--- libev/ev.pod	2008/06/01 01:13:59	1.165
+++ libev/ev.pod	2009/06/30 06:24:38	1.245
@@ -11,15 +11,17 @@
    // a single header file is required
    #include <ev.h>
 
+   #include <stdio.h> // for puts
+
    // every watcher type has its own typedef'd struct
-   // with the name ev_<type>
+   // with the name ev_TYPE
    ev_io stdin_watcher;
    ev_timer timeout_watcher;
 
    // all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
    // this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
    static void
-   stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
+   stdin_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
    {
      puts ("stdin ready");
      // for one-shot events, one must manually stop the watcher
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@
 
    // another callback, this time for a time-out
    static void
-   timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   timeout_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
    {
      puts ("timeout");
      // this causes the innermost ev_loop to stop iterating
@@ -62,12 +64,24 @@
      return 0;
    }
 
-=head1 DESCRIPTION
+=head1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
+
+This document documents the libev software package.
 
 The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
 web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
 time: L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
 
+While this document tries to be as complete as possible in documenting
+libev, its usage and the rationale behind its design, it is not a tutorial
+on event-based programming, nor will it introduce event-based programming
+with libev.
+
+Familarity with event based programming techniques in general is assumed
+throughout this document.
+
+=head1 ABOUT LIBEV
+
 Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
 file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
 these event sources and provide your program with events.
@@ -105,17 +119,17 @@
 more info about various configuration options please have a look at
 B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
 for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
-name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have
+name C<loop> (which is always of type C<ev_loop *>) will not have
 this argument.
 
 =head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
 
-Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
-(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
-the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
-called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
-to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
-it, you should treat it as some floating point value. Unlike the name
+Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing
+the (fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere
+near the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This
+type is called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually
+aliases to the C<double> type in C. When you need to do any calculations
+on it, you should treat it as some floating point value. Unlike the name
 component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
 throughout libev.
 
@@ -216,7 +230,7 @@
 
 See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
 
-=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
+=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size)) [NOT REENTRANT]
 
 Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
 semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
@@ -252,7 +266,7 @@
    ...
    ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
 
-=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));
+=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg)); [NOT REENTRANT]
 
 Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
 as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
@@ -278,9 +292,13 @@
 
 =head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP
 
-An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two
-types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child
-events, and dynamically created loops which do not.
+An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *> (the C<struct>
+is I<not> optional in this case, as there is also an C<ev_loop>
+I<function>).
+
+The library knows two types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which
+supports signals and child events, and dynamically created loops which do
+not.
 
 =over 4
 
@@ -296,7 +314,7 @@
 
 Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
 from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
-as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
+as loops cannot be shared easily between threads anyway).
 
 The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
 C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
@@ -361,6 +379,10 @@
 a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
 readiness notifications you get per iteration.
 
+This backend maps C<EV_READ> to the C<readfds> set and C<EV_WRITE> to the
+C<writefds> set (and to work around Microsoft Windows bugs, also onto the
+C<exceptfds> set on that platform).
+
 =item C<EVBACKEND_POLL>    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
 
 And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
@@ -370,40 +392,67 @@
 i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
 performance tips.
 
+This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and
+C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.
+
 =item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>   (value 4, Linux)
 
 For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
 but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
 like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
-epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
-of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
-cases and requiring a system call per fd change, no fork support and bad
-support for dup.
+epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds).
+
+The epoll mechanism deserves honorable mention as the most misdesigned
+of the more advanced event mechanisms: mere annoyances include silently
+dropping file descriptors, requiring a system call per change per file
+descriptor (and unnecessary guessing of parameters), problems with dup and
+so on. The biggest issue is fork races, however - if a program forks then
+I<both> parent and child process have to recreate the epoll set, which can
+take considerable time (one syscall per file descriptor) and is of course
+hard to detect.
+
+Epoll is also notoriously buggy - embedding epoll fds I<should> work, but
+of course I<doesn't>, and epoll just loves to report events for totally
+I<different> file descriptors (even already closed ones, so one cannot
+even remove them from the set) than registered in the set (especially
+on SMP systems). Libev tries to counter these spurious notifications by
+employing an additional generation counter and comparing that against the
+events to filter out spurious ones, recreating the set when required.
 
 While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
-will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such incident
-(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
-best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
-very well if you register events for both fds.
-
-Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
-need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
-(or space) is available.
+will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such
+incident (because the same I<file descriptor> could point to a different
+I<file description> now), so its best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed
+file descriptors might not work very well if you register events for both
+file descriptors.
 
 Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
-watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
-keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
+watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible,
+i.e. keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times. Stopping and
+starting a watcher (without re-setting it) also usually doesn't cause
+extra overhead. A fork can both result in spurious notifications as well
+as in libev having to destroy and recreate the epoll object, which can
+take considerable time and thus should be avoided.
+
+All this means that, in practice, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> can be as fast or
+faster than epoll for maybe up to a hundred file descriptors, depending on
+the usage. So sad.
 
 While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
 all kernel versions tested so far.
 
+This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
+C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
+
 =item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>  (value 8, most BSD clones)
 
 Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
 was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
 with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
-it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "auto-detected"
-unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
+it's completely useless). Unlike epoll, however, whose brokenness
+is by design, these kqueue bugs can (and eventually will) be fixed
+without API changes to existing programs. For this reason it's not being
+"auto-detected" unless you explicitly specify it in the flags (i.e. using
 C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
 system like NetBSD.
 
@@ -415,8 +464,9 @@
 kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
 course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
 cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
-two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
-drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
+two event changes per incident. Support for C<fork ()> is very bad (but
+sane, unlike epoll) and it drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect
+cases
 
 This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
 
@@ -424,8 +474,12 @@
 everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
 almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
 (for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
-(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
-sockets.
+(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (but C<poll> is of course
+also broken on OS X)) and, did I mention it, using it only for sockets.
+
+This backend maps C<EV_READ> into an C<EVFILT_READ> kevent with
+C<NOTE_EOF>, and C<EV_WRITE> into an C<EVFILT_WRITE> kevent with
+C<NOTE_EOF>.
 
 =item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
 
@@ -448,9 +502,13 @@
 descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
 might perform better.
 
-On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readiness notifications, this
-backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
-embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
+On the positive side, with the exception of the spurious readiness
+notifications, this backend actually performed fully to specification
+in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat among the
+OS-specific backends (I vastly prefer correctness over speed hacks).
+
+This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
+C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
 
 =item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
 
@@ -466,19 +524,20 @@
 backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
 specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
 
-The most typical usage is like this:
+Example: This is the most typical usage.
 
    if (!ev_default_loop (0))
      fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
 
-Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
+Example: Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
 environment settings to be taken into account:
 
    ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
 
-Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if
-available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private
-event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):
+Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is
+used if available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own
+private event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of
+fds):
 
    ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
 
@@ -509,9 +568,9 @@
 the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
 for example).
 
-Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
-this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
-would need to be stopped manually.
+Note that certain global state, such as signal state (and installed signal
+handlers), will not be freed by this function, and related watchers (such
+as signal and child watchers) would need to be stopped manually.
 
 In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
 rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
@@ -546,11 +605,13 @@
 
 Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
 C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
-after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
+after fork that you want to re-use in the child, and how you do this is
+entirely your own problem.
 
 =item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
 
-Returns true when the given loop actually is the default loop, false otherwise.
+Returns true when the given loop is, in fact, the default loop, and false
+otherwise.
 
 =item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
 
@@ -575,6 +636,44 @@
 time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
 event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
 
+=item ev_now_update (loop)
+
+Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
+returned by C<ev_now ()> in the progress. This is a costly operation and
+is usually done automatically within C<ev_loop ()>.
+
+This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
+very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
+the current time is a good idea.
+
+See also L<The special problem of time updates> in the C<ev_timer> section.
+
+=item ev_suspend (loop)
+
+=item ev_resume (loop)
+
+These two functions suspend and resume a loop, for use when the loop is
+not used for a while and timeouts should not be processed.
+
+A typical use case would be an interactive program such as a game:  When
+the user presses C<^Z> to suspend the game and resumes it an hour later it
+would be best to handle timeouts as if no time had actually passed while
+the program was suspended. This can be achieved by calling C<ev_suspend>
+in your C<SIGTSTP> handler, sending yourself a C<SIGSTOP> and calling
+C<ev_resume> directly afterwards to resume timer processing.
+
+Effectively, all C<ev_timer> watchers will be delayed by the time spend
+between C<ev_suspend> and C<ev_resume>, and all C<ev_periodic> watchers
+will be rescheduled (that is, they will lose any events that would have
+occured while suspended).
+
+After calling C<ev_suspend> you B<must not> call I<any> function on the
+given loop other than C<ev_resume>, and you B<must not> call C<ev_resume>
+without a previous call to C<ev_suspend>.
+
+Calling C<ev_suspend>/C<ev_resume> has the side effect of updating the
+event loop time (see C<ev_now_update>).
+
 =item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
 
 Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
@@ -586,41 +685,48 @@
 
 Please note that an explicit C<ev_unloop> is usually better than
 relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
-finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program that
-automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue of
-relying on its watchers stopping correctly is a thing of beauty.
+finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program
+that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue
+of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of
+beauty.
 
