1697		2020
1698	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2021	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1699	{	2022	{
1700	// set the relevant poll flags	2023	// set the relevant poll flags
1701	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here	2024	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1702	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;	2025	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
1703	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);	2026	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
1704	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;	2027	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
1705	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;	2028	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
1706		2029
1707	// now stop the watcher	2030	// now stop the watcher
1708	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);	2031	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
1709	}	2032	}
1710		2033
1711	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));	2034	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
1712	}	2035	}
1713		2036
1714	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>	2037	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
1715	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.	2038	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
1716		2039
1717	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event	2040	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
1718	notification (adns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher	2041	notification (libadns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
1719	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.	2042	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
1720		2043
1721	static void	2044	static void
1722	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	2045	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1723	{	2046	{
1724	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;	2047	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
1725	update_now (EV_A);	2048	update_now (EV_A);
1726		2049
1727	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);	2050	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
1728	}	2051	}
1729		2052
1730	static void	2053	static void
1731	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)	2054	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
1732	{	2055	{
1733	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;	2056	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
1734	update_now (EV_A);	2057	update_now (EV_A);
1735		2058
1736	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);	2059	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
1737	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);	2060	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
1738	}	2061	}
1739		2062
1740	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll	2063	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll
1741		2064
1742	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you	2065	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
1743	want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override	2066	want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, you can override
1744	their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main	2067	their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main
1745	loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does	2068	loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
1746	this.	2069	this.
1747		2070
1748	static gint	2071	static gint
1749	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)	2072	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
1750	{	2073	{
1751	int got_events = 0;	2074	int got_events = 0;
1752		2075
1753	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)	2076	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
1754	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events	2077	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
1755		2078
1756	if (timeout >= 0)	2079	if (timeout >= 0)
1757	// create/start timer	2080	// create/start timer
1758		2081
1759	// poll	2082	// poll
1760	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);	2083	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
1761		2084
1762	// stop timer again	2085	// stop timer again
1763	if (timeout >= 0)	2086	if (timeout >= 0)
1764	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);	2087	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
1765		2088
1766	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set	2089	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
1767	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)	2090	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
1768	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);	2091	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
1769		2092
1770	return got_events;	2093	return got_events;
1771	}	2094	}
1772		2095
1773		2096
1774	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...	2097	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1775		2098
1776	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop	2099	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1777	into another (currently only C<ev_io> events are supported in the embedded	2100	into another (currently only C<ev_io> events are supported in the embedded
1778	loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect	2101	loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
1779	fashion and must not be used). (See portability notes, below).	2102	fashion and must not be used).
1780		2103
1781	There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and	2104	There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and
1782	prioritise I/O.	2105	prioritise I/O.
1783		2106
1784	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support	2107	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
…		…
1818	portable one.	2141	portable one.
1819		2142
1820	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	2143	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1821	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	2144	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1822	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	2145	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1823	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	2146	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
1824
1825	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
1826	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1827	struct ev_embed embed;
1828
1829	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
1830	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
1831	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
1832	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
1833	: 0;
1834
1835	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
1836	if (loop_lo)
1837	{
1838	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
1839	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
1840	}
1841	else
1842	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1843
1844	=head2 Portability notes
1845
1846	Kqueue is nominally embeddable, but this is broken on all BSDs that I
1847	tried, in various ways. Usually the embedded event loop will simply never
1848	receive events, sometimes it will only trigger a few times, sometimes in a
1849	loop. Epoll is also nominally embeddable, but many Linux kernel versions
1850	will always eport the epoll fd as ready, even when no events are pending.
1851
1852	While libev allows embedding these backends (they are contained in
1853	C<ev_embeddable_backends ()>), take extreme care that it will actually
1854	work.
1855
1856	When in doubt, create a dynamic event loop forced to use sockets (this
1857	usually works) and possibly another thread and a pipe or so to report to
1858	your main event loop.
1859		2147
1860	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2148	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1861		2149
1862	=over 4	2150	=over 4
1863		2151
…		…
1867		2155
1868	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2156	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
1869	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be	2157	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1870	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback	2158	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1871	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,	2159	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1872	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).	2160	if you do not want that, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1873		2161
1874	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)	2162	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1875		2163
1876	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works	2164	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1877	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most	2165	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1878	apropriate way for embedded loops.	2166	appropriate way for embedded loops.
