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…		…
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	#include <ev.h>	7	#include <ev.h>
8		8
		9	=head2 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
		10
		11	#include <ev.h>
		12
		13	ev_io stdin_watcher;
		14	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
		15
		16	/* called when data readable on stdin */
		17	static void
		18	stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
		19	{
		20	/* puts ("stdin ready"); */
		21	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */
		22	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */
		23	}
		24
		25	static void
		26	timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
		27	{
		28	/* puts ("timeout"); */
		29	ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */
		30	}
		31
		32	int
		33	main (void)
		34	{
		35	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
		36
		37	/* initialise an io watcher, then start it */
		38	ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
		39	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
		40
		41	/* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */
		42	ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
		43	ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
		44
		45	/* loop till timeout or data ready */
		46	ev_loop (loop, 0);
		47
		48	return 0;
		49	}
		50
9	=head1 DESCRIPTION	51	=head1 DESCRIPTION
10		52
		53	The newest version of this document is also available as a html-formatted
		54	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
		55	time: L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.html>.
		56
11	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a	57	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
12	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage	58	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
13	these event sources and provide your program with events.	59	these event sources and provide your program with events.
14		60
15	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process	61	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
16	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then	62	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then
17	communicate events via a callback mechanism.	63	communicate events via a callback mechanism.
…		…
19	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event	65	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event
20	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the	66	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
21	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the	67	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
22	watcher.	68	watcher.
23		69
24	=head1 FEATURES	70	=head2 FEATURES
25		71
26	Libev supports select, poll, the linux-specific epoll and the bsd-specific	72	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
27	kqueue mechanisms for file descriptor events, relative timers, absolute	73	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
28	timers with customised rescheduling, signal events, process status change	74	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface
29	events (related to SIGCHLD), and event watchers dealing with the event	75	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers
30	loop mechanism itself (idle, prepare and check watchers). It also is quite	76	with customised rescheduling (C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals
		77	(C<ev_signal>), process status change events (C<ev_child>), and event
		78	watchers dealing with the event loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>,
		79	C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> watchers) as well as
		80	file watchers (C<ev_stat>) and even limited support for fork events
		81	(C<ev_fork>).
		82
		83	It also is quite fast (see this
31	fast (see this L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing	84	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
32	it to libevent for example).	85	for example).
33		86
34	=head1 CONVENTIONS	87	=head2 CONVENTIONS
35		88
36	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration	89	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will
37	will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info	90	be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about
38	about various configuration options please have a look at the file	91	various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in
39	F<README.embed> in the libev distribution. If libev was configured without	92	this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event
40	support for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial	93	loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop>
41	argument of name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>)	94	(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.
42	will not have this argument.
43		95
44	=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION	96	=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
45		97
46	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the	98	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
47	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near	99	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
48	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is	100	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
49	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases	101	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
50	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on	102	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
51	it, you should treat it as such.	103	it, you should treat it as some floatingpoint value. Unlike the name
52		104	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
		105	throughout libev.
53		106
54	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	107	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
55		108
56	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	109	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
57	library in any way.	110	library in any way.
…		…
62		115
63	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	116	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
64	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	117	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
65	you actually want to know.	118	you actually want to know.
66		119
		120	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
		121
		122	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
		123	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
		124	this is a subsecond-resolution C<sleep ()>.
		125
67	=item int ev_version_major ()	126	=item int ev_version_major ()
68		127
69	=item int ev_version_minor ()	128	=item int ev_version_minor ()
70		129
71	You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library	130	You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
72	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and	131	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
73	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global	132	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
74	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the	133	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
75	version of the library your program was compiled against.	134	version of the library your program was compiled against.
76		135
		136	These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
		137	release version.
		138
77	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,	139	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
78	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually	140	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
79	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually	141	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
80	not a problem.	142	not a problem.
81		143
82	Example: make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	144	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
83	version:	145	version.
84		146
85	assert (("libev version mismatch",	147	assert (("libev version mismatch",
86	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR	148	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
87	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));	149	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
88		150
…		…
118		180
119	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	181	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
120		182
121	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	183	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
122		184
123	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar to the	185	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
124	realloc C function, the semantics are identical). It is used to allocate	186	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to
125	and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when memory	187	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when
126	needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some potentially	188	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some
127	destructive action. The default is your system realloc function.	189	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc
		190	function.