 A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle
-those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in
-case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.
+those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not block your
+process in case there are no events and will return after one iteration of
+the loop.
 
 A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if
-necessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block
-your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after
-one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some
-external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other
-libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
+necessary) and will handle those and any already outstanding ones. It
+will block your process until at least one new event arrives (which could
+be an event internal to libev itself, so there is no guarantee that a
+user-registered callback will be called), and will return after one
+iteration of the loop.
+
+This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction
+with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your
+own C<ev_loop>"). However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
 usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
 
 Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
 
    - Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
    * If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
-   - If a fork was detected, queue and call all fork watchers.
+   - If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
    - Queue and call all prepare watchers.
-   - If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
+   - If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
+     as to not disturb the other process.
    - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
-   - Update the "event loop time".
+   - Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
    - Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
      (active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
      any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
    - Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
    - Block the process, waiting for any events.
    - Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
-   - Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
-   - Queue all outstanding timers.
-   - Queue all outstanding periodics.
-   - If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
+   - Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
+   - Queue all expired timers.
+   - Queue all expired periodics.
+   - Unless any events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
    - Queue all check watchers.
    - Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
      Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
@@ -635,7 +741,7 @@
    ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
    ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
    ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
-   ... jobs done. yeah!
+   ... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
 
 =item ev_unloop (loop, how)
 
@@ -646,27 +752,34 @@
 
 This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
 
+It is safe to call C<ev_unloop> from otuside any C<ev_loop> calls.
+
 =item ev_ref (loop)
 
 =item ev_unref (loop)
 
 Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event
 loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference
-count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own. If you have
-a watcher you never unregister that should not keep C<ev_loop> from
-returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
-example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
-visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
-no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
-way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
-libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
-(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
-respectively).
+count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own.
+
+If you have a watcher you never unregister that should not keep C<ev_loop>
+from returning, call ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before
+stopping it.
+
+As an example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It
+is not visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from
+exiting if no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an
+excellent way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within
+third-party libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref
+before stop> (but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active
+before, respectively. Note also that libev might stop watchers itself
+(e.g. non-repeating timers) in which case you have to C<ev_ref>
+in the callback).
 
 Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
 running when nothing else is active.
 
-   struct ev_signal exitsig;
+   ev_signal exitsig;
    ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
    ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
    evf_unref (loop);
@@ -681,16 +794,18 @@
 =item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
 
 These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
-for events. Both are by default C<0>, meaning that libev will try to
-invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.
+for events. Both time intervals are by default C<0>, meaning that libev
+will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
+latency.
 
 Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
-allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks to
-increase efficiency of loop iterations.
-
-The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
-handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
-the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
+allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
+to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
+opportunities).
+
+The idea is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to handle
+one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes the
+program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
 events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
 overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
 
@@ -698,26 +813,46 @@
 time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
 at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
 C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
-introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
+introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations. The
+sleep time ensures that libev will not poll for I/O events more often then
+once per this interval, on average.
 
 Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
 to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
-latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
-will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
-any overhead in libev.
+latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called
+later). C<ev_io> watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null
+value will not introduce any overhead in libev.
 
 Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
 interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
 interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
 usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
-as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems.
+as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems. Note that if
+you do transactions with the outside world and you can't increase the
+parallelity, then this setting will limit your transaction rate (if you
+need to poll once per transaction and the I/O collect interval is 0.01,
+then you can't do more than 100 transations per second).
+
+Setting the I<timeout collect interval> can improve the opportunity for
+saving power, as the program will "bundle" timer callback invocations that
+are "near" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
+times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
+reduce iterations/wake-ups is to use C<ev_periodic> watchers and make sure
+they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
+
+Example: we only need 0.1s timeout granularity, and we wish not to poll
+more often than 100 times per second:
+
+   ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.1);
+   ev_set_io_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.01);
 
 =item ev_loop_verify (loop)
 
 This function only does something when C<EV_VERIFY> support has been
-compiled in. It tries to go through all internal structures and checks
-them for validity. If anything is found to be inconsistent, it will print
-an error message to standard error and call C<abort ()>.
+compiled in, which is the default for non-minimal builds. It tries to go
+through all internal structures and checks them for validity. If anything
+is found to be inconsistent, it will print an error message to standard
+error and call C<abort ()>.
 
 This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
 circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
@@ -728,26 +863,36 @@
 
 =head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
 
+In the following description, uppercase C<TYPE> in names stands for the
+watcher type, e.g. C<ev_TYPE_start> can mean C<ev_timer_start> for timer
+watchers and C<ev_io_start> for I/O watchers.
+
 A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
 interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
 become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:
 
-   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
+   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
    {
      ev_io_stop (w);
      ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
    }
 
    struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
-   struct ev_io stdin_watcher;
+
+   ev_io stdin_watcher;
+
    ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
    ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
    ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
+
    ev_loop (loop, 0);
 
 As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
-watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,
-although this can sometimes be quite valid).
+watcher structures (and it is I<usually> a bad idea to do this on the
+stack).
+
+Each watcher has an associated watcher structure (called C<struct ev_TYPE>
+or simply C<ev_TYPE>, as typedefs are provided for all watcher structs).
 
 Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init
 (watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This
@@ -755,19 +900,19 @@
 watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given
 is readable and/or writable).
 
-Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro
-with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro
-to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<< ev_<type>_init
-(watcher *, callback, ...) >>.
+Each watcher type further has its own C<< ev_TYPE_set (watcher *, ...) >>
+macro to configure it, with arguments specific to the watcher type. There
+is also a macro to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<<
+ev_TYPE_init (watcher *, callback, ...) >>.
 
 To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it
-with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_<type>_start (loop, watcher
+with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_TYPE_start (loop, watcher
 *) >>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the
-corresponding stop function (C<< ev_<type>_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.
+corresponding stop function (C<< ev_TYPE_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.
 
 As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you
 must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never
-reinitialise it or call its C<set> macro.
+reinitialise it or call its C<ev_TYPE_set> macro.
 
 Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the
 registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as
@@ -835,27 +980,34 @@
 
 The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
 
+=item C<EV_CUSTOM>
+
+Not ever sent (or otherwise used) by libev itself, but can be freely used
+by libev users to signal watchers (e.g. via C<ev_feed_event>).
+
 =item C<EV_ERROR>
 
 An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
 happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
 ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
-problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping
-with the watcher being stopped.
+problem. Libev considers these application bugs.
 
-Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,
-for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if
-your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope
-with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
-programs, though, so beware.
+You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping with the
+watcher being stopped. Note that well-written programs should not receive
+an error ever, so when your watcher receives it, this usually indicates a
+bug in your program.
+
+Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error, for
+example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if your
+callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope with
+the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
+programs, though, as the fd could already be closed and reused for another
+thing, so beware.
 
 =back
 
 =head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
 
-In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,
-e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.
-
 =over 4
 
 =item C<ev_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
@@ -870,9 +1022,15 @@
 You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
 (or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.
 
-The callback is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
+The callback is always of type C<void (*)(struct ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
 int revents)>.
 
+Example: Initialise an C<ev_io> watcher in two steps.
+
+   ev_io w;
+   ev_init (&w, my_cb);
+   ev_io_set (&w, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+
 =item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])
 
 This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
@@ -884,25 +1042,38 @@
 Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
 (e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.
 
+See C<ev_init>, above, for an example.
+
 =item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])
 
 This convenience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro
 calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
 a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
 
+Example: Initialise and set an C<ev_io> watcher in one step.
+
+   ev_io_init (&w, my_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+
 =item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
 
 Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
 events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.
 
+Example: Start the C<ev_io> watcher that is being abused as example in this
+whole section.
+
+   ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_UC, &w);
+
 =item C<ev_TYPE_stop> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
 
-Stops the given watcher again (if active) and clears the pending
-status. It is possible that stopped watchers are pending (for example,
-non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending), but
-C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor pending. If
-you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is therefore a
-good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.
+Stops the given watcher if active, and clears the pending status (whether
+the watcher was active or not).
+
+It is possible that stopped watchers are pending - for example,
+non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending - but
+calling C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor
+pending. If you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is
+therefore a good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.
 