1879		2167
1880	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]	2168	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
1881		2169
1882	The embedded event loop.	2170	The embedded event loop.
1883		2171
1884	=back	2172	=back
		2173
		2174	=head3 Examples
		2175
		2176	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		2177	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		2178	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the embeddable loop is stored in
		2179	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the case no embeddable loop can be
		2180	used).
		2181
		2182	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
		2183	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
		2184	struct ev_embed embed;
		2185
		2186	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
		2187	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
		2188	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
		2189	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
		2190	: 0;
		2191
		2192	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
		2193	if (loop_lo)
		2194	{
		2195	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
		2196	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
		2197	}
		2198	else
		2199	loop_lo = loop_hi;
		2200
		2201	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2202	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2203	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2204	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
		2205
		2206	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2207	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2208	struct ev_embed embed;
		2209
		2210	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2211	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2212	{
		2213	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2214	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2215	}
		2216
		2217	if (!loop_socket)
		2218	loop_socket = loop;
		2219
		2220	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1885		2221
1886		2222
1887	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	2223	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1888		2224
1889	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	2225	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
…		…
1905	believe me.	2241	believe me.
1906		2242
1907	=back	2243	=back
1908		2244
1909		2245
		2246	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
		2247
		2248	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
		2249	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
		2250	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
		2251
		2252	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
		2253	control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
		2254	C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
		2255	can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
		2256	safe.
		2257
		2258	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
		2259	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
		2260	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
		2261	C<ev_async_sent> calls).
		2262
		2263	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
		2264	just the default loop.
		2265
		2266	=head3 Queueing
		2267
		2268	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
		2269	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
		2270	multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
		2271	need elaborate support such as pthreads.
		2272
		2273	That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
		2274	queue. But at least I can tell you would implement locking around your
		2275	queue:
		2276
		2277	=over 4
		2278
		2279	=item queueing from a signal handler context
		2280
		2281	To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
		2282	handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is an example that does that for
		2283	some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
		2284
		2285	static ev_async mysig;
		2286
		2287	static void
		2288	sigusr1_handler (void)
		2289	{
		2290	sometype data;
		2291
		2292	// no locking etc.
		2293	queue_put (data);
		2294	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2295	}
		2296
		2297	static void
		2298	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2299	{
		2300	sometype data;
		2301	sigset_t block, prev;
		2302
		2303	sigemptyset (&block);
		2304	sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
		2305	sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
		2306
		2307	while (queue_get (&data))
		2308	process (data);
		2309
		2310	if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
		2311	sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
		2312	}
		2313
		2314	(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
		2315	instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
		2316	either...).
		2317
		2318	=item queueing from a thread context
		2319
		2320	The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
		2321	threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
		2322	employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
		2323
		2324	static ev_async mysig;
		2325	static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
		2326
		2327	static void
		2328	otherthread (void)
		2329	{
		2330	// only need to lock the actual queueing operation
		2331	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2332	queue_put (data);
		2333	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2334
		2335	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2336	}
		2337
		2338	static void
		2339	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2340	{
		2341	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2342
		2343	while (queue_get (&data))
		2344	process (data);
		2345
		2346	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2347	}
		2348
		2349	=back
		2350
		2351
		2352	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2353
		2354	=over 4
		2355
		2356	=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
		2357
		2358	Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
		2359	kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
		2360	believe me.
		2361
		2362	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
		2363
		2364	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
		2365	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
		2366	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do in other threads, signal or
		2367	similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
		2368	section below on what exactly this means).
		2369
		2370	This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per loop iteration,
		2371	so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to repeated
		2372	calls to C<ev_async_send>.
		2373
		2374	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
		2375
		2376	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
		2377	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
		2378	event loop.
		2379
		2380	C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
		2381	the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
		2382	it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
		2383	quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
		2384
		2385	Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending, only
		2386	whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
		2387
		2388	=back
		2389
		2390
1910	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	2391	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
1911		2392
1912	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.	2393	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.
1913		2394
1914	=over 4	2395	=over 4
…		…
1921	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or	2402	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
1922	more watchers yourself.	2403	more watchers yourself.
