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Revision 1.296 by root, Tue Jun 29 10:51:18 2010 UTC

…		…
2		2
3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C	3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	#include <ev.h>	7	#include <ev.h>
8		8
9	=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM	9	=head2 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
10		10
		11	// a single header file is required
11	#include <ev.h>	12	#include <ev.h>
12		13
		14	#include <stdio.h> // for puts
		15
		16	// every watcher type has its own typedef'd struct
		17	// with the name ev_TYPE
13	ev_io stdin_watcher;	18	ev_io stdin_watcher;
14	ev_timer timeout_watcher;	19	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
15		20
16	/* called when data readable on stdin */	21	// all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
		22	// this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
17	static void	23	static void
18	stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)	24	stdin_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
19	{	25	{
20	/* puts ("stdin ready"); */	26	puts ("stdin ready");
21	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */	27	// for one-shot events, one must manually stop the watcher
22	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */	28	// with its corresponding stop function.
		29	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
		30
		31	// this causes all nested ev_loop's to stop iterating
		32	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL);
23	}	33	}
24		34
		35	// another callback, this time for a time-out
25	static void	36	static void
26	timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	37	timeout_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
27	{	38	{
28	/* puts ("timeout"); */	39	puts ("timeout");
29	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */	40	// this causes the innermost ev_loop to stop iterating
		41	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE);
30	}	42	}
31		43
32	int	44	int
33	main (void)	45	main (void)
34	{	46	{
		47	// use the default event loop unless you have special needs
35	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);	48	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
36		49
37	/* initialise an io watcher, then start it */	50	// initialise an io watcher, then start it
		51	// this one will watch for stdin to become readable
38	ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);	52	ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
39	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);	53	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
40		54
		55	// initialise a timer watcher, then start it
41	/* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */	56	// simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout
42	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);	57	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
43	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);	58	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
44		59
45	/* loop till timeout or data ready */	60	// now wait for events to arrive
46	ev_loop (loop, 0);	61	ev_loop (loop, 0);
47		62
		63	// unloop was called, so exit
48	return 0;	64	return 0;
49	}	65	}
50		66
51	=head1 DESCRIPTION	67	=head1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
		68
		69	This document documents the libev software package.
		70
		71	The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
		72	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
		73	time: L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
		74
		75	While this document tries to be as complete as possible in documenting
		76	libev, its usage and the rationale behind its design, it is not a tutorial
		77	on event-based programming, nor will it introduce event-based programming
		78	with libev.
		79
		80	Familarity with event based programming techniques in general is assumed
		81	throughout this document.
		82
		83	=head1 ABOUT LIBEV
52		84
53	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a	85	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
54	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage	86	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
55	these event sources and provide your program with events.	87	these event sources and provide your program with events.
56		88
57	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process	89	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
58	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then	90	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then
59	communicate events via a callback mechanism.	91	communicate events via a callback mechanism.
…		…
61	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event	93	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event
62	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the	94	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
63	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the	95	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
64	watcher.	96	watcher.
65		97
66	=head1 FEATURES	98	=head2 FEATURES
67		99
68	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the	100	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
69	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms	101	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
70	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface	102	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface
71	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers	103	(for C<ev_stat>), Linux eventfd/signalfd (for faster and cleaner
72	with customised rescheduling (C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals	104	inter-thread wakeup (C<ev_async>)/signal handling (C<ev_signal>)) relative
73	(C<ev_signal>), process status change events (C<ev_child>), and event	105	timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers with customised rescheduling
74	watchers dealing with the event loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>,	106	(C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals (C<ev_signal>), process status
75	C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> watchers) as well as	107	change events (C<ev_child>), and event watchers dealing with the event
76	file watchers (C<ev_stat>) and even limited support for fork events	108	loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>, C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and
77	(C<ev_fork>).	109	C<ev_check> watchers) as well as file watchers (C<ev_stat>) and even
		110	limited support for fork events (C<ev_fork>).
78		111
79	It also is quite fast (see this	112	It also is quite fast (see this
80	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent	113	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
81	for example).	114	for example).
82		115
83	=head1 CONVENTIONS	116	=head2 CONVENTIONS
84		117
85	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will	118	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
86	be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about	119	configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
87	various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in	120	more info about various configuration options please have a look at
88	this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event	121	B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
89	loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop>	122	for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
90	(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.	123	name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have
		124	this argument.
91		125
92	=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION	126	=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
93		127
94	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the	128	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing
95	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near	129	the (fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (in practise
96	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is	130	somewhere near the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't
97	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases	131	ask). This type is called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use
98	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on	132	too. It usually aliases to the C<double> type in C. When you need to do
99	it, you should treat it as such.	133	any calculations on it, you should treat it as some floating point value.
		134
		135	Unlike the name component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for
		136	time differences (e.g. delays) throughout libev.
		137
		138	=head1 ERROR HANDLING
		139
		140	Libev knows three classes of errors: operating system errors, usage errors
		141	and internal errors (bugs).
		142
		143	When libev catches an operating system error it cannot handle (for example
		144	a system call indicating a condition libev cannot fix), it calls the callback
		145	set via C<ev_set_syserr_cb>, which is supposed to fix the problem or
		146	abort. The default is to print a diagnostic message and to call C<abort
		147	()>.
		148
		149	When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
		150	it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,
		151	so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
		152	the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
		153
		154	Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions, and also has
		155	extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
		156	circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.
		157
100		158
101	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	159	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
102		160
103	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	161	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
104	library in any way.	162	library in any way.
…		…
109		167
110	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	168	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
111	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	169	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
112	you actually want to know.	170	you actually want to know.
113		171
		172	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
		173
		174	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
		175	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
		176	this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.
		177
114	=item int ev_version_major ()	178	=item int ev_version_major ()
115		179
116	=item int ev_version_minor ()	180	=item int ev_version_minor ()
117		181
118	You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library	182	You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
119	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and	183	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
120	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global	184	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
121	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the	185	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
122	version of the library your program was compiled against.	186	version of the library your program was compiled against.
123		187
		188	These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
		189	release version.
		190
124	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,	191	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
125	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually	192	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
126	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually	193	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
127	not a problem.	194	not a problem.
128		195
129	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	196	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
130	version.	197	version (note, however, that this will not detect ABI mismatches :).
131		198
132	assert (("libev version mismatch",	199	assert (("libev version mismatch",
133	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR	200	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
134	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));	201	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
135		202
136	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()	203	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()
137		204
138	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>	205	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>
139	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their	206	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
…		…
141	a description of the set values.	208	a description of the set values.
142		209
143	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and	210	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
144	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11	211	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11
145		212
146	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",	213	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",
147	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));	214	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
148		215
149	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()	216	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()
150		217
151	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also	218	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also
152	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one	219	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one
153	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on	220	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on
154	most BSDs and will not be autodetected unless you explicitly request it	221	most BSDs and will not be auto-detected unless you explicitly request it
155	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that	222	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
156	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.	223	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
157		224
158	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()	225	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()
159		226
…		…
163	C<ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for	230	C<ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for
164	recommended ones.	231	recommended ones.
165		232
166	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	233	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
167		234
168	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	235	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size)) [NOT REENTRANT]
169		236
170	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	237	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
171	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to	238	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
172	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when	239	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
173	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some	240	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
174	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc	241	or take some potentially destructive action.
175	function.	242
		243	Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
		244	correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
		245	C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
176		246
177	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	247	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
178	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	248	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
179	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	249	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
180		250
181	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	251	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
182	retries).	252	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
183		253
184	static void *	254	static void *
185	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	255	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
186	{	256	{
187	for (;;)	257	for (;;)
…		…
196	}	266	}
197		267
198	...	268	...
199	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);	269	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
200		270
201	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));	271	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg)); [NOT REENTRANT]
202		272
203	Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such	273	Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
204	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string	274	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
205	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this	275	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
206	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no	276	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
207	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the	277	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
208	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff	278	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
209	(such as abort).	279	(such as abort).
210		280
211	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.	281	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
…		…
222		292
223	=back	293	=back
224		294
225	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP	295	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP
226		296
227	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two	297	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *> (the C<struct>
228	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child	298	is I<not> optional in this case, as there is also an C<ev_loop>
229	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.	299	I<function>).
230		300
231	If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop	301	The library knows two types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which
232	in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you	302	supports signals and child events, and dynamically created loops which do
233	create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking	303	not.
234	whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
235	threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
236	done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
237		304
238	=over 4	305	=over 4
239		306
240	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)	307	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
241		308
…		…
245	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	312	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
246		313
247	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	314	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
248	function.	315	function.
249		316
		317	Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
		318	from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
		319	as loops cannot be shared easily between threads anyway).
		320
		321	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		322	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		323	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your application you can either
		324	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		325	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		326	C<ev_default_init>.
		327
250	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	328	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
251	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	329	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
252		330
253	The following flags are supported:	331	The following flags are supported:
254		332
…		…
259	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right	337	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
260	thing, believe me).	338	thing, believe me).
261		339
262	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>	340	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>
263		341
264	If this flag bit is ored into the flag value (or the program runs setuid	342	If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
265	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable	343	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable
266	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will	344	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
267	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is	345	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
268	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work	346	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
269	around bugs.	347	around bugs.
270		348
		349	=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>
		350
		351	Instead of calling C<ev_loop_fork> manually after a fork, you can also
		352	make libev check for a fork in each iteration by enabling this flag.
		353
		354	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
		355	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
		356	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
		357	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
		358	without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
		359	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
		360
		361	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
		362	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
		363	flag.
		364
		365	This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
		366	environment variable.
		367
		368	=item C<EVFLAG_NOINOTIFY>
		369
		370	When this flag is specified, then libev will not attempt to use the
		371	I<inotify> API for it's C<ev_stat> watchers. Apart from debugging and
		372	testing, this flag can be useful to conserve inotify file descriptors, as
		373	otherwise each loop using C<ev_stat> watchers consumes one inotify handle.
		374
		375	=item C<EVFLAG_SIGNALFD>
		376
		377	When this flag is specified, then libev will attempt to use the
		378	I<signalfd> API for it's C<ev_signal> (and C<ev_child>) watchers. This API
		379	delivers signals synchronously, which makes it both faster and might make
		380	it possible to get the queued signal data. It can also simplify signal
		381	handling with threads, as long as you properly block signals in your
		382	threads that are not interested in handling them.
		383
		384	Signalfd will not be used by default as this changes your signal mask, and
		385	there are a lot of shoddy libraries and programs (glib's threadpool for
		386	example) that can't properly initialise their signal masks.
		387
271	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	388	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
272		389
273	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	390	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
274	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	391	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
275	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	392	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
276	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	393	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
277	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	394	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		395
		396	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		397	parallelism (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		398	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		399	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		400	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		401	readiness notifications you get per iteration.
		402
		403	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to the C<readfds> set and C<EV_WRITE> to the
		404	C<writefds> set (and to work around Microsoft Windows bugs, also onto the
		405	C<exceptfds> set on that platform).
278		406
279	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	407	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
280		408
281	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	409	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
282	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	410	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
283	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	411	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
284	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	412	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		413	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		414	performance tips.
		415
		416	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and
		417	C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.
285		418
286	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	419	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
287		420
		421	Use the linux-specific epoll(7) interface (for both pre- and post-2.6.9
		422	kernels).
		423
288	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	424	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
289	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like	425	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
290	O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales	426	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
291	either O(1) or O(active_fds).	427	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds).
292		428
		429	The epoll mechanism deserves honorable mention as the most misdesigned
		430	of the more advanced event mechanisms: mere annoyances include silently
		431	dropping file descriptors, requiring a system call per change per file
		432	descriptor (and unnecessary guessing of parameters), problems with dup and
		433	so on. The biggest issue is fork races, however - if a program forks then
		434	I<both> parent and child process have to recreate the epoll set, which can
		435	take considerable time (one syscall per file descriptor) and is of course
		436	hard to detect.
		437
		438	Epoll is also notoriously buggy - embedding epoll fds I<should> work, but
		439	of course I<doesn't>, and epoll just loves to report events for totally
		440	I<different> file descriptors (even already closed ones, so one cannot
		441	even remove them from the set) than registered in the set (especially
		442	on SMP systems). Libev tries to counter these spurious notifications by
		443	employing an additional generation counter and comparing that against the
		444	events to filter out spurious ones, recreating the set when required.
		445
293	While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will	446	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
294	result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	447	will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such
295	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	448	incident (because the same I<file descriptor> could point to a different
296	best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very	449	I<file description> now), so its best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed
297	well if you register events for both fds.	450	file descriptors might not work very well if you register events for both
		451	file descriptors.
298		452
299	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	453	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
300	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	454	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible,
301	(or space) is available.	455	i.e. keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times. Stopping and
		456	starting a watcher (without re-setting it) also usually doesn't cause
		457	extra overhead. A fork can both result in spurious notifications as well
		458	as in libev having to destroy and recreate the epoll object, which can
		459	take considerable time and thus should be avoided.
		460
		461	All this means that, in practice, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> can be as fast or
		462	faster than epoll for maybe up to a hundred file descriptors, depending on
		463	the usage. So sad.
		464
		465	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		466	all kernel versions tested so far.
		467
		468	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
		469	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
302		470
303	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	471	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
304		472
305	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	473	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
306	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with	474	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
307	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its	475	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
308	completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"	476	it's completely useless). Unlike epoll, however, whose brokenness
		477	is by design, these kqueue bugs can (and eventually will) be fixed
		478	without API changes to existing programs. For this reason it's not being
309	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	479	"auto-detected" unless you explicitly specify it in the flags (i.e. using
310	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).	480	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
		481	system like NetBSD.
		482
		483	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		484	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		485	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
311		486
312	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	487	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
313	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	488	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
314	course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an	489	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
315	extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per	490	cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
316	incident, so its best to avoid that.	491	two event changes per incident. Support for C<fork ()> is very bad (but
		492	sane, unlike epoll) and it drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect
		493	cases
		494
		495	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		496
		497	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		498	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		499	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		500	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		501	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (but C<poll> is of course
		502	also broken on OS X)) and, did I mention it, using it only for sockets.
		503
		504	This backend maps C<EV_READ> into an C<EVFILT_READ> kevent with
		505	C<NOTE_EOF>, and C<EV_WRITE> into an C<EVFILT_WRITE> kevent with
		506	C<NOTE_EOF>.
317		507
318	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	508	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
319		509
320	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	510	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		511	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		512	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		513	immensely.
321		514
322	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	515	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
323		516
324	This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	517	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
325	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	518	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
326		519
327	Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious	520	Please note that Solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
328	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	521	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
329	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	522	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		523
		524	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		525	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		526	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		527	might perform better.
		528
		529	On the positive side, with the exception of the spurious readiness
		530	notifications, this backend actually performed fully to specification
		531	in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat among the
		532	OS-specific backends (I vastly prefer correctness over speed hacks).
		533
		534	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
		535	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
330		536
331	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	537	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
332		538
333	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	539	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
334	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	540	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
335	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	541	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
336		542
		543	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		544
337	=back	545	=back
338		546
339	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	547	If one or more of the backend flags are or'ed into the flags value,
340	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	548	then only these backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed
341	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	549	here). If none are specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends
342	order of their flag values :)	550	()> will be tried.
343		551
344	The most typical usage is like this:	552	Example: This is the most typical usage.
345		553
346	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	554	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
347	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	555	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
348		556
349	Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow	557	Example: Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
350	environment settings to be taken into account:	558	environment settings to be taken into account:
351		559
352	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);	560	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
353		561
354	Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if	562	Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is
355	available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private	563	used if available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own
356	event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):	564	private event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of
		565	fds):
357		566
358	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);	567	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
359		568
360	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)	569	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)
361		570
362	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	571	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
363	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	572	always distinct from the default loop.
364	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	573
365	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	574	Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and one common way to use
		575	libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
		576	default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
366		577
367	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	578	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
368		579
369	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	580	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
370	if (!epoller)	581	if (!epoller)
371	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");	582	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
372		583
373	=item ev_default_destroy ()	584	=item ev_default_destroy ()
374		585
375	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	586	Destroys the default loop (frees all memory and kernel state etc.). None
376	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	587	of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal sense, so
377	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your	588	e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your responsibility to
378	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>	589	either stop all watchers cleanly yourself I<before> calling this function,
379	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually	590	or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually the easiest thing, you
380	the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them	591	can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them for example).
381	for example).	592
		593	Note that certain global state, such as signal state (and installed signal
		594	handlers), will not be freed by this function, and related watchers (such
		595	as signal and child watchers) would need to be stopped manually.
		596
		597	In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
		598	rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
		599	pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
		600	C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>.
382		601
383	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	602	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
384		603
385	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	604	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
386	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	605	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
387		606
388	=item ev_default_fork ()	607	=item ev_default_fork ()
389		608
		609	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
390	This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have	610	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
391	one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense	611	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
392	after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that	612	the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
393	again makes little sense).	613	sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
		614	functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
394		615
395	You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and	616	Again, you I<have> to call it on I<any> loop that you want to re-use after
396	only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just	617	a fork, I<even if you do not plan to use the loop in the parent>. This is
397	fork+exec, you don't have to call it.	618	because some kernel interfaces *cough* I<kqueue> *cough* do funny things
		619	during fork.
		620
		621	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
		622	process if and only if you want to use the event loop in the child. If you
		623	just fork+exec or create a new loop in the child, you don't have to call
		624	it at all.
398		625
399	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call	626	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
400	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in	627	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
401	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:	628	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
402		629
403	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);	630	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
404		631
405	At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
406	without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
407	do not need to care.
408
409	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	632	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
410		633
411	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	634	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
412	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	635	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
413	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	636	after fork that you want to re-use in the child, and how you keep track of
		637	them is entirely your own problem.
		638
		639	=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
		640
		641	Returns true when the given loop is, in fact, the default loop, and false
		642	otherwise.
		643
		644	=item unsigned int ev_iteration (loop)
		645
		646	Returns the current iteration count for the loop, which is identical to
		647	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
		648	happily wraps around with enough iterations.