 =item bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)
 
@@ -938,43 +1109,45 @@
 before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
 from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
 
-This means that priorities are I<only> used for ordering callback
-invocation after new events have been received. This is useful, for
-example, to reduce latency after idling, or more often, to bind two
-watchers on the same event and make sure one is called first.
-
 If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
 you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
 
 You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
 pending.
 
+Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
+fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
+or might not have been clamped to the valid range.
+
 The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
 always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
 
-Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
-fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
-or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.
+See L<WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS>, below, for a more thorough treatment of
+priorities.
 
 =item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
 
 Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
 C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
-can deal with that fact.
+can deal with that fact, as both are simply passed through to the
+callback.
 
 =item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
 
-If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status
-and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
+If the watcher is pending, this function clears its pending status and
+returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
 watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
 
+Sometimes it can be useful to "poll" a watcher instead of waiting for its
+callback to be invoked, which can be accomplished with this function.
+
 =back
 
 
 =head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
 
 Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change
-and read at any time, libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
+and read at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
 to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
 don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
 member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
@@ -982,16 +1155,20 @@
 
    struct my_io
    {
-     struct ev_io io;
+     ev_io io;
      int otherfd;
      void *somedata;
      struct whatever *mostinteresting;
-   }
+   };
+
+   ...
+   struct my_io w;
+   ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
 
 And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
 can cast it back to your own type:
 
-   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)
+   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
    {
      struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
      ...
@@ -1000,8 +1177,8 @@
 More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
 instead have been omitted.
 
-Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple
-watchers:
+Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
+embedded watchers:
 
    struct my_biggy
    {
@@ -1010,25 +1187,131 @@
      ev_timer t2;
    }
 
-In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,
-you need to use C<offsetof>:
+In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
+complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct
+in the C<data> member of the watcher (for woozies), or you need to use
+some pointer arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers (for real
+programmers):
 
    #include <stddef.h>
 
    static void
-   t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
    {
-     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
+     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
        (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
    }
 
    static void
-   t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
    {
-     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
+     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
        (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
    }
 
+=head2 WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS
+
+Many event loops support I<watcher priorities>, which are usually small
+integers that influence the ordering of event callback invocation
+between watchers in some way, all else being equal.
+
+In libev, Watcher priorities can be set using C<ev_set_priority>. See its
+description for the more technical details such as the actual priority
+range.
+
+There are two common ways how these these priorities are being interpreted
+by event loops:
+
+In the more common lock-out model, higher priorities "lock out" invocation
+of lower priority watchers, which means as long as higher priority
+watchers receive events, lower priority watchers are not being invoked.
+
+The less common only-for-ordering model uses priorities solely to order
+callback invocation within a single event loop iteration: Higher priority
+watchers are invoked before lower priority ones, but they all get invoked
+before polling for new events.
+
+Libev uses the second (only-for-ordering) model for all its watchers
+except for idle watchers (which use the lock-out model).
+
+The rationale behind this is that implementing the lock-out model for
+watchers is not well supported by most kernel interfaces, and most event
+libraries will just poll for the same events again and again as long as
+their callbacks have not been executed, which is very inefficient in the
+common case of one high-priority watcher locking out a mass of lower
+priority ones.
+
+Static (ordering) priorities are most useful when you have two or more
+watchers handling the same resource: a typical usage example is having an
+C<ev_io> watcher to receive data, and an associated C<ev_timer> to handle
+timeouts. Under load, data might be received while the program handles
+other jobs, but since timers normally get invoked first, the timeout
+handler will be executed before checking for data. In that case, giving
+the timer a lower priority than the I/O watcher ensures that I/O will be
+handled first even under adverse conditions (which is usually, but not
+always, what you want).
+
+Since idle watchers use the "lock-out" model, meaning that idle watchers
+will only be executed when no same or higher priority watchers have
+received events, they can be used to implement the "lock-out" model when
+required.
+
+For example, to emulate how many other event libraries handle priorities,
+you can associate an C<ev_idle> watcher to each such watcher, and in
+the normal watcher callback, you just start the idle watcher. The real
+processing is done in the idle watcher callback. This causes libev to
+continously poll and process kernel event data for the watcher, but when
+the lock-out case is known to be rare (which in turn is rare :), this is
+workable.
+
+Usually, however, the lock-out model implemented that way will perform
+miserably under the type of load it was designed to handle. In that case,
+it might be preferable to stop the real watcher before starting the
+idle watcher, so the kernel will not have to process the event in case
+the actual processing will be delayed for considerable time.
+
+Here is an example of an I/O watcher that should run at a strictly lower
+priority than the default, and which should only process data when no
+other events are pending:
+
+   ev_idle idle; // actual processing watcher
+   ev_io io;     // actual event watcher
+
+   static void
+   io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
+   {
+     // stop the I/O watcher, we received the event, but
+     // are not yet ready to handle it.
+     ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
+
+     // start the idle watcher to ahndle the actual event.
+     // it will not be executed as long as other watchers
+     // with the default priority are receiving events.
+     ev_idle_start (EV_A_ &idle);
+   }
+
+   static void
+   idle_cb (EV_P_ ev_idle *w, int revents)
+   {
+     // actual processing
+     read (STDIN_FILENO, ...);
+
+     // have to start the I/O watcher again, as
+     // we have handled the event
+     ev_io_start (EV_P_ &io);
+   }
+
+   // initialisation
+   ev_idle_init (&idle, idle_cb);
+   ev_io_init (&io, io_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+   ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &io);
+
+In the "real" world, it might also be beneficial to start a timer, so that
+low-priority connections can not be locked out forever under load. This
+enables your program to keep a lower latency for important connections
+during short periods of high load, while not completely locking out less
+important ones.
+
 
 =head1 WATCHER TYPES
 
@@ -1061,9 +1344,11 @@
 descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
 required if you know what you are doing).
 
-If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
-(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
-C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
+If you cannot use non-blocking mode, then force the use of a
+known-to-be-good backend (at the time of this writing, this includes only
+C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL>). The same applies to file
+descriptors for which non-blocking operation makes no sense (such as
+files) - libev doesn't guarentee any specific behaviour in that case.
 
 Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
 receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
@@ -1074,17 +1359,21 @@
 it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
 C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
 
-If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
-play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately re-test
-whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
-such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
-its own, so its quite safe to use).
+If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should
+not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately
+re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good
+interface such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already
+does this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally
+use C<SIGALRM> and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block
+indefinitely.
+
+But really, best use non-blocking mode.
 
 =head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
 
 Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
-descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
-such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
+descriptor (either due to calling C<close> explicitly or any other means,
+such as C<dup2>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
 descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
 this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
 registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
@@ -1125,11 +1414,10 @@
 
 =head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
 
-While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about SIGPIPE:
-when reading from a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program
-gets send a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most
-programs this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually
-undesirable.
+While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about C<SIGPIPE>:
+when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
+sent a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
+this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
 
 So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
 ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
@@ -1145,8 +1433,8 @@
 =item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
 
 Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
-receive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
-C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
+receive events for and C<events> is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
+C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE>, to express the desire to receive the given events.
 
 =item int fd [read-only]
 
@@ -1165,15 +1453,15 @@
 attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
 
    static void
-   stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
+   stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
    {
       ev_io_stop (loop, w);
-     .. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
+     .. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and handle any I/O errors
    }
 
    ...
    struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
-   struct ev_io stdin_readable;
+   ev_io stdin_readable;
    ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
    ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
    ev_loop (loop, 0);
@@ -1186,21 +1474,211 @@
 
 The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
 times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
-year, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because
+year, it will still time out after (roughly) one hour. "Roughly" because
 detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
 monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
 