1923		2404
1924	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events	2405	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events
1925	is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and	2406	is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and
1926	C<events> set will be craeted and started.	2407	C<events> set will be created and started.
1927		2408
1928	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be	2409	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
1929	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and	2410	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and
1930	repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of	2411	repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of
1931	dubious value.	2412	dubious value.
…		…
1933	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets	2414	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets
1934	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of	2415	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
1935	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>	2416	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>
1936	value passed to C<ev_once>:	2417	value passed to C<ev_once>:
1937		2418
1938	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)	2419	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
1939	{	2420	{
1940	if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)	2421	if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
1941	/* doh, nothing entered */;	2422	/* doh, nothing entered */;
1942	else if (revents & EV_READ)	2423	else if (revents & EV_READ)
1943	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;	2424	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
1944	}	2425	}
1945		2426
1946	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);	2427	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
1947		2428
1948	=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)	2429	=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
1949		2430
1950	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event	2431	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
1951	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an	2432	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
…		…
1956	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected	2437	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
1957	the given events it.	2438	the given events it.
1958		2439
1959	=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)	2440	=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)
1960		2441
1961	Feed an event as if the given signal occured (C<loop> must be the default	2442	Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default
1962	loop!).	2443	loop!).
1963		2444
1964	=back	2445	=back
1965		2446
1966		2447
…		…
1982		2463
1983	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities	2464	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1984	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there	2465	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1985	is an ev_pri field.	2466	is an ev_pri field.
1986		2467
		2468	=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
		2469	first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
		2470
1987	=item * Other members are not supported.	2471	=item * Other members are not supported.
1988		2472
1989	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need	2473	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1990	to use the libev header file and library.	2474	to use the libev header file and library.
1991		2475
1992	=back	2476	=back
1993		2477
1994	=head1 C++ SUPPORT	2478	=head1 C++ SUPPORT
1995		2479
1996	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow	2480	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1997	you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change	2481	you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1998	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.	2482	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
1999		2483
2000	To use it,	2484	To use it,
2001		2485
2002	#include <ev++.h>	2486	#include <ev++.h>
2003		2487
2004	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many	2488	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
2005	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are	2489	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
2006	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding	2490	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
2007	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.	2491	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
…		…
2074	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the	2558	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
2075	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.	2559	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
2076		2560
2077	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation	2561	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
2078		2562
2079	struct myclass	2563	struct myclass
2080	{	2564	{
2081	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }	2565	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
2082	}	2566	}
2083		2567
2084	myclass obj;	2568	myclass obj;
2085	ev::io iow;	2569	ev::io iow;
2086	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);	2570	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
2087		2571
2088	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)	2572	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
2089		2573
2090	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as	2574	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
2091	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's	2575	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
…		…
2095		2579
2096	See the method-C<set> above for more details.	2580	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
2097		2581
2098	Example:	2582	Example:
2099		2583
2100	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }	2584	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
2101	iow.set <io_cb> ();	2585	iow.set <io_cb> ();
2102		2586
2103	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)	2587	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
2104		2588
2105	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only	2589	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
2106	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).	2590	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
2107		2591
2108	=item w->set ([args])	2592	=item w->set ([arguments])
2109		2593
2110	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be	2594	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same arguments. Must be
2111	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets	2595	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
2112	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this	2596	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
2113	method.	2597	method.
2114		2598
2115	=item w->start ()	2599	=item w->start ()
…		…
2139	=back	2623	=back
2140		2624
2141	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in	2625	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
2142	the constructor.	2626	the constructor.
2143		2627
2144	class myclass	2628	class myclass
2145	{	2629	{
2146	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	2630	ev::io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
2147	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	2631	ev:idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
2148		2632
2149	myclass ();	2633	myclass (int fd)
2150	}	2634	{
2151
2152	myclass::myclass (int fd)
2153	{
2154	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);	2635	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
2155	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);	2636	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
2156		2637
2157	io.start (fd, ev::READ);	2638	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		2639	}
2158	}	2640	};
		2641
		2642
		2643	=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
		2644
		2645	Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
		2646	number of languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
		2647	any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
		2648	me a note.