		649
		650	This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
		651	"ticks" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
		652	C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> calls - and is incremented between the
		653	prepare and check phases.
		654
		655	=item unsigned int ev_depth (loop)
		656
		657	Returns the number of times C<ev_loop> was entered minus the number of
		658	times C<ev_loop> was exited, in other words, the recursion depth.
		659
		660	Outside C<ev_loop>, this number is zero. In a callback, this number is
		661	C<1>, unless C<ev_loop> was invoked recursively (or from another thread),
		662	in which case it is higher.
		663
		664	Leaving C<ev_loop> abnormally (setjmp/longjmp, cancelling the thread
		665	etc.), doesn't count as "exit" - consider this as a hint to avoid such
		666	ungentleman behaviour unless it's really convenient.
414		667
415	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)	668	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)
416		669
417	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in	670	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in
418	use.	671	use.
…		…
421		674
422	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop	675	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
423	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not	676	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
424	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base	677	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
425	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the	678	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
426	event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).	679	event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
		680
		681	=item ev_now_update (loop)
		682
		683	Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
		684	returned by C<ev_now ()> in the progress. This is a costly operation and
		685	is usually done automatically within C<ev_loop ()>.
		686
		687	This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
		688	very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
		689	the current time is a good idea.
		690
		691	See also L<The special problem of time updates> in the C<ev_timer> section.
		692
		693	=item ev_suspend (loop)
		694
		695	=item ev_resume (loop)
		696
		697	These two functions suspend and resume a loop, for use when the loop is
		698	not used for a while and timeouts should not be processed.
		699
		700	A typical use case would be an interactive program such as a game: When
		701	the user presses C<^Z> to suspend the game and resumes it an hour later it
		702	would be best to handle timeouts as if no time had actually passed while
		703	the program was suspended. This can be achieved by calling C<ev_suspend>
		704	in your C<SIGTSTP> handler, sending yourself a C<SIGSTOP> and calling
		705	C<ev_resume> directly afterwards to resume timer processing.
		706
		707	Effectively, all C<ev_timer> watchers will be delayed by the time spend
		708	between C<ev_suspend> and C<ev_resume>, and all C<ev_periodic> watchers
		709	will be rescheduled (that is, they will lose any events that would have
		710	occured while suspended).
		711
		712	After calling C<ev_suspend> you B<must not> call I<any> function on the
		713	given loop other than C<ev_resume>, and you B<must not> call C<ev_resume>
		714	without a previous call to C<ev_suspend>.
		715
		716	Calling C<ev_suspend>/C<ev_resume> has the side effect of updating the
		717	event loop time (see C<ev_now_update>).
427		718
428	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)	719	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
429		720
430	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	721	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
431	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling	722	after you have initialised all your watchers and you want to start
432	events.	723	handling events.
433		724
434	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will not return until	725	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will not return until
435	either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_unloop> was called.	726	either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_unloop> was called.
436		727
437	Please note that an explicit C<ev_unloop> is usually better than	728	Please note that an explicit C<ev_unloop> is usually better than
438	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has	729	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
439	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program that	730	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program
440	automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue of	731	that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue
441	relying on its watchers stopping correctly is a thing of beauty.	732	of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of
		733	beauty.
442		734
443	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle	735	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle
444	those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in	736	those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not block your
445	case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.	737	process in case there are no events and will return after one iteration of
		738	the loop.
446		739
447	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if	740	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if
448	neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block	741	necessary) and will handle those and any already outstanding ones. It
449	your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after	742	will block your process until at least one new event arrives (which could
450	one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some	743	be an event internal to libev itself, so there is no guarantee that a
451	external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other	744	user-registered callback will be called), and will return after one
		745	iteration of the loop.
		746
		747	This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction
		748	with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your
452	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	749	own C<ev_loop>"). However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
453	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	750	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
454		751
455	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	752	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
456		753
457	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	754	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
458	- Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	755	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
		756	- If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
		757	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
459	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	758	- If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
		759	as to not disturb the other process.
460	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	760	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
461	- Update the "event loop time".	761	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
462	- Calculate for how long to block.	762	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		763	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		764	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		765	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
463	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	766	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
464	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	767	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
465	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	768	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
466	- Queue all outstanding timers.	769	- Queue all expired timers.
467	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	770	- Queue all expired periodics.
468	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	771	- Unless any events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
469	- Queue all check watchers.	772	- Queue all check watchers.
470	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	773	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
471	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	774	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
472	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	775	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
473	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	776	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
474	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	777	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		778	continue with step *.
475		779
476	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	780	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
477	anymore.	781	anymore.
478		782
479	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	783	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
480	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	784	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
481	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	785	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
482	... jobs done. yeah!	786	... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
483		787
484	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)	788	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)
485		789
486	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	790	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
487	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	791	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
488	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	792	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
489	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	793	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
490		794
		795	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
		796
		797	It is safe to call C<ev_unloop> from otuside any C<ev_loop> calls.
		798
491	=item ev_ref (loop)	799	=item ev_ref (loop)
492		800
493	=item ev_unref (loop)	801	=item ev_unref (loop)
494		802
495	Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event	803	Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event
496	loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference	804	loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference
497	count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own. If you have	805	count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own.
498	a watcher you never unregister that should not keep C<ev_loop> from	806
499	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	807	This is useful when you have a watcher that you never intend to
		808	unregister, but that nevertheless should not keep C<ev_loop> from
		809	returning. In such a case, call C<ev_unref> after starting, and C<ev_ref>
		810	before stopping it.
		811
500	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	812	As an example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It
501	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	813	is not visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from
502	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	814	exiting if no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an
503	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	815	excellent way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within
504	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	816	third-party libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref
		817	before stop> (but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active
		818	before, respectively. Note also that libev might stop watchers itself
		819	(e.g. non-repeating timers) in which case you have to C<ev_ref>
		820	in the callback).
505		821
506	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	822	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
507	running when nothing else is active.	823	running when nothing else is active.
508		824
509	struct ev_signal exitsig;	825	ev_signal exitsig;
510	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);	826	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
511	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);	827	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
512	evf_unref (loop);	828	evf_unref (loop);
513		829
514	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	830	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
515		831
516	ev_ref (loop);	832	ev_ref (loop);
517	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	833	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
		834
		835	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		836
		837	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		838
		839	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
		840	for events. Both time intervals are by default C<0>, meaning that libev
		841	will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
		842	latency.
		843
		844	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
		845	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
		846	to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
		847	opportunities).
		848
		849	The idea is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to handle
		850	one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes the
		851	program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
		852	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
		853	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
		854
		855	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
		856	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
		857	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
		858	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		859	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations. The
		860	sleep time ensures that libev will not poll for I/O events more often then
		861	once per this interval, on average.
		862
		863	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
		864	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
		865	latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called
		866	later). C<ev_io> watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null
		867	value will not introduce any overhead in libev.
		868
		869	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
		870	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
		871	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
		872	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
		873	as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems. Note that if
		874	you do transactions with the outside world and you can't increase the
		875	parallelity, then this setting will limit your transaction rate (if you
		876	need to poll once per transaction and the I/O collect interval is 0.01,
		877	then you can't do more than 100 transations per second).
		878
		879	Setting the I<timeout collect interval> can improve the opportunity for
		880	saving power, as the program will "bundle" timer callback invocations that
		881	are "near" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
		882	times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
		883	reduce iterations/wake-ups is to use C<ev_periodic> watchers and make sure
		884	they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
		885
		886	Example: we only need 0.1s timeout granularity, and we wish not to poll
		887	more often than 100 times per second:
		888
		889	ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.1);
		890	ev_set_io_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.01);
		891
		892	=item ev_invoke_pending (loop)
		893
		894	This call will simply invoke all pending watchers while resetting their
		895	pending state. Normally, C<ev_loop> does this automatically when required,
		896	but when overriding the invoke callback this call comes handy.
		897
		898	=item int ev_pending_count (loop)
		899
		900	Returns the number of pending watchers - zero indicates that no watchers
		901	are pending.
		902
		903	=item ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (loop, void (*invoke_pending_cb)(EV_P))
		904
		905	This overrides the invoke pending functionality of the loop: Instead of
		906	invoking all pending watchers when there are any, C<ev_loop> will call
		907	this callback instead. This is useful, for example, when you want to
		908	invoke the actual watchers inside another context (another thread etc.).
		909
		910	If you want to reset the callback, use C<ev_invoke_pending> as new
		911	callback.
		912
		913	=item ev_set_loop_release_cb (loop, void (*release)(EV_P), void (*acquire)(EV_P))
		914
		915	Sometimes you want to share the same loop between multiple threads. This
		916	can be done relatively simply by putting mutex_lock/unlock calls around
		917	each call to a libev function.
		918
		919	However, C<ev_loop> can run an indefinite time, so it is not feasible to
		920	wait for it to return. One way around this is to wake up the loop via
		921	C<ev_unloop> and C<av_async_send>, another way is to set these I<release>
		922	and I<acquire> callbacks on the loop.
		923
		924	When set, then C<release> will be called just before the thread is
		925	suspended waiting for new events, and C<acquire> is called just
		926	afterwards.
		927
		928	Ideally, C<release> will just call your mutex_unlock function, and
		929	C<acquire> will just call the mutex_lock function again.
		930
		931	While event loop modifications are allowed between invocations of
		932	C<release> and C<acquire> (that's their only purpose after all), no
		933	modifications done will affect the event loop, i.e. adding watchers will
		934	have no effect on the set of file descriptors being watched, or the time
		935	waited. Use an C<ev_async> watcher to wake up C<ev_loop> when you want it
		936	to take note of any changes you made.
		937
		938	In theory, threads executing C<ev_loop> will be async-cancel safe between
		939	invocations of C<release> and C<acquire>.
		940
		941	See also the locking example in the C<THREADS> section later in this
		942	document.
		943
		944	=item ev_set_userdata (loop, void *data)
		945
		946	=item ev_userdata (loop)
		947
		948	Set and retrieve a single C<void *> associated with a loop. When
		949	C<ev_set_userdata> has never been called, then C<ev_userdata> returns
		950	C<0.>
		951
		952	These two functions can be used to associate arbitrary data with a loop,
		953	and are intended solely for the C<invoke_pending_cb>, C<release> and
		954	C<acquire> callbacks described above, but of course can be (ab-)used for
		955	any other purpose as well.
		956
		957	=item ev_loop_verify (loop)
		958
		959	This function only does something when C<EV_VERIFY> support has been
		960	compiled in, which is the default for non-minimal builds. It tries to go
		961	through all internal structures and checks them for validity. If anything
		962	is found to be inconsistent, it will print an error message to standard
		963	error and call C<abort ()>.
		964
		965	This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
		966	circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
		967	data structures consistent.
518		968
519	=back	969	=back
520		970
521		971
522	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	972	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
		973
		974	In the following description, uppercase C<TYPE> in names stands for the
		975	watcher type, e.g. C<ev_TYPE_start> can mean C<ev_timer_start> for timer
		976	watchers and C<ev_io_start> for I/O watchers.
523		977
524	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your	978	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
525	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to	979	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
526	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:	980	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:
527		981
528	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	982	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
529	{	983	{
530	ev_io_stop (w);	984	ev_io_stop (w);
531	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	985	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
532	}	986	}
533		987
534	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);	988	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
		989
535	struct ev_io stdin_watcher;	990	ev_io stdin_watcher;
		991
536	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);	992	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
537	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	993	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
538	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);	994	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
		995
539	ev_loop (loop, 0);	996	ev_loop (loop, 0);
540		997
541	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your	998	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
542	watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,	999	watcher structures (and it is I<usually> a bad idea to do this on the
543	although this can sometimes be quite valid).	1000	stack).
		1001
		1002	Each watcher has an associated watcher structure (called C<struct ev_TYPE>
		1003	or simply C<ev_TYPE>, as typedefs are provided for all watcher structs).
544		1004
545	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init	1005	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init
546	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This	1006	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This
547	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of io	1007	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of I/O
548	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given	1008	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given
549	is readable and/or writable).	1009	is readable and/or writable).
550		1010
551	Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro	1011	Each watcher type further has its own C<< ev_TYPE_set (watcher *, ...) >>
552	with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro	1012	macro to configure it, with arguments specific to the watcher type. There
553	to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<< ev_<type>_init	1013	is also a macro to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<<
554	(watcher *, callback, ...) >>.	1014	ev_TYPE_init (watcher *, callback, ...) >>.
555		1015
556	To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it	1016	To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it
557	with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_<type>_start (loop, watcher	1017	with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_TYPE_start (loop, watcher
558	*) >>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the	1018	*) >>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the
559	corresponding stop function (C<< ev_<type>_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.	1019	corresponding stop function (C<< ev_TYPE_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.
560		1020
561	As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you	1021	As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you
562	must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never	1022	must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never
563	reinitialise it or call its C<set> macro.	1023	reinitialise it or call its C<ev_TYPE_set> macro.
564		1024
565	Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the	1025	Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the
566	registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as	1026	registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as
567	third argument.	1027	third argument.
568		1028
…		…
577	=item C<EV_WRITE>	1037	=item C<EV_WRITE>
578		1038
579	The file descriptor in the C<ev_io> watcher has become readable and/or	1039	The file descriptor in the C<ev_io> watcher has become readable and/or
580	writable.	1040	writable.
581		1041
582	=item C<EV_TIMEOUT>	1042	=item C<EV_TIMER>
583		1043
584	The C<ev_timer> watcher has timed out.	1044	The C<ev_timer> watcher has timed out.
585		1045
586	=item C<EV_PERIODIC>	1046	=item C<EV_PERIODIC>
587		1047
…		…
622	=item C<EV_FORK>	1082	=item C<EV_FORK>
623		1083
624	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see	1084	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
625	C<ev_fork>).	1085	C<ev_fork>).
626		1086
		1087	=item C<EV_ASYNC>
		1088
		1089	The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
		1090
		1091	=item C<EV_CUSTOM>
		1092
		1093	Not ever sent (or otherwise used) by libev itself, but can be freely used
		1094	by libev users to signal watchers (e.g. via C<ev_feed_event>).
		1095
627	=item C<EV_ERROR>	1096	=item C<EV_ERROR>
628		1097
629	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	1098	An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
630	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	1099	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
631	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other	1100	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
		1101	problem. Libev considers these application bugs.
		1102
632	problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping	1103	You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping with the
633	with the watcher being stopped.	1104	watcher being stopped. Note that well-written programs should not receive
		1105	an error ever, so when your watcher receives it, this usually indicates a
		1106	bug in your program.
634		1107
635	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,	1108	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error, for
636	for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if	1109	example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if your
637	your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope	1110	callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope with
638	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded	1111	the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
639	programs, though, so beware.	1112	programs, though, as the fd could already be closed and reused for another
		1113	thing, so beware.
640		1114
641	=back	1115	=back
642		1116
643	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS	1117	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
644
645	In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,
646	e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.
647		1118
648	=over 4	1119	=over 4
649		1120
650	=item C<ev_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	1121	=item C<ev_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
651		1122
…		…
657	which rolls both calls into one.	1128	which rolls both calls into one.
658		1129
659	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped	1130	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
660	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.	1131	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.
661		1132
662	The callback is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,	1133	The callback is always of type C<void (*)(struct ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
663	int revents)>.	1134	int revents)>.
664		1135
		1136	Example: Initialise an C<ev_io> watcher in two steps.
		1137
		1138	ev_io w;
		1139	ev_init (&w, my_cb);
		1140	ev_io_set (&w, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
		1141
665	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])	1142	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *watcher, [args])
666		1143
667	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to	1144	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
668	call C<ev_init> at least once before you call this macro, but you can	1145	call C<ev_init> at least once before you call this macro, but you can
669	call C<ev_TYPE_set> any number of times. You must not, however, call this	1146	call C<ev_TYPE_set> any number of times. You must not, however, call this
670	macro on a watcher that is active (it can be pending, however, which is a	1147	macro on a watcher that is active (it can be pending, however, which is a
671	difference to the C<ev_init> macro).	1148	difference to the C<ev_init> macro).
672		1149
673	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments	1150	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
674	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.	1151	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.
675		1152
		1153	See C<ev_init>, above, for an example.
		1154
676	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])	1155	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])
677		1156
678	This convinience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro	1157	This convenience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro
679	calls into a single call. This is the most convinient method to initialise	1158	calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
680	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.	1159	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
681		1160
		1161	Example: Initialise and set an C<ev_io> watcher in one step.
		1162
		1163	ev_io_init (&w, my_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
		1164
682	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)	1165	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
683		1166
684	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive	1167	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
685	events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.	1168	events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.
686		1169
		1170	Example: Start the C<ev_io> watcher that is being abused as example in this
		1171	whole section.
		1172
		1173	ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_UC, &w);
		1174
687	=item C<ev_TYPE_stop> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)	1175	=item C<ev_TYPE_stop> (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
688		1176
689	Stops the given watcher again (if active) and clears the pending	1177	Stops the given watcher if active, and clears the pending status (whether
		1178	the watcher was active or not).
		1179
690	status. It is possible that stopped watchers are pending (for example,	1180	It is possible that stopped watchers are pending - for example,
691	non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending), but	1181	non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending - but
692	C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor pending. If	1182	calling C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor
693	you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is therefore a	1183	pending. If you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is
694	good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.	1184	therefore a good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.
695		1185
696	=item bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)	1186	=item bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)
697		1187
698	Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started	1188	Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started
699	and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify	1189	and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify
…		…
702	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)	1192	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)
703		1193
704	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding	1194	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
705	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher	1195	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
706	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but	1196	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
707	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to	1197	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
708	libev (e.g. you cnanot C<free ()> it).	1198	make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot C<free ()>
		1199	it).
709		1200
710	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)	1201	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
711		1202
712	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.	1203	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
713		1204
714	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	1205	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
715		1206
716	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time	1207	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
717	(modulo threads).	1208	(modulo threads).