+The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only I<after> its timeout has
+passed (not I<at>, so on systems with very low-resolution clocks this
+might introduce a small delay). If multiple timers become ready during the
+same loop iteration then the ones with earlier time-out values are invoked
+before ones with later time-out values (but this is no longer true when a
+callback calls C<ev_loop> recursively).
+
+=head3 Be smart about timeouts
+
+Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error
+recovery. A typical example is an HTTP request - if the other side hangs,
+you want to raise some error after a while.
+
+What follows are some ways to handle this problem, from obvious and
+inefficient to smart and efficient.
+
+In the following, a 60 second activity timeout is assumed - a timeout that
+gets reset to 60 seconds each time there is activity (e.g. each time some
+data or other life sign was received).
+
+=over 4
+
+=item 1. Use a timer and stop, reinitialise and start it on activity.
+
+This is the most obvious, but not the most simple way: In the beginning,
+start the watcher:
+
+   ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 60., 0.);
+   ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
+
+Then, each time there is some activity, C<ev_timer_stop> it, initialise it
+and start it again:
+
+   ev_timer_stop (loop, timer);
+   ev_timer_set (timer, 60., 0.);
+   ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
+
+This is relatively simple to implement, but means that each time there is
+some activity, libev will first have to remove the timer from its internal
+data structure and then add it again. Libev tries to be fast, but it's
+still not a constant-time operation.
+
+=item 2. Use a timer and re-start it with C<ev_timer_again> inactivity.
+
+This is the easiest way, and involves using C<ev_timer_again> instead of
+C<ev_timer_start>.
+
+To implement this, configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value
+of C<60> and then call C<ev_timer_again> at start and each time you
+successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle state where
+you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop>
+the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will automatically restart it if need be.
+
+That means you can ignore both the C<ev_timer_start> function and the
+C<after> argument to C<ev_timer_set>, and only ever use the C<repeat>
+member and C<ev_timer_again>.
+
+At start:
+
+   ev_init (timer, callback);
+   timer->repeat = 60.;
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+
+Each time there is some activity:
+
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+
+It is even possible to change the time-out on the fly, regardless of
+whether the watcher is active or not:
+
+   timer->repeat = 30.;
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+
+This is slightly more efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
+you want to modify its timeout value, as libev does not have to completely
+remove and re-insert the timer from/into its internal data structure.
+
+It is, however, even simpler than the "obvious" way to do it.
+
+=item 3. Let the timer time out, but then re-arm it as required.
+
+This method is more tricky, but usually most efficient: Most timeouts are
+relatively long compared to the intervals between other activity - in
+our example, within 60 seconds, there are usually many I/O events with
+associated activity resets.
+
+In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the C<ev_timer> alone,
+but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only
+within the callback:
+
+   ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity
+
+   static void
+   callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   {
+     ev_tstamp now     = ev_now (EV_A);
+     ev_tstamp timeout = last_activity + 60.;
+
+     // if last_activity + 60. is older than now, we did time out
+     if (timeout < now)
+       {
+         // timeout occured, take action
+       }
+     else
+       {
+         // callback was invoked, but there was some activity, re-arm
+         // the watcher to fire in last_activity + 60, which is
+         // guaranteed to be in the future, so "again" is positive:
+         w->repeat = timeout - now;
+         ev_timer_again (EV_A_ w);
+       }
+   }
+
+To summarise the callback: first calculate the real timeout (defined
+as "60 seconds after the last activity"), then check if that time has
+been reached, which means something I<did>, in fact, time out. Otherwise
+the callback was invoked too early (C<timeout> is in the future), so
+re-schedule the timer to fire at that future time, to see if maybe we have
+a timeout then.
+
+Note how C<ev_timer_again> is used, taking advantage of the
+C<ev_timer_again> optimisation when the timer is already running.
+
+This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds
+minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to
+libev to change the timeout.
+
+To start the timer, simply initialise the watcher and set C<last_activity>
+to the current time (meaning we just have some activity :), then call the
+callback, which will "do the right thing" and start the timer:
+
+   ev_init (timer, callback);
+   last_activity = ev_now (loop);
+   callback (loop, timer, EV_TIMEOUT);
+
+And when there is some activity, simply store the current time in
+C<last_activity>, no libev calls at all:
+
+   last_actiivty = ev_now (loop);
+
+This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the
+time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.
+
+Changing the timeout is trivial as well (if it isn't hard-coded in the
+callback :) - just change the timeout and invoke the callback, which will
+fix things for you.
+
+=item 4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts.
+
+If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all
+employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can
+do even better:
+
+When starting the timeout, calculate the timeout value and put the timeout
+at the I<end> of the list.
+
+Then use an C<ev_timer> to fire when the timeout at the I<beginning> of
+the list is expected to fire (for example, using the technique #3).
+
+When there is some activity, remove the timer from the list, recalculate
+the timeout, append it to the end of the list again, and make sure to
+update the C<ev_timer> if it was taken from the beginning of the list.
+
+This way, one can manage an unlimited number of timeouts in O(1) time for
+starting, stopping and updating the timers, at the expense of a major
+complication, and having to use a constant timeout. The constant timeout
+ensures that the list stays sorted.
+
+=back
+
+So which method the best?
+
+Method #2 is a simple no-brain-required solution that is adequate in most
+situations. Method #3 requires a bit more thinking, but handles many cases
+better, and isn't very complicated either. In most case, choosing either
+one is fine, with #3 being better in typical situations.
+
+Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is
+rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays
+off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually
+overkill :)
+
+=head3 The special problem of time updates
+
+Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
+least two system calls): EV therefore updates its idea of the current
+time only before and after C<ev_loop> collects new events, which causes a
+growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling
+lots of events in one iteration.
+
 The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
 time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
 of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
-you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout
-on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
+you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
+timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
 
    ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
 
-The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only after its timeout has passed,
-but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
-order of execution is undefined.
+If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
+update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update
+()>.
 
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
@@ -1234,35 +1712,13 @@
 If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
 C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
 
-This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
-example: Imagine you have a TCP connection and you want a so-called idle
-timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
-seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
-configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
-C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
-you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
-socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop> the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will
-automatically restart it if need be.
-
-That means you can ignore the C<after> value and C<ev_timer_start>
-altogether and only ever use the C<repeat> value and C<ev_timer_again>:
-
-   ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
-   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
-   ...
-   timer->again = 17.;
-   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
-   ...
-   timer->again = 10.;
-   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
-
-This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
-you want to modify its timeout value.
+This sounds a bit complicated, see L<Be smart about timeouts>, above, for a
+usage example.
 
 =item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]
 
 The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
-or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
+or C<ev_timer_again> is called, and determines the next timeout (if any),
 which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
 
 =back
@@ -1272,12 +1728,12 @@
 Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
 
    static void
-   one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
    {
      .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
    }
 
-   struct ev_timer mytimer;
+   ev_timer mytimer;
    ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
    ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
 
@@ -1285,12 +1741,12 @@
 inactivity.
 
    static void
-   timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+   timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
    {
      .. ten seconds without any activity
    }
 
-   struct ev_timer mytimer;
+   ev_timer mytimer;
    ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
    ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
    ev_loop (loop, 0);
@@ -1305,52 +1761,63 @@
 Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
 (and unfortunately a bit complex).
 
-Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
-but on wall clock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
-to trigger after some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
-periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now ()
-+ 10.>, that is, an absolute time not a delay) and then reset your system
-clock to January of the previous year, then it will take more than year
-to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger
-roughly 10 seconds later as it uses a relative timeout).
-
-C<ev_periodic>s can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers,
-such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or other
-complicated, rules.
+Unlike C<ev_timer>, periodic watchers are not based on real time (or
+relative time, the physical time that passes) but on wall clock time
+(absolute time, the thing you can read on your calender or clock). The
+difference is that wall clock time can run faster or slower than real
+time, and time jumps are not uncommon (e.g. when you adjust your
+wrist-watch).
+
+You can tell a periodic watcher to trigger after some specific point
+in time: for example, if you tell a periodic watcher to trigger "in 10
+seconds" (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now () + 10.>, that is, an absolute time
+not a delay) and then reset your system clock to January of the previous
+year, then it will take a year or more to trigger the event (unlike an
+C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger roughly 10 seconds after starting
+it, as it uses a relative timeout).
+
+C<ev_periodic> watchers can also be used to implement vastly more complex
+timers, such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or
+other complicated rules. This cannot be done with C<ev_timer> watchers, as
+those cannot react to time jumps.
 
 As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
-time (C<at>) has passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
-during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
+point in time where it is supposed to trigger has passed. If multiple
+timers become ready during the same loop iteration then the ones with
+earlier time-out values are invoked before ones with later time-out values
+(but this is no longer true when a callback calls C<ev_loop> recursively).
 
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
 =over 4
 
-=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
+=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
 
-=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)
+=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
 
-Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
-operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
+Lots of arguments, let's sort it out... There are basically three modes of
+operation, and we will explain them from simplest to most complex:
 
 =over 4
 
-=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
+=item * absolute timer (offset = absolute time, interval = 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
 
 In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
-time C<at> has passed and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time
-jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will
-run when the system time reaches or surpasses this time.
+time C<offset> has passed. It will not repeat and will not adjust when a
+time jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it
+will be stopped and invoked when the system clock reaches or surpasses
+this point in time.
 