		2649
		2650	=over 4
		2651
		2652	=item Perl
		2653
		2654	The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
		2655	libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
		2656	there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
		2657	to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>), C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the
		2658	C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV> and C<EV::Glib>).
		2659
		2660	It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is at
		2661	L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
		2662
		2663	=item Python
		2664
		2665	Python bindings can be found at L<http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
		2666	seems to be quite complete and well-documented. Note, however, that the
		2667	patch they require for libev is outright dangerous as it breaks the ABI
		2668	for everybody else, and therefore, should never be applied in an installed
		2669	libev (if python requires an incompatible ABI then it needs to embed
		2670	libev).
		2671
		2672	=item Ruby
		2673
		2674	Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
		2675	of the libev API and adds file handle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
		2676	more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
		2677	L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
		2678
		2679	=item D
		2680
		2681	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
		2682	be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
		2683
		2684	=back
2159		2685
2160		2686
2161	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	2687	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
2162		2688
2163	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal	2689	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamental
2164	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)	2690	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
2165	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.	2691	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
2166		2692
2167	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the	2693	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
2168	following macros are defined:	2694	following macros are defined:
…		…
2173		2699
2174	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev	2700	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
2175	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,	2701	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
2176	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:	2702	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
2177		2703
2178	ev_unref (EV_A);	2704	ev_unref (EV_A);
2179	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);	2705	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
2180	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);	2706	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
2181		2707
2182	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,	2708	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
2183	which is often provided by the following macro.	2709	which is often provided by the following macro.
2184		2710
2185	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>	2711	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
2186		2712
2187	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev	2713	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
2188	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,	2714	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
2189	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:	2715	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
2190		2716
2191	// this is how ev_unref is being declared	2717	// this is how ev_unref is being declared
2192	static void ev_unref (EV_P);	2718	static void ev_unref (EV_P);
2193		2719
2194	// this is how you can declare your typical callback	2720	// this is how you can declare your typical callback
2195	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	2721	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
2196		2722
2197	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite	2723	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
2198	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.	2724	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
2199		2725
2200	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	2726	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
2201		2727
2202	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	2728	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
2203	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	2729	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
		2730
		2731	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
		2732
		2733	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
		2734	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
		2735	is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
		2736	execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
		2737
		2738	It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
		2739	watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
2204		2740
2205	=back	2741	=back
2206		2742
2207	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above	2743	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
2208	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported	2744	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
2209	or not.	2745	or not.
2210		2746
2211	static void	2747	static void
2212	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	2748	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
2213	{	2749	{
2214	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);	2750	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
2215	}	2751	}
2216		2752
2217	ev_check check;	2753	ev_check check;
2218	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);	2754	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
2219	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);	2755	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
2220	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);	2756	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
2221		2757
2222	=head1 EMBEDDING	2758	=head1 EMBEDDING
2223		2759
2224	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host	2760	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
2225	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra	2761	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
…		…
2232	libev somewhere in your source tree).	2768	libev somewhere in your source tree).
2233		2769
2234	=head2 FILESETS	2770	=head2 FILESETS
2235		2771
2236	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files	2772	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
2237	in your app.	2773	in your application.
2238		2774
2239	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP	2775	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP
2240		2776
2241	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual	2777	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual
2242	configuration (no autoconf):	2778	configuration (no autoconf):
2243		2779
2244	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	2780	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
2245	#include "ev.c"	2781	#include "ev.c"
2246		2782
2247	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a	2783	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a
2248	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use	2784	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
2249	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best	2785	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best
2250	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and	2786	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and
2251	where you can put other configuration options):	2787	where you can put other configuration options):
2252		2788
2253	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	2789	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
2254	#include "ev.h"	2790	#include "ev.h"
2255		2791
2256	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++	2792	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
2257	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated	2793	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
2258	as a bug).	2794	as a bug).
2259		2795
2260	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory	2796	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
2261	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):	2797	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
2262		2798
2263	ev.h	2799	ev.h
2264	ev.c	2800	ev.c
2265	ev_vars.h	2801	ev_vars.h
2266	ev_wrap.h	2802	ev_wrap.h
2267		2803
2268	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only	2804	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
2269		2805
2270	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)	2806	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
2271	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	2807	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2272	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	2808	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2273	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)	2809	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2274	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)	2810	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2275		2811
2276	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need	2812	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
2277	to compile this single file.	2813	to compile this single file.