128		191
129	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	192	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
130	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	193	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
131	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	194	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
132		195
133	Example: replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	196	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
134	retries: better than mine).	197	retries).
135		198
136	static void *	199	static void *
137	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, long size)	200	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
138	{	201	{
139	for (;;)	202	for (;;)
140	{	203	{
141	void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);	204	void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);
142		205
…		…
158	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no	221	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no
159	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the	222	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
160	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff	223	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
161	(such as abort).	224	(such as abort).
162		225
163	Example: do the same thing as libev does internally:	226	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
164		227
165	static void	228	static void
166	fatal_error (const char *msg)	229	fatal_error (const char *msg)
167	{	230	{
168	perror (msg);	231	perror (msg);
…		…
197	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	260	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
198		261
199	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	262	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
200	function.	263	function.
201		264
		265	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		266	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		267	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your app you can either
		268	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		269	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		270	C<ev_default_init>.
		271
202	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	272	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
203	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	273	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
204		274
205	The following flags are supported:	275	The following flags are supported:
206		276
…		…
218	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will	288	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
219	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is	289	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
220	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work	290	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
221	around bugs.	291	around bugs.
222		292
		293	=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>
		294
		295	Instead of calling C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork> manually after
		296	a fork, you can also make libev check for a fork in each iteration by
		297	enabling this flag.
		298
		299	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
		300	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
		301	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
		302	Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
		303	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has
		304	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
		305
		306	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
		307	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
		308	flag.
		309
		310	This flag setting cannot be overriden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
		311	environment variable.
		312
223	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	313	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
224		314
225	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	315	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
226	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	316	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
227	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	317	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
228	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	318	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
229	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	319	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		320
		321	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		322	parallelity (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		323	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		324	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		325	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		326	readyness notifications you get per iteration.
230		327
231	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	328	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
232		329
233	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	330	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
234	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	331	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
235	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	332	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
236	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	333	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		334	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		335	performance tips.
237		336
238	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	337	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
239		338
240	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	339	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
241	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like	340	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
242	O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales	341	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
243	either O(1) or O(active_fds).	342	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
		343	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
		344	cases and rewiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad
		345	support for dup.
244		346
245	While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will	347	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
246	result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	348	will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
247	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	349	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
248	best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very	350	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
249	well if you register events for both fds.	351	very well if you register events for both fds.
250		352
251	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	353	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
252	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	354	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
253	(or space) is available.	355	(or space) is available.
254		356
		357	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
		358	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
		359	keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
		360
		361	While nominally embeddeble in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		362	all kernel versions tested so far.
		363
255	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	364	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
256		365
257	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	366	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
258	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with	367	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
259	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its	368	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
260	completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"	369	it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "autodetected"
261	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	370	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
262	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).	371	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
		372	system like NetBSD.
		373
		374	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		375	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		376	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
263		377
264	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	378	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
265	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	379	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
266	course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an	380	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
267	extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per	381	cause an extra syscall as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
268	incident, so its best to avoid that.	382	two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
		383	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
		384
		385	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		386
		387	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		388	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		389	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		390	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		391	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
		392	sockets.
269		393
270	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	394	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
271		395
272	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	396	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		397	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		398	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		399	immensely.
273		400
274	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	401	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
275		402
276	This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	403	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
277	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	404	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
278		405
279	Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious	406	Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
280	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	407	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
281	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	408	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		409
		410	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		411	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		412	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		413	might perform better.
		414
		415	On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readyness notifications, this
		416	backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
		417	embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
282		418
283	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	419	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
284		420
285	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	421	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
286	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	422	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
287	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	423	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
288		424
		425	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		426
289	=back	427	=back
290		428
291	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	429	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these
292	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	430	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
293	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	431	specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
294	order of their flag values :)
295		432
296	The most typical usage is like this:	433	The most typical usage is like this:
297		434
298	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	435	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
299	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	436	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
…		…
314	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	451	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
315	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	452	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
316	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	453	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
317	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	454	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
318		455
319	Example: try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	456	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
320		457
321	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	458	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
322	if (!epoller)	459	if (!epoller)
323	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");	460	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
324		461
325	=item ev_default_destroy ()	462	=item ev_default_destroy ()
326		463
327	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	464	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
328	etc.). This stops all registered event watchers (by not touching them in	465	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
329	any way whatsoever, although you cannot rely on this :).	466	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
		467	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>
		468	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
		469	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
		470	for example).
		471
		472	Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
		473	this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
		474	would need to be stopped manually.