-=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
+=item * repeating interval timer (offset = offset within interval, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
 
 In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
-C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
-and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
-
-This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
-time, for example, here is a C<ev_periodic> that triggers each hour, on
-the hour:
+C<offset + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be
+negative) and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps. The C<offset>
+argument is merely an offset into the C<interval> periods.
+
+This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to the
+system clock, for example, here is an C<ev_periodic> that triggers each
+hour, on the hour (with respect to UTC):
 
    ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
 
@@ -1361,9 +1828,9 @@
 
 Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
 C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
-time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
+time where C<time = offset (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
 
-For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
+For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<offset> value is near
 C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
 this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
 
@@ -1372,24 +1839,26 @@
 will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
 millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
 
-=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
+=item * manual reschedule mode (offset ignored, interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
 
-In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
+In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<offset> are both being
 ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
 reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
 current time as second argument.
 
-NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
-ever, or make ANY event loop modifications whatsoever>.
+NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher, ever,
+or make ANY other event loop modifications whatsoever, unless explicitly
+allowed by documentation here>.
 
 If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
 it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
 only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
 
-The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic
+The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic
 *w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
 
-   static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
+   static ev_tstamp
+   my_rescheduler (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
    {
      return now + 60.;
    }
@@ -1419,13 +1888,16 @@
 
 =item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
 
-When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
-trigger next.
+When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed
+to trigger next. This is not the same as the C<offset> argument to
+C<ev_periodic_set>, but indeed works even in interval and manual
+rescheduling modes.
 
 =item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
 
 When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
-absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
+absolute point in time (the C<offset> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>,
+although libev might modify this value for better numerical stability).
 
 Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
 timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
@@ -1436,7 +1908,7 @@
 take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
 called.
 
-=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
+=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
 
 The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
 switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
@@ -1447,16 +1919,16 @@
 =head3 Examples
 
 Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
-system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
+system time is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
 potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
 
    static void
-   clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
+   clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
    {
      ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
    }
 
-   struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
+   ev_periodic hourly_tick;
    ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
    ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
 
@@ -1465,16 +1937,16 @@
    #include <math.h>
 
    static ev_tstamp
-   my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
+   my_scheduler_cb (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
    {
-     return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
+     return now + (3600. - fmod (now, 3600.));
    }
 
    ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
 
 Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
 
-   struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
+   ev_periodic hourly_tick;
    ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
                      fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
    ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
@@ -1487,12 +1959,16 @@
 will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
 normal event processing, like any other event.
 
+If you want signals asynchronously, just use C<sigaction> as you would
+do without libev and forget about sharing the signal. You can even use
+C<ev_async> from a signal handler to synchronously wake up an event loop.
+
 You can configure as many watchers as you like per signal. Only when the
-first watcher gets started will libev actually register a signal watcher
-with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
-as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
-watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
-SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
+first watcher gets started will libev actually register a signal handler
+with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long as
+you don't register any with libev for the same signal). Similarly, when
+the last signal watcher for a signal is stopped, libev will reset the
+signal handler to SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
 
 If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
 C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so system calls should not be unduly
@@ -1519,26 +1995,29 @@
 
 =head3 Examples
 
-Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
+Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT.
 
    static void
-   sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
+   sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_signal *w, int revents)
    {
      ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
    }
 
-   struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
+   ev_signal signal_watcher;
    ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
-   ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
+   ev_signal_start (loop, &signal_watcher);
 
 
 =head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
 
 Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
-some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). It
-is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child has been
-forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long as the event
-loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher).
+some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies or
+exits). It is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child
+has been forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long
+as the event loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher), i.e.,
+forking and then immediately registering a watcher for the child is fine,
+but forking and registering a watcher a few event loop iterations later or
+in the next callback invocation is not.
 
 Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
 you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
@@ -1562,6 +2041,13 @@
 event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
 that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
 
+=head3 Stopping the Child Watcher
+
+Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
+child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
+callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
+when a child exit is detected.
+
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
 =over 4
@@ -1602,7 +2088,7 @@
    ev_child cw;
 
    static void
-   child_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_child *w, int revents)
+   child_cb (EV_P_ ev_child *w, int revents)
    {
      ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
      printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
@@ -1627,78 +2113,106 @@
 =head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
 
 This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
-C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
-compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
+C<stat> on that path in regular intervals (or when the OS says it changed)
+and sees if it changed compared to the last time, invoking the callback if
+it did.
 
 The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
-not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
-not exist" is signified by the C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is
-otherwise always forced to be at least one) and all the other fields of
-the stat buffer having unspecified contents.
-
-The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is
-relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.
-
-Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply
-calls C<stat (2)> regularly on the path to see if it changed somehow. You
-can specify a recommended polling interval for this case. If you specify
-a polling interval of C<0> (highly recommended!) then a I<suitable,
-unspecified default> value will be used (which you can expect to be around
-five seconds, although this might change dynamically). Libev will also
-impose a minimum interval which is currently around C<0.1>, but thats
-usually overkill.
+not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does not
+exist" (or more correctly "path cannot be stat'ed") is signified by the
+C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is otherwise always forced to be at
+least one) and all the other fields of the stat buffer having unspecified
+contents.
+
+The path I<must not> end in a slash or contain special components such as
+C<.> or C<..>. The path I<should> be absolute: If it is relative and
+your working directory changes, then the behaviour is undefined.
+
+Since there is no portable change notification interface available, the
+portable implementation simply calls C<stat(2)> regularly on the path
+to see if it changed somehow. You can specify a recommended polling
+interval for this case. If you specify a polling interval of C<0> (highly
+recommended!) then a I<suitable, unspecified default> value will be used
+(which you can expect to be around five seconds, although this might
+change dynamically). Libev will also impose a minimum interval which is
+currently around C<0.1>, but that's usually overkill.
 
 This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
 as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
 resource-intensive.
 
-At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
-implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
-reader, note, however, that the author sees no way of implementing ev_stat
-semantics with kqueue). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should
-not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev
-sometimes needs to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify,
-but changes are usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there
-will be no polling.
+At the time of this writing, the only OS-specific interface implemented
+is the Linux inotify interface (implementing kqueue support is left as an
+exercise for the reader. Note, however, that the author sees no way of
+implementing C<ev_stat> semantics with kqueue, except as a hint).
 
 =head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
 
 Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
-compilation environment, which means that on systems with optionally
-disabled large file support, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
+compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
+support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
 structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
 use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
 compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
 obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
-most noticeably with ev_stat and large file support.
+most noticeably displayed with ev_stat and large file support.
 
-=head3 Inotify
-
-When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
-available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
-change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
-when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
+The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
+file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
+optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
+to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
+default compilation environment.
+
+=head3 Inotify and Kqueue
+
+When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev and present at
+runtime, it will be used to speed up change detection where possible. The
+inotify descriptor will be created lazily when the first C<ev_stat>
+watcher is being started.
 
 Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
 except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
 making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
-there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
+there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling,
+but as long as kernel 2.6.25 or newer is used (2.6.24 and older have too
+many bugs), the path exists (i.e. stat succeeds), and the path resides on
+a local filesystem (libev currently assumes only ext2/3, jfs, reiserfs and
+xfs are fully working) libev usually gets away without polling.
 
-(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
+There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
 implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
-descriptor open on the object at all times).
+descriptor open on the object at all times, and detecting renames, unlinks
+etc. is difficult.
+
+=head3 C<stat ()> is a synchronous operation
+
+Libev doesn't normally do any kind of I/O itself, and so is not blocking
+the process. The exception are C<ev_stat> watchers - those call C<stat
+()>, which is a synchronous operation.
+
+For local paths, this usually doesn't matter: unless the system is very
+busy or the intervals between stat's are large, a stat call will be fast,
+as the path data is usually in memory already (except when starting the
+watcher).
+
+For networked file systems, calling C<stat ()> can block an indefinite
+time due to network issues, and even under good conditions, a stat call
+often takes multiple milliseconds.
+
+Therefore, it is best to avoid using C<ev_stat> watchers on networked
+paths, although this is fully supported by libev.
 
 =head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
 
-The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably, and
-even on systems where the resolution is higher, many file systems still
-only support whole seconds.
+The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably,
+and even on systems where the resolution is higher, most file systems
+still only support whole seconds.
 
 That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
 easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
 calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
-within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it as the stat
-data does not change.
+within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect unless the
+stat data does change in other ways (e.g. file size).
 
 The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
 than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
@@ -1728,9 +2242,9 @@
 a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
 path for as long as the watcher is active.
 
-The callback will receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, relative
-to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the last change
-was detected).
+The callback will receive an C<EV_STAT> event when a change was detected,
+relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
+last change was detected).
 
 =item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
 
@@ -1823,8 +2337,8 @@
 =head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
 
 Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
-priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not
-count).
+priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count
+as receiving "events").
 
