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		1	=encoding utf-8
		2
1	=head1 NAME	3	=head1 NAME
2		4
3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C	5	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
4		6
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	7	=head1 SYNOPSIS
…		…
58	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);	60	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
59		61
60	// now wait for events to arrive	62	// now wait for events to arrive
61	ev_run (loop, 0);	63	ev_run (loop, 0);
62		64
63	// unloop was called, so exit	65	// break was called, so exit
64	return 0;	66	return 0;
65	}	67	}
66		68
67	=head1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT	69	=head1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
68		70
…		…
82		84
83	=head1 WHAT TO READ WHEN IN A HURRY	85	=head1 WHAT TO READ WHEN IN A HURRY
84		86
85	This manual tries to be very detailed, but unfortunately, this also makes	87	This manual tries to be very detailed, but unfortunately, this also makes
86	it very long. If you just want to know the basics of libev, I suggest	88	it very long. If you just want to know the basics of libev, I suggest
87	reading L<ANATOMY OF A WATCHER>, then the L<EXAMPLE PROGRAM> above and	89	reading L</ANATOMY OF A WATCHER>, then the L</EXAMPLE PROGRAM> above and
88	look up the missing functions in L<GLOBAL FUNCTIONS> and the C<ev_io> and	90	look up the missing functions in L</GLOBAL FUNCTIONS> and the C<ev_io> and
89	C<ev_timer> sections in L<WATCHER TYPES>.	91	C<ev_timer> sections in L</WATCHER TYPES>.
90		92
91	=head1 ABOUT LIBEV	93	=head1 ABOUT LIBEV
92		94
93	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a	95	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
94	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage	96	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
…		…
103	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the	105	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
104	watcher.	106	watcher.
105		107
106	=head2 FEATURES	108	=head2 FEATURES
107		109
108	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the	110	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific aio and C<epoll>
109	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms	111	interfaces, the BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port
110	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface	112	mechanisms for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify>
111	(for C<ev_stat>), Linux eventfd/signalfd (for faster and cleaner	113	interface (for C<ev_stat>), Linux eventfd/signalfd (for faster and cleaner
112	inter-thread wakeup (C<ev_async>)/signal handling (C<ev_signal>)) relative	114	inter-thread wakeup (C<ev_async>)/signal handling (C<ev_signal>)) relative
113	timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers with customised rescheduling	115	timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers with customised rescheduling
114	(C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals (C<ev_signal>), process status	116	(C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals (C<ev_signal>), process status
115	change events (C<ev_child>), and event watchers dealing with the event	117	change events (C<ev_child>), and event watchers dealing with the event
116	loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>, C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and	118	loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>, C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and
…		…
157	When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then	159	When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
158	it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,	160	it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,
159	so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in	161	so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
160	the libev caller and need to be fixed there.	162	the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
161		163
		164	Via the C<EV_FREQUENT> macro you can compile in and/or enable extensive
		165	consistency checking code inside libev that can be used to check for
		166	internal inconsistencies, suually caused by application bugs.
		167
162	Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions, and also has	168	Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions. These do not
163	extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
164	circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.	169	trigger under normal circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev
		170	or worse.
165		171
166		172
167	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	173	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
168		174
169	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	175	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
…		…
174	=item ev_tstamp ev_time ()	180	=item ev_tstamp ev_time ()
175		181
176	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	182	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
177	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	183	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
178	you actually want to know. Also interesting is the combination of	184	you actually want to know. Also interesting is the combination of
179	C<ev_update_now> and C<ev_now>.	185	C<ev_now_update> and C<ev_now>.
180		186
181	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)	187	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
182		188
183	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until	189	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked
184	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically	190	until either it is interrupted or the given time interval has
		191	passed (approximately - it might return a bit earlier even if not
		192	interrupted). Returns immediately if C<< interval <= 0 >>.
		193
185	this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.	194	Basically this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.
		195
		196	The range of the C<interval> is limited - libev only guarantees to work
		197	with sleep times of up to one day (C<< interval <= 86400 >>).
186		198
187	=item int ev_version_major ()	199	=item int ev_version_major ()
188		200
189	=item int ev_version_minor ()	201	=item int ev_version_minor ()
190		202
…		…
241	the current system, you would need to look at C<ev_embeddable_backends ()	253	the current system, you would need to look at C<ev_embeddable_backends ()
242	& ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for recommended ones.	254	& ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for recommended ones.
243		255
244	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	256	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
245		257
246	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	258	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size) throw ())
247		259
248	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	260	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
249	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is	261	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
250	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero	262	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
251	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort	263	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
…		…
257		269
258	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	270	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
259	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	271	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
260	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	272	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
261		273
		274	Example: The following is the C<realloc> function that libev itself uses
		275	which should work with C<realloc> and C<free> functions of all kinds and
		276	is probably a good basis for your own implementation.
		277
		278	static void *
		279	ev_realloc_emul (void *ptr, long size) EV_NOEXCEPT
		280	{
		281	if (size)
		282	return realloc (ptr, size);
		283
		284	free (ptr);
		285	return 0;
		286	}
		287
262	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	288	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
263	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).	289	retries.
264		290
265	static void *	291	static void *
266	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	292	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
267	{	293	{
		294	if (!size)
		295	{
		296	free (ptr);
		297	return 0;
		298	}
		299
268	for (;;)	300	for (;;)
269	{	301	{
270	void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);	302	void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);
271		303
272	if (newptr)	304	if (newptr)
…		…
277	}	309	}
278		310
279	...	311	...
280	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);	312	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
281		313
282	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg))	314	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg) throw ())
283		315
284	Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such	316	Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
285	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string	317	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
286	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this	318	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
287	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no	319	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
…		…
299	}	331	}
300		332
301	...	333	...
302	ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);	334	ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);
303		335
		336	=item ev_feed_signal (int signum)
		337
		338	This function can be used to "simulate" a signal receive. It is completely
		339	safe to call this function at any time, from any context, including signal
		340	handlers or random threads.
		341
		342	Its main use is to customise signal handling in your process, especially
		343	in the presence of threads. For example, you could block signals
		344	by default in all threads (and specifying C<EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK> when
		345	creating any loops), and in one thread, use C<sigwait> or any other
		346	mechanism to wait for signals, then "deliver" them to libev by calling
		347	C<ev_feed_signal>.
		348
304	=back	349	=back
305		350
306	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING EVENT LOOPS	351	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING EVENT LOOPS
307		352
308	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *> (the C<struct> is	353	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *> (the C<struct> is
…		…
377		422
378	If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid	423	If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
379	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable	424	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable
380	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will	425	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
381	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is	426	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
382	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work	427	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, to work
383	around bugs.	428	around bugs, or to make libev threadsafe (accessing environment variables
		429	cannot be done in a threadsafe way, but usually it works if no other
		430	thread modifies them).
384		431
385	=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>	432	=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>
386		433
387	Instead of calling C<ev_loop_fork> manually after a fork, you can also	434	Instead of calling C<ev_loop_fork> manually after a fork, you can also
388	make libev check for a fork in each iteration by enabling this flag.	435	make libev check for a fork in each iteration by enabling this flag.
389		436
390	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,	437	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
391	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop	438	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
392	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my	439	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
393	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence	440	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn
394	without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has	441	sequence without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux
395	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).	442	system also has C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster). (Update: glibc
		443	versions 2.25 apparently removed the C<getpid> optimisation again).
396		444
397	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and	445	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
398	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this	446	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking, although you still
399	flag.	447	have to ignore C<SIGPIPE>) when you use this flag.
400		448
401	This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>	449	This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
402	environment variable.	450	environment variable.
403		451
404	=item C<EVFLAG_NOINOTIFY>	452	=item C<EVFLAG_NOINOTIFY>
…		…
419		467
420	Signalfd will not be used by default as this changes your signal mask, and	468	Signalfd will not be used by default as this changes your signal mask, and
421	there are a lot of shoddy libraries and programs (glib's threadpool for	469	there are a lot of shoddy libraries and programs (glib's threadpool for
422	example) that can't properly initialise their signal masks.	470	example) that can't properly initialise their signal masks.
423		471
		472	=item C<EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK>
		473
		474	When this flag is specified, then libev will avoid to modify the signal
		475	mask. Specifically, this means you have to make sure signals are unblocked
		476	when you want to receive them.
		477
		478	This behaviour is useful when you want to do your own signal handling, or
		479	want to handle signals only in specific threads and want to avoid libev
		480	unblocking the signals.
		481
		482	It's also required by POSIX in a threaded program, as libev calls
		483	C<sigprocmask>, whose behaviour is officially unspecified.
		484
		485	This flag's behaviour will become the default in future versions of libev.
		486
424	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	487	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
425		488
426	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	489	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
427	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	490	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
428	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	491	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
…		…
452	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and	515	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and
453	C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.	516	C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.
454		517
455	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	518	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
456		519
457	Use the linux-specific epoll(7) interface (for both pre- and post-2.6.9	520	Use the Linux-specific epoll(7) interface (for both pre- and post-2.6.9
458	kernels).	521	kernels).
459		522
460	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	523	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select, but
461	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale	524	it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like
462	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),	525	O(total_fds) where total_fds is the total number of fds (or the highest
463	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds).	526	fd), epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds).
464		527
465	The epoll mechanism deserves honorable mention as the most misdesigned	528	The epoll mechanism deserves honorable mention as the most misdesigned
466	of the more advanced event mechanisms: mere annoyances include silently	529	of the more advanced event mechanisms: mere annoyances include silently
467	dropping file descriptors, requiring a system call per change per file	530	dropping file descriptors, requiring a system call per change per file
468	descriptor (and unnecessary guessing of parameters), problems with dup,	531	descriptor (and unnecessary guessing of parameters), problems with dup,
…		…
471	0.1ms) and so on. The biggest issue is fork races, however - if a program	534	0.1ms) and so on. The biggest issue is fork races, however - if a program
472	forks then I<both> parent and child process have to recreate the epoll	535	forks then I<both> parent and child process have to recreate the epoll
473	set, which can take considerable time (one syscall per file descriptor)	536	set, which can take considerable time (one syscall per file descriptor)
474	and is of course hard to detect.	537	and is of course hard to detect.
475		538
476	Epoll is also notoriously buggy - embedding epoll fds I<should> work, but	539	Epoll is also notoriously buggy - embedding epoll fds I<should> work,
477	of course I<doesn't>, and epoll just loves to report events for totally	540	but of course I<doesn't>, and epoll just loves to report events for
478	I<different> file descriptors (even already closed ones, so one cannot	541	totally I<different> file descriptors (even already closed ones, so
479	even remove them from the set) than registered in the set (especially	542	one cannot even remove them from the set) than registered in the set
480	on SMP systems). Libev tries to counter these spurious notifications by	543	(especially on SMP systems). Libev tries to counter these spurious
481	employing an additional generation counter and comparing that against the	544	notifications by employing an additional generation counter and comparing
482	events to filter out spurious ones, recreating the set when required. Last	545	that against the events to filter out spurious ones, recreating the set
		546	when required. Epoll also erroneously rounds down timeouts, but gives you
		547	no way to know when and by how much, so sometimes you have to busy-wait
		548	because epoll returns immediately despite a nonzero timeout. And last
483	not least, it also refuses to work with some file descriptors which work	549	not least, it also refuses to work with some file descriptors which work
484	perfectly fine with C<select> (files, many character devices...).	550	perfectly fine with C<select> (files, many character devices...).
485		551
486	Epoll is truly the train wreck analog among event poll mechanisms.	552	Epoll is truly the train wreck among event poll mechanisms, a frankenpoll,
		553	cobbled together in a hurry, no thought to design or interaction with
		554	others. Oh, the pain, will it ever stop...
487		555
488	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration	556	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
489	will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such	557	will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such
490	incident (because the same I<file descriptor> could point to a different	558	incident (because the same I<file descriptor> could point to a different
491	I<file description> now), so its best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed	559	I<file description> now), so its best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed
…		…
503	All this means that, in practice, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> can be as fast or	571	All this means that, in practice, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> can be as fast or
504	faster than epoll for maybe up to a hundred file descriptors, depending on	572	faster than epoll for maybe up to a hundred file descriptors, depending on
505	the usage. So sad.	573	the usage. So sad.
506		574
507	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in	575	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
508	all kernel versions tested so far.	576	a lot of kernel revisions, but probably(!) works in current versions.
509		577
510	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as	578	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
511	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.	579	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
512		580
		581	=item C<EVBACKEND_LINUXAIO> (value 64, Linux)
		582
		583	Use the Linux-specific Linux AIO (I<not> C<< aio(7) >> but C<<
		584	io_submit(2) >>) event interface available in post-4.18 kernels (but libev
		585	only tries to use it in 4.19+).
		586
		587	This is another Linux train wreck of an event interface.
		588
		589	If this backend works for you (as of this writing, it was very
		590	experimental), it is the best event interface available on Linux and might
		591	be well worth enabling it - if it isn't available in your kernel this will
		592	be detected and this backend will be skipped.
		593
		594	This backend can batch oneshot requests and supports a user-space ring
		595	buffer to receive events. It also doesn't suffer from most of the design
		596	problems of epoll (such as not being able to remove event sources from
		597	the epoll set), and generally sounds too good to be true. Because, this
		598	being the Linux kernel, of course it suffers from a whole new set of
		599	limitations, forcing you to fall back to epoll, inheriting all its design
		600	issues.
		601
		602	For one, it is not easily embeddable (but probably could be done using
		603	an event fd at some extra overhead). It also is subject to a system wide
		604	limit that can be configured in F</proc/sys/fs/aio-max-nr>. If no AIO
		605	requests are left, this backend will be skipped during initialisation, and
		606	will switch to epoll when the loop is active.