718		1209
		1210	=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, int priority)
		1211
		1212	=item int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)
		1213
		1214	Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
		1215	integer between C<EV_MAXPRI> (default: C<2>) and C<EV_MINPRI>
		1216	(default: C<-2>). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
		1217	before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
		1218	from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
		1219
		1220	If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
		1221	you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
		1222
		1223	You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
		1224	pending.
		1225
		1226	Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
		1227	fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
		1228	or might not have been clamped to the valid range.
		1229
		1230	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
		1231	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
		1232
		1233	See L<WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS>, below, for a more thorough treatment of
		1234	priorities.
		1235
		1236	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
		1237
		1238	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
		1239	C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
		1240	can deal with that fact, as both are simply passed through to the
		1241	callback.
		1242
		1243	=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
		1244
		1245	If the watcher is pending, this function clears its pending status and
		1246	returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
		1247	watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
		1248
		1249	Sometimes it can be useful to "poll" a watcher instead of waiting for its
		1250	callback to be invoked, which can be accomplished with this function.
		1251
		1252	=item ev_feed_event (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
		1253
		1254	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
		1255	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
		1256	initialised but not necessarily started event watcher). Obviously you must
		1257	not free the watcher as long as it has pending events.
		1258
		1259	Stopping the watcher, letting libev invoke it, or calling
		1260	C<ev_clear_pending> will clear the pending event, even if the watcher was
		1261	not started in the first place.
		1262
		1263	See also C<ev_feed_fd_event> and C<ev_feed_signal_event> for related
		1264	functions that do not need a watcher.
		1265
719	=back	1266	=back
720		1267
721		1268
722	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER	1269	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
723		1270
724	Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change	1271	Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change
725	and read at any time, libev will completely ignore it. This can be used	1272	and read at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
726	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and	1273	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
727	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data	1274	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
728	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own	1275	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
729	data:	1276	data:
730		1277
731	struct my_io	1278	struct my_io
732	{	1279	{
733	struct ev_io io;	1280	ev_io io;
734	int otherfd;	1281	int otherfd;
735	void *somedata;	1282	void *somedata;
736	struct whatever *mostinteresting;	1283	struct whatever *mostinteresting;
737	}	1284	};
		1285
		1286	...
		1287	struct my_io w;
		1288	ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
738		1289
739	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you	1290	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
740	can cast it back to your own type:	1291	can cast it back to your own type:
741		1292
742	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)	1293	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
743	{	1294	{
744	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;	1295	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
745	...	1296	...
746	}	1297	}
747		1298
748	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type	1299	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
749	instead have been omitted.	1300	instead have been omitted.
750		1301
751	Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple	1302	Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
752	watchers:	1303	embedded watchers:
753		1304
754	struct my_biggy	1305	struct my_biggy
755	{	1306	{
756	int some_data;	1307	int some_data;
757	ev_timer t1;	1308	ev_timer t1;
758	ev_timer t2;	1309	ev_timer t2;
759	}	1310	}
760		1311
761	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,	1312	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
762	you need to use C<offsetof>:	1313	complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct
		1314	in the C<data> member of the watcher (for woozies), or you need to use
		1315	some pointer arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers (for real
		1316	programmers):
763		1317
764	#include <stddef.h>	1318	#include <stddef.h>
765		1319
766	static void	1320	static void
767	t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1321	t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
768	{	1322	{
769	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1323	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
770	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));	1324	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
771	}	1325	}
772		1326
773	static void	1327	static void
774	t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1328	t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
775	{	1329	{
776	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1330	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
777	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));	1331	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
778	}	1332	}
		1333
		1334	=head2 WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS
		1335
		1336	Many event loops support I<watcher priorities>, which are usually small
		1337	integers that influence the ordering of event callback invocation
		1338	between watchers in some way, all else being equal.
		1339
		1340	In libev, Watcher priorities can be set using C<ev_set_priority>. See its
		1341	description for the more technical details such as the actual priority
		1342	range.
		1343
		1344	There are two common ways how these these priorities are being interpreted
		1345	by event loops:
		1346
		1347	In the more common lock-out model, higher priorities "lock out" invocation
		1348	of lower priority watchers, which means as long as higher priority
		1349	watchers receive events, lower priority watchers are not being invoked.
		1350
		1351	The less common only-for-ordering model uses priorities solely to order
		1352	callback invocation within a single event loop iteration: Higher priority
		1353	watchers are invoked before lower priority ones, but they all get invoked
		1354	before polling for new events.
		1355
		1356	Libev uses the second (only-for-ordering) model for all its watchers
		1357	except for idle watchers (which use the lock-out model).
		1358
		1359	The rationale behind this is that implementing the lock-out model for
		1360	watchers is not well supported by most kernel interfaces, and most event
		1361	libraries will just poll for the same events again and again as long as
		1362	their callbacks have not been executed, which is very inefficient in the
		1363	common case of one high-priority watcher locking out a mass of lower
		1364	priority ones.
		1365
		1366	Static (ordering) priorities are most useful when you have two or more
		1367	watchers handling the same resource: a typical usage example is having an
		1368	C<ev_io> watcher to receive data, and an associated C<ev_timer> to handle
		1369	timeouts. Under load, data might be received while the program handles
		1370	other jobs, but since timers normally get invoked first, the timeout
		1371	handler will be executed before checking for data. In that case, giving
		1372	the timer a lower priority than the I/O watcher ensures that I/O will be
		1373	handled first even under adverse conditions (which is usually, but not
		1374	always, what you want).
		1375
		1376	Since idle watchers use the "lock-out" model, meaning that idle watchers
		1377	will only be executed when no same or higher priority watchers have
		1378	received events, they can be used to implement the "lock-out" model when
		1379	required.
		1380
		1381	For example, to emulate how many other event libraries handle priorities,
		1382	you can associate an C<ev_idle> watcher to each such watcher, and in
		1383	the normal watcher callback, you just start the idle watcher. The real
		1384	processing is done in the idle watcher callback. This causes libev to
		1385	continously poll and process kernel event data for the watcher, but when
		1386	the lock-out case is known to be rare (which in turn is rare :), this is
		1387	workable.
		1388
		1389	Usually, however, the lock-out model implemented that way will perform
		1390	miserably under the type of load it was designed to handle. In that case,
		1391	it might be preferable to stop the real watcher before starting the
		1392	idle watcher, so the kernel will not have to process the event in case
		1393	the actual processing will be delayed for considerable time.
		1394
		1395	Here is an example of an I/O watcher that should run at a strictly lower
		1396	priority than the default, and which should only process data when no
		1397	other events are pending:
		1398
		1399	ev_idle idle; // actual processing watcher
		1400	ev_io io; // actual event watcher
		1401
		1402	static void
		1403	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
		1404	{
		1405	// stop the I/O watcher, we received the event, but
		1406	// are not yet ready to handle it.
		1407	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1408
		1409	// start the idle watcher to handle the actual event.
		1410	// it will not be executed as long as other watchers
		1411	// with the default priority are receiving events.
		1412	ev_idle_start (EV_A_ &idle);
		1413	}
		1414
		1415	static void
		1416	idle_cb (EV_P_ ev_idle *w, int revents)
		1417	{
		1418	// actual processing
		1419	read (STDIN_FILENO, ...);
		1420
		1421	// have to start the I/O watcher again, as
		1422	// we have handled the event
		1423	ev_io_start (EV_P_ &io);
		1424	}
		1425
		1426	// initialisation
		1427	ev_idle_init (&idle, idle_cb);
		1428	ev_io_init (&io, io_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
		1429	ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &io);
		1430
		1431	In the "real" world, it might also be beneficial to start a timer, so that
		1432	low-priority connections can not be locked out forever under load. This
		1433	enables your program to keep a lower latency for important connections
		1434	during short periods of high load, while not completely locking out less
		1435	important ones.
779		1436
780		1437
781	=head1 WATCHER TYPES	1438	=head1 WATCHER TYPES
782		1439
783	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat	1440	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
…		…
807	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1464	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
808	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1465	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
809	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1466	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
810	required if you know what you are doing).	1467	required if you know what you are doing).
811		1468
812	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends	1469	If you cannot use non-blocking mode, then force the use of a
813	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file	1470	known-to-be-good backend (at the time of this writing, this includes only
814	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing	1471	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL>). The same applies to file
815	to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share	1472	descriptors for which non-blocking operation makes no sense (such as
816	the same underlying "file open").	1473	files) - libev doesn't guarentee any specific behaviour in that case.
817
818	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
819	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
820	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
821		1474
822	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1475	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
823	receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might	1476	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
824	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block	1477	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
825	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a	1478	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
826	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into	1479	lot of those (for example Solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
827	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus	1480	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
828	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning	1481	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
829	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.	1482	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
830		1483
831	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not	1484	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should
832	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test	1485	not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately
833	wether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface	1486	re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good
834	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on	1487	interface such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already
835	its own, so its quite safe to use).	1488	does this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally
		1489	use C<SIGALRM> and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block
		1490	indefinitely.
		1491
		1492	But really, best use non-blocking mode.
		1493
		1494	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
		1495
		1496	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
		1497	descriptor (either due to calling C<close> explicitly or any other means,
		1498	such as C<dup2>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
		1499	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
		1500	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
		1501	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
		1502	fact, a different file descriptor.
		1503
		1504	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
		1505	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
		1506	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
		1507	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
		1508	you I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
		1509	descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
		1510
		1511	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
		1512	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
		1513	optimisations to libev.
		1514
		1515	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
		1516
		1517	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
		1518	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
		1519	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
		1520	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
		1521
		1522	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
		1523	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
		1524	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1525
		1526	=head3 The special problem of fork
		1527
		1528	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
		1529	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
		1530	it in the child.
		1531
		1532	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
		1533	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
		1534	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
		1535	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1536
		1537	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
		1538
		1539	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about C<SIGPIPE>:
		1540	when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
		1541	sent a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
		1542	this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
		1543
		1544	So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
		1545	ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
		1546	somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
		1547
		1548	=head3 The special problem of accept()ing when you can't
		1549
		1550	Many implementations of the POSIX C<accept> function (for example,
		1551	found in post-2004 Linux) have the peculiar behaviour of not removing a
		1552	connection from the pending queue in all error cases.
		1553
		1554	For example, larger servers often run out of file descriptors (because
		1555	of resource limits), causing C<accept> to fail with C<ENFILE> but not
		1556	rejecting the connection, leading to libev signalling readiness on
		1557	the next iteration again (the connection still exists after all), and
		1558	typically causing the program to loop at 100% CPU usage.
		1559
		1560	Unfortunately, the set of errors that cause this issue differs between
		1561	operating systems, there is usually little the app can do to remedy the
		1562	situation, and no known thread-safe method of removing the connection to
		1563	cope with overload is known (to me).
		1564
		1565	One of the easiest ways to handle this situation is to just ignore it
		1566	- when the program encounters an overload, it will just loop until the
		1567	situation is over. While this is a form of busy waiting, no OS offers an
		1568	event-based way to handle this situation, so it's the best one can do.
		1569
		1570	A better way to handle the situation is to log any errors other than
		1571	C<EAGAIN> and C<EWOULDBLOCK>, making sure not to flood the log with such
		1572	messages, and continue as usual, which at least gives the user an idea of
		1573	what could be wrong ("raise the ulimit!"). For extra points one could stop
		1574	the C<ev_io> watcher on the listening fd "for a while", which reduces CPU
		1575	usage.
		1576
		1577	If your program is single-threaded, then you could also keep a dummy file
		1578	descriptor for overload situations (e.g. by opening F</dev/null>), and
		1579	when you run into C<ENFILE> or C<EMFILE>, close it, run C<accept>,
		1580	close that fd, and create a new dummy fd. This will gracefully refuse
		1581	clients under typical overload conditions.
		1582
		1583	The last way to handle it is to simply log the error and C<exit>, as
		1584	is often done with C<malloc> failures, but this results in an easy
		1585	opportunity for a DoS attack.
		1586
		1587	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
836		1588
837	=over 4	1589	=over 4
838		1590
839	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1591	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
840		1592
841	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)	1593	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
842		1594
843	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to	1595	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
844	rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or	1596	receive events for and C<events> is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
845	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.	1597	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE>, to express the desire to receive the given events.
846		1598
847	=item int fd [read-only]	1599	=item int fd [read-only]
848		1600
849	The file descriptor being watched.	1601	The file descriptor being watched.
850		1602
851	=item int events [read-only]	1603	=item int events [read-only]
852		1604
853	The events being watched.	1605	The events being watched.
854		1606
855	=back	1607	=back
		1608
		1609	=head3 Examples
856		1610
857	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1611	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
858	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1612	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
859	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.	1613	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
860		1614
861	static void	1615	static void
862	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1616	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
863	{	1617	{
864	ev_io_stop (loop, w);	1618	ev_io_stop (loop, w);
865	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors	1619	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and handle any I/O errors
866	}	1620	}
867		1621
868	...	1622	...
869	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);	1623	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
870	struct ev_io stdin_readable;	1624	ev_io stdin_readable;
871	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	1625	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
872	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);	1626	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
873	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1627	ev_loop (loop, 0);
874		1628
875		1629
876	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts	1630	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
877		1631
878	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a	1632	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
879	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.	1633	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
880		1634
881	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that	1635	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
882	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years	1636	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
883	time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because	1637	year, it will still time out after (roughly) one hour. "Roughly" because
884	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the	1638	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
885	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).	1639	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
		1640
		1641	The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only I<after> its timeout has
		1642	passed (not I<at>, so on systems with very low-resolution clocks this
		1643	might introduce a small delay). If multiple timers become ready during the
		1644	same loop iteration then the ones with earlier time-out values are invoked
		1645	before ones of the same priority with later time-out values (but this is
		1646	no longer true when a callback calls C<ev_loop> recursively).
		1647
		1648	=head3 Be smart about timeouts
		1649
		1650	Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error
		1651	recovery. A typical example is an HTTP request - if the other side hangs,
		1652	you want to raise some error after a while.
		1653
		1654	What follows are some ways to handle this problem, from obvious and
		1655	inefficient to smart and efficient.
		1656
		1657	In the following, a 60 second activity timeout is assumed - a timeout that
		1658	gets reset to 60 seconds each time there is activity (e.g. each time some
		1659	data or other life sign was received).
		1660
		1661	=over 4
		1662
		1663	=item 1. Use a timer and stop, reinitialise and start it on activity.
		1664
		1665	This is the most obvious, but not the most simple way: In the beginning,
		1666	start the watcher:
		1667
		1668	ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 60., 0.);
		1669	ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
		1670
		1671	Then, each time there is some activity, C<ev_timer_stop> it, initialise it
		1672	and start it again:
		1673
		1674	ev_timer_stop (loop, timer);
		1675	ev_timer_set (timer, 60., 0.);
		1676	ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
		1677
		1678	This is relatively simple to implement, but means that each time there is
		1679	some activity, libev will first have to remove the timer from its internal
		1680	data structure and then add it again. Libev tries to be fast, but it's
		1681	still not a constant-time operation.
		1682
		1683	=item 2. Use a timer and re-start it with C<ev_timer_again> inactivity.
		1684
		1685	This is the easiest way, and involves using C<ev_timer_again> instead of
		1686	C<ev_timer_start>.
		1687
		1688	To implement this, configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value
		1689	of C<60> and then call C<ev_timer_again> at start and each time you
		1690	successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle state where
		1691	you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop>
		1692	the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will automatically restart it if need be.
		1693
		1694	That means you can ignore both the C<ev_timer_start> function and the
		1695	C<after> argument to C<ev_timer_set>, and only ever use the C<repeat>
		1696	member and C<ev_timer_again>.
		1697
		1698	At start:
		1699
		1700	ev_init (timer, callback);
		1701	timer->repeat = 60.;
		1702	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1703
		1704	Each time there is some activity:
		1705
		1706	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1707
		1708	It is even possible to change the time-out on the fly, regardless of
		1709	whether the watcher is active or not:
		1710
		1711	timer->repeat = 30.;
		1712	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1713
		1714	This is slightly more efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
		1715	you want to modify its timeout value, as libev does not have to completely
		1716	remove and re-insert the timer from/into its internal data structure.
		1717
		1718	It is, however, even simpler than the "obvious" way to do it.
		1719
		1720	=item 3. Let the timer time out, but then re-arm it as required.
		1721
		1722	This method is more tricky, but usually most efficient: Most timeouts are
		1723	relatively long compared to the intervals between other activity - in
		1724	our example, within 60 seconds, there are usually many I/O events with
		1725	associated activity resets.
		1726
		1727	In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the C<ev_timer> alone,
		1728	but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only
		1729	within the callback:
		1730
		1731	ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity
		1732
		1733	static void
		1734	callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1735	{
		1736	ev_tstamp now = ev_now (EV_A);
		1737	ev_tstamp timeout = last_activity + 60.;
		1738
		1739	// if last_activity + 60. is older than now, we did time out
		1740	if (timeout < now)
		1741	{
		1742	// timeout occured, take action
		1743	}
		1744	else
		1745	{
		1746	// callback was invoked, but there was some activity, re-arm
		1747	// the watcher to fire in last_activity + 60, which is
		1748	// guaranteed to be in the future, so "again" is positive:
		1749	w->repeat = timeout - now;
		1750	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ w);
		1751	}
		1752	}
		1753
		1754	To summarise the callback: first calculate the real timeout (defined
		1755	as "60 seconds after the last activity"), then check if that time has
		1756	been reached, which means something I<did>, in fact, time out. Otherwise
		1757	the callback was invoked too early (C<timeout> is in the future), so
		1758	re-schedule the timer to fire at that future time, to see if maybe we have
		1759	a timeout then.
		1760
		1761	Note how C<ev_timer_again> is used, taking advantage of the
		1762	C<ev_timer_again> optimisation when the timer is already running.
		1763
		1764	This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds
		1765	minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to
		1766	libev to change the timeout.
		1767
		1768	To start the timer, simply initialise the watcher and set C<last_activity>
		1769	to the current time (meaning we just have some activity :), then call the
		1770	callback, which will "do the right thing" and start the timer:
		1771
		1772	ev_init (timer, callback);
		1773	last_activity = ev_now (loop);
		1774	callback (loop, timer, EV_TIMER);
		1775
		1776	And when there is some activity, simply store the current time in
		1777	C<last_activity>, no libev calls at all:
		1778
		1779	last_activity = ev_now (loop);
		1780
		1781	This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the
		1782	time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.