 That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
 (or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
@@ -1845,7 +2359,7 @@
 
 =over 4
 
-=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
+=item ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)
 
 Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
 kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
@@ -1859,21 +2373,21 @@
 callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
 
    static void
-   idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
+   idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)
    {
      free (w);
      // now do something you wanted to do when the program has
      // no longer anything immediate to do.
    }
 
-   struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
+   ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));
    ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
-   ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
+   ev_idle_start (loop, idle_watcher);
 
 
 =head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
 
-Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
+Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in pairs:
 prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
 afterwards.
 
@@ -1886,21 +2400,21 @@
 called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
 
 Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
-their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track
+their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track
 variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
 coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
 you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
 in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>
 watcher).
 
-This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
-to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for
-them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
-provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
-any events that occurred (by checking the pending status of all watchers
-and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer
-callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,
-because you never know, you know?).
+This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors
+need to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers
+for them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many
+libraries provide exactly this functionality). Then, in the check watcher,
+you check for any events that occurred (by checking the pending status
+of all watchers and stopping them) and call back into the library. The
+I/O and timer callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid
+nevertheless, because you never know, you know?).
 
 As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
 coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines
@@ -1913,13 +2427,15 @@
 
 It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
 priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
-after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
-too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
-supports this, they might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers
-did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
-(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
-state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
-coexist peacefully with others).
+after the poll (this doesn't matter for C<ev_prepare> watchers).
+
+Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers, too) should not
+activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they
+might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers did their job. As
+C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event
+loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
+C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
+others).
 
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
@@ -1931,7 +2447,8 @@
 
 Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no
 parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
-macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
+macros, but using them is utterly, utterly, utterly and completely
+pointless.
 
 =back
 
@@ -1954,13 +2471,13 @@
    static ev_timer tw;
 
    static void
-   io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
+   io_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
    {
    }
 
    // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
    static void
-   adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
+   adns_prepare_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
    {
      int timeout = 3600000;
      struct pollfd fds [nfd];
@@ -1968,7 +2485,7 @@
      adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
 
      /* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
-     ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
+     ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3, 0.);
      ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
 
      // create one ev_io per pollfd
@@ -1985,7 +2502,7 @@
 
    // stop all watchers after blocking
    static void
-   adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
+   adns_check_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
    {
      ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
 
@@ -2034,10 +2551,11 @@
    // do not ever call adns_afterpoll
 
 Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
-want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, you can override
-their poll function.  The drawback with this solution is that the main
-loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
-this.
+want to embed is not flexible enough to support it. Instead, you can
+override their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the
+main loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module uses
+this approach, effectively embedding EV as a client into the horrible
+libglib event loop.
 
    static gint
    event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
@@ -2078,36 +2596,34 @@
 As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
 sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you
 still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales
-so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed it
-into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation will
-be a bit slower because first libev has to poll and then call kevent, but
-at least you can use both at what they are best.
-
-As for prioritising I/O: rarely you have the case where some fds have
-to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency), and even
-priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In this case
-you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all the rest in
-a second one, and embed the second one in the first.
-
-As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every time
-there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback must then
-call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single sweep and invoke
-their callbacks (you could also start an idle watcher to give the embedded
-loop strictly lower priority for example). You can also set the callback
-to C<0>, in which case the embed watcher will automatically execute the
-embedded loop sweep.
-
-As long as the watcher is started it will automatically handle events. The
-callback will be invoked whenever some events have been handled. You can
-set the callback to C<0> to avoid having to specify one if you are not
-interested in that.
-
-Also, there have not currently been made special provisions for forking:
-when you fork, you not only have to call C<ev_loop_fork> on both loops,
-but you will also have to stop and restart any C<ev_embed> watchers
-yourself.
+so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed
+it into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation
+will be a bit slower because first libev has to call C<poll> and then
+C<kevent>, but at least you can use both mechanisms for what they are
+best: C<kqueue> for scalable sockets and C<poll> if you want it to work :)
+
+As for prioritising I/O: under rare circumstances you have the case where
+some fds have to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency),
+and even priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In
+this case you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all
+the rest in a second one, and embed the second one in the first.
+
+As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every
+time there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback
+must then call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single
+sweep and invoke their callbacks (the callback doesn't need to invoke the
+C<ev_embed_sweep> function directly, it could also start an idle watcher
+to give the embedded loop strictly lower priority for example).
+
+You can also set the callback to C<0>, in which case the embed watcher
+will automatically execute the embedded loop sweep whenever necessary.
+
+Fork detection will be handled transparently while the C<ev_embed> watcher
+is active, i.e., the embedded loop will automatically be forked when the
+embedding loop forks. In other cases, the user is responsible for calling
+C<ev_loop_fork> on the embedded loop.
 
-Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable, only the ones returned by
+Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable: only the ones returned by
 C<ev_embeddable_backends> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any
 portable one.
 
@@ -2116,6 +2632,14 @@
 this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
 create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
 
+=head3 C<ev_embed> and fork
+
+While the C<ev_embed> watcher is running, forks in the embedding loop will
+automatically be applied to the embedded loop as well, so no special
+fork handling is required in that case. When the watcher is not running,
+however, it is still the task of the libev user to call C<ev_loop_fork ()>
+as applicable.
+
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
 =over 4
@@ -2152,7 +2676,7 @@
 
    struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
    struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
-   struct ev_embed embed;
+   ev_embed embed;
    
    // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
    // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
@@ -2176,7 +2700,7 @@
 
    struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
    struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
-   struct ev_embed embed;
+   ev_embed embed;
    
    if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
      if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
@@ -2201,6 +2725,39 @@
 C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
 handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
 
+=head3 The special problem of life after fork - how is it possible?
+
+Most uses of C<fork()> consist of forking, then some simple calls to ste
+up/change the process environment, followed by a call to C<exec()>. This
+sequence should be handled by libev without any problems.
+
+This changes when the application actually wants to do event handling
+in the child, or both parent in child, in effect "continuing" after the
+fork.
+
+The default mode of operation (for libev, with application help to detect
+forks) is to duplicate all the state in the child, as would be expected
+when I<either> the parent I<or> the child process continues.
+
+When both processes want to continue using libev, then this is usually the
+wrong result. In that case, usually one process (typically the parent) is
+supposed to continue with all watchers in place as before, while the other
+process typically wants to start fresh, i.e. without any active watchers.
+
+The cleanest and most efficient way to achieve that with libev is to
+simply create a new event loop, which of course will be "empty", and
+use that for new watchers. This has the advantage of not touching more
+memory than necessary, and thus avoiding the copy-on-write, and the
+disadvantage of having to use multiple event loops (which do not support
+signal watchers).
+
+When this is not possible, or you want to use the default loop for
+other reasons, then in the process that wants to start "fresh", call
+C<ev_default_destroy ()> followed by C<ev_default_loop (...)>. Destroying
+the default loop will "orphan" (not stop) all registered watchers, so you
+have to be careful not to execute code that modifies those watchers. Note
+also that in that case, you have to re-register any signal watchers.
+
 =head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
 
 =over 4
@@ -2242,7 +2799,7 @@
 need elaborate support such as pthreads.
 
 That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
-queue. But at least I can tell you would implement locking around your
+queue. But at least I can tell you how to implement locking around your
 queue:
 
 =over 4
@@ -2250,8 +2807,8 @@
 =item queueing from a signal handler context
 
 To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
-handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is an example that does that for
-some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
+handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is
+an example that does that for some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
 
    static ev_async mysig;
 
@@ -2327,20 +2884,25 @@
 =item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
 
 Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
-kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
-believe me.
+kind. There is a C<ev_async_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
+trust me.
 
 =item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
 
 Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
 an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
-C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do in other threads, signal or
+C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do from other threads, signal or
 similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
 section below on what exactly this means).
 
-This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per loop iteration,
-so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to repeated
-calls to C<ev_async_send>.
+Note that, as with other watchers in libev, multiple events might get
+compressed into a single callback invocation (another way to look at this
+is that C<ev_async> watchers are level-triggered, set on C<ev_async_send>,
+reset when the event loop detects that).
+
+This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per event loop
+iteration, so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to
+repeated calls to C<ev_async_send> for the same event loop.
 
 =item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
 
@@ -2353,8 +2915,10 @@
 it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
 quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
 
-Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending, only
-whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
+Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending,
+only whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending: there
+is a time window between the event loop checking and resetting the async
+notification, and the callback being invoked.
 
 =back
 
@@ -2368,47 +2932,50 @@
 =item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)
 
 This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your
-callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stop both
+callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both
 watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd
 or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
 more watchers yourself.
 