		607
		608	Most problematic in practice, however, is that not all file descriptors
		609	work with it. For example, in Linux 5.1, TCP sockets, pipes, event fds,
		610	files, F</dev/null> and many others are supported, but ttys do not work
		611	properly (a known bug that the kernel developers don't care about, see
		612	L<https://lore.kernel.org/patchwork/patch/1047453/>), so this is not
		613	(yet?) a generic event polling interface.
		614
		615	Overall, it seems the Linux developers just don't want it to have a
		616	generic event handling mechanism other than C<select> or C<poll>.
		617
		618	To work around all these problem, the current version of libev uses its
		619	epoll backend as a fallback for file descriptor types that do not work. Or
		620	falls back completely to epoll if the kernel acts up.
		621
		622	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
		623	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		624
513	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	625	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
514		626
515	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	627	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time this backend was
516	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably	628	implemented, it was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't
517	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course	629	work reliably with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin,
518	it's completely useless). Unlike epoll, however, whose brokenness	630	where of course it's completely useless). Unlike epoll, however, whose
519	is by design, these kqueue bugs can (and eventually will) be fixed	631	brokenness is by design, these kqueue bugs can be (and mostly have been)
520	without API changes to existing programs. For this reason it's not being	632	fixed without API changes to existing programs. For this reason it's not
521	"auto-detected" unless you explicitly specify it in the flags (i.e. using	633	being "auto-detected" on all platforms unless you explicitly specify it
522	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)	634	in the flags (i.e. using C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a
523	system like NetBSD.	635	known-to-be-good (-enough) system like NetBSD.
524		636
525	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it	637	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
526	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on	638	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
527	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	639	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
528		640
529	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	641	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
530	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	642	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
531	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never	643	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
532	cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to	644	cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
533	two event changes per incident. Support for C<fork ()> is very bad (but	645	two event changes per incident. Support for C<fork ()> is very bad (you
534	sane, unlike epoll) and it drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect	646	might have to leak fds on fork, but it's more sane than epoll) and it
535	cases	647	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
536		648
537	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.	649	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
538		650
539	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work	651	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
540	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken	652	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
…		…
557	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	669	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
558		670
559	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	671	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
560	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	672	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
561		673
562	Please note that Solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
563	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
564	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
565
566	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active	674	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
567	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file	675	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
568	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend	676	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
569	might perform better.	677	might perform better.
570		678
571	On the positive side, with the exception of the spurious readiness	679	On the positive side, this backend actually performed fully to
572	notifications, this backend actually performed fully to specification
573	in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat among the	680	specification in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat
574	OS-specific backends (I vastly prefer correctness over speed hacks).	681	among the OS-specific backends (I vastly prefer correctness over speed
		682	hacks).
		683
		684	On the negative side, the interface is I<bizarre> - so bizarre that
		685	even sun itself gets it wrong in their code examples: The event polling
		686	function sometimes returns events to the caller even though an error
		687	occurred, but with no indication whether it has done so or not (yes, it's
		688	even documented that way) - deadly for edge-triggered interfaces where you
		689	absolutely have to know whether an event occurred or not because you have
		690	to re-arm the watcher.
		691
		692	Fortunately libev seems to be able to work around these idiocies.
575		693
576	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as	694	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
577	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.	695	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
578		696
579	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	697	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
580		698
581	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	699	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
582	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	700	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
583	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	701	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
584		702
585	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.	703	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag, use whatever
		704	C<ev_recommended_backends ()> returns, or simply do not specify a backend
		705	at all.
		706
		707	=item C<EVBACKEND_MASK>
		708
		709	Not a backend at all, but a mask to select all backend bits from a
		710	C<flags> value, in case you want to mask out any backends from a flags
		711	value (e.g. when modifying the C<LIBEV_FLAGS> environment variable).
586		712
587	=back	713	=back
588		714
589	If one or more of the backend flags are or'ed into the flags value,	715	If one or more of the backend flags are or'ed into the flags value,
590	then only these backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed	716	then only these backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed
…		…
599		725
600	Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is	726	Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is
601	used if available.	727	used if available.
602		728
603	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_loop_new (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);	729	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_loop_new (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
		730
		731	Example: Similarly, on linux, you mgiht want to take advantage of the
		732	linux aio backend if possible, but fall back to something else if that
		733	isn't available.
		734
		735	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_loop_new (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_LINUXAIO);
604		736
605	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	737	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
606		738
607	Destroys an event loop object (frees all memory and kernel state	739	Destroys an event loop object (frees all memory and kernel state
608	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	740	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
…		…
625	If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use C<ev_loop_new>	757	If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use C<ev_loop_new>
626	and C<ev_loop_destroy>.	758	and C<ev_loop_destroy>.
627		759
628	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	760	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
629		761
630	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_run> iterations to	762	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_run> iterations
631	reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the	763	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite
632	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in	764	the name, you can call it anytime you are allowed to start or stop
633	the child process. You I<must> call it (or use C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>) in the	765	watchers (except inside an C<ev_prepare> callback), but it makes most
		766	sense after forking, in the child process. You I<must> call it (or use
634	child before resuming or calling C<ev_run>.	767	C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>) in the child before resuming or calling C<ev_run>.
635		768
		769	In addition, if you want to reuse a loop (via this function or
		770	C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>), you I<also> have to ignore C<SIGPIPE>.
		771
636	Again, you I<have> to call it on I<any> loop that you want to re-use after	772	Again, you I<have> to call it on I<any> loop that you want to re-use after
637	a fork, I<even if you do not plan to use the loop in the parent>. This is	773	a fork, I<even if you do not plan to use the loop in the parent>. This is
638	because some kernel interfaces *cough* I<kqueue> *cough* do funny things	774	because some kernel interfaces *cough* I<kqueue> *cough* do funny things
639	during fork.	775	during fork.
640		776
641	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child	777	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
…		…
711		847
712	This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a	848	This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
713	very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of	849	very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
714	the current time is a good idea.	850	the current time is a good idea.
715		851
716	See also L<The special problem of time updates> in the C<ev_timer> section.	852	See also L</The special problem of time updates> in the C<ev_timer> section.
717		853
718	=item ev_suspend (loop)	854	=item ev_suspend (loop)
719		855
720	=item ev_resume (loop)	856	=item ev_resume (loop)
721		857
…		…
739	without a previous call to C<ev_suspend>.	875	without a previous call to C<ev_suspend>.
740		876
741	Calling C<ev_suspend>/C<ev_resume> has the side effect of updating the	877	Calling C<ev_suspend>/C<ev_resume> has the side effect of updating the
742	event loop time (see C<ev_now_update>).	878	event loop time (see C<ev_now_update>).
743		879
744	=item ev_run (loop, int flags)	880	=item bool ev_run (loop, int flags)
745		881
746	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	882	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
747	after you have initialised all your watchers and you want to start	883	after you have initialised all your watchers and you want to start
748	handling events. It will ask the operating system for any new events, call	884	handling events. It will ask the operating system for any new events, call
749	the watcher callbacks, an then repeat the whole process indefinitely: This	885	the watcher callbacks, and then repeat the whole process indefinitely: This
750	is why event loops are called I<loops>.	886	is why event loops are called I<loops>.
751		887
752	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will keep handling events	888	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will keep handling events
753	until either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_break> was	889	until either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_break> was
754	called.	890	called.
		891
		892	The return value is false if there are no more active watchers (which
		893	usually means "all jobs done" or "deadlock"), and true in all other cases
		894	(which usually means " you should call C<ev_run> again").
755		895
756	Please note that an explicit C<ev_break> is usually better than	896	Please note that an explicit C<ev_break> is usually better than
757	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has	897	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
758	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program	898	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program
759	that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue	899	that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue
760	of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of	900	of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of
761	beauty.	901	beauty.
762		902
763	This function is also I<mostly> exception-safe - you can break out of	903	This function is I<mostly> exception-safe - you can break out of a
764	a C<ev_run> call by calling C<longjmp> in a callback, throwing a C++	904	C<ev_run> call by calling C<longjmp> in a callback, throwing a C++
765	exception and so on. This does not decrement the C<ev_depth> value, nor	905	exception and so on. This does not decrement the C<ev_depth> value, nor
766	will it clear any outstanding C<EVBREAK_ONE> breaks.	906	will it clear any outstanding C<EVBREAK_ONE> breaks.
767		907
768	A flags value of C<EVRUN_NOWAIT> will look for new events, will handle	908	A flags value of C<EVRUN_NOWAIT> will look for new events, will handle
769	those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not wait and	909	those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not wait and
…		…
781	This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction	921	This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction
782	with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your	922	with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your
783	own C<ev_run>"). However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	923	own C<ev_run>"). However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
784	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	924	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
785		925
786	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_run> does:	926	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_run> does (this is for your
		927	understanding, not a guarantee that things will work exactly like this in
		928	future versions):
787		929
788	- Increment loop depth.	930	- Increment loop depth.
789	- Reset the ev_break status.	931	- Reset the ev_break status.
790	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.	932	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
791	LOOP:	933	LOOP:
…		…
824	anymore.	966	anymore.
825		967
826	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	968	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
827	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	969	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
828	ev_run (my_loop, 0);	970	ev_run (my_loop, 0);
829	... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!	971	... jobs done or somebody called break. yeah!
830		972
831	=item ev_break (loop, how)	973	=item ev_break (loop, how)
832		974
833	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_run> return early (but only after it	975	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_run> return early (but only after it
834	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	976	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
…		…
867	running when nothing else is active.	1009	running when nothing else is active.
868		1010
869	ev_signal exitsig;	1011	ev_signal exitsig;
870	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);	1012	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
871	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);	1013	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
872	evf_unref (loop);	1014	ev_unref (loop);
873		1015
874	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	1016	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
875		1017
876	ev_ref (loop);	1018	ev_ref (loop);
877	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	1019	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
…		…
897	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.	1039	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
898		1040
899	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more	1041	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
900	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,	1042	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
901	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and	1043	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
902	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will	1044	C<ev_timer>) will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
903	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations. The	1045	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations. The
904	sleep time ensures that libev will not poll for I/O events more often then	1046	sleep time ensures that libev will not poll for I/O events more often then
905	once per this interval, on average.	1047	once per this interval, on average (as long as the host time resolution is
		1048	good enough).
906		1049
907	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev	1050	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
908	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased	1051	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
909	latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called	1052	latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called
910	later). C<ev_io> watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null	1053	later). C<ev_io> watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null
…		…
956	invoke the actual watchers inside another context (another thread etc.).	1099	invoke the actual watchers inside another context (another thread etc.).
957		1100
958	If you want to reset the callback, use C<ev_invoke_pending> as new	1101	If you want to reset the callback, use C<ev_invoke_pending> as new
959	callback.	1102	callback.
960		1103
961	=item ev_set_loop_release_cb (loop, void (*release)(EV_P), void (*acquire)(EV_P))	1104	=item ev_set_loop_release_cb (loop, void (*release)(EV_P) throw (), void (*acquire)(EV_P) throw ())
962		1105
963	Sometimes you want to share the same loop between multiple threads. This	1106	Sometimes you want to share the same loop between multiple threads. This
964	can be done relatively simply by putting mutex_lock/unlock calls around	1107	can be done relatively simply by putting mutex_lock/unlock calls around
965	each call to a libev function.	1108	each call to a libev function.
966		1109
967	However, C<ev_run> can run an indefinite time, so it is not feasible	1110	However, C<ev_run> can run an indefinite time, so it is not feasible
968	to wait for it to return. One way around this is to wake up the event	1111	to wait for it to return. One way around this is to wake up the event
969	loop via C<ev_break> and C<av_async_send>, another way is to set these	1112	loop via C<ev_break> and C<ev_async_send>, another way is to set these
970	I<release> and I<acquire> callbacks on the loop.	1113	I<release> and I<acquire> callbacks on the loop.
971		1114
972	When set, then C<release> will be called just before the thread is	1115	When set, then C<release> will be called just before the thread is
973	suspended waiting for new events, and C<acquire> is called just	1116	suspended waiting for new events, and C<acquire> is called just
974	afterwards.	1117	afterwards.
…		…
989	See also the locking example in the C<THREADS> section later in this	1132	See also the locking example in the C<THREADS> section later in this
990	document.	1133	document.
991		1134
992	=item ev_set_userdata (loop, void *data)	1135	=item ev_set_userdata (loop, void *data)
993		1136
994	=item ev_userdata (loop)	1137	=item void *ev_userdata (loop)
995		1138
996	Set and retrieve a single C<void *> associated with a loop. When	1139	Set and retrieve a single C<void *> associated with a loop. When
997	C<ev_set_userdata> has never been called, then C<ev_userdata> returns	1140	C<ev_set_userdata> has never been called, then C<ev_userdata> returns
998	C<0>.	1141	C<0>.
999		1142
…		…
1114		1257
1115	=item C<EV_PREPARE>	1258	=item C<EV_PREPARE>
1116		1259
1117	=item C<EV_CHECK>	1260	=item C<EV_CHECK>
1118		1261
1119	All C<ev_prepare> watchers are invoked just I<before> C<ev_run> starts	1262	All C<ev_prepare> watchers are invoked just I<before> C<ev_run> starts to
1120	to gather new events, and all C<ev_check> watchers are invoked just after	1263	gather new events, and all C<ev_check> watchers are queued (not invoked)
1121	C<ev_run> has gathered them, but before it invokes any callbacks for any	1264	just after C<ev_run> has gathered them, but before it queues any callbacks
		1265	for any received events. That means C<ev_prepare> watchers are the last
		1266	watchers invoked before the event loop sleeps or polls for new events, and
		1267	C<ev_check> watchers will be invoked before any other watchers of the same
		1268	or lower priority within an event loop iteration.