		475
		476	In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
		477	rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
		478	pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
		479	C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
330		480
331	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	481	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
332		482
333	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	483	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
334	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	484	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
…		…
358		508
359	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	509	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
360	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	510	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
361	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	511	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
362		512
		513	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
		514
		515	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
		516	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
		517	happily wraps around with enough iterations.
		518
		519	This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
		520	"ticks" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
		521	C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> calls.
		522
363	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)	523	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)
364		524
365	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in	525	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in
366	use.	526	use.
367		527
…		…
369		529
370	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop	530	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
371	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not	531	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
372	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base	532	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
373	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the	533	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
374	event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).	534	event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
375		535
376	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)	536	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
377		537
378	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	538	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
379	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling	539	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
…		…
400	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	560	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
401	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	561	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
402		562
403	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	563	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
404		564
405	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	565	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
406	- Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	566	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
		567	- If a fork was detected, queue and call all fork watchers.
		568	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
407	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	569	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
408	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	570	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
409	- Update the "event loop time".	571	- Update the "event loop time".
410	- Calculate for how long to block.	572	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		573	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		574	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		575	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
411	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	576	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
412	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	577	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
413	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	578	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
414	- Queue all outstanding timers.	579	- Queue all outstanding timers.
415	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	580	- Queue all outstanding periodics.
416	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	581	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
417	- Queue all check watchers.	582	- Queue all check watchers.
418	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	583	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
419	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	584	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
420	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	585	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
421	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	586	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
422	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	587	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		588	continue with step *.
423		589
424	Example: queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	590	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
425	anymore.	591	anymore.
426		592
427	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	593	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
428	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	594	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
429	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	595	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
…		…
433		599
434	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	600	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
435	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	601	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
436	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	602	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
437	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	603	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
		604
		605	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
438		606
439	=item ev_ref (loop)	607	=item ev_ref (loop)
440		608
441	=item ev_unref (loop)	609	=item ev_unref (loop)
442		610
…		…
447	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	615	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
448	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	616	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
449	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	617	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
450	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	618	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
451	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	619	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
452	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	620	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
		621	(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
		622	respectively).
453		623
454	Example: create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	624	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
455	running when nothing else is active.	625	running when nothing else is active.
456		626
457	struct dv_signal exitsig;	627	struct ev_signal exitsig;
458	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);	628	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
459	ev_signal_start (myloop, &exitsig);	629	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
460	evf_unref (myloop);	630	evf_unref (loop);
461		631
462	Example: for some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	632	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
463		633
464	ev_ref (myloop);	634	ev_ref (loop);
465	ev_signal_stop (myloop, &exitsig);	635	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
		636
		637	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		638
		639	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		640
		641	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
		642	for events. Both are by default C<0>, meaning that libev will try to
		643	invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.
		644
		645	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
		646	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks to
		647	increase efficiency of loop iterations.
		648
		649	The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
		650	handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
		651	the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
		652	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
		653	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
		654
		655	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
		656	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
		657	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
		658	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		659	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
		660
		661	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
		662	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
		663	latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
		664	will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
		665	any overhead in libev.
		666
		667	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect
		668	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
		669	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
		670	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
		671	as this approsaches the timing granularity of most systems.
466		672
467	=back	673	=back
		674
468		675
469	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	676	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
470		677
471	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your	678	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
472	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to	679	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
…		…
539	The signal specified in the C<ev_signal> watcher has been received by a thread.	746	The signal specified in the C<ev_signal> watcher has been received by a thread.
540		747
541	=item C<EV_CHILD>	748	=item C<EV_CHILD>
542		749
543	The pid specified in the C<ev_child> watcher has received a status change.	750	The pid specified in the C<ev_child> watcher has received a status change.
		751
		752	=item C<EV_STAT>
		753
		754	The path specified in the C<ev_stat> watcher changed its attributes somehow.
544		755
545	=item C<EV_IDLE>	756	=item C<EV_IDLE>
546		757
547	The C<ev_idle> watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.	758	The C<ev_idle> watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.