2278		2814
2279	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API	2815	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
2280		2816
2281	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:	2817	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:
2282		2818
2283	#include "event.c"	2819	#include "event.c"
2284		2820
2285	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:	2821	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:
2286		2822
2287	#include "event.h"	2823	#include "event.h"
2288		2824
2289	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.	2825	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.
2290		2826
2291	You need the following additional files for this:	2827	You need the following additional files for this:
2292		2828
2293	event.h	2829	event.h
2294	event.c	2830	event.c
2295		2831
2296	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT	2832	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT
2297		2833
2298	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in	2834	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your configuration in
2299	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your	2835	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
2300	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then	2836	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
2301	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.	2837	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
2302		2838
2303	For this of course you need the m4 file:	2839	For this of course you need the m4 file:
2304		2840
2305	libev.m4	2841	libev.m4
2306		2842
2307	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS	2843	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
2308		2844
2309	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define	2845	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
2310	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity	2846	define before including any of its files. The default in the absence of
2311	and only include the select backend.	2847	autoconf is noted for every option.
2312		2848
2313	=over 4	2849	=over 4
2314		2850
2315	=item EV_STANDALONE	2851	=item EV_STANDALONE
2316		2852
…		…
2321	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.	2857	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
2322		2858
2323	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC	2859	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
2324		2860
2325	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2861	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2326	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use	2862	monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no use
2327	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you	2863	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
2328	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when	2864	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
2329	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have	2865	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
2330	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>	2866	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
2331	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).	2867	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
2332		2868
2333	=item EV_USE_REALTIME	2869	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
2334		2870
2335	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2871	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2336	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at	2872	real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability at
2337	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will	2873	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock option will
2338	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get	2874	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
2339	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the	2875	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
2340	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.	2876	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
2341		2877
2342	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP	2878	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
2343		2879
2344	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available	2880	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
2345	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.	2881	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
2346		2882
		2883	=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
		2884
		2885	If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
		2886	available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
		2887	C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
		2888	If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
		2889	2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		2890
2347	=item EV_USE_SELECT	2891	=item EV_USE_SELECT
2348		2892
2349	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the	2893	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
2350	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no	2894	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at auto-detection will be done: if no
2351	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend	2895	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
2352	will not be compiled in.	2896	will not be compiled in.
2353		2897
2354	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET	2898	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET
2355		2899
2356	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>	2900	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
2357	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing	2901	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
2358	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on	2902	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout on
2359	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some	2903	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
2360	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only	2904	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
2361	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might	2905	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might
2362	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.	2906	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.
2363		2907
…		…
2369	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call	2913	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
2370	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,	2914	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
2371	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even	2915	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
2372	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.	2916	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
2373		2917
		2918	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
		2919
		2920	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		2921	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		2922	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		2923	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		2924	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		2925
2374	=item EV_USE_POLL	2926	=item EV_USE_POLL
2375		2927
2376	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	2928	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
2377	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	2929	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
2378	takes precedence over select.	2930	takes precedence over select.
2379		2931
2380	=item EV_USE_EPOLL	2932	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2381		2933
2382	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	2934	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2383	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	2935	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2384	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the	2936	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2385	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.	2937	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
		2938	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2386		2939
2387	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	2940	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2388		2941
2389	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	2942	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2390	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	2943	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
2403	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred	2956	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2404	backend for Solaris 10 systems.	2957	backend for Solaris 10 systems.
2405		2958
2406	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL	2959	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL
2407		2960
2408	reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.	2961	Reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
2409		2962
2410	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY	2963	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2411		2964
2412	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	2965	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2413	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	2966	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2414	be detected at runtime.	2967	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
		2968	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		2969
		2970	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
		2971
		2972	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
		2973	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
		2974	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
		2975	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
		2976	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
		2977
		2978	In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
		2979	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
2415		2980
2416	=item EV_H	2981	=item EV_H
2417		2982
2418	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if	2983	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2419	undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This	2984	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2420	can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.	2985	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2421		2986
2422	=item EV_CONFIG_H	2987	=item EV_CONFIG_H
2423		2988
2424	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override	2989	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2425	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to	2990	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2426	C<EV_H>, above.	2991	C<EV_H>, above.