		1269
1122	received events. Callbacks of both watcher types can start and stop as	1270	Callbacks of both watcher types can start and stop as many watchers as
1123	many watchers as they want, and all of them will be taken into account	1271	they want, and all of them will be taken into account (for example, a
1124	(for example, a C<ev_prepare> watcher might start an idle watcher to keep	1272	C<ev_prepare> watcher might start an idle watcher to keep C<ev_run> from
1125	C<ev_run> from blocking).	1273	blocking).
1126		1274
1127	=item C<EV_EMBED>	1275	=item C<EV_EMBED>
1128		1276
1129	The embedded event loop specified in the C<ev_embed> watcher needs attention.	1277	The embedded event loop specified in the C<ev_embed> watcher needs attention.
1130		1278
…		…
1253		1401
1254	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)	1402	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
1255		1403
1256	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.	1404	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
1257		1405
1258	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	1406	=item ev_set_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
1259		1407
1260	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time	1408	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
1261	(modulo threads).	1409	(modulo threads).
1262		1410
1263	=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, int priority)	1411	=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, int priority)
…		…
1281	or might not have been clamped to the valid range.	1429	or might not have been clamped to the valid range.
1282		1430
1283	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is	1431	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
1284	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).	1432	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
1285		1433
1286	See L<WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS>, below, for a more thorough treatment of	1434	See L</WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS>, below, for a more thorough treatment of
1287	priorities.	1435	priorities.
1288		1436
1289	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)	1437	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
1290		1438
1291	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither	1439	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
…		…
1316	See also C<ev_feed_fd_event> and C<ev_feed_signal_event> for related	1464	See also C<ev_feed_fd_event> and C<ev_feed_signal_event> for related
1317	functions that do not need a watcher.	1465	functions that do not need a watcher.
1318		1466
1319	=back	1467	=back
1320		1468
1321	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER	1469	See also the L</ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER> and L</BUILDING YOUR
1322		1470	OWN COMPOSITE WATCHERS> idioms.
1323	Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change
1324	and read at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
1325	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
1326	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
1327	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
1328	data:
1329
1330	struct my_io
1331	{
1332	ev_io io;
1333	int otherfd;
1334	void *somedata;
1335	struct whatever *mostinteresting;
1336	};
1337
1338	...
1339	struct my_io w;
1340	ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
1341
1342	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
1343	can cast it back to your own type:
1344
1345	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
1346	{
1347	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
1348	...
1349	}
1350
1351	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
1352	instead have been omitted.
1353
1354	Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
1355	embedded watchers:
1356
1357	struct my_biggy
1358	{
1359	int some_data;
1360	ev_timer t1;
1361	ev_timer t2;
1362	}
1363
1364	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
1365	complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct
1366	in the C<data> member of the watcher (for woozies), or you need to use
1367	some pointer arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers (for real
1368	programmers):
1369
1370	#include <stddef.h>
1371
1372	static void
1373	t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1374	{
1375	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
1376	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
1377	}
1378
1379	static void
1380	t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1381	{
1382	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
1383	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
1384	}
1385		1471
1386	=head2 WATCHER STATES	1472	=head2 WATCHER STATES
1387		1473
1388	There are various watcher states mentioned throughout this manual -	1474	There are various watcher states mentioned throughout this manual -
1389	active, pending and so on. In this section these states and the rules to	1475	active, pending and so on. In this section these states and the rules to
1390	transition between them will be described in more detail - and while these	1476	transition between them will be described in more detail - and while these
1391	rules might look complicated, they usually do "the right thing".	1477	rules might look complicated, they usually do "the right thing".
1392		1478
1393	=over 4	1479	=over 4
1394		1480
1395	=item initialiased	1481	=item initialised
1396		1482
1397	Before a watcher can be registered with the event looop it has to be	1483	Before a watcher can be registered with the event loop it has to be
1398	initialised. This can be done with a call to C<ev_TYPE_init>, or calls to	1484	initialised. This can be done with a call to C<ev_TYPE_init>, or calls to
1399	C<ev_init> followed by the watcher-specific C<ev_TYPE_set> function.	1485	C<ev_init> followed by the watcher-specific C<ev_TYPE_set> function.
1400		1486
1401	In this state it is simply some block of memory that is suitable for use	1487	In this state it is simply some block of memory that is suitable for
1402	in an event loop. It can be moved around, freed, reused etc. at will.	1488	use in an event loop. It can be moved around, freed, reused etc. at
		1489	will - as long as you either keep the memory contents intact, or call
		1490	C<ev_TYPE_init> again.
1403		1491
1404	=item started/running/active	1492	=item started/running/active
1405		1493
1406	Once a watcher has been started with a call to C<ev_TYPE_start> it becomes	1494	Once a watcher has been started with a call to C<ev_TYPE_start> it becomes
1407	property of the event loop, and is actively waiting for events. While in	1495	property of the event loop, and is actively waiting for events. While in
…		…
1435	latter will clear any pending state the watcher might be in, regardless	1523	latter will clear any pending state the watcher might be in, regardless
1436	of whether it was active or not, so stopping a watcher explicitly before	1524	of whether it was active or not, so stopping a watcher explicitly before
1437	freeing it is often a good idea.	1525	freeing it is often a good idea.
1438		1526
1439	While stopped (and not pending) the watcher is essentially in the	1527	While stopped (and not pending) the watcher is essentially in the
1440	initialised state, that is it can be reused, moved, modified in any way	1528	initialised state, that is, it can be reused, moved, modified in any way
1441	you wish.	1529	you wish (but when you trash the memory block, you need to C<ev_TYPE_init>
		1530	it again).
1442		1531
1443	=back	1532	=back
1444		1533
1445	=head2 WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS	1534	=head2 WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS
1446		1535
…		…
1575	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1664	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
1576	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1665	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
1577	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1666	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
1578	required if you know what you are doing).	1667	required if you know what you are doing).
1579		1668
1580	If you cannot use non-blocking mode, then force the use of a
1581	known-to-be-good backend (at the time of this writing, this includes only
1582	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL>). The same applies to file
1583	descriptors for which non-blocking operation makes no sense (such as
1584	files) - libev doesn't guarantee any specific behaviour in that case.
1585
1586	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1669	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
1587	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might	1670	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is, your callback might
1588	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block	1671	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
1589	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a	1672	because there is no data. It is very easy to get into this situation even
1590	lot of those (for example Solaris ports), it is very easy to get into	1673	with a relatively standard program structure. Thus it is best to always
1591	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus	1674	use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning C<EAGAIN> is far
1592	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
1593	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.	1675	preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
1594		1676
1595	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should	1677	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should
1596	not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately	1678	not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately
1597	re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good	1679	re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good
1598	interface such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already	1680	interface such as poll (fortunately in the case of Xlib, it already does
1599	does this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally	1681	this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally
1600	use C<SIGALRM> and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block	1682	use C<SIGALRM> and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block
1601	indefinitely.	1683	indefinitely.
1602		1684
1603	But really, best use non-blocking mode.	1685	But really, best use non-blocking mode.
1604		1686
1605	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors	1687	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
1606		1688
1607	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file	1689	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll, linuxaio) need to be told about closing
1608	descriptor (either due to calling C<close> explicitly or any other means,	1690	a file descriptor (either due to calling C<close> explicitly or any other
1609	such as C<dup2>). The reason is that you register interest in some file	1691	means, such as C<dup2>). The reason is that you register interest in some
1610	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop	1692	file descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently
1611	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is	1693	drop this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then
1612	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in	1694	is registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is,
1613	fact, a different file descriptor.	1695	in fact, a different file descriptor.
1614		1696
1615	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows	1697	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
1616	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev	1698	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
1617	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise	1699	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
1618	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that	1700	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
…		…
1632		1714
1633	There is no workaround possible except not registering events	1715	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
1634	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to	1716	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
1635	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.	1717	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1636		1718
		1719	=head3 The special problem of files
		1720
		1721	Many people try to use C<select> (or libev) on file descriptors
		1722	representing files, and expect it to become ready when their program
		1723	doesn't block on disk accesses (which can take a long time on their own).
		1724
		1725	However, this cannot ever work in the "expected" way - you get a readiness
		1726	notification as soon as the kernel knows whether and how much data is
		1727	there, and in the case of open files, that's always the case, so you
		1728	always get a readiness notification instantly, and your read (or possibly
		1729	write) will still block on the disk I/O.
		1730
		1731	Another way to view it is that in the case of sockets, pipes, character
		1732	devices and so on, there is another party (the sender) that delivers data
		1733	on its own, but in the case of files, there is no such thing: the disk
		1734	will not send data on its own, simply because it doesn't know what you
		1735	wish to read - you would first have to request some data.
		1736
		1737	Since files are typically not-so-well supported by advanced notification
		1738	mechanism, libev tries hard to emulate POSIX behaviour with respect
		1739	to files, even though you should not use it. The reason for this is
		1740	convenience: sometimes you want to watch STDIN or STDOUT, which is
		1741	usually a tty, often a pipe, but also sometimes files or special devices
		1742	(for example, C<epoll> on Linux works with F</dev/random> but not with
		1743	F</dev/urandom>), and even though the file might better be served with
		1744	asynchronous I/O instead of with non-blocking I/O, it is still useful when
		1745	it "just works" instead of freezing.
		1746
		1747	So avoid file descriptors pointing to files when you know it (e.g. use
		1748	libeio), but use them when it is convenient, e.g. for STDIN/STDOUT, or
		1749	when you rarely read from a file instead of from a socket, and want to
		1750	reuse the same code path.
		1751
1637	=head3 The special problem of fork	1752	=head3 The special problem of fork
1638		1753
1639	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit	1754	Some backends (epoll, kqueue, probably linuxaio) do not support C<fork ()>
1640	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about	1755	at all or exhibit useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs
1641	it in the child.	1756	to be told about it in the child if you want to continue to use it in the
		1757	child.
1642		1758
1643	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call	1759	To support fork in your child processes, you have to call C<ev_loop_fork
1644	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,	1760	()> after a fork in the child, enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to
1645	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or	1761	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1646	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1647		1762
1648	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE	1763	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
1649		1764
1650	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about C<SIGPIPE>:	1765	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about C<SIGPIPE>:
1651	when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets	1766	when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
…		…
1749	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the	1864	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
1750	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).	1865	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
1751		1866
1752	The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only I<after> its timeout has	1867	The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only I<after> its timeout has
1753	passed (not I<at>, so on systems with very low-resolution clocks this	1868	passed (not I<at>, so on systems with very low-resolution clocks this
1754	might introduce a small delay). If multiple timers become ready during the	1869	might introduce a small delay, see "the special problem of being too
		1870	early", below). If multiple timers become ready during the same loop
1755	same loop iteration then the ones with earlier time-out values are invoked	1871	iteration then the ones with earlier time-out values are invoked before
1756	before ones of the same priority with later time-out values (but this is	1872	ones of the same priority with later time-out values (but this is no
1757	no longer true when a callback calls C<ev_run> recursively).	1873	longer true when a callback calls C<ev_run> recursively).
1758		1874
1759	=head3 Be smart about timeouts	1875	=head3 Be smart about timeouts
1760		1876
1761	Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error	1877	Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error
1762	recovery. A typical example is an HTTP request - if the other side hangs,	1878	recovery. A typical example is an HTTP request - if the other side hangs,
…		…
1837		1953
1838	In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the C<ev_timer> alone,	1954	In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the C<ev_timer> alone,
1839	but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only	1955	but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only
1840	within the callback:	1956	within the callback:
1841		1957
		1958	ev_tstamp timeout = 60.;
1842	ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity	1959	ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity
		1960	ev_timer timer;
1843		1961
1844	static void	1962	static void
1845	callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	1963	callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1846	{	1964	{
1847	ev_tstamp now = ev_now (EV_A);	1965	// calculate when the timeout would happen
1848	ev_tstamp timeout = last_activity + 60.;	1966	ev_tstamp after = last_activity - ev_now (EV_A) + timeout;
1849		1967
1850	// if last_activity + 60. is older than now, we did time out	1968	// if negative, it means we the timeout already occurred
1851	if (timeout < now)	1969	if (after < 0.)
1852	{	1970	{
1853	// timeout occurred, take action	1971	// timeout occurred, take action
1854	}	1972	}
1855	else	1973	else
1856	{	1974	{
1857	// callback was invoked, but there was some activity, re-arm	1975	// callback was invoked, but there was some recent
1858	// the watcher to fire in last_activity + 60, which is	1976	// activity. simply restart the timer to time out
1859	// guaranteed to be in the future, so "again" is positive:	1977	// after "after" seconds, which is the earliest time
1860	w->repeat = timeout - now;	1978	// the timeout can occur.
		1979	ev_timer_set (w, after, 0.);
1861	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ w);	1980	ev_timer_start (EV_A_ w);
1862	}	1981	}
1863	}	1982	}
1864		1983
1865	To summarise the callback: first calculate the real timeout (defined	1984	To summarise the callback: first calculate in how many seconds the
1866	as "60 seconds after the last activity"), then check if that time has	1985	timeout will occur (by calculating the absolute time when it would occur,
1867	been reached, which means something I<did>, in fact, time out. Otherwise	1986	C<last_activity + timeout>, and subtracting the current time, C<ev_now
1868	the callback was invoked too early (C<timeout> is in the future), so	1987	(EV_A)> from that).
1869	re-schedule the timer to fire at that future time, to see if maybe we have
1870	a timeout then.