		1783
		1784	Changing the timeout is trivial as well (if it isn't hard-coded in the
		1785	callback :) - just change the timeout and invoke the callback, which will
		1786	fix things for you.
		1787
		1788	=item 4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts.
		1789
		1790	If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all
		1791	employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can
		1792	do even better:
		1793
		1794	When starting the timeout, calculate the timeout value and put the timeout
		1795	at the I<end> of the list.
		1796
		1797	Then use an C<ev_timer> to fire when the timeout at the I<beginning> of
		1798	the list is expected to fire (for example, using the technique #3).
		1799
		1800	When there is some activity, remove the timer from the list, recalculate
		1801	the timeout, append it to the end of the list again, and make sure to
		1802	update the C<ev_timer> if it was taken from the beginning of the list.
		1803
		1804	This way, one can manage an unlimited number of timeouts in O(1) time for
		1805	starting, stopping and updating the timers, at the expense of a major
		1806	complication, and having to use a constant timeout. The constant timeout
		1807	ensures that the list stays sorted.
		1808
		1809	=back
		1810
		1811	So which method the best?
		1812
		1813	Method #2 is a simple no-brain-required solution that is adequate in most
		1814	situations. Method #3 requires a bit more thinking, but handles many cases
		1815	better, and isn't very complicated either. In most case, choosing either
		1816	one is fine, with #3 being better in typical situations.
		1817
		1818	Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is
		1819	rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays
		1820	off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually
		1821	overkill :)
		1822
		1823	=head3 The special problem of time updates
		1824
		1825	Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
		1826	least two system calls): EV therefore updates its idea of the current
		1827	time only before and after C<ev_loop> collects new events, which causes a
		1828	growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling
		1829	lots of events in one iteration.
886		1830
887	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>	1831	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
888	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time	1832	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
889	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If	1833	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
890	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout	1834	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
891	on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:	1835	timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
892		1836
893	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);	1837	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
894		1838
895	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,	1839	If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
896	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then	1840	update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update
897	order of execution is undefined.	1841	()>.
		1842
		1843	=head3 The special problems of suspended animation
		1844
		1845	When you leave the server world it is quite customary to hit machines that
		1846	can suspend/hibernate - what happens to the clocks during such a suspend?
		1847
		1848	Some quick tests made with a Linux 2.6.28 indicate that a suspend freezes
		1849	all processes, while the clocks (C<times>, C<CLOCK_MONOTONIC>) continue
		1850	to run until the system is suspended, but they will not advance while the
		1851	system is suspended. That means, on resume, it will be as if the program
		1852	was frozen for a few seconds, but the suspend time will not be counted
		1853	towards C<ev_timer> when a monotonic clock source is used. The real time
		1854	clock advanced as expected, but if it is used as sole clocksource, then a
		1855	long suspend would be detected as a time jump by libev, and timers would
		1856	be adjusted accordingly.
		1857
		1858	I would not be surprised to see different behaviour in different between
		1859	operating systems, OS versions or even different hardware.
		1860
		1861	The other form of suspend (job control, or sending a SIGSTOP) will see a
		1862	time jump in the monotonic clocks and the realtime clock. If the program
		1863	is suspended for a very long time, and monotonic clock sources are in use,
		1864	then you can expect C<ev_timer>s to expire as the full suspension time
		1865	will be counted towards the timers. When no monotonic clock source is in
		1866	use, then libev will again assume a timejump and adjust accordingly.
		1867
		1868	It might be beneficial for this latter case to call C<ev_suspend>
		1869	and C<ev_resume> in code that handles C<SIGTSTP>, to at least get
		1870	deterministic behaviour in this case (you can do nothing against
		1871	C<SIGSTOP>).
		1872
		1873	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
898		1874
899	=over 4	1875	=over 4
900		1876
901	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1877	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
902		1878
903	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1879	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
904		1880
905	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat> is	1881	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>
906	C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped. If it is positive, then the	1882	is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
907	timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds	1883	reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
908	later, again, and again, until stopped manually.	1884	configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,
		1885	until stopped manually.
909		1886
910	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if you	1887	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
911	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at	1888	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
912	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with	1889	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
913	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the	1890	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
914	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	1891	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
915		1892
916	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1893	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
917		1894
918	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1895	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
919	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1896	repeating. The exact semantics are:
920		1897
921	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	1898	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
922		1899
923	If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out).	1900	If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
924		1901
925	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the	1902	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
926	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.	1903	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
927		1904
928	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical	1905	This sounds a bit complicated, see L<Be smart about timeouts>, above, for a
929	example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle	1906	usage example.
930	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
931	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
932	configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
933	C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
934	you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
935	socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop> the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will
936	automatically restart it if need be.
937		1907
938	That means you can ignore the C<after> value and C<ev_timer_start>	1908	=item ev_tstamp ev_timer_remaining (loop, ev_timer *)
939	altogether and only ever use the C<repeat> value and C<ev_timer_again>:
940		1909
941	ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);	1910	Returns the remaining time until a timer fires. If the timer is active,
942	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);	1911	then this time is relative to the current event loop time, otherwise it's
943	...	1912	the timeout value currently configured.
944	timer->again = 17.;
945	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
946	...
947	timer->again = 10.;
948	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
949		1913
950	This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time	1914	That is, after an C<ev_timer_set (w, 5, 7)>, C<ev_timer_remaining> returns
951	you want to modify its timeout value.	1915	C<5>. When the timer is started and one second passes, C<ev_timer_remaining>
		1916	will return C<4>. When the timer expires and is restarted, it will return
		1917	roughly C<7> (likely slightly less as callback invocation takes some time,
		1918	too), and so on.
952		1919
953	=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]	1920	=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]
954		1921
955	The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out	1922	The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
956	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),	1923	or C<ev_timer_again> is called, and determines the next timeout (if any),
957	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.	1924	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
958		1925
959	=back	1926	=back
960		1927
		1928	=head3 Examples
		1929
961	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1930	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
962		1931
963	static void	1932	static void
964	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1933	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
965	{	1934	{
966	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here	1935	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
967	}	1936	}
968		1937
969	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1938	ev_timer mytimer;
970	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);	1939	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
971	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);	1940	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
972		1941
973	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of	1942	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
974	inactivity.	1943	inactivity.
975		1944
976	static void	1945	static void
977	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1946	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
978	{	1947	{
979	.. ten seconds without any activity	1948	.. ten seconds without any activity
980	}	1949	}
981		1950
982	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1951	ev_timer mytimer;
983	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */	1952	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
984	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */	1953	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
985	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1954	ev_loop (loop, 0);
986		1955
987	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":	1956	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
988	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds	1957	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
989	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);	1958	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
990		1959
991		1960
992	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?	1961	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?
993		1962
994	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	1963	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
995	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	1964	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
996		1965
997	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)	1966	Unlike C<ev_timer>, periodic watchers are not based on real time (or
998	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1967	relative time, the physical time that passes) but on wall clock time
999	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1968	(absolute time, the thing you can read on your calender or clock). The
1000	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()	1969	difference is that wall clock time can run faster or slower than real
1001	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1970	time, and time jumps are not uncommon (e.g. when you adjust your
1002	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1971	wrist-watch).
1003	roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time
1004	again).
1005		1972
1006	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1973	You can tell a periodic watcher to trigger after some specific point
		1974	in time: for example, if you tell a periodic watcher to trigger "in 10
		1975	seconds" (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now () + 10.>, that is, an absolute time
		1976	not a delay) and then reset your system clock to January of the previous
		1977	year, then it will take a year or more to trigger the event (unlike an
		1978	C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger roughly 10 seconds after starting
		1979	it, as it uses a relative timeout).
		1980
		1981	C<ev_periodic> watchers can also be used to implement vastly more complex
1007	triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.	1982	timers, such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or
		1983	other complicated rules. This cannot be done with C<ev_timer> watchers, as
		1984	those cannot react to time jumps.
1008		1985
1009	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1986	As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
1010	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1987	point in time where it is supposed to trigger has passed. If multiple
1011	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1988	timers become ready during the same loop iteration then the ones with
		1989	earlier time-out values are invoked before ones with later time-out values
		1990	(but this is no longer true when a callback calls C<ev_loop> recursively).
		1991
		1992	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1012		1993
1013	=over 4	1994	=over 4
1014		1995
1015	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)	1996	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1016		1997
1017	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)	1998	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1018		1999
1019	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of	2000	Lots of arguments, let's sort it out... There are basically three modes of
1020	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:	2001	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to most complex:
1021		2002
1022	=over 4	2003	=over 4
1023		2004
1024	=item * absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	2005	=item * absolute timer (offset = absolute time, interval = 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1025		2006
1026	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	2007	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
1027	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	2008	time C<offset> has passed. It will not repeat and will not adjust when a
1028	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	2009	time jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it
1029	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	2010	will be stopped and invoked when the system clock reaches or surpasses
		2011	this point in time.
1030		2012
1031	=item * non-repeating interval timer (interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	2013	=item * repeating interval timer (offset = offset within interval, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1032		2014
1033	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	2015	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1034	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat, regardless	2016	C<offset + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be
1035	of any time jumps.	2017	negative) and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps. The C<offset>
		2018	argument is merely an offset into the C<interval> periods.
1036		2019
1037	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	2020	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to the
1038	time:	2021	system clock, for example, here is an C<ev_periodic> that triggers each
		2022	hour, on the hour (with respect to UTC):
1039		2023
1040	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	2024	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
1041		2025
1042	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,	2026	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
1043	but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a	2027	but only that the callback will be called when the system time shows a
1044	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible	2028	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible
1045	by 3600.	2029	by 3600.
1046		2030
1047	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	2031	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
1048	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	2032	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1049	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	2033	time where C<time = offset (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1050		2034
		2035	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<offset> value is near
		2036	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
		2037	this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
		2038
		2039	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU
		2040	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
		2041	will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
		2042	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
		2043
1051	=item * manual reschedule mode (reschedule_cb = callback)	2044	=item * manual reschedule mode (offset ignored, interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1052		2045
1053	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	2046	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<offset> are both being
1054	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	2047	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1055	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	2048	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1056	current time as second argument.	2049	current time as second argument.
1057		2050
1058	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	2051	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher, ever,
1059	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	2052	or make ANY other event loop modifications whatsoever, unless explicitly
1060	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by	2053	allowed by documentation here>.
1061	starting a prepare watcher).
1062		2054
		2055	If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
		2056	it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
		2057	only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
		2058
1063	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	2059	The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic
1064	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	2060	*w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1065		2061
		2062	static ev_tstamp
1066	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	2063	my_rescheduler (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1067	{	2064	{
1068	return now + 60.;	2065	return now + 60.;
1069	}	2066	}
1070		2067
1071	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value	2068	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
1072	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It	2069	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
1073	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but	2070	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
1074	might be called at other times, too.	2071	might be called at other times, too.
1075		2072
1076	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is later than the	2073	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
1077	passed C<now> value >>. Not even C<now> itself will do, it I<must> be larger.	2074	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
1078		2075
1079	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that	2076	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
1080	triggers on each midnight, local time. To do this, you would calculate the	2077	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the
1081	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How	2078	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How
1082	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main	2079	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
1083	reason I omitted it as an example).	2080	reason I omitted it as an example).
1084		2081
1085	=back	2082	=back
…		…
1089	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	2086	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1090	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	2087	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1091	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	2088	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1092	program when the crontabs have changed).	2089	program when the crontabs have changed).
1093		2090
		2091	=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
		2092
		2093	When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed
		2094	to trigger next. This is not the same as the C<offset> argument to
		2095	C<ev_periodic_set>, but indeed works even in interval and manual
		2096	rescheduling modes.
		2097
		2098	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
		2099
		2100	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
		2101	absolute point in time (the C<offset> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>,
		2102	although libev might modify this value for better numerical stability).
		2103
		2104	Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
		2105	timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
		2106
1094	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]	2107	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]
1095		2108
1096	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only	2109	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
1097	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being	2110	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
1098	called.	2111	called.
1099		2112
1100	=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]	2113	=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
1101		2114
1102	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is	2115	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
1103	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when	2116	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1104	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.	2117	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1105		2118
1106	=back	2119	=back
1107		2120
		2121	=head3 Examples
		2122
1108	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	2123	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1109	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	2124	system time is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1110	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	2125	potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
1111		2126
1112	static void	2127	static void
1113	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	2128	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1114	{	2129	{
1115	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)	2130	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
1116	}	2131	}
1117		2132
1118	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	2133	ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1119	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);	2134	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
1120	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	2135	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1121		2136
1122	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:	2137	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
1123		2138
1124	#include <math.h>	2139	#include <math.h>
1125		2140
1126	static ev_tstamp	2141	static ev_tstamp
1127	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	2142	my_scheduler_cb (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1128	{	2143	{
1129	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;	2144	return now + (3600. - fmod (now, 3600.));
1130	}	2145	}
1131		2146
1132	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);	2147	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
1133		2148
1134	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:	2149	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
1135		2150
1136	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	2151	ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1137	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,	2152	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
1138	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);	2153	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
1139	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	2154	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1140		2155
1141		2156
1142	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!	2157	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
1143		2158
1144	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific	2159	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
1145	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev	2160	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
1146	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the	2161	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
1147	normal event processing, like any other event.	2162	normal event processing, like any other event.
1148		2163
		2164	If you want signals to be delivered truly asynchronously, just use
		2165	C<sigaction> as you would do without libev and forget about sharing
		2166	the signal. You can even use C<ev_async> from a signal handler to
		2167	synchronously wake up an event loop.
		2168
1149	You can configure as many watchers as you like per signal. Only when the	2169	You can configure as many watchers as you like for the same signal, but
		2170	only within the same loop, i.e. you can watch for C<SIGINT> in your
		2171	default loop and for C<SIGIO> in another loop, but you cannot watch for
		2172	C<SIGINT> in both the default loop and another loop at the same time. At
		2173	the moment, C<SIGCHLD> is permanently tied to the default loop.
		2174
1150	first watcher gets started will libev actually register a signal watcher	2175	When the first watcher gets started will libev actually register something
1151	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	2176	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long as
1152	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	2177	you don't register any with libev for the same signal).
1153	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	2178
1154	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	2179	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
		2180	C<SA_RESTART> (or equivalent) behaviour enabled, so system calls should
		2181	not be unduly interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting
		2182	interrupted by signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher
		2183	and unblock them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
		2184
		2185	=head3 The special problem of inheritance over fork/execve/pthread_create
		2186
		2187	Both the signal mask (C<sigprocmask>) and the signal disposition
		2188	(C<sigaction>) are unspecified after starting a signal watcher (and after
		2189	stopping it again), that is, libev might or might not block the signal,
		2190	and might or might not set or restore the installed signal handler.
		2191
		2192	While this does not matter for the signal disposition (libev never
		2193	sets signals to C<SIG_IGN>, so handlers will be reset to C<SIG_DFL> on
		2194	C<execve>), this matters for the signal mask: many programs do not expect
		2195	certain signals to be blocked.
		2196
		2197	This means that before calling C<exec> (from the child) you should reset
		2198	the signal mask to whatever "default" you expect (all clear is a good
		2199	choice usually).
		2200
		2201	The simplest way to ensure that the signal mask is reset in the child is
		2202	to install a fork handler with C<pthread_atfork> that resets it. That will
		2203	catch fork calls done by libraries (such as the libc) as well.
		2204
		2205	In current versions of libev, the signal will not be blocked indefinitely
		2206	unless you use the C<signalfd> API (C<EV_SIGNALFD>). While this reduces
		2207	the window of opportunity for problems, it will not go away, as libev
		2208	I<has> to modify the signal mask, at least temporarily.
		2209
		2210	So I can't stress this enough: I<If you do not reset your signal mask when
		2211	you expect it to be empty, you have a race condition in your code>. This
		2212	is not a libev-specific thing, this is true for most event libraries.
		2213
		2214	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1155		2215
1156	=over 4	2216	=over 4
1157		2217
1158	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)	2218	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
1159		2219
…		…
1166		2226
1167	The signal the watcher watches out for.	2227	The signal the watcher watches out for.
1168		2228
1169	=back	2229	=back
1170		2230
		2231	=head3 Examples
		2232
		2233	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT.
		2234
		2235	static void
		2236	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_signal *w, int revents)
		2237	{
		2238	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
		2239	}
		2240
		2241	ev_signal signal_watcher;
		2242	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
		2243	ev_signal_start (loop, &signal_watcher);
		2244
1171		2245
1172	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes	2246	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1173		2247
1174	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	2248	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1175	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	2249	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies or
		2250	exits). It is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child
		2251	has been forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long
		2252	as the event loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher), i.e.,
		2253	forking and then immediately registering a watcher for the child is fine,
		2254	but forking and registering a watcher a few event loop iterations later or
		2255	in the next callback invocation is not.
		2256
		2257	Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
		2258	you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
		2259
		2260	Due to some design glitches inside libev, child watchers will always be
		2261	handled at maximum priority (their priority is set to C<EV_MAXPRI> by
		2262	libev)
		2263
		2264	=head3 Process Interaction
		2265
		2266	Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
		2267	initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if the
		2268	first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurrence
		2269	of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
		2270	synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
		2271	children, even ones not watched.
		2272
		2273	=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
		2274
		2275	Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
		2276	processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
		2277	handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
		2278	C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
		2279	default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
		2280	event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
		2281	that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
		2282
		2283	=head3 Stopping the Child Watcher
		2284
		2285	Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
		2286	child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
		2287	callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
		2288	when a child exit is detected (calling C<ev_child_stop> twice is not a
		2289	problem).