-If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events
-is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and
-C<events> set will be created and started.
+If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and the
+C<events> argument is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for
+the given C<fd> and C<events> set will be created and started.
 
 If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
 started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and
-repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of
-dubious value.
+repeat = 0) will be started. C<0> is a valid timeout.
 
 The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets
 passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
 C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>
-value passed to C<ev_once>:
+value passed to C<ev_once>. Note that it is possible to receive I<both>
+a timeout and an io event at the same time - you probably should give io
+events precedence.
+
+Example: wait up to ten seconds for data to appear on STDIN_FILENO.
 
    static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
    {
-     if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
-       /* doh, nothing entered */;
-     else if (revents & EV_READ)
+     if (revents & EV_READ)
        /* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
+     else if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
+       /* doh, nothing entered */;
    }
 
    ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
 
-=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
+=item ev_feed_event (struct ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
 
 Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
 had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
 initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).
 
-=item ev_feed_fd_event (ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)
+=item ev_feed_fd_event (struct ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)
 
 Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
 the given events it.
 
-=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)
+=item ev_feed_signal_event (struct ev_loop *loop, int signum)
 
 Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default
 loop!).
@@ -2540,6 +3107,36 @@
    ev::io iow;
    iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
 
+=item w->set (object *)
+
+This is an B<experimental> feature that might go away in a future version.
+
+This is a variation of a method callback - leaving out the method to call
+will default the method to C<operator ()>, which makes it possible to use
+functor objects without having to manually specify the C<operator ()> all
+the time. Incidentally, you can then also leave out the template argument
+list.
+
+The C<operator ()> method prototype must be C<void operator ()(watcher &w,
+int revents)>.
+
+See the method-C<set> above for more details.
+
+Example: use a functor object as callback.
+
+   struct myfunctor
+   {
+     void operator() (ev::io &w, int revents)
+     {
+       ...
+     }
+   }
+    
+   myfunctor f;
+
+   ev::io w;
+   w.set (&f);
+
 =item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
 
 Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
@@ -2550,7 +3147,7 @@
 
 See the method-C<set> above for more details.
 
-Example:
+Example: Use a plain function as callback.
 
    static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
    iow.set <io_cb> ();
@@ -2598,8 +3195,8 @@
 
    class myclass
    {
-     ev::io   io;  void io_cb   (ev::io   &w, int revents);
-     ev:idle idle  void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
+     ev::io   io  ; void io_cb   (ev::io   &w, int revents);
+     ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
 
      myclass (int fd)
      {
@@ -2625,12 +3222,18 @@
 The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
 libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
 there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
-to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>), C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the
-C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV> and C<EV::Glib>).
+to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>, but C<AnyEvent::DNS> is preferred nowadays),
+C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV>
+and C<EV::Glib>).
 
-It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is found at
+It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is at
 L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
 
+=item Python
+
+Python bindings can be found at L<http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
+seems to be quite complete and well-documented.
+
 =item Ruby
 
 Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
@@ -2638,10 +3241,23 @@
 more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
 L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
 
+Roger Pack reports that using the link order C<-lws2_32 -lmsvcrt-ruby-190>
+makes rev work even on mingw.
+
+=item Haskell
+
+A haskell binding to libev is available at
+L<http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/hlibev>.
+
 =item D
 
 Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
-be found at L<http://git.llucax.com.ar/?p=software/ev.d.git;a=summary>.
+be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
+
+=item Ocaml
+
+Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at
+L<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml-ev/>.
 
 =back
 
@@ -2752,7 +3368,7 @@
    #include "ev.h"
 
 Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
-compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
+compiler (at least, that's a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
 as a bug).
 
 You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
@@ -2806,7 +3422,7 @@
 
 Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
 define before including any of its files. The default in the absence of
-autoconf is noted for every option.
+autoconf is documented for every option.
 
 =over 4
 
@@ -2818,24 +3434,40 @@
 supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
 F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
 
+In stanbdalone mode, libev will still try to automatically deduce the
+configuration, but has to be more conservative.
+
 =item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
 
 If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
-monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no use
-of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
-usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
-the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
+monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no
+use of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this,
+you usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it
+when the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
 to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
-function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
+function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>). See also C<EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL>.
 
 =item EV_USE_REALTIME
 
 If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
-real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability at
-runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock option will
-be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
-(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
-note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
+real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability
+at runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock
+option will be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday>
+by C<clock_get (CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect
+correctness. See the note about libraries in the description of
+C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though. Defaults to the opposite value of
+C<EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL>.
+
+=item EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL
+
+If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to use a direct syscall instead
+of calling the system-provided C<clock_gettime> function. This option
+exists because on GNU/Linux, C<clock_gettime> is in C<librt>, but C<librt>
+unconditionally pulls in C<libpthread>, slowing down single-threaded
+programs needlessly. Using a direct syscall is slightly slower (in
+theory), because no optimised vdso implementation can be used, but avoids
+the pthread dependency. Defaults to C<1> on GNU/Linux with glibc 2.x or
+higher, as it simplifies linking (no need for C<-lrt>).
 
 =item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
 
@@ -2861,11 +3493,11 @@
 
 If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
 structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
-C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout on
-exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
-low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
-allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might
-influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.
+C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout
+on exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to
+some low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket
+only allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation,
+configures the maximum size of the C<fd_set>.
 
 =item EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET
 
@@ -2986,8 +3618,8 @@
 and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
 fine.
 
-If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these both to
-C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
+If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these
+both to C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
 
 =item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
 
@@ -3004,7 +3636,8 @@
 =item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
 
 If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
-defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Embed watchers rely on most other
+watcher types, which therefore must not be disabled.
 
 =item EV_STAT_ENABLE
 
@@ -3046,9 +3679,9 @@
 =item EV_USE_4HEAP
 
 Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
-timer and periodics heap, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
-to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has
-noticeably faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
+timer and periodics heaps, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
+to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has noticeably
+faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
 
 The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
 (disabled).
@@ -3056,11 +3689,11 @@
 =item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
 
 Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
-timer and periodics heap, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
+timer and periodics heaps, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
 the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
 which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
 but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
-noticeably with with many (hundreds) of watchers.
+noticeably with many (hundreds) of watchers.
 
 The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
 (disabled).
@@ -3076,7 +3709,7 @@
 libev considerably.
 
 The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set, in which case it will be
-C<0.>
+C<0>.
 
 =item EV_COMMON
 
@@ -3104,6 +3737,8 @@
 avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
 method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
 
+=back
+
 =head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
 
 If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a DLL) and you need a list of
@@ -3159,24 +3794,34 @@
    #include "ev_cpp.h"
    #include "ev.c"
 
+=head1 INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS OR LIBRARIES
 
-=head1 THREADS AND COROUTINES
+=head2 THREADS AND COROUTINES
 
-=head2 THREADS
+=head3 THREADS
 
-Libev itself is completely thread-safe, but it uses no locking. This
-means that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as
-only one thread ever calls into one libev function with the same loop
-parameter.
-
-Or put differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done in
-parallel from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter must be
-done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as only one
-thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using a mutex
-per loop).
-
-If you want to know which design is best for your problem, then I cannot
-help you but by giving some generic advice:
+All libev functions are reentrant and thread-safe unless explicitly
+documented otherwise, but libev implements no locking itself. This means
+that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as there
+are no concurrent calls into any libev function with the same loop
+parameter (C<ev_default_*> calls have an implicit default loop parameter,
+of course): libev guarantees that different event loops share no data
+structures that need any locking.
+
+Or to put it differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done
+concurrently from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter
+must be done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as
+only one thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using
+a mutex per loop).
+
+Specifically to support threads (and signal handlers), libev implements
+so-called C<ev_async> watchers, which allow some limited form of
+concurrency on the same event loop, namely waking it up "from the
+outside".
+
+If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
+without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
+help you, but here is some generic advice:
 
 =over 4
 
@@ -3198,96 +3843,96 @@
 better than you currently do :-)
 
 =item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
-event loop - C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other
-threads safely (or from signal contexts...).
+event loop.
+
+C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other threads safely
+(or from signal contexts...).
+
+An example use would be to communicate signals or other events that only
+work in the default loop by registering the signal watcher with the
+default loop and triggering an C<ev_async> watcher from the default loop
+watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.
 