1871		1988
1872	Note how C<ev_timer_again> is used, taking advantage of the	1989	If this value is negative, then we are already past the timeout, i.e. we
1873	C<ev_timer_again> optimisation when the timer is already running.	1990	timed out, and need to do whatever is needed in this case.
		1991
		1992	Otherwise, we now the earliest time at which the timeout would trigger,
		1993	and simply start the timer with this timeout value.
		1994
		1995	In other words, each time the callback is invoked it will check whether
		1996	the timeout occurred. If not, it will simply reschedule itself to check
		1997	again at the earliest time it could time out. Rinse. Repeat.
1874		1998
1875	This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds	1999	This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds
1876	minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to	2000	minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to
1877	libev to change the timeout.	2001	libev to change the timeout.
1878		2002
1879	To start the timer, simply initialise the watcher and set C<last_activity>	2003	To start the machinery, simply initialise the watcher and set
1880	to the current time (meaning we just have some activity :), then call the	2004	C<last_activity> to the current time (meaning there was some activity just
1881	callback, which will "do the right thing" and start the timer:	2005	now), then call the callback, which will "do the right thing" and start
		2006	the timer:
1882		2007
		2008	last_activity = ev_now (EV_A);
1883	ev_init (timer, callback);	2009	ev_init (&timer, callback);
1884	last_activity = ev_now (loop);	2010	callback (EV_A_ &timer, 0);
1885	callback (loop, timer, EV_TIMER);
1886		2011
1887	And when there is some activity, simply store the current time in	2012	When there is some activity, simply store the current time in
1888	C<last_activity>, no libev calls at all:	2013	C<last_activity>, no libev calls at all:
1889		2014
		2015	if (activity detected)
1890	last_activity = ev_now (loop);	2016	last_activity = ev_now (EV_A);
		2017
		2018	When your timeout value changes, then the timeout can be changed by simply
		2019	providing a new value, stopping the timer and calling the callback, which
		2020	will again do the right thing (for example, time out immediately :).
		2021
		2022	timeout = new_value;
		2023	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &timer);
		2024	callback (EV_A_ &timer, 0);
1891		2025
1892	This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the	2026	This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the
1893	time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.	2027	time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.
1894
1895	Changing the timeout is trivial as well (if it isn't hard-coded in the
1896	callback :) - just change the timeout and invoke the callback, which will
1897	fix things for you.
1898		2028
1899	=item 4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts.	2029	=item 4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts.
1900		2030
1901	If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all	2031	If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all
1902	employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can	2032	employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can
…		…
1929	Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is	2059	Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is
1930	rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays	2060	rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays
1931	off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually	2061	off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually
1932	overkill :)	2062	overkill :)
1933		2063
		2064	=head3 The special problem of being too early
		2065
		2066	If you ask a timer to call your callback after three seconds, then
		2067	you expect it to be invoked after three seconds - but of course, this
		2068	cannot be guaranteed to infinite precision. Less obviously, it cannot be
		2069	guaranteed to any precision by libev - imagine somebody suspending the
		2070	process with a STOP signal for a few hours for example.
		2071
		2072	So, libev tries to invoke your callback as soon as possible I<after> the
		2073	delay has occurred, but cannot guarantee this.
		2074
		2075	A less obvious failure mode is calling your callback too early: many event
		2076	loops compare timestamps with a "elapsed delay >= requested delay", but
		2077	this can cause your callback to be invoked much earlier than you would
		2078	expect.
		2079
		2080	To see why, imagine a system with a clock that only offers full second
		2081	resolution (think windows if you can't come up with a broken enough OS
		2082	yourself). If you schedule a one-second timer at the time 500.9, then the
		2083	event loop will schedule your timeout to elapse at a system time of 500
		2084	(500.9 truncated to the resolution) + 1, or 501.
		2085
		2086	If an event library looks at the timeout 0.1s later, it will see "501 >=
		2087	501" and invoke the callback 0.1s after it was started, even though a
		2088	one-second delay was requested - this is being "too early", despite best
		2089	intentions.
		2090
		2091	This is the reason why libev will never invoke the callback if the elapsed
		2092	delay equals the requested delay, but only when the elapsed delay is
		2093	larger than the requested delay. In the example above, libev would only invoke
		2094	the callback at system time 502, or 1.1s after the timer was started.
		2095
		2096	So, while libev cannot guarantee that your callback will be invoked
		2097	exactly when requested, it I<can> and I<does> guarantee that the requested
		2098	delay has actually elapsed, or in other words, it always errs on the "too
		2099	late" side of things.
		2100
1934	=head3 The special problem of time updates	2101	=head3 The special problem of time updates
1935		2102
1936	Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at	2103	Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes
1937	least two system calls): EV therefore updates its idea of the current	2104	at least one system call): EV therefore updates its idea of the current
1938	time only before and after C<ev_run> collects new events, which causes a	2105	time only before and after C<ev_run> collects new events, which causes a
1939	growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling	2106	growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling
1940	lots of events in one iteration.	2107	lots of events in one iteration.
1941		2108
1942	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>	2109	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
1943	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time	2110	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
1944	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If	2111	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
1945	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the	2112	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
1946	timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:	2113	timeout on the current time, use something like the following to adjust
		2114	for it:
1947		2115
1948	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);	2116	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + (ev_time () - ev_now ()), 0.);
1949		2117
1950	If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an	2118	If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
1951	update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update	2119	update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update
1952	()>.	2120	()>, although that will push the event time of all outstanding events
		2121	further into the future.
		2122
		2123	=head3 The special problem of unsynchronised clocks
		2124
		2125	Modern systems have a variety of clocks - libev itself uses the normal
		2126	"wall clock" clock and, if available, the monotonic clock (to avoid time
		2127	jumps).
		2128
		2129	Neither of these clocks is synchronised with each other or any other clock
		2130	on the system, so C<ev_time ()> might return a considerably different time
		2131	than C<gettimeofday ()> or C<time ()>. On a GNU/Linux system, for example,
		2132	a call to C<gettimeofday> might return a second count that is one higher
		2133	than a directly following call to C<time>.
		2134
		2135	The moral of this is to only compare libev-related timestamps with
		2136	C<ev_time ()> and C<ev_now ()>, at least if you want better precision than
		2137	a second or so.
		2138
		2139	One more problem arises due to this lack of synchronisation: if libev uses
		2140	the system monotonic clock and you compare timestamps from C<ev_time>
		2141	or C<ev_now> from when you started your timer and when your callback is
		2142	invoked, you will find that sometimes the callback is a bit "early".
		2143
		2144	This is because C<ev_timer>s work in real time, not wall clock time, so
		2145	libev makes sure your callback is not invoked before the delay happened,
		2146	I<measured according to the real time>, not the system clock.
		2147
		2148	If your timeouts are based on a physical timescale (e.g. "time out this
		2149	connection after 100 seconds") then this shouldn't bother you as it is
		2150	exactly the right behaviour.
		2151
		2152	If you want to compare wall clock/system timestamps to your timers, then
		2153	you need to use C<ev_periodic>s, as these are based on the wall clock
		2154	time, where your comparisons will always generate correct results.
1953		2155
1954	=head3 The special problems of suspended animation	2156	=head3 The special problems of suspended animation
1955		2157
1956	When you leave the server world it is quite customary to hit machines that	2158	When you leave the server world it is quite customary to hit machines that
1957	can suspend/hibernate - what happens to the clocks during such a suspend?	2159	can suspend/hibernate - what happens to the clocks during such a suspend?
…		…
1987		2189
1988	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	2190	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1989		2191
1990	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	2192	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1991		2193
1992	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>	2194	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds (fractional and
1993	is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is	2195	negative values are supported). If C<repeat> is C<0.>, then it will
1994	reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be	2196	automatically be stopped once the timeout is reached. If it is positive,
1995	configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,	2197	then the timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat>
1996	until stopped manually.	2198	seconds later, again, and again, until stopped manually.
1997		2199
1998	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if	2200	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
1999	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally	2201	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
2000	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot	2202	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
2001	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to	2203	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
2002	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	2204	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
2003		2205
2004	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)	2206	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
2005		2207
2006	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	2208	This will act as if the timer timed out, and restarts it again if it is
2007	repeating. The exact semantics are:	2209	repeating. It basically works like calling C<ev_timer_stop>, updating the
		2210	timeout to the C<repeat> value and calling C<ev_timer_start>.
2008		2211
		2212	The exact semantics are as in the following rules, all of which will be
		2213	applied to the watcher:
		2214
		2215	=over 4
		2216
2009	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	2217	=item If the timer is pending, the pending status is always cleared.
2010		2218
2011	If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).	2219	=item If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed
		2220	out, without invoking it).
2012		2221
2013	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the	2222	=item If the timer is repeating, make the C<repeat> value the new timeout
2014	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.	2223	and start the timer, if necessary.
2015		2224
		2225	=back
		2226
2016	This sounds a bit complicated, see L<Be smart about timeouts>, above, for a	2227	This sounds a bit complicated, see L</Be smart about timeouts>, above, for a
2017	usage example.	2228	usage example.
2018		2229
2019	=item ev_tstamp ev_timer_remaining (loop, ev_timer *)	2230	=item ev_tstamp ev_timer_remaining (loop, ev_timer *)
2020		2231
2021	Returns the remaining time until a timer fires. If the timer is active,	2232	Returns the remaining time until a timer fires. If the timer is active,
…		…
2074	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	2285	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
2075	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	2286	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
2076		2287
2077	Unlike C<ev_timer>, periodic watchers are not based on real time (or	2288	Unlike C<ev_timer>, periodic watchers are not based on real time (or
2078	relative time, the physical time that passes) but on wall clock time	2289	relative time, the physical time that passes) but on wall clock time
2079	(absolute time, the thing you can read on your calender or clock). The	2290	(absolute time, the thing you can read on your calendar or clock). The
2080	difference is that wall clock time can run faster or slower than real	2291	difference is that wall clock time can run faster or slower than real
2081	time, and time jumps are not uncommon (e.g. when you adjust your	2292	time, and time jumps are not uncommon (e.g. when you adjust your
2082	wrist-watch).	2293	wrist-watch).
2083		2294
2084	You can tell a periodic watcher to trigger after some specific point	2295	You can tell a periodic watcher to trigger after some specific point
…		…
2089	C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger roughly 10 seconds after starting	2300	C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger roughly 10 seconds after starting
2090	it, as it uses a relative timeout).	2301	it, as it uses a relative timeout).
2091		2302
2092	C<ev_periodic> watchers can also be used to implement vastly more complex	2303	C<ev_periodic> watchers can also be used to implement vastly more complex
2093	timers, such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or	2304	timers, such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or
2094	other complicated rules. This cannot be done with C<ev_timer> watchers, as	2305	other complicated rules. This cannot easily be done with C<ev_timer>
2095	those cannot react to time jumps.	2306	watchers, as those cannot react to time jumps.
2096		2307
2097	As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the	2308	As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
2098	point in time where it is supposed to trigger has passed. If multiple	2309	point in time where it is supposed to trigger has passed. If multiple
2099	timers become ready during the same loop iteration then the ones with	2310	timers become ready during the same loop iteration then the ones with
2100	earlier time-out values are invoked before ones with later time-out values	2311	earlier time-out values are invoked before ones with later time-out values
…		…
2141		2352
2142	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	2353	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
2143	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	2354	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
2144	time where C<time = offset (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	2355	time where C<time = offset (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
2145		2356
2146	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<offset> value is near	2357	The C<interval> I<MUST> be positive, and for numerical stability, the
2147	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for	2358	interval value should be higher than C<1/8192> (which is around 100
2148	this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.	2359	microseconds) and C<offset> should be higher than C<0> and should have
		2360	at most a similar magnitude as the current time (say, within a factor of
		2361	ten). Typical values for offset are, in fact, C<0> or something between
		2362	C<0> and C<interval>, which is also the recommended range.
2149		2363
2150	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU	2364	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU
2151	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability	2365	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
2152	will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one	2366	will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
2153	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).	2367	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
…		…
2183		2397
2184	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or	2398	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
2185	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.	2399	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
2186		2400
2187	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that	2401	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
2188	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the	2402	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate
2189	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How	2403	the next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for
2190	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main	2404	this. Here is a (completely untested, no error checking) example on how to
2191	reason I omitted it as an example).	2405	do this:
		2406
		2407	#include <time.h>
		2408
		2409	static ev_tstamp
		2410	my_rescheduler (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
		2411	{
		2412	time_t tnow = (time_t)now;
		2413	struct tm tm;
		2414	localtime_r (&tnow, &tm);
		2415
		2416	tm.tm_sec = tm.tm_min = tm.tm_hour = 0; // midnight current day
		2417	++tm.tm_mday; // midnight next day
		2418
		2419	return mktime (&tm);
		2420	}
		2421
		2422	Note: this code might run into trouble on days that have more then two
		2423	midnights (beginning and end).
2192		2424
2193	=back	2425	=back
2194		2426
2195	=item ev_periodic_again (loop, ev_periodic *)	2427	=item ev_periodic_again (loop, ev_periodic *)
2196		2428
…		…
2261		2493
2262	ev_periodic hourly_tick;	2494	ev_periodic hourly_tick;
2263	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,	2495	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
2264	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);	2496	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
2265	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	2497	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
2266		2498
2267		2499
2268	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!	2500	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
2269		2501
2270	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific	2502	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
2271	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev	2503	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
…		…
2281	only within the same loop, i.e. you can watch for C<SIGINT> in your	2513	only within the same loop, i.e. you can watch for C<SIGINT> in your
2282	default loop and for C<SIGIO> in another loop, but you cannot watch for	2514	default loop and for C<SIGIO> in another loop, but you cannot watch for
2283	C<SIGINT> in both the default loop and another loop at the same time. At	2515	C<SIGINT> in both the default loop and another loop at the same time. At
2284	the moment, C<SIGCHLD> is permanently tied to the default loop.	2516	the moment, C<SIGCHLD> is permanently tied to the default loop.