		2290
		2291	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1176		2292
1177	=over 4	2293	=over 4
1178		2294
1179	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	2295	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1180		2296
1181	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)	2297	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1182		2298
1183	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or	2299	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1184	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look	2300	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1185	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	2301	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1186	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	2302	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1187	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	2303	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1188	process causing the status change.	2304	process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
		2305	activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
		2306	activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1189		2307
1190	=item int pid [read-only]	2308	=item int pid [read-only]
1191		2309
1192	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.	2310	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1193		2311
…		…
1200	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems	2318	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1201	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).	2319	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1202		2320
1203	=back	2321	=back
1204		2322
1205	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	2323	=head3 Examples
1206		2324
		2325	Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
		2326	its completion.
		2327
		2328	ev_child cw;
		2329
1207	static void	2330	static void
1208	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	2331	child_cb (EV_P_ ev_child *w, int revents)
1209	{	2332	{
1210	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	2333	ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
		2334	printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1211	}	2335	}
1212		2336
1213	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	2337	pid_t pid = fork ();
1214	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	2338
1215	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	2339	if (pid < 0)
		2340	// error
		2341	else if (pid == 0)
		2342	{
		2343	// the forked child executes here
		2344	exit (1);
		2345	}
		2346	else
		2347	{
		2348	ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
		2349	ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
		2350	}
1216		2351
1217		2352
1218	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	2353	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1219		2354
1220	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	2355	This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
1221	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed	2356	C<stat> on that path in regular intervals (or when the OS says it changed)
1222	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.	2357	and sees if it changed compared to the last time, invoking the callback if
		2358	it did.
1223		2359
1224	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does	2360	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
1225	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does	2361	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does not
1226	not exist" is signified by the C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is	2362	exist" (or more correctly "path cannot be stat'ed") is signified by the
1227	otherwise always forced to be at least one) and all the other fields of	2363	C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is otherwise always forced to be at
1228	the stat buffer having unspecified contents.	2364	least one) and all the other fields of the stat buffer having unspecified
		2365	contents.
1229		2366
1230	The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is	2367	The path I<must not> end in a slash or contain special components such as
		2368	C<.> or C<..>. The path I<should> be absolute: If it is relative and
1231	relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.	2369	your working directory changes, then the behaviour is undefined.
1232		2370
1233	Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply	2371	Since there is no portable change notification interface available, the
1234	calls C<stat (2)> regularly on the path to see if it changed somehow. You	2372	portable implementation simply calls C<stat(2)> regularly on the path
1235	can specify a recommended polling interval for this case. If you specify	2373	to see if it changed somehow. You can specify a recommended polling
1236	a polling interval of C<0> (highly recommended!) then a I<suitable,	2374	interval for this case. If you specify a polling interval of C<0> (highly
1237	unspecified default> value will be used (which you can expect to be around	2375	recommended!) then a I<suitable, unspecified default> value will be used
1238	five seconds, although this might change dynamically). Libev will also	2376	(which you can expect to be around five seconds, although this might
1239	impose a minimum interval which is currently around C<0.1>, but thats	2377	change dynamically). Libev will also impose a minimum interval which is
1240	usually overkill.	2378	currently around C<0.1>, but that's usually overkill.
1241		2379
1242	This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,	2380	This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
1243	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be	2381	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1244	resource-intensive.	2382	resource-intensive.
1245		2383
1246	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is	2384	At the time of this writing, the only OS-specific interface implemented
1247	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the	2385	is the Linux inotify interface (implementing kqueue support is left as an
1248	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the	2386	exercise for the reader. Note, however, that the author sees no way of
1249	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs	2387	implementing C<ev_stat> semantics with kqueue, except as a hint).
1250	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are	2388
1251	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no	2389	=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
1252	polling.	2390
		2391	Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
		2392	compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
		2393	support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
		2394	structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
		2395	use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
		2396	compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
		2397	obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
		2398	most noticeably displayed with ev_stat and large file support.
		2399
		2400	The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
		2401	file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
		2402	optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
		2403	to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
		2404	default compilation environment.
		2405
		2406	=head3 Inotify and Kqueue
		2407
		2408	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev and present at
		2409	runtime, it will be used to speed up change detection where possible. The
		2410	inotify descriptor will be created lazily when the first C<ev_stat>
		2411	watcher is being started.
		2412
		2413	Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		2414	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		2415	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
		2416	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling,
		2417	but as long as kernel 2.6.25 or newer is used (2.6.24 and older have too
		2418	many bugs), the path exists (i.e. stat succeeds), and the path resides on
		2419	a local filesystem (libev currently assumes only ext2/3, jfs, reiserfs and
		2420	xfs are fully working) libev usually gets away without polling.
		2421
		2422	There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		2423	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		2424	descriptor open on the object at all times, and detecting renames, unlinks
		2425	etc. is difficult.
		2426
		2427	=head3 C<stat ()> is a synchronous operation
		2428
		2429	Libev doesn't normally do any kind of I/O itself, and so is not blocking
		2430	the process. The exception are C<ev_stat> watchers - those call C<stat
		2431	()>, which is a synchronous operation.
		2432
		2433	For local paths, this usually doesn't matter: unless the system is very
		2434	busy or the intervals between stat's are large, a stat call will be fast,
		2435	as the path data is usually in memory already (except when starting the
		2436	watcher).
		2437
		2438	For networked file systems, calling C<stat ()> can block an indefinite
		2439	time due to network issues, and even under good conditions, a stat call
		2440	often takes multiple milliseconds.
		2441
		2442	Therefore, it is best to avoid using C<ev_stat> watchers on networked
		2443	paths, although this is fully supported by libev.
		2444
		2445	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		2446
		2447	The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably,
		2448	and even on systems where the resolution is higher, most file systems
		2449	still only support whole seconds.
		2450
		2451	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
		2452	easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
		2453	calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
		2454	within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect unless the
		2455	stat data does change in other ways (e.g. file size).
		2456
		2457	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
		2458	than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
		2459	a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
		2460	ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
		2461
		2462	The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
		2463	of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
		2464	might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
		2465	C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
		2466	a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
		2467	update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
		2468	the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
		2469	the timer callback).
		2470
		2471	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1253		2472
1254	=over 4	2473	=over 4
1255		2474
1256	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)	2475	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
1257		2476
…		…
1261	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to	2480	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1262	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose	2481	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1263	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same	2482	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1264	path for as long as the watcher is active.	2483	path for as long as the watcher is active.
1265		2484
1266	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,	2485	The callback will receive an C<EV_STAT> event when a change was detected,
1267	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the	2486	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
1268	last change was detected).	2487	last change was detected).
1269		2488
1270	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)	2489	=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1271		2490
1272	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the	2491	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1273	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid	2492	watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1274	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be	2493	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1275	useful simply to find out the new values.	2494	the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
		2495	new values.
1276		2496
1277	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]	2497	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1278		2498
1279	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of	2499	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1280	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types	2500	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1281	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there	2501	suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
		2502	members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1282	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.	2503	some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1283		2504
1284	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]	2505	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1285		2506
1286	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever	2507	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1287	C<prev> != C<attr>.	2508	C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
		2509	differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
		2510	C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1288		2511
1289	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]	2512	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1290		2513
1291	The specified interval.	2514	The specified interval.
1292		2515
1293	=item const char *path [read-only]	2516	=item const char *path [read-only]
1294		2517
1295	The filesystem path that is being watched.	2518	The file system path that is being watched.
1296		2519
1297	=back	2520	=back
1298		2521
		2522	=head3 Examples
		2523
1299	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.	2524	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1300		2525
1301	static void	2526	static void
1302	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)	2527	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
1303	{	2528	{
1304	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */	2529	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
1305	if (w->attr.st_nlink)	2530	if (w->attr.st_nlink)
1306	{	2531	{
1307	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);	2532	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
1308	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	2533	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1309	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	2534	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1310	}	2535	}
1311	else	2536	else
1312	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */	2537	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
1313	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "	2538	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
1314	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");	2539	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");
1315	}	2540	}
1316		2541
1317	...	2542	...
1318	ev_stat passwd;	2543	ev_stat passwd;
1319		2544
1320	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");	2545	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1321	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);	2546	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		2547
		2548	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		2549	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		2550	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		2551	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		2552
		2553	static ev_stat passwd;
		2554	static ev_timer timer;
		2555
		2556	static void
		2557	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		2558	{
		2559	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		2560
		2561	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		2562	}
		2563
		2564	static void
		2565	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		2566	{
		2567	/* reset the one-second timer */
		2568	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		2569	}
		2570
		2571	...
		2572	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		2573	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		2574	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
1322		2575
1323		2576
1324	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...	2577	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1325		2578
1326	Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending	2579	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
1327	(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long	2580	priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count
1328	as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals,	2581	as receiving "events").
1329	imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle	2582
1330	watchers are being called again and again, once per event loop iteration -	2583	That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
		2584	(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
		2585	triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
		2586	are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
1331	until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events and becomes	2587	iteration - until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events
1332	busy.	2588	and becomes busy again with higher priority stuff.
1333		2589
1334	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are	2590	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
1335	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.	2591	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
1336		2592
1337	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful	2593	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
1338	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do	2594	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
1339	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the	2595	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
1340	event loop has handled all outstanding events.	2596	event loop has handled all outstanding events.
1341		2597
		2598	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2599
1342	=over 4	2600	=over 4
1343		2601
1344	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)	2602	=item ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)
1345		2603
1346	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any	2604	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
1347	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	2605	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1348	believe me.	2606	believe me.
1349		2607
1350	=back	2608	=back
1351		2609
		2610	=head3 Examples
		2611
1352	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the	2612	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1353	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	2613	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1354		2614
1355	static void	2615	static void
1356	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	2616	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)
1357	{	2617	{
1358	free (w);	2618	free (w);
1359	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	2619	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1360	// no longer asnything immediate to do.	2620	// no longer anything immediate to do.
1361	}	2621	}
1362		2622
1363	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	2623	ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));
1364	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	2624	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1365	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	2625	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_watcher);
1366		2626
1367		2627
1368	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!	2628	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
1369		2629
1370	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:	2630	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in pairs:
1371	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers	2631	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
1372	afterwards.	2632	afterwards.
1373		2633
1374	You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter	2634	You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter
1375	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>	2635	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>
…		…
1378	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,	2638	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,
1379	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be	2639	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
1380	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.	2640	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
1381		2641
1382	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and	2642	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
1383	their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track	2643	their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track
1384	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a	2644	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
1385	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if	2645	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
1386	you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,	2646	you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
1387	in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>	2647	in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>
1388	watcher).	2648	watcher).
1389		2649
1390	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need	2650	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors
1391	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for	2651	need to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers
1392	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries	2652	for them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many
1393	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for	2653	libraries provide exactly this functionality). Then, in the check watcher,
1394	any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers	2654	you check for any events that occurred (by checking the pending status
1395	and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer	2655	of all watchers and stopping them) and call back into the library. The
1396	callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,	2656	I/O and timer callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid
1397	because you never know, you know?).	2657	nevertheless, because you never know, you know?).
1398		2658
1399	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate	2659	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
1400	coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines	2660	coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines
1401	during each prepare and only letting the process block if no coroutines	2661	during each prepare and only letting the process block if no coroutines
1402	are ready to run (it's actually more complicated: it only runs coroutines	2662	are ready to run (it's actually more complicated: it only runs coroutines
1403	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine	2663	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
1404	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event	2664	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
1405	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping	2665	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
1406	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).	2666	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
1407		2667
		2668	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
		2669	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
		2670	after the poll (this doesn't matter for C<ev_prepare> watchers).
		2671
		2672	Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers, too) should not
		2673	activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they
		2674	might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers did their job. As
		2675	C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event
		2676	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
		2677	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
		2678	others).
		2679
		2680	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2681
1408	=over 4	2682	=over 4
1409		2683
1410	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)	2684	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
1411		2685
1412	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)	2686	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)
1413		2687
1414	Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no	2688	Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no
1415	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	2689	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1416	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	2690	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly, utterly and completely
		2691	pointless.
1417		2692
1418	=back	2693	=back
1419		2694
1420	Example: To include a library such as adns, you would add IO watchers	2695	=head3 Examples
1421	and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler, as required by libadns, and	2696
		2697	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
		2698	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
		2699	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
		2700	use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
		2701	Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
		2702	Glib event loop).
		2703
		2704	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1422	in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows is	2705	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1423	pseudo-code only of course:	2706	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
		2707	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
		2708	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
1424		2709
1425	static ev_io iow [nfd];	2710	static ev_io iow [nfd];
1426	static ev_timer tw;	2711	static ev_timer tw;
1427		2712
1428	static void	2713	static void
1429	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)	2714	io_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1430	{	2715	{
1431	// set the relevant poll flags
1432	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1433	struct pollfd *fd = (struct pollfd *)w->data;
1434	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
1435	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
1436	}	2716	}
1437		2717
1438	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking	2718	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1439	static void	2719	static void
1440	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)	2720	adns_prepare_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
1441	{	2721	{
1442	int timeout = 3600000;truct pollfd fds [nfd];	2722	int timeout = 3600000;
		2723	struct pollfd fds [nfd];
1443	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.	2724	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
1444	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));	2725	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
1445		2726
1446	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */	2727	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1447	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);	2728	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3, 0.);
1448	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);	2729	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
1449		2730
1450	// create on ev_io per pollfd	2731	// create one ev_io per pollfd
1451	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2732	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1452	{	2733	{
1453	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,	2734	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1454	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)	2735	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1455	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));	2736	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1456		2737
1457	fds [i].revents = 0;	2738	fds [i].revents = 0;
1458	iow [i].data = fds + i;
1459	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);	2739	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1460	}	2740	}
1461	}	2741	}
1462		2742
1463	// stop all watchers after blocking	2743	// stop all watchers after blocking
1464	static void	2744	static void
1465	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)	2745	adns_check_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1466	{	2746	{
1467	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);	2747	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
1468		2748
1469	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2749	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
		2750	{
		2751	// set the relevant poll flags
		2752	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
		2753	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
		2754	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
		2755	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
		2756	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
		2757
		2758	// now stop the watcher
1470	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);	2759	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
		2760	}
1471		2761
1472	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));	2762	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
1473	}	2763	}
		2764
		2765	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
		2766	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
		2767
		2768	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
		2769	notification (libadns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
		2770	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
		2771
		2772	static void
		2773	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		2774	{
		2775	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		2776	update_now (EV_A);
		2777
		2778	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
		2779	}
		2780
		2781	static void
		2782	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
		2783	{
		2784	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		2785	update_now (EV_A);
		2786
		2787	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		2788	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		2789	}
		2790
		2791	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll
		2792
		2793	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
		2794	want to embed is not flexible enough to support it. Instead, you can
		2795	override their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the
		2796	main loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module uses
		2797	this approach, effectively embedding EV as a client into the horrible
		2798	libglib event loop.
		2799
		2800	static gint
		2801	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
		2802	{
		2803	int got_events = 0;
		2804
		2805	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		2806	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
		2807
		2808	if (timeout >= 0)
		2809	// create/start timer
		2810
		2811	// poll
		2812	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
		2813
		2814	// stop timer again
		2815	if (timeout >= 0)
		2816	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
		2817
		2818	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
		2819	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		2820	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
		2821
		2822	return got_events;
		2823	}
1474		2824
1475		2825
1476	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...	2826	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1477		2827
1478	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop	2828	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
…		…
1484	prioritise I/O.	2834	prioritise I/O.
1485		2835
1486	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support	2836	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
1487	sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you	2837	sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you
1488	still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales	2838	still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales
1489	so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed it	2839	so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed
1490	into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation will	2840	it into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation
1491	be a bit slower because first libev has to poll and then call kevent, but	2841	will be a bit slower because first libev has to call C<poll> and then
1492	at least you can use both at what they are best.	2842	C<kevent>, but at least you can use both mechanisms for what they are
		2843	best: C<kqueue> for scalable sockets and C<poll> if you want it to work :)
1493		2844
1494	As for prioritising I/O: rarely you have the case where some fds have	2845	As for prioritising I/O: under rare circumstances you have the case where
1495	to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency), and even	2846	some fds have to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency),
1496	priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In this case	2847	and even priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In
1497	you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all the rest in	2848	this case you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all
1498	a second one, and embed the second one in the first.	2849	the rest in a second one, and embed the second one in the first.
1499		2850
1500	As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every time	2851	As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every
1501	there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback must then	2852	time there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback
1502	call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single sweep and invoke	2853	must then call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single
1503	their callbacks (you could also start an idle watcher to give the embedded	2854	sweep and invoke their callbacks (the callback doesn't need to invoke the
1504	loop strictly lower priority for example). You can also set the callback	2855	C<ev_embed_sweep> function directly, it could also start an idle watcher
1505	to C<0>, in which case the embed watcher will automatically execute the	2856	to give the embedded loop strictly lower priority for example).
1506	embedded loop sweep.
1507		2857
1508	As long as the watcher is started it will automatically handle events. The	2858	You can also set the callback to C<0>, in which case the embed watcher
1509	callback will be invoked whenever some events have been handled. You can	2859	will automatically execute the embedded loop sweep whenever necessary.
1510	set the callback to C<0> to avoid having to specify one if you are not
1511	interested in that.
1512		2860
1513	Also, there have not currently been made special provisions for forking:	2861	Fork detection will be handled transparently while the C<ev_embed> watcher
1514	when you fork, you not only have to call C<ev_loop_fork> on both loops,	2862	is active, i.e., the embedded loop will automatically be forked when the
1515	but you will also have to stop and restart any C<ev_embed> watchers	2863	embedding loop forks. In other cases, the user is responsible for calling
1516	yourself.	2864	C<ev_loop_fork> on the embedded loop.
1517		2865
1518	Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable, only the ones returned by	2866	Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable: only the ones returned by
1519	C<ev_embeddable_backends> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any	2867	C<ev_embeddable_backends> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any
1520	portable one.	2868	portable one.
1521		2869
1522	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	2870	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1523	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	2871	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1524	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	2872	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1525	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	2873	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
1526		2874
1527	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	2875	=head3 C<ev_embed> and fork
1528	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1529	struct ev_embed embed;
1530
1531	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
1532	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
1533	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
1534	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
1535	: 0;
1536		2876
1537	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi	2877	While the C<ev_embed> watcher is running, forks in the embedding loop will
1538	if (loop_lo)	2878	automatically be applied to the embedded loop as well, so no special
1539	{	2879	fork handling is required in that case. When the watcher is not running,
1540	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);	2880	however, it is still the task of the libev user to call C<ev_loop_fork ()>
1541	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);	2881	as applicable.