 =back
 
-=head2 COROUTINES
+=head3 COROUTINES
 
-Libev is much more accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
-libev fully supports nesting calls to it's functions from different
+Libev is very accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
+libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different
 coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
-different coroutines and switch freely between both coroutines running the
+different coroutines, and switch freely between both coroutines running the
 loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
 you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
 
-Care has been invested into making sure that libev does not keep local
-state inside C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow coroutine
-switches.
-
-
-=head1 COMPLEXITIES
-
-In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
-libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
-documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
-
-All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
-extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
-happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
-mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
-it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
-
-=over 4
-
-=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
-
-This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
-there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
-have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
+Care has been taken to ensure that libev does not keep local state inside
+C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow for coroutine switches as
+they do not call any callbacks.
 
-=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
-
-That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
-as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
+=head2 COMPILER WARNINGS
 
-=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
+Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
+lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
+scared by this.
 
-These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
+However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
+has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
+warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
+targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
 
-=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
+Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
+workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
+maintainable.
 
-=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
+And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
+wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
+seems to warn about). For example, certain older gcc versions had some
+warnings that resulted an extreme number of false positives. These have
+been fixed, but some people still insist on making code warn-free with
+such buggy versions.
 
-These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
-correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
-have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
+While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
+"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
+with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
+them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
+warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
 
-=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
 
-By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
-fixed position in the storage array.
+=head2 VALGRIND
 
-=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
+Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
+highly useful. Unfortunately, valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
 
-A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
-libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
-on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
+If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
+in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
 
-=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
+   ==2274==    definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
+   ==2274==      possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
+   ==2274==    still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
 
-=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
+Then there is no memory leak, just as memory accounted to global variables
+is not a memleak - the memory is still being referenced, and didn't leak.
 
-Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
-priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
-linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
-watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. priority handling.
-
-=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
+Similarly, under some circumstances, valgrind might report kernel bugs
+as if it were a bug in libev (e.g. in realloc or in the poll backend,
+although an acceptable workaround has been found here), or it might be
+confused.
 
-=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
+Keep in mind that valgrind is a very good tool, but only a tool. Don't
+make it into some kind of religion.
 
-=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
+If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
+with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this
+is a bug in libev (best check the archives, too :). However, don't be
+annoyed when you get a brisk "this is no bug" answer and take the chance
+of learning how to interpret valgrind properly.
 
-Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
-calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
-involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
+If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
+I suggest using suppression lists.
 
-=back
 
+=head1 PORTABILITY NOTES
 
-=head1 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
+=head2 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
 
 Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
 requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
@@ -3304,11 +3949,14 @@
 There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
 embedding it into other applications.
 
+Sensible signal handling is officially unsupported by Microsoft - libev
+tries its best, but under most conditions, signals will simply not work.
+
 Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
 accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
 either accept everything or return C<ENOBUFS> if the buffer is too large,
 so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
-megabyte seems safe, but thsi apparently depends on the amount of memory
+megabyte seems safe, but this apparently depends on the amount of memory
 available).
 
 Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
@@ -3317,7 +3965,22 @@
 more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
 different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
 notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
-(Microsoft monopoly games).
+(due to Microsoft monopoly games).
+
+A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
+section for details) and use the following F<evwrap.h> header file instead
+of F<ev.h>:
+
+   #define EV_STANDALONE              /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
+   #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1   /* configure libev for windows select */
+
+   #include "ev.h"
+
+And compile the following F<evwrap.c> file into your project (make sure
+you do I<not> compile the F<ev.c> or any other embedded source files!):
+
+   #include "evwrap.h"
+   #include "ev.c"
 
 =over 4
 
@@ -3326,7 +3989,8 @@
 The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it
 requires socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors> (it is
 also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
-requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles. See the
+requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
+C runtime provides the function C<_open_osfhandle> for this). See the
 discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>, C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and
 C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor symbols for more info.
 
@@ -3347,32 +4011,29 @@
 of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
 can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; Microsoft
 recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
-previous thread in each. Great).
+previous thread in each. Sounds great!).
 
 Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
 to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
-call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
-select emulation on windows).
+call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl and many
+other interpreters do their own select emulation on windows).
 
 Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
-libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
-or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this by calling
-C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
-arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft runtime
-libraries.
-
-This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
-windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
-wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
-calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
+libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64>
+fetish or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this
+by calling C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048>
+(another arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft
+runtime libraries. This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets
+(depending on windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more,
+you need to wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but
+the cost of calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
 
 =back
 
+=head2 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
-=head1 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
-
-In addition to a working ISO-C implementation, libev relies on a few
-additional extensions:
+In addition to a working ISO-C implementation and of course the
+backend-specific APIs, libev relies on a few additional extensions:
 
 =over 4
 
@@ -3388,7 +4049,7 @@
 =item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
 
 The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
-C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic w.r.t. accesses from different
+C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic with respect to accesses from different
 threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
 believed to be sufficiently portable.
 
@@ -3407,11 +4068,11 @@
 
 =item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
 
-To improve portability and simplify using libev, libev uses C<long>
-internally instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On
-non-POSIX systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but
-is still at least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of
-millions of watchers.
+To improve portability and simplify its API, libev uses C<long> internally
+instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX
+systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but is still at
+least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of millions of
+watchers.
 
 =item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
 
@@ -3425,59 +4086,154 @@
 If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
 
 
-=head1 COMPILER WARNINGS
+=head1 ALGORITHMIC COMPLEXITIES
 
-Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
-lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
-scared by this.
+In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
+libev will be documented. For complexity discussions about backends see
+the documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
 
-However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
-has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
-warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
-targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
+All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
+extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
+happens asymptotically rarer with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
+mean that libev does a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on
+average it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
 
-Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
-workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
-maintainable.
+=over 4
 
-And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
-wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
-seems to warn about).
+=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
 
-While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
-"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
-with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
-them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
-warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
+This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
+there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that, then inserting will
+have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
 
+=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
 
-=head1 VALGRIND
+That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them,
+as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
 
-Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
-highly useful, but valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
+=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
 
-If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
-in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
+These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
 
-   ==2274==    definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
-   ==2274==      possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
-   ==2274==    still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
+=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
 
-Then there is no memory leak. Similarly, under some circumstances,
-valgrind might report kernel bugs as if it were a bug in libev, or it
-might be confused (it is a very good tool, but only a tool).
+=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
 
-If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
-with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this is
-a bug in libev. However, don't be annoyed when you get a brisk "this is
-no bug" answer and take the chance of learning how to interpret valgrind
-properly.
+These watchers are stored in lists, so they need to be walked to find the
+correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
+have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal: one is typical, two
+is rare).
 
-If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
-I suggest using suppression lists.
+=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
+
+By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
+fixed position in the storage array.
+
+=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
+
+A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
+libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
+on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
+
+=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
+
+=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
+
+Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
+priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
+linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
+watchers becomes O(1) with respect to priority handling.
+
+=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
+
+=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
+
+=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
+
+Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
+calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
+involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
+
+=back
+
+
+=head1 GLOSSARY
+
+=over 4
+
+=item active
+
+A watcher is active as long as it has been started (has been attached to
+an event loop) but not yet stopped (disassociated from the event loop).
+
+=item application
+
+In this document, an application is whatever is using libev.
+
+=item callback
+
+The address of a function that is called when some event has been
+detected. Callbacks are being passed the event loop, the watcher that
+received the event, and the actual event bitset.
 
+=item callback invocation
+
+The act of calling the callback associated with a watcher.
+
+=item event
+
+A change of state of some external event, such as data now being available
+for reading on a file descriptor, time having passed or simply not having
+any other events happening anymore.
+
+In libev, events are represented as single bits (such as C<EV_READ> or
+C<EV_TIMEOUT>).
+
+=item event library
+
+A software package implementing an event model and loop.
+
+=item event loop
+
+An entity that handles and processes external events and converts them
+into callback invocations.
+
+=item event model
+
+The model used to describe how an event loop handles and processes
+watchers and events.
+
+=item pending
+
+A watcher is pending as soon as the corresponding event has been detected,
+and stops being pending as soon as the watcher will be invoked or its
+pending status is explicitly cleared by the application.
+
+A watcher can be pending, but not active. Stopping a watcher also clears
+its pending status.
+
+=item real time
+
+The physical time that is observed. It is apparently strictly monotonic :)
+
+=item wall-clock time
+
+The time and date as shown on clocks. Unlike real time, it can actually
+be wrong and jump forwards and backwards, e.g. when the you adjust your
+clock.
+
+=item watcher
+
+A data structure that describes interest in certain events. Watchers need
+to be started (attached to an event loop) before they can receive events.
+
+=item watcher invocation
+
+The act of calling the callback associated with a watcher.
+
+=back
 
 =head1 AUTHOR
 
-Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
+Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>, with repeated corrections by Mikael Magnusson.