2285		2517
2286	When the first watcher gets started will libev actually register something	2518	Only after the first watcher for a signal is started will libev actually
2287	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long as	2519	register something with the kernel. It thus coexists with your own signal
2288	you don't register any with libev for the same signal).	2520	handlers as long as you don't register any with libev for the same signal.
2289		2521
2290	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with	2522	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
2291	C<SA_RESTART> (or equivalent) behaviour enabled, so system calls should	2523	C<SA_RESTART> (or equivalent) behaviour enabled, so system calls should
2292	not be unduly interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting	2524	not be unduly interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting
2293	interrupted by signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher	2525	interrupted by signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher
…		…
2296	=head3 The special problem of inheritance over fork/execve/pthread_create	2528	=head3 The special problem of inheritance over fork/execve/pthread_create
2297		2529
2298	Both the signal mask (C<sigprocmask>) and the signal disposition	2530	Both the signal mask (C<sigprocmask>) and the signal disposition
2299	(C<sigaction>) are unspecified after starting a signal watcher (and after	2531	(C<sigaction>) are unspecified after starting a signal watcher (and after
2300	stopping it again), that is, libev might or might not block the signal,	2532	stopping it again), that is, libev might or might not block the signal,
2301	and might or might not set or restore the installed signal handler.	2533	and might or might not set or restore the installed signal handler (but
		2534	see C<EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK>).
2302		2535
2303	While this does not matter for the signal disposition (libev never	2536	While this does not matter for the signal disposition (libev never
2304	sets signals to C<SIG_IGN>, so handlers will be reset to C<SIG_DFL> on	2537	sets signals to C<SIG_IGN>, so handlers will be reset to C<SIG_DFL> on
2305	C<execve>), this matters for the signal mask: many programs do not expect	2538	C<execve>), this matters for the signal mask: many programs do not expect
2306	certain signals to be blocked.	2539	certain signals to be blocked.
…		…
2319	I<has> to modify the signal mask, at least temporarily.	2552	I<has> to modify the signal mask, at least temporarily.
2320		2553
2321	So I can't stress this enough: I<If you do not reset your signal mask when	2554	So I can't stress this enough: I<If you do not reset your signal mask when
2322	you expect it to be empty, you have a race condition in your code>. This	2555	you expect it to be empty, you have a race condition in your code>. This
2323	is not a libev-specific thing, this is true for most event libraries.	2556	is not a libev-specific thing, this is true for most event libraries.
		2557
		2558	=head3 The special problem of threads signal handling
		2559
		2560	POSIX threads has problematic signal handling semantics, specifically,
		2561	a lot of functionality (sigfd, sigwait etc.) only really works if all
		2562	threads in a process block signals, which is hard to achieve.
		2563
		2564	When you want to use sigwait (or mix libev signal handling with your own
		2565	for the same signals), you can tackle this problem by globally blocking
		2566	all signals before creating any threads (or creating them with a fully set
		2567	sigprocmask) and also specifying the C<EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK> when creating
		2568	loops. Then designate one thread as "signal receiver thread" which handles
		2569	these signals. You can pass on any signals that libev might be interested
		2570	in by calling C<ev_feed_signal>.
2324		2571
2325	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2572	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
2326		2573
2327	=over 4	2574	=over 4
2328		2575
…		…
2463		2710
2464	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	2711	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
2465		2712
2466	This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	2713	This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
2467	C<stat> on that path in regular intervals (or when the OS says it changed)	2714	C<stat> on that path in regular intervals (or when the OS says it changed)
2468	and sees if it changed compared to the last time, invoking the callback if	2715	and sees if it changed compared to the last time, invoking the callback
2469	it did.	2716	if it did. Starting the watcher C<stat>'s the file, so only changes that
		2717	happen after the watcher has been started will be reported.
2470		2718
2471	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does	2719	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
2472	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does not	2720	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does not
2473	exist" (or more correctly "path cannot be stat'ed") is signified by the	2721	exist" (or more correctly "path cannot be stat'ed") is signified by the
2474	C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is otherwise always forced to be at	2722	C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is otherwise always forced to be at
…		…
2704	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful	2952	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
2705	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do	2953	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
2706	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the	2954	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
2707	event loop has handled all outstanding events.	2955	event loop has handled all outstanding events.
2708		2956
		2957	=head3 Abusing an C<ev_idle> watcher for its side-effect
		2958
		2959	As long as there is at least one active idle watcher, libev will never
		2960	sleep unnecessarily. Or in other words, it will loop as fast as possible.
		2961	For this to work, the idle watcher doesn't need to be invoked at all - the
		2962	lowest priority will do.
		2963
		2964	This mode of operation can be useful together with an C<ev_check> watcher,
		2965	to do something on each event loop iteration - for example to balance load
		2966	between different connections.
		2967
		2968	See L</Abusing an ev_check watcher for its side-effect> for a longer
		2969	example.
		2970
2709	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2971	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
2710		2972
2711	=over 4	2973	=over 4
2712		2974
2713	=item ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)	2975	=item ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)
…		…
2724	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	2986	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
2725		2987
2726	static void	2988	static void
2727	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)	2989	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)
2728	{	2990	{
		2991	// stop the watcher
		2992	ev_idle_stop (loop, w);
		2993
		2994	// now we can free it
2729	free (w);	2995	free (w);
		2996
2730	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	2997	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
2731	// no longer anything immediate to do.	2998	// no longer anything immediate to do.
2732	}	2999	}
2733		3000
2734	ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));	3001	ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));
…		…
2736	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_watcher);	3003	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_watcher);
2737		3004
2738		3005
2739	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!	3006	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
2740		3007
2741	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in pairs:	3008	Prepare and check watchers are often (but not always) used in pairs:
2742	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers	3009	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
2743	afterwards.	3010	afterwards.
2744		3011
2745	You I<must not> call C<ev_run> or similar functions that enter	3012	You I<must not> call C<ev_run> (or similar functions that enter the
2746	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>	3013	current event loop) or C<ev_loop_fork> from either C<ev_prepare> or
2747	watchers. Other loops than the current one are fine, however. The	3014	C<ev_check> watchers. Other loops than the current one are fine,
2748	rationale behind this is that you do not need to check for recursion in	3015	however. The rationale behind this is that you do not need to check
2749	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,	3016	for recursion in those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be
2750	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be	3017	C<ev_prepare>, blocking, C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each
2751	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.	3018	kind they will always be called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
2752		3019
2753	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and	3020	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
2754	their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track	3021	their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track
2755	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a	3022	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
2756	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if	3023	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
…		…
2774	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine	3041	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
2775	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event	3042	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
2776	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping	3043	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
2777	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).	3044	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
2778		3045
2779	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)	3046	When used for this purpose, it is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers
2780	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers	3047	highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>) priority, to ensure that they are being run before
2781	after the poll (this doesn't matter for C<ev_prepare> watchers).	3048	any other watchers after the poll (this doesn't matter for C<ev_prepare>
		3049	watchers).
2782		3050
2783	Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers, too) should not	3051	Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers, too) should not
2784	activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they	3052	activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they
2785	might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers did their job. As	3053	might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers did their job. As
2786	C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event	3054	C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event
2787	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their	3055	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
2788	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with	3056	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
2789	others).	3057	others).
		3058
		3059	=head3 Abusing an C<ev_check> watcher for its side-effect
		3060
		3061	C<ev_check> (and less often also C<ev_prepare>) watchers can also be
		3062	useful because they are called once per event loop iteration. For
		3063	example, if you want to handle a large number of connections fairly, you
		3064	normally only do a bit of work for each active connection, and if there
		3065	is more work to do, you wait for the next event loop iteration, so other
		3066	connections have a chance of making progress.
		3067
		3068	Using an C<ev_check> watcher is almost enough: it will be called on the
		3069	next event loop iteration. However, that isn't as soon as possible -
		3070	without external events, your C<ev_check> watcher will not be invoked.
		3071
		3072	This is where C<ev_idle> watchers come in handy - all you need is a
		3073	single global idle watcher that is active as long as you have one active
		3074	C<ev_check> watcher. The C<ev_idle> watcher makes sure the event loop
		3075	will not sleep, and the C<ev_check> watcher makes sure a callback gets
		3076	invoked. Neither watcher alone can do that.
2790		3077
2791	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	3078	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
2792		3079
2793	=over 4	3080	=over 4
2794		3081
…		…
2995		3282
2996	=over 4	3283	=over 4
2997		3284
2998	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	3285	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
2999		3286
3000	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	3287	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
3001		3288
3002	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	3289	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
3003	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be	3290	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
3004	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback	3291	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
3005	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,	3292	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
…		…
3026	used).	3313	used).
3027		3314
3028	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	3315	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
3029	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;	3316	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
3030	ev_embed embed;	3317	ev_embed embed;
3031		3318
3032	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works	3319	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
3033	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)	3320	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
3034	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()	3321	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
3035	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())	3322	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
3036	: 0;	3323	: 0;
…		…
3050	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).	3337	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
3051		3338
3052	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);	3339	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
3053	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;	3340	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
3054	ev_embed embed;	3341	ev_embed embed;
3055		3342
3056	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)	3343	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
3057	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))	3344	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
3058	{	3345	{
3059	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);	3346	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
3060	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);	3347	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
…		…
3068		3355
3069	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	3356	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
3070		3357
3071	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	3358	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
3072	whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling	3359	whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling
3073	C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork>). The invocation is done before the	3360	C<ev_loop_fork>). The invocation is done before the event loop blocks next
3074	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,	3361	and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called, and only in the child
3075	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling	3362	after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling C<ev_default_fork> cheats
3076	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork	3363	and calls it in the wrong process, the fork handlers will be invoked, too,
3077	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.	3364	of course.
3078		3365
3079	=head3 The special problem of life after fork - how is it possible?	3366	=head3 The special problem of life after fork - how is it possible?
3080		3367
3081	Most uses of C<fork()> consist of forking, then some simple calls to set	3368	Most uses of C<fork ()> consist of forking, then some simple calls to set
3082	up/change the process environment, followed by a call to C<exec()>. This	3369	up/change the process environment, followed by a call to C<exec()>. This
3083	sequence should be handled by libev without any problems.	3370	sequence should be handled by libev without any problems.
3084		3371
3085	This changes when the application actually wants to do event handling	3372	This changes when the application actually wants to do event handling
3086	in the child, or both parent in child, in effect "continuing" after the	3373	in the child, or both parent in child, in effect "continuing" after the
…		…
3163	atexit (program_exits);	3450	atexit (program_exits);
3164		3451
3165		3452
3166	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up an event loop	3453	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up an event loop
3167		3454
3168	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_run> from multiple threads or other	3455	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
3169	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event	3456	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
3170	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).	3457	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
3171		3458
3172	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up an event loop you do not control,	3459	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up an event loop you do not control,
3173	for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what C<ev_async>	3460	for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what C<ev_async>
…		…
3175	it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal safe.	3462	it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal safe.
3176		3463
3177	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,	3464	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
3178	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed	3465	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
3179	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of	3466	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
3180	C<ev_async_sent> calls).	3467	C<ev_async_send> calls). In fact, you could use signal watchers as a kind
3181		3468	of "global async watchers" by using a watcher on an otherwise unused
3182	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not	3469	signal, and C<ev_feed_signal> to signal this watcher from another thread,
3183	just the default loop.	3470	even without knowing which loop owns the signal.
3184		3471
3185	=head3 Queueing	3472	=head3 Queueing
3186		3473
3187	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason	3474	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
3188	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a	3475	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
…		…
3280	trust me.	3567	trust me.
3281		3568
3282	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)	3569	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
3283		3570
3284	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds	3571	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
3285	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike	3572	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop, and instantly
		3573	returns.
		3574
3286	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do from other threads, signal or	3575	Unlike C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do from other threads,
3287	similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding	3576	signal or similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the
3288	section below on what exactly this means).	3577	embedding section below on what exactly this means).
3289		3578
3290	Note that, as with other watchers in libev, multiple events might get	3579	Note that, as with other watchers in libev, multiple events might get
3291	compressed into a single callback invocation (another way to look at this	3580	compressed into a single callback invocation (another way to look at
3292	is that C<ev_async> watchers are level-triggered, set on C<ev_async_send>,	3581	this is that C<ev_async> watchers are level-triggered: they are set on
3293	reset when the event loop detects that).	3582	C<ev_async_send>, reset when the event loop detects that).
3294		3583
3295	This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per event loop	3584	This call incurs the overhead of at most one extra system call per event
3296	iteration, so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to	3585	loop iteration, if the event loop is blocked, and no syscall at all if
3297	repeated calls to C<ev_async_send> for the same event loop.	3586	the event loop (or your program) is processing events. That means that
		3587	repeated calls are basically free (there is no need to avoid calls for
		3588	performance reasons) and that the overhead becomes smaller (typically
		3589	zero) under load.
3298		3590
3299	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)	3591	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
3300		3592
3301	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the	3593	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
3302	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the	3594	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
…		…
3319		3611
3320	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.	3612	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.
3321		3613
3322	=over 4	3614	=over 4
3323		3615
3324	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)	3616	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback, arg)
3325		3617
3326	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your	3618	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your
3327	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both	3619	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both
3328	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd	3620	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd
3329	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or	3621	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
…		…
3357	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);	3649	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
3358		3650
3359	=item ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)	3651	=item ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)
3360		3652
3361	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected	3653	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
3362	the given events it.	3654	the given events.