1542	}	2882
1543	else	2883	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1544	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1545		2884
1546	=over 4	2885	=over 4
1547		2886
1548	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2887	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
1549		2888
…		…
1551		2890
1552	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2891	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
1553	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be	2892	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1554	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback	2893	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1555	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,	2894	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1556	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).	2895	if you do not want that, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1557		2896
1558	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)	2897	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1559		2898
1560	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works	2899	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1561	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most	2900	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1562	apropriate way for embedded loops.	2901	appropriate way for embedded loops.
1563		2902
1564	=item struct ev_loop *loop [read-only]	2903	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
1565		2904
1566	The embedded event loop.	2905	The embedded event loop.
1567		2906
1568	=back	2907	=back
		2908
		2909	=head3 Examples
		2910
		2911	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		2912	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		2913	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the embeddable loop is stored in
		2914	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the case no embeddable loop can be
		2915	used).
		2916
		2917	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
		2918	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
		2919	ev_embed embed;
		2920
		2921	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
		2922	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
		2923	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
		2924	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
		2925	: 0;
		2926
		2927	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
		2928	if (loop_lo)
		2929	{
		2930	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
		2931	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
		2932	}
		2933	else
		2934	loop_lo = loop_hi;
		2935
		2936	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2937	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2938	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2939	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
		2940
		2941	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2942	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2943	ev_embed embed;
		2944
		2945	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2946	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2947	{
		2948	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2949	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2950	}
		2951
		2952	if (!loop_socket)
		2953	loop_socket = loop;
		2954
		2955	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1569		2956
1570		2957
1571	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	2958	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1572		2959
1573	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	2960	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
…		…
1576	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,	2963	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
1577	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling	2964	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
1578	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork	2965	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
1579	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.	2966	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
1580		2967
		2968	=head3 The special problem of life after fork - how is it possible?
		2969
		2970	Most uses of C<fork()> consist of forking, then some simple calls to ste
		2971	up/change the process environment, followed by a call to C<exec()>. This
		2972	sequence should be handled by libev without any problems.
		2973
		2974	This changes when the application actually wants to do event handling
		2975	in the child, or both parent in child, in effect "continuing" after the
		2976	fork.
		2977
		2978	The default mode of operation (for libev, with application help to detect
		2979	forks) is to duplicate all the state in the child, as would be expected
		2980	when I<either> the parent I<or> the child process continues.
		2981
		2982	When both processes want to continue using libev, then this is usually the
		2983	wrong result. In that case, usually one process (typically the parent) is
		2984	supposed to continue with all watchers in place as before, while the other
		2985	process typically wants to start fresh, i.e. without any active watchers.
		2986
		2987	The cleanest and most efficient way to achieve that with libev is to
		2988	simply create a new event loop, which of course will be "empty", and
		2989	use that for new watchers. This has the advantage of not touching more
		2990	memory than necessary, and thus avoiding the copy-on-write, and the
		2991	disadvantage of having to use multiple event loops (which do not support
		2992	signal watchers).
		2993
		2994	When this is not possible, or you want to use the default loop for
		2995	other reasons, then in the process that wants to start "fresh", call
		2996	C<ev_default_destroy ()> followed by C<ev_default_loop (...)>. Destroying
		2997	the default loop will "orphan" (not stop) all registered watchers, so you
		2998	have to be careful not to execute code that modifies those watchers. Note
		2999	also that in that case, you have to re-register any signal watchers.
		3000
		3001	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		3002
1581	=over 4	3003	=over 4
1582		3004
1583	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)	3005	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1584		3006
1585	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any	3007	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
…		…
1587	believe me.	3009	believe me.
1588		3010
1589	=back	3011	=back
1590		3012
1591		3013
		3014	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
		3015
		3016	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
		3017	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
		3018	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
		3019
		3020	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
		3021	control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
		3022	C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
		3023	can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
		3024	safe.
		3025
		3026	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
		3027	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
		3028	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
		3029	C<ev_async_sent> calls).
		3030
		3031	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
		3032	just the default loop.
		3033
		3034	=head3 Queueing
		3035
		3036	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
		3037	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
		3038	multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
		3039	need elaborate support such as pthreads or unportable memory access
		3040	semantics.
		3041
		3042	That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
		3043	queue. But at least I can tell you how to implement locking around your
		3044	queue:
		3045
		3046	=over 4
		3047
		3048	=item queueing from a signal handler context
		3049
		3050	To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
		3051	handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is
		3052	an example that does that for some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
		3053
		3054	static ev_async mysig;
		3055
		3056	static void
		3057	sigusr1_handler (void)
		3058	{
		3059	sometype data;
		3060
		3061	// no locking etc.
		3062	queue_put (data);
		3063	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		3064	}
		3065
		3066	static void
		3067	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		3068	{
		3069	sometype data;
		3070	sigset_t block, prev;
		3071
		3072	sigemptyset (&block);
		3073	sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
		3074	sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
		3075
		3076	while (queue_get (&data))
		3077	process (data);
		3078
		3079	if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
		3080	sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
		3081	}
		3082
		3083	(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
		3084	instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
		3085	either...).
		3086
		3087	=item queueing from a thread context
		3088
		3089	The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
		3090	threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
		3091	employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
		3092
		3093	static ev_async mysig;
		3094	static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
		3095
		3096	static void
		3097	otherthread (void)
		3098	{
		3099	// only need to lock the actual queueing operation
		3100	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		3101	queue_put (data);
		3102	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		3103
		3104	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		3105	}
		3106
		3107	static void
		3108	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		3109	{
		3110	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		3111
		3112	while (queue_get (&data))
		3113	process (data);
		3114
		3115	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		3116	}
		3117
		3118	=back
		3119
		3120
		3121	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		3122
		3123	=over 4
		3124
		3125	=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
		3126
		3127	Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
		3128	kind. There is a C<ev_async_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
		3129	trust me.
		3130
		3131	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
		3132
		3133	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
		3134	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
		3135	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do from other threads, signal or
		3136	similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
		3137	section below on what exactly this means).
		3138
		3139	Note that, as with other watchers in libev, multiple events might get
		3140	compressed into a single callback invocation (another way to look at this
		3141	is that C<ev_async> watchers are level-triggered, set on C<ev_async_send>,
		3142	reset when the event loop detects that).
		3143
		3144	This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per event loop
		3145	iteration, so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to
		3146	repeated calls to C<ev_async_send> for the same event loop.
		3147
		3148	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
		3149
		3150	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
		3151	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
		3152	event loop.
		3153
		3154	C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
		3155	the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
		3156	it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
		3157	quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
		3158
		3159	Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending,
		3160	only whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending: there
		3161	is a time window between the event loop checking and resetting the async
		3162	notification, and the callback being invoked.
		3163
		3164	=back
		3165
		3166
1592	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	3167	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
1593		3168
1594	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.	3169	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.
1595		3170
1596	=over 4	3171	=over 4
1597		3172
1598	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)	3173	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)
1599		3174
1600	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your	3175	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your
1601	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stop both	3176	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both
1602	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd	3177	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd
1603	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or	3178	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
1604	more watchers yourself.	3179	more watchers yourself.
1605		3180
1606	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events	3181	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and the
1607	is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and	3182	C<events> argument is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for
1608	C<events> set will be craeted and started.	3183	the given C<fd> and C<events> set will be created and started.
1609		3184
1610	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be	3185	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
1611	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and	3186	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and
1612	repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of	3187	repeat = 0) will be started. C<0> is a valid timeout.
1613	dubious value.
1614		3188
1615	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets	3189	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and is
1616	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of	3190	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
1617	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>	3191	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMER>) and the C<arg>
1618	value passed to C<ev_once>:	3192	value passed to C<ev_once>. Note that it is possible to receive I<both>
		3193	a timeout and an io event at the same time - you probably should give io
		3194	events precedence.
1619		3195
		3196	Example: wait up to ten seconds for data to appear on STDIN_FILENO.
		3197
1620	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)	3198	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
1621	{	3199	{
1622	if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
1623	/* doh, nothing entered */;
1624	else if (revents & EV_READ)	3200	if (revents & EV_READ)
1625	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;	3201	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
		3202	else if (revents & EV_TIMER)
		3203	/* doh, nothing entered */;
1626	}	3204	}
1627		3205
1628	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);	3206	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
1629		3207
1630	=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
1631
1632	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
1633	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
1634	initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).
1635
1636	=item ev_feed_fd_event (ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)	3208	=item ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)
1637		3209
1638	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected	3210	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
1639	the given events it.	3211	the given events it.
1640		3212
1641	=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)	3213	=item ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)
1642		3214
1643	Feed an event as if the given signal occured (C<loop> must be the default	3215	Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default
1644	loop!).	3216	loop!).
1645		3217
1646	=back	3218	=back
1647		3219
1648		3220
…		…
1664		3236
1665	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities	3237	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1666	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there	3238	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1667	is an ev_pri field.	3239	is an ev_pri field.
1668		3240
		3241	=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
		3242	first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
		3243
1669	=item * Other members are not supported.	3244	=item * Other members are not supported.
1670		3245
1671	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need	3246	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1672	to use the libev header file and library.	3247	to use the libev header file and library.
1673		3248
1674	=back	3249	=back
1675		3250
1676	=head1 C++ SUPPORT	3251	=head1 C++ SUPPORT
1677		3252
1678	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow	3253	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1679	you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change	3254	you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1680	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.	3255	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
1681		3256
1682	To use it,	3257	To use it,
1683		3258
1684	#include <ev++.h>	3259	#include <ev++.h>
1685		3260
1686	(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes F<ev.h>	3261	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
1687	and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global	3262	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
1688	namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the C<ev> namespace.	3263	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
		3264	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
1689		3265
1690	It should support all the same embedding options as F<ev.h>, most notably	3266	Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++
1691	C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.	3267	classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
		3268	that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
		3269	you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
		3270
		3271	Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions can be
		3272	used as callbacks. Other types should be easy to add as long as they only
		3273	need one additional pointer for context. If you need support for other
		3274	types of functors please contact the author (preferably after implementing
		3275	it).
1692		3276
1693	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:	3277	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
1694		3278
1695	=over 4	3279	=over 4
1696		3280
…		…
1712		3296
1713	All of those classes have these methods:	3297	All of those classes have these methods:
1714		3298
1715	=over 4	3299	=over 4
1716		3300
1717	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *)	3301	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE ()
1718		3302
1719	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *)	3303	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (loop)
1720		3304
1721	=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE	3305	=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE
1722		3306
1723	The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to	3307	The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
1724	the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls	3308	with. If it is omitted, it will use C<EV_DEFAULT>.
1725	C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the C<set> method	3309
1726	before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor	3310	The constructor calls C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the
1727	automatically associates the default loop with this watcher.	3311	C<set> method before starting it.
		3312
		3313	It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated C<set>
		3314	method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
		3315
		3316	(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in C++ which does
		3317	not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
1728		3318
1729	The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.	3319	The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
1730		3320
		3321	=item w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)
		3322
		3323	This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
		3324	signature of C<void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)>, it receives the watcher as
		3325	first argument and the C<revents> as second. The object must be given as
		3326	parameter and is stored in the C<data> member of the watcher.
		3327
		3328	This method synthesizes efficient thunking code to call your method from
		3329	the C callback that libev requires. If your compiler can inline your
		3330	callback (i.e. it is visible to it at the place of the C<set> call and
		3331	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
		3332	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
		3333
		3334	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
		3335
		3336	struct myclass
		3337	{
		3338	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		3339	}
		3340
		3341	myclass obj;
		3342	ev::io iow;
		3343	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
		3344
		3345	=item w->set (object *)
		3346
		3347	This is an B<experimental> feature that might go away in a future version.
		3348
		3349	This is a variation of a method callback - leaving out the method to call
		3350	will default the method to C<operator ()>, which makes it possible to use
		3351	functor objects without having to manually specify the C<operator ()> all
		3352	the time. Incidentally, you can then also leave out the template argument
		3353	list.
		3354
		3355	The C<operator ()> method prototype must be C<void operator ()(watcher &w,
		3356	int revents)>.
		3357
		3358	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
		3359
		3360	Example: use a functor object as callback.
		3361
		3362	struct myfunctor
		3363	{
		3364	void operator() (ev::io &w, int revents)
		3365	{
		3366	...
		3367	}
		3368	}
		3369
		3370	myfunctor f;
		3371
		3372	ev::io w;
		3373	w.set (&f);
		3374
		3375	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
		3376
		3377	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
		3378	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
		3379	C<data> member and is free for you to use.
		3380
		3381	The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
		3382
		3383	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
		3384
		3385	Example: Use a plain function as callback.
		3386
		3387	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		3388	iow.set <io_cb> ();
		3389
1731	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)	3390	=item w->set (loop)
1732		3391
1733	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only	3392	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
1734	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).	3393	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
1735		3394
1736	=item w->set ([args])	3395	=item w->set ([arguments])
1737		3396
1738	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be	3397	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same arguments. Must be
1739	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets	3398	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
1740	automatically stopped and restarted.	3399	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
		3400	method.
1741		3401
1742	=item w->start ()	3402	=item w->start ()
1743		3403
1744	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument as the	3404	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
1745	constructor already takes the loop.	3405	constructor already stores the event loop.
1746		3406
1747	=item w->stop ()	3407	=item w->stop ()
1748		3408
1749	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.	3409	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
1750		3410
1751	=item w->again () C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only	3411	=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
1752		3412
1753	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding	3413	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
1754	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.	3414	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
1755		3415
1756	=item w->sweep () C<ev::embed> only	3416	=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
1757		3417
1758	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.	3418	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
1759		3419
1760	=item w->update () C<ev::stat> only	3420	=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
1761		3421
1762	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.	3422	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
1763		3423
1764	=back	3424	=back
1765		3425
1766	=back	3426	=back
1767		3427
1768	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in	3428	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1769	the constructor.	3429	the constructor.
1770		3430
1771	class myclass	3431	class myclass
1772	{	3432	{
1773	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	3433	ev::io io ; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
1774	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	3434	ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
1775		3435
1776	myclass ();	3436	myclass (int fd)
1777	}	3437	{
		3438	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
		3439	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
1778		3440
1779	myclass::myclass (int fd)
1780	: io (this, &myclass::io_cb),
1781	idle (this, &myclass::idle_cb)
1782	{
1783	io.start (fd, ev::READ);	3441	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		3442	}
1784	}	3443	};
		3444
		3445
		3446	=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
		3447
		3448	Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
		3449	number of languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
		3450	any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
		3451	me a note.
		3452
		3453	=over 4
		3454
		3455	=item Perl
		3456
		3457	The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
		3458	libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
		3459	there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
		3460	to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>, but C<AnyEvent::DNS> is preferred nowadays),
		3461	C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV>
		3462	and C<EV::Glib>).
		3463
		3464	It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is at
		3465	L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
		3466
		3467	=item Python
		3468
		3469	Python bindings can be found at L<http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
		3470	seems to be quite complete and well-documented.
		3471
		3472	=item Ruby
		3473
		3474	Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
		3475	of the libev API and adds file handle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
		3476	more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
		3477	L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
		3478
		3479	Roger Pack reports that using the link order C<-lws2_32 -lmsvcrt-ruby-190>
		3480	makes rev work even on mingw.
		3481
		3482	=item Haskell
		3483
		3484	A haskell binding to libev is available at
		3485	L<http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/hlibev>.
		3486
		3487	=item D
		3488
		3489	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
		3490	be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
		3491
		3492	=item Ocaml
		3493
		3494	Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at
		3495	L<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml-ev/>.
		3496
		3497	=item Lua
		3498
		3499	Brian Maher has written a partial interface to libev for lua (at the
		3500	time of this writing, only C<ev_io> and C<ev_timer>), to be found at
		3501	L<http://github.com/brimworks/lua-ev>.
		3502
		3503	=back
1785		3504
1786		3505
1787	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	3506	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
1788		3507
1789	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundemantal is	3508	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamental
1790	C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines wether (most) functions and	3509	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
1791	callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.	3510	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
1792		3511
1793	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the	3512	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
1794	following macros are defined:	3513	following macros are defined:
1795		3514
1796	=over 4	3515	=over 4
…		…
1799		3518
1800	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev	3519	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
1801	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,	3520	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
1802	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:	3521	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
1803		3522
1804	ev_unref (EV_A);	3523	ev_unref (EV_A);
1805	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);	3524	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
1806	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);	3525	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
1807		3526
1808	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,	3527	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
1809	which is often provided by the following macro.	3528	which is often provided by the following macro.
1810		3529
1811	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>	3530	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
1812		3531
1813	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev	3532	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
1814	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,	3533	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
1815	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:	3534	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
1816		3535
1817	// this is how ev_unref is being declared	3536	// this is how ev_unref is being declared
1818	static void ev_unref (EV_P);	3537	static void ev_unref (EV_P);
1819		3538
1820	// this is how you can declare your typical callback	3539	// this is how you can declare your typical callback
1821	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	3540	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1822		3541
1823	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite	3542	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
1824	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.	3543	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
1825		3544
1826	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	3545	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
1827		3546
1828	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	3547	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
1829	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	3548	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
1830		3549
		3550	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
		3551
		3552	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
		3553	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
		3554	is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
		3555	execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
		3556
		3557	It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
		3558	watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
		3559
1831	=back	3560	=back
1832		3561
1833	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, working regardless of	3562	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
1834	wether multiple loops are supported or not.	3563	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
		3564	or not.
1835		3565
1836	static void	3566	static void
1837	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	3567	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1838	{	3568	{
1839	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);	3569	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
1840	}	3570	}
1841		3571
1842	ev_check check;	3572	ev_check check;
1843	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);	3573	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
1844	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);	3574	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
1845	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);	3575	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
1846
1847		3576
1848	=head1 EMBEDDING	3577	=head1 EMBEDDING
1849		3578
1850	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host	3579	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
1851	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra	3580	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
1852	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)	3581	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
1853	and rxvt-unicode.	3582	and rxvt-unicode.