2427		2992
2428	=item EV_EVENT_H	2993	=item EV_EVENT_H
2429		2994
2430	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea	2995	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2431	of how the F<event.h> header can be found.	2996	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2432		2997
2433	=item EV_PROTOTYPES	2998	=item EV_PROTOTYPES
2434		2999
2435	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function	3000	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2436	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is	3001	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
…		…
2457	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search	3022	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
2458	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space	3023	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
2459	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually	3024	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
2460	fine.	3025	fine.
2461		3026
2462	If your embedding app does not need any priorities, defining these both to	3027	If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these both to
2463	C<0> will save some memory and cpu.	3028	C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
2464		3029
2465	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE	3030	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
2466		3031
2467	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If	3032	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
2468	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of	3033	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
…		…
2487	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE	3052	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2488		3053
2489	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If	3054	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
2490	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	3055	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2491		3056
		3057	=item EV_ASYNC_ENABLE
		3058
		3059	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then async watchers are supported. If
		3060	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		3061
2492	=item EV_MINIMAL	3062	=item EV_MINIMAL
2493		3063
2494	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some	3064	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
2495	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override	3065	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently this is used to override some
2496	some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.	3066	inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% code size on amd64. It also selects a
		3067	much smaller 2-heap for timer management over the default 4-heap.
2497		3068
2498	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE	3069	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
2499		3070
2500	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3071	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2501	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more	3072	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
2502	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to	3073	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
2503	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).	3074	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2504		3075
2505	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE	3076	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2506		3077
2507	C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3078	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2508	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),	3079	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
2509	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>	3080	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
2510	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of	3081	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
2511	two).	3082	two).
2512		3083
		3084	=item EV_USE_4HEAP
		3085
		3086	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3087	timer and periodics heap, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
		3088	to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has
		3089	noticeably faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
		3090
		3091	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3092	(disabled).
		3093
		3094	=item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
		3095
		3096	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3097	timer and periodics heap, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
		3098	the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
		3099	which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
		3100	but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
		3101	noticeably with with many (hundreds) of watchers.
		3102
		3103	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3104	(disabled).
		3105
		3106	=item EV_VERIFY
		3107
		3108	Controls how much internal verification (see C<ev_loop_verify ()>) will
		3109	be done: If set to C<0>, no internal verification code will be compiled
		3110	in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
		3111	called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be
		3112	called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the
		3113	verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
		3114	libev considerably.
		3115
		3116	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set, in which case it will be
		3117	C<0.>
		3118
2513	=item EV_COMMON	3119	=item EV_COMMON
2514		3120
2515	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining	3121	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
2516	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of	3122	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
2517	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,	3123	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
2518	though, and it must be identical each time.	3124	though, and it must be identical each time.
2519		3125
2520	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:	3126	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
2521		3127
2522	#define EV_COMMON \	3128	#define EV_COMMON \
2523	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \	3129	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
2524	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */	3130	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
2525		3131
2526	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)	3132	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
2527		3133
2528	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)	3134	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
2529		3135
…		…
2536	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use	3142	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2537	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.	3143	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
2538		3144
2539	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS	3145	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
2540		3146
2541	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of	3147	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a DLL) and you need a list of
2542	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list	3148	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
2543	all public symbols, one per line:	3149	all public symbols, one per line:
2544		3150
2545	Symbols.ev for libev proper	3151	Symbols.ev for libev proper
2546	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation	3152	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
2547		3153
2548	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with	3154	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
2549	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in	3155	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
2550	itself, but sometimes it is inconvinient to avoid this).	3156	itself, but sometimes it is inconvenient to avoid this).
2551		3157
2552	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to	3158	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
2553	include before including F<ev.h>:	3159	include before including F<ev.h>:
2554		3160
2555	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h	3161	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
…		…
2572	file.	3178	file.