3363		3655
3364	=item ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)	3656	=item ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)
3365		3657
3366	Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default	3658	Feed an event as if the given signal occurred. See also C<ev_feed_signal>,
3367	loop!).	3659	which is async-safe.
3368		3660
3369	=back	3661	=back
		3662
		3663
		3664	=head1 COMMON OR USEFUL IDIOMS (OR BOTH)
		3665
		3666	This section explains some common idioms that are not immediately
		3667	obvious. Note that examples are sprinkled over the whole manual, and this
		3668	section only contains stuff that wouldn't fit anywhere else.
		3669
		3670	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
		3671
		3672	Each watcher has, by default, a C<void *data> member that you can read
		3673	or modify at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
		3674	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
		3675	don't want to allocate memory separately and store a pointer to it in that
		3676	data member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
		3677	data:
		3678
		3679	struct my_io
		3680	{
		3681	ev_io io;
		3682	int otherfd;
		3683	void *somedata;
		3684	struct whatever *mostinteresting;
		3685	};
		3686
		3687	...
		3688	struct my_io w;
		3689	ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
		3690
		3691	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
		3692	can cast it back to your own type:
		3693
		3694	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
		3695	{
		3696	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
		3697	...
		3698	}
		3699
		3700	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback
		3701	function type instead have been omitted.
		3702
		3703	=head2 BUILDING YOUR OWN COMPOSITE WATCHERS
		3704
		3705	Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
		3706	embedded watchers, in effect creating your own watcher that combines
		3707	multiple libev event sources into one "super-watcher":
		3708
		3709	struct my_biggy
		3710	{
		3711	int some_data;
		3712	ev_timer t1;
		3713	ev_timer t2;
		3714	}
		3715
		3716	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
		3717	complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct in
		3718	the C<data> member of the watcher (for woozies or C++ coders), or you need
		3719	to use some pointer arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers (for
		3720	real programmers):
		3721
		3722	#include <stddef.h>
		3723
		3724	static void
		3725	t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		3726	{
		3727	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
		3728	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
		3729	}
		3730
		3731	static void
		3732	t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		3733	{
		3734	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
		3735	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
		3736	}
		3737
		3738	=head2 AVOIDING FINISHING BEFORE RETURNING
		3739
		3740	Often you have structures like this in event-based programs:
		3741
		3742	callback ()
		3743	{
		3744	free (request);
		3745	}
		3746
		3747	request = start_new_request (..., callback);
		3748
		3749	The intent is to start some "lengthy" operation. The C<request> could be
		3750	used to cancel the operation, or do other things with it.
		3751
		3752	It's not uncommon to have code paths in C<start_new_request> that
		3753	immediately invoke the callback, for example, to report errors. Or you add
		3754	some caching layer that finds that it can skip the lengthy aspects of the
		3755	operation and simply invoke the callback with the result.
		3756
		3757	The problem here is that this will happen I<before> C<start_new_request>
		3758	has returned, so C<request> is not set.
		3759
		3760	Even if you pass the request by some safer means to the callback, you
		3761	might want to do something to the request after starting it, such as
		3762	canceling it, which probably isn't working so well when the callback has
		3763	already been invoked.
		3764
		3765	A common way around all these issues is to make sure that
		3766	C<start_new_request> I<always> returns before the callback is invoked. If
		3767	C<start_new_request> immediately knows the result, it can artificially
		3768	delay invoking the callback by using a C<prepare> or C<idle> watcher for
		3769	example, or more sneakily, by reusing an existing (stopped) watcher and
		3770	pushing it into the pending queue:
		3771
		3772	ev_set_cb (watcher, callback);
		3773	ev_feed_event (EV_A_ watcher, 0);
		3774
		3775	This way, C<start_new_request> can safely return before the callback is
		3776	invoked, while not delaying callback invocation too much.
		3777
		3778	=head2 MODEL/NESTED EVENT LOOP INVOCATIONS AND EXIT CONDITIONS
		3779
		3780	Often (especially in GUI toolkits) there are places where you have
		3781	I<modal> interaction, which is most easily implemented by recursively
		3782	invoking C<ev_run>.
		3783
		3784	This brings the problem of exiting - a callback might want to finish the
		3785	main C<ev_run> call, but not the nested one (e.g. user clicked "Quit", but
		3786	a modal "Are you sure?" dialog is still waiting), or just the nested one
		3787	and not the main one (e.g. user clocked "Ok" in a modal dialog), or some
		3788	other combination: In these cases, a simple C<ev_break> will not work.
		3789
		3790	The solution is to maintain "break this loop" variable for each C<ev_run>
		3791	invocation, and use a loop around C<ev_run> until the condition is
		3792	triggered, using C<EVRUN_ONCE>:
		3793
		3794	// main loop
		3795	int exit_main_loop = 0;
		3796
		3797	while (!exit_main_loop)
		3798	ev_run (EV_DEFAULT_ EVRUN_ONCE);
		3799
		3800	// in a modal watcher
		3801	int exit_nested_loop = 0;
		3802
		3803	while (!exit_nested_loop)
		3804	ev_run (EV_A_ EVRUN_ONCE);
		3805
		3806	To exit from any of these loops, just set the corresponding exit variable:
		3807
		3808	// exit modal loop
		3809	exit_nested_loop = 1;
		3810
		3811	// exit main program, after modal loop is finished
		3812	exit_main_loop = 1;
		3813
		3814	// exit both
		3815	exit_main_loop = exit_nested_loop = 1;
		3816
		3817	=head2 THREAD LOCKING EXAMPLE
		3818
		3819	Here is a fictitious example of how to run an event loop in a different
		3820	thread from where callbacks are being invoked and watchers are
		3821	created/added/removed.
		3822
		3823	For a real-world example, see the C<EV::Loop::Async> perl module,
		3824	which uses exactly this technique (which is suited for many high-level
		3825	languages).
		3826
		3827	The example uses a pthread mutex to protect the loop data, a condition
		3828	variable to wait for callback invocations, an async watcher to notify the
		3829	event loop thread and an unspecified mechanism to wake up the main thread.
		3830
		3831	First, you need to associate some data with the event loop:
		3832
		3833	typedef struct {
		3834	mutex_t lock; /* global loop lock */
		3835	ev_async async_w;
		3836	thread_t tid;
		3837	cond_t invoke_cv;
		3838	} userdata;
		3839
		3840	void prepare_loop (EV_P)
		3841	{
		3842	// for simplicity, we use a static userdata struct.
		3843	static userdata u;
		3844
		3845	ev_async_init (&u->async_w, async_cb);
		3846	ev_async_start (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
		3847
		3848	pthread_mutex_init (&u->lock, 0);
		3849	pthread_cond_init (&u->invoke_cv, 0);
		3850
		3851	// now associate this with the loop
		3852	ev_set_userdata (EV_A_ u);
		3853	ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (EV_A_ l_invoke);
		3854	ev_set_loop_release_cb (EV_A_ l_release, l_acquire);
		3855
		3856	// then create the thread running ev_run
		3857	pthread_create (&u->tid, 0, l_run, EV_A);
		3858	}
		3859
		3860	The callback for the C<ev_async> watcher does nothing: the watcher is used
		3861	solely to wake up the event loop so it takes notice of any new watchers
		3862	that might have been added:
		3863
		3864	static void
		3865	async_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		3866	{
		3867	// just used for the side effects
		3868	}
		3869
		3870	The C<l_release> and C<l_acquire> callbacks simply unlock/lock the mutex
		3871	protecting the loop data, respectively.
		3872
		3873	static void
		3874	l_release (EV_P)
		3875	{
		3876	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		3877	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		3878	}
		3879
		3880	static void
		3881	l_acquire (EV_P)
		3882	{
		3883	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		3884	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		3885	}
		3886
		3887	The event loop thread first acquires the mutex, and then jumps straight
		3888	into C<ev_run>:
		3889
		3890	void *
		3891	l_run (void *thr_arg)
		3892	{
		3893	struct ev_loop *loop = (struct ev_loop *)thr_arg;
		3894
		3895	l_acquire (EV_A);
		3896	pthread_setcanceltype (PTHREAD_CANCEL_ASYNCHRONOUS, 0);
		3897	ev_run (EV_A_ 0);
		3898	l_release (EV_A);
		3899
		3900	return 0;
		3901	}
		3902
		3903	Instead of invoking all pending watchers, the C<l_invoke> callback will
		3904	signal the main thread via some unspecified mechanism (signals? pipe
		3905	writes? C<Async::Interrupt>?) and then waits until all pending watchers
		3906	have been called (in a while loop because a) spurious wakeups are possible
		3907	and b) skipping inter-thread-communication when there are no pending
		3908	watchers is very beneficial):
		3909
		3910	static void
		3911	l_invoke (EV_P)
		3912	{
		3913	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		3914
		3915	while (ev_pending_count (EV_A))
		3916	{
		3917	wake_up_other_thread_in_some_magic_or_not_so_magic_way ();
		3918	pthread_cond_wait (&u->invoke_cv, &u->lock);
		3919	}
		3920	}
		3921
		3922	Now, whenever the main thread gets told to invoke pending watchers, it
		3923	will grab the lock, call C<ev_invoke_pending> and then signal the loop
		3924	thread to continue:
		3925
		3926	static void
		3927	real_invoke_pending (EV_P)
		3928	{
		3929	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		3930
		3931	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		3932	ev_invoke_pending (EV_A);
		3933	pthread_cond_signal (&u->invoke_cv);
		3934	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		3935	}
		3936
		3937	Whenever you want to start/stop a watcher or do other modifications to an
		3938	event loop, you will now have to lock:
		3939
		3940	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
		3941	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
		3942
		3943	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
		3944
		3945	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
		3946	ev_timer_start (EV_A_ &timeout_watcher);
		3947	ev_async_send (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
		3948	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
		3949
		3950	Note that sending the C<ev_async> watcher is required because otherwise
		3951	an event loop currently blocking in the kernel will have no knowledge
		3952	about the newly added timer. By waking up the loop it will pick up any new
		3953	watchers in the next event loop iteration.
		3954
		3955	=head2 THREADS, COROUTINES, CONTINUATIONS, QUEUES... INSTEAD OF CALLBACKS
		3956
		3957	While the overhead of a callback that e.g. schedules a thread is small, it
		3958	is still an overhead. If you embed libev, and your main usage is with some
		3959	kind of threads or coroutines, you might want to customise libev so that
		3960	doesn't need callbacks anymore.
		3961
		3962	Imagine you have coroutines that you can switch to using a function
		3963	C<switch_to (coro)>, that libev runs in a coroutine called C<libev_coro>
		3964	and that due to some magic, the currently active coroutine is stored in a
		3965	global called C<current_coro>. Then you can build your own "wait for libev
		3966	event" primitive by changing C<EV_CB_DECLARE> and C<EV_CB_INVOKE> (note
		3967	the differing C<;> conventions):
		3968
		3969	#define EV_CB_DECLARE(type) struct my_coro *cb;
		3970	#define EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher) switch_to ((watcher)->cb)
		3971
		3972	That means instead of having a C callback function, you store the
		3973	coroutine to switch to in each watcher, and instead of having libev call
		3974	your callback, you instead have it switch to that coroutine.
		3975
		3976	A coroutine might now wait for an event with a function called
		3977	C<wait_for_event>. (the watcher needs to be started, as always, but it doesn't
		3978	matter when, or whether the watcher is active or not when this function is
		3979	called):
		3980
		3981	void
		3982	wait_for_event (ev_watcher *w)
		3983	{
		3984	ev_set_cb (w, current_coro);
		3985	switch_to (libev_coro);
		3986	}
		3987
		3988	That basically suspends the coroutine inside C<wait_for_event> and
		3989	continues the libev coroutine, which, when appropriate, switches back to
		3990	this or any other coroutine.
		3991
		3992	You can do similar tricks if you have, say, threads with an event queue -
		3993	instead of storing a coroutine, you store the queue object and instead of
		3994	switching to a coroutine, you push the watcher onto the queue and notify
		3995	any waiters.
		3996
		3997	To embed libev, see L</EMBEDDING>, but in short, it's easiest to create two
		3998	files, F<my_ev.h> and F<my_ev.c> that include the respective libev files:
		3999
		4000	// my_ev.h
		4001	#define EV_CB_DECLARE(type) struct my_coro *cb;
		4002	#define EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher) switch_to ((watcher)->cb)
		4003	#include "../libev/ev.h"
		4004
		4005	// my_ev.c
		4006	#define EV_H "my_ev.h"
		4007	#include "../libev/ev.c"
		4008
		4009	And then use F<my_ev.h> when you would normally use F<ev.h>, and compile
		4010	F<my_ev.c> into your project. When properly specifying include paths, you
		4011	can even use F<ev.h> as header file name directly.
3370		4012
3371		4013
3372	=head1 LIBEVENT EMULATION	4014	=head1 LIBEVENT EMULATION
3373		4015
3374	Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot	4016	Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot
3375	emulate the internals of libevent, so here are some usage hints:	4017	emulate the internals of libevent, so here are some usage hints:
3376		4018
3377	=over 4	4019	=over 4
		4020
		4021	=item * Only the libevent-1.4.1-beta API is being emulated.
		4022
		4023	This was the newest libevent version available when libev was implemented,
		4024	and is still mostly unchanged in 2010.
3378		4025
3379	=item * Use it by including <event.h>, as usual.	4026	=item * Use it by including <event.h>, as usual.
3380		4027
3381	=item * The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback,	4028	=item * The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback,
3382	ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events.	4029	ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events.