1854		3583
1855	The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your	3584	The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
1856	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so	3585	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
1857	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of	3586	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
1858	libev somewhere in your source tree).	3587	libev somewhere in your source tree).
1859		3588
1860	=head2 FILESETS	3589	=head2 FILESETS
1861		3590
1862	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files	3591	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
1863	in your app.	3592	in your application.
1864		3593
1865	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP	3594	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP
1866		3595
1867	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual	3596	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual
1868	configuration (no autoconf):	3597	configuration (no autoconf):
1869		3598
1870	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	3599	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
1871	#include "ev.c"	3600	#include "ev.c"
1872		3601
1873	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a	3602	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a
1874	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use	3603	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
1875	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best	3604	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best
1876	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and	3605	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and
1877	where you can put other configuration options):	3606	where you can put other configuration options):
1878		3607
1879	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	3608	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
1880	#include "ev.h"	3609	#include "ev.h"
1881		3610
1882	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++	3611	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
1883	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated	3612	compiler (at least, that's a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
1884	as a bug).	3613	as a bug).
1885		3614
1886	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory	3615	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
1887	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):	3616	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
1888		3617
1889	ev.h	3618	ev.h
1890	ev.c	3619	ev.c
1891	ev_vars.h	3620	ev_vars.h
1892	ev_wrap.h	3621	ev_wrap.h
1893		3622
1894	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only	3623	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
1895		3624
1896	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is by default)	3625	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
1897	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3626	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1898	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3627	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1899	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3628	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1900	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3629	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1901		3630
1902	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need	3631	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
1903	to compile this single file.	3632	to compile this single file.
1904		3633
1905	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API	3634	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
1906		3635
1907	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:	3636	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:
1908		3637
1909	#include "event.c"	3638	#include "event.c"
1910		3639
1911	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:	3640	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:
1912		3641
1913	#include "event.h"	3642	#include "event.h"
1914		3643
1915	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.	3644	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.
1916		3645
1917	You need the following additional files for this:	3646	You need the following additional files for this:
1918		3647
1919	event.h	3648	event.h
1920	event.c	3649	event.c
1921		3650
1922	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT	3651	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT
1923		3652
1924	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in	3653	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your configuration in
1925	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your	3654	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
1926	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then	3655	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
1927	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.	3656	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
1928		3657
1929	For this of course you need the m4 file:	3658	For this of course you need the m4 file:
1930		3659
1931	libev.m4	3660	libev.m4
1932		3661
1933	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS	3662	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
1934		3663
1935	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define	3664	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
1936	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity	3665	define before including (or compiling) any of its files. The default in
1937	and only include the select backend.	3666	the absence of autoconf is documented for every option.
		3667
		3668	Symbols marked with "(h)" do not change the ABI, and can have different
		3669	values when compiling libev vs. including F<ev.h>, so it is permissible
		3670	to redefine them before including F<ev.h> without breaking compatibility
		3671	to a compiled library. All other symbols change the ABI, which means all
		3672	users of libev and the libev code itself must be compiled with compatible
		3673	settings.
1938		3674
1939	=over 4	3675	=over 4
1940		3676
1941	=item EV_STANDALONE	3677	=item EV_STANDALONE (h)
1942		3678
1943	Must always be C<1> if you do not use autoconf configuration, which	3679	Must always be C<1> if you do not use autoconf configuration, which
1944	keeps libev from including F<config.h>, and it also defines dummy	3680	keeps libev from including F<config.h>, and it also defines dummy
1945	implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not	3681	implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not
1946	supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in	3682	supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
1947	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.	3683	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
1948		3684
		3685	In standalone mode, libev will still try to automatically deduce the
		3686	configuration, but has to be more conservative.
		3687
1949	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC	3688	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
1950		3689
1951	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	3690	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1952	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use	3691	monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no
1953	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you	3692	use of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this,
1954	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when	3693	you usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it
1955	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have	3694	when the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
1956	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>	3695	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
1957	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).	3696	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>). See also C<EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL>.
1958		3697
1959	=item EV_USE_REALTIME	3698	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
1960		3699
1961	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	3700	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1962	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at	3701	real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability
1963	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will	3702	at runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock
1964	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get	3703	option will be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday>
1965	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries	3704	by C<clock_get (CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect
1966	in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.	3705	correctness. See the note about libraries in the description of
		3706	C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though. Defaults to the opposite value of
		3707	C<EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL>.
		3708
		3709	=item EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL
		3710
		3711	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to use a direct syscall instead
		3712	of calling the system-provided C<clock_gettime> function. This option
		3713	exists because on GNU/Linux, C<clock_gettime> is in C<librt>, but C<librt>
		3714	unconditionally pulls in C<libpthread>, slowing down single-threaded
		3715	programs needlessly. Using a direct syscall is slightly slower (in
		3716	theory), because no optimised vdso implementation can be used, but avoids
		3717	the pthread dependency. Defaults to C<1> on GNU/Linux with glibc 2.x or
		3718	higher, as it simplifies linking (no need for C<-lrt>).
		3719
		3720	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
		3721
		3722	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
		3723	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
		3724
		3725	=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
		3726
		3727	If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
		3728	available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
		3729	C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
		3730	If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
		3731	2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
1967		3732
1968	=item EV_USE_SELECT	3733	=item EV_USE_SELECT
1969		3734
1970	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the	3735	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
1971	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no	3736	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at auto-detection will be done: if no
1972	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend	3737	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
1973	will not be compiled in.	3738	will not be compiled in.
1974		3739
1975	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET	3740	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET
1976		3741
1977	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>	3742	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
1978	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing	3743	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
1979	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on	3744	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout
1980	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some	3745	on exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to
1981	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only	3746	some low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket
1982	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might	3747	only allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation,
1983	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.	3748	configures the maximum size of the C<fd_set>.
1984		3749
1985	=item EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET	3750	=item EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET
1986		3751
1987	When defined to C<1>, the select backend will assume that	3752	When defined to C<1>, the select backend will assume that
1988	select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but	3753	select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but
…		…
1990	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call	3755	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
1991	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,	3756	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
1992	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even	3757	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
1993	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.	3758	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
1994		3759
		3760	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE(fd)
		3761
		3762	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		3763	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		3764	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		3765	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		3766	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		3767
		3768	=item EV_WIN32_HANDLE_TO_FD(handle)
		3769
		3770	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> then libev maps handles to file descriptors
		3771	using the standard C<_open_osfhandle> function. For programs implementing
		3772	their own fd to handle mapping, overwriting this function makes it easier
		3773	to do so. This can be done by defining this macro to an appropriate value.
		3774
		3775	=item EV_WIN32_CLOSE_FD(fd)
		3776
		3777	If programs implement their own fd to handle mapping on win32, then this
		3778	macro can be used to override the C<close> function, useful to unregister
		3779	file descriptors again. Note that the replacement function has to close
		3780	the underlying OS handle.
		3781
1995	=item EV_USE_POLL	3782	=item EV_USE_POLL
1996		3783
1997	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	3784	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
1998	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	3785	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
1999	takes precedence over select.	3786	takes precedence over select.
2000		3787
2001	=item EV_USE_EPOLL	3788	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2002		3789
2003	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	3790	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2004	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	3791	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2005	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the	3792	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2006	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.	3793	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
		3794	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2007		3795
2008	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	3796	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2009		3797
2010	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	3798	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2011	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	3799	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
2024	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred	3812	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2025	backend for Solaris 10 systems.	3813	backend for Solaris 10 systems.
2026		3814
2027	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL	3815	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL
2028		3816
2029	reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.	3817	Reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
2030		3818
2031	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY	3819	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2032		3820
2033	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	3821	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2034	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	3822	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2035	be detected at runtime.	3823	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
		3824	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2036		3825
		3826	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
		3827
		3828	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
		3829	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
		3830	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
		3831	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
		3832	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
		3833
		3834	In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
		3835	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
		3836
2037	=item EV_H	3837	=item EV_H (h)
2038		3838
2039	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if	3839	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2040	undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This	3840	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2041	can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.	3841	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2042		3842
2043	=item EV_CONFIG_H	3843	=item EV_CONFIG_H (h)
2044		3844
2045	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override	3845	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2046	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to	3846	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2047	C<EV_H>, above.	3847	C<EV_H>, above.
2048		3848
2049	=item EV_EVENT_H	3849	=item EV_EVENT_H (h)
2050		3850
2051	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea	3851	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2052	of how the F<event.h> header can be found.	3852	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2053		3853
2054	=item EV_PROTOTYPES	3854	=item EV_PROTOTYPES (h)
2055		3855
2056	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function	3856	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2057	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is	3857	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
2058	occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions	3858	occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
2059	around libev functions.	3859	around libev functions.
…		…
2064	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create	3864	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create
2065	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support	3865	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
2066	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer	3866	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
2067	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.	3867	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
2068		3868
2069	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
2070
2071	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
2072	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
2073	code.
2074
2075	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
2076
2077	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
2078	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2079
2080	=item EV_STAT_ENABLE
2081
2082	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then stat watchers are supported. If
2083	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2084
2085	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2086
2087	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
2088	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2089
2090	=item EV_MINIMAL	3869	=item EV_MINPRI
		3870
		3871	=item EV_MAXPRI
		3872
		3873	The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
		3874	C<EV_MAXPRI>, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
		3875	provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
		3876	to be C<-2> and C<2>, respectively).
		3877
		3878	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
		3879	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
		3880	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
		3881	fine.
		3882
		3883	If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these
		3884	both to C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
		3885
		3886	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE, EV_IDLE_ENABLE, EV_EMBED_ENABLE, EV_STAT_ENABLE,
		3887	EV_PREPARE_ENABLE, EV_CHECK_ENABLE, EV_FORK_ENABLE, EV_SIGNAL_ENABLE,
		3888	EV_ASYNC_ENABLE, EV_CHILD_ENABLE.
		3889
		3890	If undefined or defined to be C<1> (and the platform supports it), then
		3891	the respective watcher type is supported. If defined to be C<0>, then it
		3892	is not. Disabling watcher types mainly saves codesize.
		3893
		3894	=item EV_FEATURES
2091		3895
2092	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some	3896	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
2093	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override	3897	speed (but with the full API), you can define this symbol to request
2094	some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.	3898	certain subsets of functionality. The default is to enable all features
		3899	that can be enabled on the platform.
		3900
		3901	A typical way to use this symbol is to define it to C<0> (or to a bitset
		3902	with some broad features you want) and then selectively re-enable
		3903	additional parts you want, for example if you want everything minimal,
		3904	but multiple event loop support, async and child watchers and the poll
		3905	backend, use this:
		3906
		3907	#define EV_FEATURES 0
		3908	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 1
		3909	#define EV_USE_POLL 1
		3910	#define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1
		3911	#define EV_ASYNC_ENABLE 1
		3912
		3913	The actual value is a bitset, it can be a combination of the following
		3914	values:
		3915
		3916	=over 4
		3917
		3918	=item C<1> - faster/larger code
		3919
		3920	Use larger code to speed up some operations.
		3921
		3922	Currently this is used to override some inlining decisions (enlarging the roughly
		3923	30% code size on amd64.
		3924
		3925	When optimising for size, use of compiler flags such as C<-Os> with
		3926	gcc recommended, as well as C<-DNDEBUG>, as libev contains a number of
		3927	assertions.
		3928
		3929	=item C<2> - faster/larger data structures
		3930
		3931	Replaces the small 2-heap for timer management by a faster 4-heap, larger
		3932	hash table sizes and so on. This will usually further increase codesize
		3933	and can additionally have an effect on the size of data structures at
		3934	runtime.
		3935
		3936	=item C<4> - full API configuration
		3937
		3938	This enables priorities (sets C<EV_MAXPRI>=2 and C<EV_MINPRI>=-2), and
		3939	enables multiplicity (C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>=1).
		3940
		3941	=item C<8> - full API
		3942
		3943	This enables a lot of the "lesser used" API functions. See C<ev.h> for
		3944	details on which parts of the API are still available without this
		3945	feature, and do not complain if this subset changes over time.
		3946
		3947	=item C<16> - enable all optional watcher types
		3948
		3949	Enables all optional watcher types. If you want to selectively enable
		3950	only some watcher types other than I/O and timers (e.g. prepare,
		3951	embed, async, child...) you can enable them manually by defining
		3952	C<EV_watchertype_ENABLE> to C<1> instead.
		3953
		3954	=item C<32> - enable all backends
		3955
		3956	This enables all backends - without this feature, you need to enable at
		3957	least one backend manually (C<EV_USE_SELECT> is a good choice).
		3958
		3959	=item C<64> - enable OS-specific "helper" APIs
		3960
		3961	Enable inotify, eventfd, signalfd and similar OS-specific helper APIs by
		3962	default.
		3963
		3964	=back
		3965
		3966	Compiling with C<gcc -Os -DEV_STANDALONE -DEV_USE_EPOLL=1 -DEV_FEATURES=0>
		3967	reduces the compiled size of libev from 24.7Kb code/2.8Kb data to 6.5Kb
		3968	code/0.3Kb data on my GNU/Linux amd64 system, while still giving you I/O
		3969	watchers, timers and monotonic clock support.
		3970
		3971	With an intelligent-enough linker (gcc+binutils are intelligent enough
		3972	when you use C<-Wl,--gc-sections -ffunction-sections>) functions unused by
		3973	your program might be left out as well - a binary starting a timer and an
		3974	I/O watcher then might come out at only 5Kb.
		3975
		3976	=item EV_AVOID_STDIO
		3977
		3978	If this is set to C<1> at compiletime, then libev will avoid using stdio
		3979	functions (printf, scanf, perror etc.). This will increase the codesize
		3980	somewhat, but if your program doesn't otherwise depend on stdio and your
		3981	libc allows it, this avoids linking in the stdio library which is quite
		3982	big.
		3983
		3984	Note that error messages might become less precise when this option is
		3985	enabled.
		3986
		3987	=item EV_NSIG
		3988
		3989	The highest supported signal number, +1 (or, the number of
		3990	signals): Normally, libev tries to deduce the maximum number of signals
		3991	automatically, but sometimes this fails, in which case it can be
		3992	specified. Also, using a lower number than detected (C<32> should be
		3993	good for about any system in existance) can save some memory, as libev
		3994	statically allocates some 12-24 bytes per signal number.
2095		3995
2096	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE	3996	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
2097		3997
2098	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3998	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2099	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more	3999	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_FEATURES> disabled),
2100	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to	4000	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you
2101	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).	4001	might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2102		4002
2103	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE	4003	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2104		4004
2105	C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	4005	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2106	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),	4006	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_FEATURES>
2107	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>	4007	disabled), usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of
2108	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of	4008	C<ev_stat> watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a
2109	two).	4009	power of two).
		4010
		4011	=item EV_USE_4HEAP
		4012
		4013	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		4014	timer and periodics heaps, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
		4015	to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has noticeably
		4016	faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
		4017
		4018	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_FEATURES> overrides it, in which case it
		4019	will be C<0>.
		4020
		4021	=item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
		4022
		4023	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		4024	timer and periodics heaps, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
		4025	the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
		4026	which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
		4027	but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
		4028	noticeably with many (hundreds) of watchers.
		4029
		4030	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_FEATURES> overrides it, in which case it
		4031	will be C<0>.
		4032
		4033	=item EV_VERIFY
		4034
		4035	Controls how much internal verification (see C<ev_loop_verify ()>) will
		4036	be done: If set to C<0>, no internal verification code will be compiled
		4037	in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
		4038	called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be
		4039	called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the
		4040	verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
		4041	libev considerably.
		4042
		4043	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_FEATURES> overrides it, in which case it
		4044	will be C<0>.
2110		4045
2111	=item EV_COMMON	4046	=item EV_COMMON
2112		4047
2113	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining	4048	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
2114	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of	4049	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
2115	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,	4050	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
2116	though, and it must be identical each time.	4051	though, and it must be identical each time.
2117		4052
2118	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:	4053	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
2119		4054
2120	#define EV_COMMON \	4055	#define EV_COMMON \
2121	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \	4056	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
2122	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */	4057	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
2123		4058
2124	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)	4059	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
2125		4060
2126	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)	4061	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
2127		4062
2128	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)	4063	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
2129		4064
2130	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,	4065	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
2131	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member	4066	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
2132	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.v> header file for	4067	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
2133	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to	4068	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
2134	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use	4069	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2135	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.	4070	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
		4071
		4072	=back
		4073
		4074	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
		4075
		4076	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a DLL) and you need a list of
		4077	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
		4078	all public symbols, one per line:
		4079
		4080	Symbols.ev for libev proper
		4081	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
		4082
		4083	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
		4084	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
		4085	itself, but sometimes it is inconvenient to avoid this).
		4086
		4087	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
		4088	include before including F<ev.h>:
		4089
		4090	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
		4091
		4092	This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
		4093
		4094	#define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
		4095	#define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
		4096	#define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
		4097	...
2136		4098
2137	=head2 EXAMPLES	4099	=head2 EXAMPLES
2138		4100
2139	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev	4101	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
2140	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module	4102	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
…		…
2143	interface) and F<EV.xs> (implementation) files. Only the F<EV.xs> file	4105	interface) and F<EV.xs> (implementation) files. Only the F<EV.xs> file
2144	will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header	4106	will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
2145	file.	4107	file.