2573		3179
2574	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file	3180	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
2575	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:	3181	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
2576		3182
2577	#define EV_MINIMAL 1	3183	#define EV_MINIMAL 1
2578	#define EV_USE_POLL 0	3184	#define EV_USE_POLL 0
2579	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0	3185	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
2580	#define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0	3186	#define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
2581	#define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0	3187	#define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
2582	#define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0	3188	#define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
2583	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>	3189	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
2584	#define EV_MINPRI 0	3190	#define EV_MINPRI 0
2585	#define EV_MAXPRI 0	3191	#define EV_MAXPRI 0
2586		3192
2587	#include "ev++.h"	3193	#include "ev++.h"
2588		3194
2589	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:	3195	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
2590		3196
2591	#include "ev_cpp.h"	3197	#include "ev_cpp.h"
2592	#include "ev.c"	3198	#include "ev.c"
		3199
		3200
		3201	=head1 THREADS AND COROUTINES
		3202
		3203	=head2 THREADS
		3204
		3205	Libev itself is completely thread-safe, but it uses no locking. This
		3206	means that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as
		3207	only one thread ever calls into one libev function with the same loop
		3208	parameter.
		3209
		3210	Or put differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done in
		3211	parallel from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter must be
		3212	done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as only one
		3213	thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using a mutex
		3214	per loop).
		3215
		3216	If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
		3217	without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
		3218	help you. I can give some generic advice however:
		3219
		3220	=over 4
		3221
		3222	=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
		3223	in that thread, or create a separate thread running only the default loop.
		3224
		3225	This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
		3226	themselves and don't care/know about threading.
		3227
		3228	=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
		3229
		3230	Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
		3231	exists, but it is always a good start.
		3232
		3233	=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
		3234	loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robin fashion.
		3235
		3236	Choosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you can do
		3237	better than you currently do :-)
		3238
		3239	=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
		3240	event loop - C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other
		3241	threads safely (or from signal contexts...).
		3242
		3243	=back
		3244
		3245	=head2 COROUTINES
		3246
		3247	Libev is much more accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
		3248	libev fully supports nesting calls to it's functions from different
		3249	coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
		3250	different coroutines and switch freely between both coroutines running the
		3251	loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
		3252	you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
		3253
		3254	Care has been invested into making sure that libev does not keep local
		3255	state inside C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow coroutine
		3256	switches.
2593		3257
2594		3258
2595	=head1 COMPLEXITIES	3259	=head1 COMPLEXITIES
2596		3260
2597	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside	3261	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
…		…
2608		3272
2609	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)	3273	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2610		3274
2611	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and	3275	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
2612	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will	3276	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
2613	have to skip those 100 watchers.	3277	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
2614		3278
2615	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)	3279	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2616		3280
2617	That means that for changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them	3281	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
2618	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.	3282	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
2619		3283
2620	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)	3284	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2621		3285
2622	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.	3286	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		3287
2623	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)	3288	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2624		3289
2625	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))	3290	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2626		3291
2627	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the	3292	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
2628	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually	3293	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
2629	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).	3294	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
2630		3295
2631	=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)	3296	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		3297
		3298	By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
		3299	fixed position in the storage array.
2632		3300
2633	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)	3301	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2634		3302
2635	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires	3303	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
2636	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel).	3304	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		3305	on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
2637		3306
2638	=item Activating one watcher: O(1)	3307	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
2639		3308
2640	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)	3309	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
2641		3310
2642	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each	3311	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
2643	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to	3312	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
2644	linearly search all the priorities.	3313	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		3314	watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. priority handling.
		3315
		3316	=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
		3317
		3318	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
		3319
		3320	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
		3321
		3322	Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
		3323	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
		3324	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2645		3325
2646	=back	3326	=back
2647		3327
2648		3328
		3329	=head1 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
		3330
		3331	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		3332	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		3333	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		3334	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		3335	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		3336	e.g. cygwin.
		3337
		3338	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
		3339	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
		3340	things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
		3341	way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
		3342
		3343	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		3344	embedding it into other applications.
		3345
		3346	Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
		3347	accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
		3348	either accept everything or return C<ENOBUFS> if the buffer is too large,
		3349	so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
		3350	megabyte seems safe, but thsi apparently depends on the amount of memory
		3351	available).