…		…
3399		4046
3400	=back	4047	=back
3401		4048
3402	=head1 C++ SUPPORT	4049	=head1 C++ SUPPORT
3403		4050
		4051	=head2 C API
		4052
		4053	The normal C API should work fine when used from C++: both ev.h and the
		4054	libev sources can be compiled as C++. Therefore, code that uses the C API
		4055	will work fine.
		4056
		4057	Proper exception specifications might have to be added to callbacks passed
		4058	to libev: exceptions may be thrown only from watcher callbacks, all other
		4059	callbacks (allocator, syserr, loop acquire/release and periodic reschedule
		4060	callbacks) must not throw exceptions, and might need a C<noexcept>
		4061	specification. If you have code that needs to be compiled as both C and
		4062	C++ you can use the C<EV_NOEXCEPT> macro for this:
		4063
		4064	static void
		4065	fatal_error (const char *msg) EV_NOEXCEPT
		4066	{
		4067	perror (msg);
		4068	abort ();
		4069	}
		4070
		4071	...
		4072	ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);
		4073
		4074	The only API functions that can currently throw exceptions are C<ev_run>,
		4075	C<ev_invoke>, C<ev_invoke_pending> and C<ev_loop_destroy> (the latter
		4076	because it runs cleanup watchers).
		4077
		4078	Throwing exceptions in watcher callbacks is only supported if libev itself
		4079	is compiled with a C++ compiler or your C and C++ environments allow
		4080	throwing exceptions through C libraries (most do).
		4081
		4082	=head2 C++ API
		4083
3404	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow	4084	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
3405	you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change	4085	you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
3406	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.	4086	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
3407		4087
3408	To use it,	4088	To use it,
3409		4089
3410	#include <ev++.h>	4090	#include <ev++.h>
3411		4091
3412	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many	4092	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
3413	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are	4093	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
3414	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding	4094	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
…		…
3417	Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++	4097	Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++
3418	classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer	4098	classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
3419	that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if	4099	that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
3420	you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).	4100	you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
3421		4101
3422	Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions can be	4102	Currently, functions, static and non-static member functions and classes
3423	used as callbacks. Other types should be easy to add as long as they only	4103	with C<operator ()> can be used as callbacks. Other types should be easy
3424	need one additional pointer for context. If you need support for other	4104	to add as long as they only need one additional pointer for context. If
3425	types of functors please contact the author (preferably after implementing	4105	you need support for other types of functors please contact the author
3426	it).	4106	(preferably after implementing it).
		4107
		4108	For all this to work, your C++ compiler either has to use the same calling
		4109	conventions as your C compiler (for static member functions), or you have
		4110	to embed libev and compile libev itself as C++.
3427		4111
3428	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:	4112	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
3429		4113
3430	=over 4	4114	=over 4
3431		4115
…		…
3441	=item C<ev::io>, C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic>, C<ev::idle>, C<ev::sig> etc.	4125	=item C<ev::io>, C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic>, C<ev::idle>, C<ev::sig> etc.
3442		4126
3443	For each C<ev_TYPE> watcher in F<ev.h> there is a corresponding class of	4127	For each C<ev_TYPE> watcher in F<ev.h> there is a corresponding class of
3444	the same name in the C<ev> namespace, with the exception of C<ev_signal>	4128	the same name in the C<ev> namespace, with the exception of C<ev_signal>
3445	which is called C<ev::sig> to avoid clashes with the C<signal> macro	4129	which is called C<ev::sig> to avoid clashes with the C<signal> macro
3446	defines by many implementations.	4130	defined by many implementations.
3447		4131
3448	All of those classes have these methods:	4132	All of those classes have these methods:
3449		4133
3450	=over 4	4134	=over 4
3451		4135
…		…
3513	void operator() (ev::io &w, int revents)	4197	void operator() (ev::io &w, int revents)
3514	{	4198	{
3515	...	4199	...
3516	}	4200	}
3517	}	4201	}
3518		4202
3519	myfunctor f;	4203	myfunctor f;
3520		4204
3521	ev::io w;	4205	ev::io w;
3522	w.set (&f);	4206	w.set (&f);
3523		4207
…		…
3541	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only	4225	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
3542	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).	4226	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
3543		4227
3544	=item w->set ([arguments])	4228	=item w->set ([arguments])
3545		4229
3546	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same arguments. Either this	4230	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set> (except for C<ev::embed> watchers>),
3547	method or a suitable start method must be called at least once. Unlike the	4231	with the same arguments. Either this method or a suitable start method
3548	C counterpart, an active watcher gets automatically stopped and restarted	4232	must be called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher
3549	when reconfiguring it with this method.	4233	gets automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
		4234	method.
		4235
		4236	For C<ev::embed> watchers this method is called C<set_embed>, to avoid
		4237	clashing with the C<set (loop)> method.
3550		4238
3551	=item w->start ()	4239	=item w->start ()
3552		4240
3553	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the	4241	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
3554	constructor already stores the event loop.	4242	constructor already stores the event loop.
…		…
3584	watchers in the constructor.	4272	watchers in the constructor.
3585		4273
3586	class myclass	4274	class myclass
3587	{	4275	{
3588	ev::io io ; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	4276	ev::io io ; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
3589	ev::io2 io2 ; void io2_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	4277	ev::io io2 ; void io2_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
3590	ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	4278	ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
3591		4279
3592	myclass (int fd)	4280	myclass (int fd)
3593	{	4281	{
3594	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);	4282	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
…		…
3645	L<http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/hlibev>.	4333	L<http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/hlibev>.
3646		4334
3647	=item D	4335	=item D
3648		4336
3649	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to	4337	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
3650	be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.	4338	be found at L<http://www.llucax.com.ar/proj/ev.d/index.html>.
3651		4339
3652	=item Ocaml	4340	=item Ocaml
3653		4341
3654	Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at	4342	Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at
3655	L<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml-ev/>.	4343	L<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml-ev/>.
…		…
3658		4346
3659	Brian Maher has written a partial interface to libev for lua (at the	4347	Brian Maher has written a partial interface to libev for lua (at the
3660	time of this writing, only C<ev_io> and C<ev_timer>), to be found at	4348	time of this writing, only C<ev_io> and C<ev_timer>), to be found at
3661	L<http://github.com/brimworks/lua-ev>.	4349	L<http://github.com/brimworks/lua-ev>.
3662		4350
		4351	=item Javascript
		4352
		4353	Node.js (L<http://nodejs.org>) uses libev as the underlying event library.
		4354
		4355	=item Others
		4356
		4357	There are others, and I stopped counting.
		4358
3663	=back	4359	=back
3664		4360
3665		4361
3666	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	4362	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
3667		4363
…		…
3703	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.	4399	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
3704		4400
3705	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	4401	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
3706		4402
3707	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	4403	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
3708	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	4404	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default"). The default loop
		4405	will be initialised if it isn't already initialised.
		4406
		4407	For non-multiplicity builds, these macros do nothing, so you always have
		4408	to initialise the loop somewhere.
3709		4409
3710	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>	4410	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
3711		4411
3712	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the	4412	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
3713	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour	4413	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
…		…
3780	ev_vars.h	4480	ev_vars.h
3781	ev_wrap.h	4481	ev_wrap.h
3782		4482
3783	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only	4483	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
3784		4484
3785	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)	4485	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled
3786	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	4486	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled
3787	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	4487	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled
		4488	ev_linuxaio.c only when the linux aio backend is enabled
3788	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)	4489	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled
3789	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)	4490	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled
3790		4491
3791	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need	4492	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
3792	to compile this single file.	4493	to compile this single file.
3793		4494
3794	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API	4495	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
…		…
3858	supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in	4559	supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
3859	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.	4560	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
3860		4561
3861	In standalone mode, libev will still try to automatically deduce the	4562	In standalone mode, libev will still try to automatically deduce the
3862	configuration, but has to be more conservative.	4563	configuration, but has to be more conservative.
		4564
		4565	=item EV_USE_FLOOR
		4566
		4567	If defined to be C<1>, libev will use the C<floor ()> function for its
		4568	periodic reschedule calculations, otherwise libev will fall back on a
		4569	portable (slower) implementation. If you enable this, you usually have to
		4570	link against libm or something equivalent. Enabling this when the C<floor>
		4571	function is not available will fail, so the safe default is to not enable
		4572	this.
3863		4573
3864	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC	4574	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
3865		4575
3866	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	4576	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
3867	monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no	4577	monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no
…		…
3953	If programs implement their own fd to handle mapping on win32, then this	4663	If programs implement their own fd to handle mapping on win32, then this
3954	macro can be used to override the C<close> function, useful to unregister	4664	macro can be used to override the C<close> function, useful to unregister
3955	file descriptors again. Note that the replacement function has to close	4665	file descriptors again. Note that the replacement function has to close
3956	the underlying OS handle.	4666	the underlying OS handle.
3957		4667
		4668	=item EV_USE_WSASOCKET
		4669
		4670	If defined to be C<1>, libev will use C<WSASocket> to create its internal
		4671	communication socket, which works better in some environments. Otherwise,
		4672	the normal C<socket> function will be used, which works better in other
		4673	environments.
		4674
3958	=item EV_USE_POLL	4675	=item EV_USE_POLL
3959		4676
3960	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	4677	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
3961	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	4678	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
3962	takes precedence over select.	4679	takes precedence over select.
…		…
3966	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	4683	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
3967	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	4684	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
3968	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred	4685	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
3969	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the	4686	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
3970	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.	4687	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		4688
		4689	=item EV_USE_LINUXAIO
		4690
		4691	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
		4692	aio backend. Due to it's currenbt limitations it has to be requested
		4693	explicitly. If undefined, it will be enabled on linux, otherwise
		4694	disabled.
3971		4695
3972	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	4696	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
3973		4697
3974	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	4698	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
3975	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	4699	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
3997	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	4721	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
3998	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	4722	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
3999	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers	4723	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
4000	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.	4724	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
4001		4725
		4726	=item EV_NO_SMP
		4727
		4728	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that memory is always coherent
		4729	between threads, that is, threads can be used, but threads never run on
		4730	different cpus (or different cpu cores). This reduces dependencies
		4731	and makes libev faster.
		4732
		4733	=item EV_NO_THREADS
		4734
		4735	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that it will never be called from
		4736	different threads (that includes signal handlers), which is a stronger
		4737	assumption than C<EV_NO_SMP>, above. This reduces dependencies and makes
		4738	libev faster.
		4739
4002	=item EV_ATOMIC_T	4740	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
4003		4741
4004	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose	4742	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
4005	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such	4743	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No
4006	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type	4744	such type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own
4007	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"	4745	type that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal
4008	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.	4746	handler "locking" as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async>
		4747	watchers.
4009		4748
4010	In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>	4749	In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
4011	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.	4750	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
4012		4751
4013	=item EV_H (h)	4752	=item EV_H (h)
…		…
4040	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create	4779	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create
4041	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support	4780	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
4042	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer	4781	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
4043	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.	4782	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
4044		4783
		4784	Note that C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_> will no longer provide a
		4785	default loop when multiplicity is switched off - you always have to
		4786	initialise the loop manually in this case.
		4787
4045	=item EV_MINPRI	4788	=item EV_MINPRI
4046		4789
4047	=item EV_MAXPRI	4790	=item EV_MAXPRI
4048		4791
4049	The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to	4792	The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
…		…
4085	#define EV_USE_POLL 1	4828	#define EV_USE_POLL 1
4086	#define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1	4829	#define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1
4087	#define EV_ASYNC_ENABLE 1	4830	#define EV_ASYNC_ENABLE 1
4088		4831
4089	The actual value is a bitset, it can be a combination of the following	4832	The actual value is a bitset, it can be a combination of the following
4090	values:	4833	values (by default, all of these are enabled):
4091		4834
4092	=over 4	4835	=over 4
4093		4836
4094	=item C<1> - faster/larger code	4837	=item C<1> - faster/larger code
4095		4838
…		…
4099	code size by roughly 30% on amd64).	4842	code size by roughly 30% on amd64).
4100		4843
4101	When optimising for size, use of compiler flags such as C<-Os> with	4844	When optimising for size, use of compiler flags such as C<-Os> with
4102	gcc is recommended, as well as C<-DNDEBUG>, as libev contains a number of	4845	gcc is recommended, as well as C<-DNDEBUG>, as libev contains a number of
4103	assertions.	4846	assertions.
		4847
		4848	The default is off when C<__OPTIMIZE_SIZE__> is defined by your compiler
		4849	(e.g. gcc with C<-Os>).
4104		4850
4105	=item C<2> - faster/larger data structures	4851	=item C<2> - faster/larger data structures
4106		4852
4107	Replaces the small 2-heap for timer management by a faster 4-heap, larger	4853	Replaces the small 2-heap for timer management by a faster 4-heap, larger
4108	hash table sizes and so on. This will usually further increase code size	4854	hash table sizes and so on. This will usually further increase code size
4109	and can additionally have an effect on the size of data structures at	4855	and can additionally have an effect on the size of data structures at
4110	runtime.	4856	runtime.
4111		4857
		4858	The default is off when C<__OPTIMIZE_SIZE__> is defined by your compiler
		4859	(e.g. gcc with C<-Os>).
		4860
4112	=item C<4> - full API configuration	4861	=item C<4> - full API configuration
4113		4862
4114	This enables priorities (sets C<EV_MAXPRI>=2 and C<EV_MINPRI>=-2), and	4863	This enables priorities (sets C<EV_MAXPRI>=2 and C<EV_MINPRI>=-2), and
4115	enables multiplicity (C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>=1).	4864	enables multiplicity (C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>=1).