2146		4108
2147	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file	4109	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
2148	that everybody includes and which overrides some autoconf choices:	4110	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
2149		4111
		4112	#define EV_FEATURES 8
		4113	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		4114	#define EV_PREPARE_ENABLE 1
		4115	#define EV_IDLE_ENABLE 1
		4116	#define EV_SIGNAL_ENABLE 1
		4117	#define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1
2150	#define EV_USE_POLL 0	4118	#define EV_USE_STDEXCEPT 0
2151	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
2152	#define EV_PERIODICS 0
2153	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>	4119	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
2154		4120
2155	#include "ev++.h"	4121	#include "ev++.h"
2156		4122
2157	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:	4123	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
2158		4124
2159	#include "ev_cpp.h"	4125	#include "ev_cpp.h"
2160	#include "ev.c"	4126	#include "ev.c"
2161		4127
		4128	=head1 INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS OR LIBRARIES
2162		4129
		4130	=head2 THREADS AND COROUTINES
		4131
		4132	=head3 THREADS
		4133
		4134	All libev functions are reentrant and thread-safe unless explicitly
		4135	documented otherwise, but libev implements no locking itself. This means
		4136	that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as there
		4137	are no concurrent calls into any libev function with the same loop
		4138	parameter (C<ev_default_*> calls have an implicit default loop parameter,
		4139	of course): libev guarantees that different event loops share no data
		4140	structures that need any locking.
		4141
		4142	Or to put it differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done
		4143	concurrently from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter
		4144	must be done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as
		4145	only one thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using
		4146	a mutex per loop).
		4147
		4148	Specifically to support threads (and signal handlers), libev implements
		4149	so-called C<ev_async> watchers, which allow some limited form of
		4150	concurrency on the same event loop, namely waking it up "from the
		4151	outside".
		4152
		4153	If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
		4154	without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
		4155	help you, but here is some generic advice:
		4156
		4157	=over 4
		4158
		4159	=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
		4160	in that thread, or create a separate thread running only the default loop.
		4161
		4162	This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
		4163	themselves and don't care/know about threading.
		4164
		4165	=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
		4166
		4167	Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
		4168	exists, but it is always a good start.
		4169
		4170	=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
		4171	loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robin fashion.
		4172
		4173	Choosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you can do
		4174	better than you currently do :-)
		4175
		4176	=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
		4177	event loop.
		4178
		4179	C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other threads safely
		4180	(or from signal contexts...).
		4181
		4182	An example use would be to communicate signals or other events that only
		4183	work in the default loop by registering the signal watcher with the
		4184	default loop and triggering an C<ev_async> watcher from the default loop
		4185	watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.
		4186
		4187	=back
		4188
		4189	=head4 THREAD LOCKING EXAMPLE
		4190
		4191	Here is a fictitious example of how to run an event loop in a different
		4192	thread than where callbacks are being invoked and watchers are
		4193	created/added/removed.
		4194
		4195	For a real-world example, see the C<EV::Loop::Async> perl module,
		4196	which uses exactly this technique (which is suited for many high-level
		4197	languages).
		4198
		4199	The example uses a pthread mutex to protect the loop data, a condition
		4200	variable to wait for callback invocations, an async watcher to notify the
		4201	event loop thread and an unspecified mechanism to wake up the main thread.
		4202
		4203	First, you need to associate some data with the event loop:
		4204
		4205	typedef struct {
		4206	mutex_t lock; /* global loop lock */
		4207	ev_async async_w;
		4208	thread_t tid;
		4209	cond_t invoke_cv;
		4210	} userdata;
		4211
		4212	void prepare_loop (EV_P)
		4213	{
		4214	// for simplicity, we use a static userdata struct.
		4215	static userdata u;
		4216
		4217	ev_async_init (&u->async_w, async_cb);
		4218	ev_async_start (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
		4219
		4220	pthread_mutex_init (&u->lock, 0);
		4221	pthread_cond_init (&u->invoke_cv, 0);
		4222
		4223	// now associate this with the loop
		4224	ev_set_userdata (EV_A_ u);
		4225	ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (EV_A_ l_invoke);
		4226	ev_set_loop_release_cb (EV_A_ l_release, l_acquire);
		4227
		4228	// then create the thread running ev_loop
		4229	pthread_create (&u->tid, 0, l_run, EV_A);
		4230	}
		4231
		4232	The callback for the C<ev_async> watcher does nothing: the watcher is used
		4233	solely to wake up the event loop so it takes notice of any new watchers
		4234	that might have been added:
		4235
		4236	static void
		4237	async_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		4238	{
		4239	// just used for the side effects
		4240	}
		4241
		4242	The C<l_release> and C<l_acquire> callbacks simply unlock/lock the mutex
		4243	protecting the loop data, respectively.
		4244
		4245	static void
		4246	l_release (EV_P)
		4247	{
		4248	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		4249	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		4250	}
		4251
		4252	static void
		4253	l_acquire (EV_P)
		4254	{
		4255	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		4256	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		4257	}
		4258
		4259	The event loop thread first acquires the mutex, and then jumps straight
		4260	into C<ev_loop>:
		4261
		4262	void *
		4263	l_run (void *thr_arg)
		4264	{
		4265	struct ev_loop *loop = (struct ev_loop *)thr_arg;
		4266
		4267	l_acquire (EV_A);
		4268	pthread_setcanceltype (PTHREAD_CANCEL_ASYNCHRONOUS, 0);
		4269	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
		4270	l_release (EV_A);
		4271
		4272	return 0;
		4273	}
		4274
		4275	Instead of invoking all pending watchers, the C<l_invoke> callback will
		4276	signal the main thread via some unspecified mechanism (signals? pipe
		4277	writes? C<Async::Interrupt>?) and then waits until all pending watchers
		4278	have been called (in a while loop because a) spurious wakeups are possible
		4279	and b) skipping inter-thread-communication when there are no pending
		4280	watchers is very beneficial):
		4281
		4282	static void
		4283	l_invoke (EV_P)
		4284	{
		4285	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		4286
		4287	while (ev_pending_count (EV_A))
		4288	{
		4289	wake_up_other_thread_in_some_magic_or_not_so_magic_way ();
		4290	pthread_cond_wait (&u->invoke_cv, &u->lock);
		4291	}
		4292	}
		4293
		4294	Now, whenever the main thread gets told to invoke pending watchers, it
		4295	will grab the lock, call C<ev_invoke_pending> and then signal the loop
		4296	thread to continue:
		4297
		4298	static void
		4299	real_invoke_pending (EV_P)
		4300	{
		4301	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		4302
		4303	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		4304	ev_invoke_pending (EV_A);
		4305	pthread_cond_signal (&u->invoke_cv);
		4306	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		4307	}
		4308
		4309	Whenever you want to start/stop a watcher or do other modifications to an
		4310	event loop, you will now have to lock:
		4311
		4312	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
		4313	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		4314
		4315	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
		4316
		4317	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		4318	ev_timer_start (EV_A_ &timeout_watcher);
		4319	ev_async_send (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
		4320	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		4321
		4322	Note that sending the C<ev_async> watcher is required because otherwise
		4323	an event loop currently blocking in the kernel will have no knowledge
		4324	about the newly added timer. By waking up the loop it will pick up any new
		4325	watchers in the next event loop iteration.
		4326
		4327	=head3 COROUTINES
		4328
		4329	Libev is very accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
		4330	libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different
		4331	coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
		4332	different coroutines, and switch freely between both coroutines running
		4333	the loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is
		4334	that you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
		4335
		4336	Care has been taken to ensure that libev does not keep local state inside
		4337	C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow for coroutine switches as
		4338	they do not call any callbacks.
		4339
		4340	=head2 COMPILER WARNINGS
		4341
		4342	Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
		4343	lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
		4344	scared by this.
		4345
		4346	However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
		4347	has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
		4348	warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
		4349	targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
		4350
		4351	Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
		4352	workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
		4353	maintainable.
		4354
		4355	And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
		4356	wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
		4357	seems to warn about). For example, certain older gcc versions had some
		4358	warnings that resulted an extreme number of false positives. These have
		4359	been fixed, but some people still insist on making code warn-free with
		4360	such buggy versions.
		4361
		4362	While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
		4363	"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
		4364	with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
		4365	them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
		4366	warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
		4367
		4368
		4369	=head2 VALGRIND
		4370
		4371	Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
		4372	highly useful. Unfortunately, valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
		4373
		4374	If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
		4375	in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
		4376
		4377	==2274== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		4378	==2274== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		4379	==2274== still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
		4380
		4381	Then there is no memory leak, just as memory accounted to global variables
		4382	is not a memleak - the memory is still being referenced, and didn't leak.
		4383
		4384	Similarly, under some circumstances, valgrind might report kernel bugs
		4385	as if it were a bug in libev (e.g. in realloc or in the poll backend,
		4386	although an acceptable workaround has been found here), or it might be
		4387	confused.
		4388
		4389	Keep in mind that valgrind is a very good tool, but only a tool. Don't
		4390	make it into some kind of religion.
		4391
		4392	If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
		4393	with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this
		4394	is a bug in libev (best check the archives, too :). However, don't be
		4395	annoyed when you get a brisk "this is no bug" answer and take the chance
		4396	of learning how to interpret valgrind properly.
		4397
		4398	If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
		4399	I suggest using suppression lists.
		4400
		4401
		4402	=head1 PORTABILITY NOTES
		4403
		4404	=head2 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
		4405
		4406	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		4407	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		4408	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		4409	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		4410	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		4411	e.g. cygwin.
		4412
		4413	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
		4414	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
		4415	things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
		4416	way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
		4417
		4418	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		4419	embedding it into other applications.
		4420
		4421	Sensible signal handling is officially unsupported by Microsoft - libev
		4422	tries its best, but under most conditions, signals will simply not work.
		4423
		4424	Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
		4425	accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
		4426	either accept everything or return C<ENOBUFS> if the buffer is too large,
		4427	so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
		4428	megabyte seems safe, but this apparently depends on the amount of memory
		4429	available).
		4430
		4431	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
		4432	the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
		4433	is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
		4434	more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
		4435	different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
		4436	notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
		4437	(due to Microsoft monopoly games).
		4438
		4439	A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
		4440	section for details) and use the following F<evwrap.h> header file instead
		4441	of F<ev.h>:
		4442
		4443	#define EV_STANDALONE /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
		4444	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* configure libev for windows select */
		4445
		4446	#include "ev.h"
		4447
		4448	And compile the following F<evwrap.c> file into your project (make sure
		4449	you do I<not> compile the F<ev.c> or any other embedded source files!):
		4450
		4451	#include "evwrap.h"
		4452	#include "ev.c"
		4453
		4454	=over 4
		4455
		4456	=item The winsocket select function
		4457
		4458	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it
		4459	requires socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors> (it is
		4460	also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
		4461	requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
		4462	C runtime provides the function C<_open_osfhandle> for this). See the
		4463	discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>, C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and
		4464	C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor symbols for more info.
		4465
		4466	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the Microsoft runtime
		4467	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		4468
		4469	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		4470	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		4471
		4472	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		4473	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		4474
		4475	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		4476
		4477	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
		4478
		4479	Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
		4480	of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
		4481	can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; Microsoft
		4482	recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
		4483	previous thread in each. Sounds great!).
		4484
		4485	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		4486	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		4487	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl and many
		4488	other interpreters do their own select emulation on windows).
		4489
		4490	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
		4491	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64>
		4492	fetish or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this
		4493	by calling C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048>
		4494	(another arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft
		4495	runtime libraries. This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets
		4496	(depending on windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more,
		4497	you need to wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but
		4498	the cost of calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		4499
		4500	=back
		4501
		4502	=head2 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
		4503
		4504	In addition to a working ISO-C implementation and of course the
		4505	backend-specific APIs, libev relies on a few additional extensions:
		4506
		4507	=over 4
		4508
		4509	=item C<void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)> must have compatible
		4510	calling conventions regardless of C<ev_watcher_type *>.
		4511
		4512	Libev assumes not only that all watcher pointers have the same internal
		4513	structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also
		4514	assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
		4515	callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
		4516	calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.
		4517
		4518	=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
		4519
		4520	The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
		4521	C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic with respect to accesses from different
		4522	threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
		4523	believed to be sufficiently portable.
		4524
		4525	=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
		4526
		4527	Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
		4528	allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
		4529	pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
		4530	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
		4531	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
		4532	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
		4533
		4534	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
		4535	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
		4536	well.
		4537
		4538	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
		4539
		4540	To improve portability and simplify its API, libev uses C<long> internally
		4541	instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX
		4542	systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but is still at
		4543	least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of millions of
		4544	watchers.
		4545
		4546	=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
		4547
		4548	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
		4549	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
		4550	enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
		4551	implementations implementing IEEE 754, which is basically all existing
		4552	ones. With IEEE 754 doubles, you get microsecond accuracy until at least
		4553	2200.
		4554
		4555	=back
		4556
		4557	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
		4558
		4559
2163	=head1 COMPLEXITIES	4560	=head1 ALGORITHMIC COMPLEXITIES
2164		4561
2165	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside	4562	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
2166	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the	4563	libev will be documented. For complexity discussions about backends see
2167	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.	4564	the documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
		4565
		4566	All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
		4567	extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
		4568	happens asymptotically rarer with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
		4569	mean that libev does a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on
		4570	average it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
2168		4571
2169	=over 4	4572	=over 4
2170		4573
2171	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)	4574	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2172		4575
		4576	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
		4577	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that, then inserting will
		4578	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
		4579
2173	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)	4580	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2174		4581
		4582	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them,
		4583	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
		4584
2175	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)	4585	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2176		4586
		4587	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		4588
2177	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)	4589	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2178		4590
2179	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))	4591	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2180		4592
		4593	These watchers are stored in lists, so they need to be walked to find the
		4594	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
		4595	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal: one is typical, two
		4596	is rare).
		4597
2181	=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)	4598	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		4599
		4600	By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
		4601	fixed position in the storage array.
2182		4602
2183	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)	4603	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2184		4604
2185	=item Activating one watcher: O(1)	4605	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
		4606	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		4607	on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
		4608
		4609	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
		4610
		4611	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
		4612
		4613	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
		4614	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
		4615	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		4616	watchers becomes O(1) with respect to priority handling.
		4617
		4618	=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
		4619
		4620	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
		4621
		4622	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
		4623
		4624	Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
		4625	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
		4626	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2186		4627
2187	=back	4628	=back
2188		4629
2189		4630
		4631	=head1 PORTING FROM LIBEV 3.X TO 4.X
		4632
		4633	The major version 4 introduced some minor incompatible changes to the API.
		4634
		4635	At the moment, the C<ev.h> header file tries to implement superficial
		4636	compatibility, so most programs should still compile. Those might be
		4637	removed in later versions of libev, so better update early than late.
		4638
		4639	=over 4
		4640
		4641	=item C<ev_loop_count> renamed to C<ev_iteration>
		4642
		4643	=item C<ev_loop_depth> renamed to C<ev_depth>
		4644
		4645	=item C<ev_loop_verify> renamed to C<ev_verify>
		4646
		4647	Most functions working on C<struct ev_loop> objects don't have an
		4648	C<ev_loop_> prefix, so it was removed. Note that C<ev_loop_fork> is
		4649	still called C<ev_loop_fork> because it would otherwise clash with the
		4650	C<ev_fork> typedef.
		4651
		4652	=item C<EV_TIMEOUT> renamed to C<EV_TIMER> in C<revents>
		4653
		4654	This is a simple rename - all other watcher types use their name
		4655	as revents flag, and now C<ev_timer> does, too.
		4656
		4657	Both C<EV_TIMER> and C<EV_TIMEOUT> symbols were present in 3.x versions
		4658	and continue to be present for the forseeable future, so this is mostly a
		4659	documentation change.
		4660
		4661	=item C<EV_MINIMAL> mechanism replaced by C<EV_FEATURES>
		4662
		4663	The preprocessor symbol C<EV_MINIMAL> has been replaced by a different
		4664	mechanism, C<EV_FEATURES>. Programs using C<EV_MINIMAL> usually compile
		4665	and work, but the library code will of course be larger.
		4666
		4667	=back
		4668
		4669
		4670	=head1 GLOSSARY
		4671
		4672	=over 4
		4673
		4674	=item active
		4675
		4676	A watcher is active as long as it has been started (has been attached to
		4677	an event loop) but not yet stopped (disassociated from the event loop).
		4678
		4679	=item application
		4680
		4681	In this document, an application is whatever is using libev.
		4682
		4683	=item callback
		4684
		4685	The address of a function that is called when some event has been
		4686	detected. Callbacks are being passed the event loop, the watcher that
		4687	received the event, and the actual event bitset.
		4688
		4689	=item callback invocation
		4690
		4691	The act of calling the callback associated with a watcher.
		4692
		4693	=item event
		4694
		4695	A change of state of some external event, such as data now being available
		4696	for reading on a file descriptor, time having passed or simply not having
		4697	any other events happening anymore.
		4698
		4699	In libev, events are represented as single bits (such as C<EV_READ> or
		4700	C<EV_TIMER>).
		4701
		4702	=item event library
		4703
		4704	A software package implementing an event model and loop.
		4705
		4706	=item event loop
		4707
		4708	An entity that handles and processes external events and converts them
		4709	into callback invocations.
		4710
		4711	=item event model
		4712
		4713	The model used to describe how an event loop handles and processes
		4714	watchers and events.
		4715
		4716	=item pending
		4717
		4718	A watcher is pending as soon as the corresponding event has been detected,
		4719	and stops being pending as soon as the watcher will be invoked or its
		4720	pending status is explicitly cleared by the application.
		4721
		4722	A watcher can be pending, but not active. Stopping a watcher also clears
		4723	its pending status.
		4724
		4725	=item real time
		4726
		4727	The physical time that is observed. It is apparently strictly monotonic :)
		4728
		4729	=item wall-clock time
		4730
		4731	The time and date as shown on clocks. Unlike real time, it can actually
		4732	be wrong and jump forwards and backwards, e.g. when the you adjust your
		4733	clock.
		4734
		4735	=item watcher
		4736
		4737	A data structure that describes interest in certain events. Watchers need
		4738	to be started (attached to an event loop) before they can receive events.
		4739
		4740	=item watcher invocation
		4741
		4742	The act of calling the callback associated with a watcher.
		4743
		4744	=back
		4745
2190	=head1 AUTHOR	4746	=head1 AUTHOR
2191		4747
2192	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.	4748	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>, with repeated corrections by Mikael Magnusson.
2193		4749

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