		3352
		3353	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
		3354	the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
		3355	is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
		3356	more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
		3357	different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
		3358	notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
		3359	(Microsoft monopoly games).
		3360
		3361	A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
		3362	section for details) and use the following F<evwrap.h> header file instead
		3363	of F<ev.h>:
		3364
		3365	#define EV_STANDALONE /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
		3366	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* configure libev for windows select */
		3367
		3368	#include "ev.h"
		3369
		3370	And compile the following F<evwrap.c> file into your project (make sure
		3371	you do I<not> compile the F<ev.c> or any other embedded soruce files!):
		3372
		3373	#include "evwrap.h"
		3374	#include "ev.c"
		3375
		3376	=over 4
		3377
		3378	=item The winsocket select function
		3379
		3380	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it
		3381	requires socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors> (it is
		3382	also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
		3383	requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
		3384	C runtime provides the function C<_open_osfhandle> for this). See the
		3385	discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>, C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and
		3386	C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor symbols for more info.
		3387
		3388	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the Microsoft runtime
		3389	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		3390
		3391	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		3392	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		3393
		3394	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		3395	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		3396
		3397	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		3398
		3399	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
		3400
		3401	Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
		3402	of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
		3403	can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; Microsoft
		3404	recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
		3405	previous thread in each. Great).
		3406
		3407	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		3408	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		3409	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
		3410	select emulation on windows).
		3411
		3412	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
		3413	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
		3414	or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this by calling
		3415	C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
		3416	arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft runtime
		3417	libraries.
		3418
		3419	This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
		3420	windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
		3421	wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
		3422	calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		3423
		3424	=back
		3425
		3426
		3427	=head1 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
		3428
		3429	In addition to a working ISO-C implementation, libev relies on a few
		3430	additional extensions:
		3431
		3432	=over 4
		3433
		3434	=item C<void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)> must have compatible
		3435	calling conventions regardless of C<ev_watcher_type *>.
		3436
		3437	Libev assumes not only that all watcher pointers have the same internal
		3438	structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also
		3439	assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
		3440	callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
		3441	calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.
		3442
		3443	=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
		3444
		3445	The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
		3446	C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic w.r.t. accesses from different
		3447	threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
		3448	believed to be sufficiently portable.
		3449
		3450	=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
		3451
		3452	Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
		3453	allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
		3454	pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
		3455	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
		3456	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
		3457	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
		3458
		3459	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
		3460	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
		3461	well.
		3462
		3463	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
		3464
		3465	To improve portability and simplify using libev, libev uses C<long>
		3466	internally instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On
		3467	non-POSIX systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but
		3468	is still at least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of
		3469	millions of watchers.
		3470
		3471	=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
		3472
		3473	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
		3474	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
		3475	enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
		3476	implementations implementing IEEE 754 (basically all existing ones).
		3477
		3478	=back
		3479
		3480	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
		3481
		3482
		3483	=head1 COMPILER WARNINGS
		3484
		3485	Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
		3486	lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
		3487	scared by this.
		3488
		3489	However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
		3490	has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
		3491	warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
		3492	targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
		3493
		3494	Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
		3495	workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
		3496	maintainable.
		3497
		3498	And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
		3499	wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
		3500	seems to warn about).
		3501
		3502	While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
		3503	"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
		3504	with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
		3505	them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
		3506	warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
		3507
		3508
		3509	=head1 VALGRIND
		3510
		3511	Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
		3512	highly useful, but valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
		3513
		3514	If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
		3515	in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
		3516
		3517	==2274== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3518	==2274== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3519	==2274== still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
		3520
		3521	Then there is no memory leak. Similarly, under some circumstances,
		3522	valgrind might report kernel bugs as if it were a bug in libev, or it
		3523	might be confused (it is a very good tool, but only a tool).
		3524
		3525	If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
		3526	with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this is
		3527	a bug in libev. However, don't be annoyed when you get a brisk "this is
		3528	no bug" answer and take the chance of learning how to interpret valgrind
		3529	properly.
		3530
		3531	If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
		3532	I suggest using suppression lists.
		3533
		3534
2649	=head1 AUTHOR	3535	=head1 AUTHOR
2650		3536
2651	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.	3537	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
2652		3538

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