4116		4865
…		…
4146		4895
4147	With an intelligent-enough linker (gcc+binutils are intelligent enough	4896	With an intelligent-enough linker (gcc+binutils are intelligent enough
4148	when you use C<-Wl,--gc-sections -ffunction-sections>) functions unused by	4897	when you use C<-Wl,--gc-sections -ffunction-sections>) functions unused by
4149	your program might be left out as well - a binary starting a timer and an	4898	your program might be left out as well - a binary starting a timer and an
4150	I/O watcher then might come out at only 5Kb.	4899	I/O watcher then might come out at only 5Kb.
		4900
		4901	=item EV_API_STATIC
		4902
		4903	If this symbol is defined (by default it is not), then all identifiers
		4904	will have static linkage. This means that libev will not export any
		4905	identifiers, and you cannot link against libev anymore. This can be useful
		4906	when you embed libev, only want to use libev functions in a single file,
		4907	and do not want its identifiers to be visible.
		4908
		4909	To use this, define C<EV_API_STATIC> and include F<ev.c> in the file that
		4910	wants to use libev.
		4911
		4912	This option only works when libev is compiled with a C compiler, as C++
		4913	doesn't support the required declaration syntax.
4151		4914
4152	=item EV_AVOID_STDIO	4915	=item EV_AVOID_STDIO
4153		4916
4154	If this is set to C<1> at compiletime, then libev will avoid using stdio	4917	If this is set to C<1> at compiletime, then libev will avoid using stdio
4155	functions (printf, scanf, perror etc.). This will increase the code size	4918	functions (printf, scanf, perror etc.). This will increase the code size
…		…
4213	in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not	4976	in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
4214	called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be	4977	called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be
4215	called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the	4978	called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the
4216	verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down	4979	verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
4217	libev considerably.	4980	libev considerably.
		4981
		4982	Verification errors are reported via C's C<assert> mechanism, so if you
		4983	disable that (e.g. by defining C<NDEBUG>) then no errors will be reported.
4218		4984
4219	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_FEATURES> overrides it, in which case it	4985	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_FEATURES> overrides it, in which case it
4220	will be C<0>.	4986	will be C<0>.
4221		4987
4222	=item EV_COMMON	4988	=item EV_COMMON
…		…
4299	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:	5065	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
4300		5066
4301	#include "ev_cpp.h"	5067	#include "ev_cpp.h"
4302	#include "ev.c"	5068	#include "ev.c"
4303		5069
4304	=head1 INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS OR LIBRARIES	5070	=head1 INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS, LIBRARIES OR THE ENVIRONMENT
4305		5071
4306	=head2 THREADS AND COROUTINES	5072	=head2 THREADS AND COROUTINES
4307		5073
4308	=head3 THREADS	5074	=head3 THREADS
4309		5075
…		…
4360	default loop and triggering an C<ev_async> watcher from the default loop	5126	default loop and triggering an C<ev_async> watcher from the default loop
4361	watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.	5127	watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.
4362		5128
4363	=back	5129	=back
4364		5130
4365	=head4 THREAD LOCKING EXAMPLE	5131	See also L</THREAD LOCKING EXAMPLE>.
4366
4367	Here is a fictitious example of how to run an event loop in a different
4368	thread than where callbacks are being invoked and watchers are
4369	created/added/removed.
4370
4371	For a real-world example, see the C<EV::Loop::Async> perl module,
4372	which uses exactly this technique (which is suited for many high-level
4373	languages).
4374
4375	The example uses a pthread mutex to protect the loop data, a condition
4376	variable to wait for callback invocations, an async watcher to notify the
4377	event loop thread and an unspecified mechanism to wake up the main thread.
4378
4379	First, you need to associate some data with the event loop:
4380
4381	typedef struct {
4382	mutex_t lock; /* global loop lock */
4383	ev_async async_w;
4384	thread_t tid;
4385	cond_t invoke_cv;
4386	} userdata;
4387
4388	void prepare_loop (EV_P)
4389	{
4390	// for simplicity, we use a static userdata struct.
4391	static userdata u;
4392
4393	ev_async_init (&u->async_w, async_cb);
4394	ev_async_start (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
4395
4396	pthread_mutex_init (&u->lock, 0);
4397	pthread_cond_init (&u->invoke_cv, 0);
4398
4399	// now associate this with the loop
4400	ev_set_userdata (EV_A_ u);
4401	ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (EV_A_ l_invoke);
4402	ev_set_loop_release_cb (EV_A_ l_release, l_acquire);
4403
4404	// then create the thread running ev_loop
4405	pthread_create (&u->tid, 0, l_run, EV_A);
4406	}
4407
4408	The callback for the C<ev_async> watcher does nothing: the watcher is used
4409	solely to wake up the event loop so it takes notice of any new watchers
4410	that might have been added:
4411
4412	static void
4413	async_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
4414	{
4415	// just used for the side effects
4416	}
4417
4418	The C<l_release> and C<l_acquire> callbacks simply unlock/lock the mutex
4419	protecting the loop data, respectively.
4420
4421	static void
4422	l_release (EV_P)
4423	{
4424	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
4425	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
4426	}
4427
4428	static void
4429	l_acquire (EV_P)
4430	{
4431	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
4432	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
4433	}
4434
4435	The event loop thread first acquires the mutex, and then jumps straight
4436	into C<ev_run>:
4437
4438	void *
4439	l_run (void *thr_arg)
4440	{
4441	struct ev_loop *loop = (struct ev_loop *)thr_arg;
4442
4443	l_acquire (EV_A);
4444	pthread_setcanceltype (PTHREAD_CANCEL_ASYNCHRONOUS, 0);
4445	ev_run (EV_A_ 0);
4446	l_release (EV_A);
4447
4448	return 0;
4449	}
4450
4451	Instead of invoking all pending watchers, the C<l_invoke> callback will
4452	signal the main thread via some unspecified mechanism (signals? pipe
4453	writes? C<Async::Interrupt>?) and then waits until all pending watchers
4454	have been called (in a while loop because a) spurious wakeups are possible
4455	and b) skipping inter-thread-communication when there are no pending
4456	watchers is very beneficial):
4457
4458	static void
4459	l_invoke (EV_P)
4460	{
4461	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
4462
4463	while (ev_pending_count (EV_A))
4464	{
4465	wake_up_other_thread_in_some_magic_or_not_so_magic_way ();
4466	pthread_cond_wait (&u->invoke_cv, &u->lock);
4467	}
4468	}
4469
4470	Now, whenever the main thread gets told to invoke pending watchers, it
4471	will grab the lock, call C<ev_invoke_pending> and then signal the loop
4472	thread to continue:
4473
4474	static void
4475	real_invoke_pending (EV_P)
4476	{
4477	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
4478
4479	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
4480	ev_invoke_pending (EV_A);
4481	pthread_cond_signal (&u->invoke_cv);
4482	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
4483	}
4484
4485	Whenever you want to start/stop a watcher or do other modifications to an
4486	event loop, you will now have to lock:
4487
4488	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
4489	userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
4490
4491	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
4492
4493	pthread_mutex_lock (&u->lock);
4494	ev_timer_start (EV_A_ &timeout_watcher);
4495	ev_async_send (EV_A_ &u->async_w);
4496	pthread_mutex_unlock (&u->lock);
4497
4498	Note that sending the C<ev_async> watcher is required because otherwise
4499	an event loop currently blocking in the kernel will have no knowledge
4500	about the newly added timer. By waking up the loop it will pick up any new
4501	watchers in the next event loop iteration.
4502		5132
4503	=head3 COROUTINES	5133	=head3 COROUTINES
4504		5134
4505	Libev is very accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):	5135	Libev is very accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
4506	libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different	5136	libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different
…		…
4671	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX	5301	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
4672	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in	5302	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
4673	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket	5303	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
4674	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using	5304	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
4675	e.g. cygwin. Actually, it only applies to the microsofts own compilers,	5305	e.g. cygwin. Actually, it only applies to the microsofts own compilers,
4676	as every compielr comes with a slightly differently broken/incompatible	5306	as every compiler comes with a slightly differently broken/incompatible
4677	environment.	5307	environment.
4678		5308
4679	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full	5309	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
4680	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into this kind of thing,	5310	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into this kind of thing,
4681	then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable way (note	5311	then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable way (note
…		…
4775	structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also	5405	structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also
4776	assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher	5406	assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
4777	callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev	5407	callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
4778	calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.	5408	calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.
4779		5409
		5410	=item null pointers and integer zero are represented by 0 bytes
		5411
		5412	Libev uses C<memset> to initialise structs and arrays to C<0> bytes, and
		5413	relies on this setting pointers and integers to null.
		5414
4780	=item pointer accesses must be thread-atomic	5415	=item pointer accesses must be thread-atomic
4781		5416
4782	Accessing a pointer value must be atomic, it must both be readable and	5417	Accessing a pointer value must be atomic, it must both be readable and
4783	writable in one piece - this is the case on all current architectures.	5418	writable in one piece - this is the case on all current architectures.
4784		5419
…		…
4797	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would	5432	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
4798	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and	5433	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
4799	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.	5434	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
4800		5435
4801	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads	5436	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
4802	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as	5437	except the initial one, and run the signal handling loop in the initial
4803	well.	5438	thread as well.
4804		5439
4805	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes	5440	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
4806		5441
4807	To improve portability and simplify its API, libev uses C<long> internally	5442	To improve portability and simplify its API, libev uses C<long> internally
4808	instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX	5443	instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX
…		…
4814		5449
4815	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to	5450	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
4816	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is	5451	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is
4817	good enough for at least into the year 4000 with millisecond accuracy	5452	good enough for at least into the year 4000 with millisecond accuracy
4818	(the design goal for libev). This requirement is overfulfilled by	5453	(the design goal for libev). This requirement is overfulfilled by
4819	implementations using IEEE 754, which is basically all existing ones. With	5454	implementations using IEEE 754, which is basically all existing ones.
		5455
4820	IEEE 754 doubles, you get microsecond accuracy until at least 2200.	5456	With IEEE 754 doubles, you get microsecond accuracy until at least the
		5457	year 2255 (and millisecond accuracy till the year 287396 - by then, libev
		5458	is either obsolete or somebody patched it to use C<long double> or
		5459	something like that, just kidding).
4821		5460
4822	=back	5461	=back
4823		5462
4824	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.	5463	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
4825		5464
…		…
4887	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)	5526	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
4888		5527
4889	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)	5528	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
4890		5529
4891	Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>	5530	Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
4892	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events	5531	calls in the current loop iteration and the loop is currently
		5532	blocked. Checking for async and signal events involves iterating over all
4893	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.	5533	running async watchers or all signal numbers.
4894		5534
4895	=back	5535	=back
4896		5536
4897		5537
4898	=head1 PORTING FROM LIBEV 3.X TO 4.X	5538	=head1 PORTING FROM LIBEV 3.X TO 4.X
…		…
4907	=over 4	5547	=over 4
4908		5548
4909	=item C<EV_COMPAT3> backwards compatibility mechanism	5549	=item C<EV_COMPAT3> backwards compatibility mechanism
4910		5550
4911	The backward compatibility mechanism can be controlled by	5551	The backward compatibility mechanism can be controlled by
4912	C<EV_COMPAT3>. See L<PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS> in the L<EMBEDDING>	5552	C<EV_COMPAT3>. See L</"PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS"> in the L</EMBEDDING>
4913	section.	5553	section.
4914		5554
4915	=item C<ev_default_destroy> and C<ev_default_fork> have been removed	5555	=item C<ev_default_destroy> and C<ev_default_fork> have been removed
4916		5556
4917	These calls can be replaced easily by their C<ev_loop_xxx> counterparts:	5557	These calls can be replaced easily by their C<ev_loop_xxx> counterparts:
…		…
4960	=over 4	5600	=over 4
4961		5601
4962	=item active	5602	=item active
4963		5603
4964	A watcher is active as long as it has been started and not yet stopped.	5604	A watcher is active as long as it has been started and not yet stopped.
4965	See L<WATCHER STATES> for details.	5605	See L</WATCHER STATES> for details.
4966		5606
4967	=item application	5607	=item application
4968		5608
4969	In this document, an application is whatever is using libev.	5609	In this document, an application is whatever is using libev.
4970		5610
…		…
5006	watchers and events.	5646	watchers and events.
5007		5647
5008	=item pending	5648	=item pending
5009		5649
5010	A watcher is pending as soon as the corresponding event has been	5650	A watcher is pending as soon as the corresponding event has been
5011	detected. See L<WATCHER STATES> for details.	5651	detected. See L</WATCHER STATES> for details.
5012		5652
5013	=item real time	5653	=item real time
5014		5654
5015	The physical time that is observed. It is apparently strictly monotonic :)	5655	The physical time that is observed. It is apparently strictly monotonic :)
5016		5656
5017	=item wall-clock time	5657	=item wall-clock time
5018		5658
5019	The time and date as shown on clocks. Unlike real time, it can actually	5659	The time and date as shown on clocks. Unlike real time, it can actually
5020	be wrong and jump forwards and backwards, e.g. when the you adjust your	5660	be wrong and jump forwards and backwards, e.g. when you adjust your
5021	clock.	5661	clock.
5022		5662
5023	=item watcher	5663	=item watcher
5024		5664
5025	A data structure that describes interest in certain events. Watchers need	5665	A data structure that describes interest in certain events. Watchers need
…		…
5028	=back	5668	=back
5029		5669
5030	=head1 AUTHOR	5670	=head1 AUTHOR
5031		5671
5032	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>, with repeated corrections by Mikael	5672	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>, with repeated corrections by Mikael
5033	Magnusson and Emanuele Giaquinta.	5673	Magnusson and Emanuele Giaquinta, and minor corrections by many others.
5034		5674

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