548		759
…		…
556	received events. Callbacks of both watcher types can start and stop as	767	received events. Callbacks of both watcher types can start and stop as
557	many watchers as they want, and all of them will be taken into account	768	many watchers as they want, and all of them will be taken into account
558	(for example, a C<ev_prepare> watcher might start an idle watcher to keep	769	(for example, a C<ev_prepare> watcher might start an idle watcher to keep
559	C<ev_loop> from blocking).	770	C<ev_loop> from blocking).
560		771
		772	=item C<EV_EMBED>
		773
		774	The embedded event loop specified in the C<ev_embed> watcher needs attention.
		775
		776	=item C<EV_FORK>
		777
		778	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
		779	C<ev_fork>).
		780
561	=item C<EV_ERROR>	781	=item C<EV_ERROR>
562		782
563	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	783	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might
564	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	784	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
565	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other	785	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
…		…
572	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded	792	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded
573	programs, though, so beware.	793	programs, though, so beware.
574		794
575	=back	795	=back
576		796
577	=head2 SUMMARY OF GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS	797	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
578		798
579	In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,	799	In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,
580	e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.	800	e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.
581		801
582	=over 4	802	=over 4
…		…
591	which rolls both calls into one.	811	which rolls both calls into one.
592		812
593	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped	813	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
594	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.	814	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.
595		815
596	The callbakc is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,	816	The callback is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
597	int revents)>.	817	int revents)>.
598		818
599	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])	819	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])
600		820
601	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to	821	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
…		…
636	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)	856	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)
637		857
638	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding	858	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
639	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher	859	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
640	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but	860	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
641	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to	861	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
642	libev (e.g. you cnanot C<free ()> it).	862	make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot C<free ()>
		863	it).
643		864
644	=item callback = ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)	865	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
645		866
646	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.	867	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
647		868
648	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	869	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
649		870
650	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time	871	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
651	(modulo threads).	872	(modulo threads).
		873
		874	=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, priority)
		875
		876	=item int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)
		877
		878	Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
		879	integer between C<EV_MAXPRI> (default: C<2>) and C<EV_MINPRI>
		880	(default: C<-2>). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
		881	before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
		882	from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
		883
		884	This means that priorities are I<only> used for ordering callback
		885	invocation after new events have been received. This is useful, for
		886	example, to reduce latency after idling, or more often, to bind two
		887	watchers on the same event and make sure one is called first.
		888
		889	If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
		890	you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
		891
		892	You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
		893	pending.
		894
		895	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
		896	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
		897
		898	Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
		899	fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
		900	or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.
		901
		902	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
		903
		904	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
		905	C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
		906	can deal with that fact.
		907
		908	=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
		909
		910	If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status
		911	and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
		912	watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
652		913
653	=back	914	=back
654		915
655		916
656	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER	917	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
…		…
677	{	938	{
678	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;	939	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
679	...	940	...
680	}	941	}
681		942
682	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of catsing your callback type	943	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
683	have been omitted....	944	instead have been omitted.
		945
		946	Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple
		947	watchers:
		948
		949	struct my_biggy
		950	{
		951	int some_data;
		952	ev_timer t1;
		953	ev_timer t2;
		954	}
		955
		956	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,
		957	you need to use C<offsetof>:
		958
		959	#include <stddef.h>
		960
		961	static void
		962	t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
		963	{
		964	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
		965	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
		966	}
		967
		968	static void
		969	t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
		970	{
		971	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
		972	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
		973	}
684		974
685		975
686	=head1 WATCHER TYPES	976	=head1 WATCHER TYPES
687		977
688	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat	978	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
689	information given in the last section.	979	information given in the last section. Any initialisation/set macros,
		980	functions and members specific to the watcher type are explained.
690		981
		982	Members are additionally marked with either I<[read-only]>, meaning that,
		983	while the watcher is active, you can look at the member and expect some
		984	sensible content, but you must not modify it (you can modify it while the
		985	watcher is stopped to your hearts content), or I<[read-write]>, which
		986	means you can expect it to have some sensible content while the watcher
		987	is active, but you can also modify it. Modifying it may not do something
		988	sensible or take immediate effect (or do anything at all), but libev will
		989	not crash or malfunction in any way.
691		990
		991
692	=head2 C<ev_io> - is this file descriptor readable or writable	992	=head2 C<ev_io> - is this file descriptor readable or writable?
693		993
694	I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable	994	I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable
695	in each iteration of the event loop (This behaviour is called	995	in each iteration of the event loop, or, more precisely, when reading
696	level-triggering because you keep receiving events as long as the	996	would not block the process and writing would at least be able to write
697	condition persists. Remember you can stop the watcher if you don't want to	997	some data. This behaviour is called level-triggering because you keep
698	act on the event and neither want to receive future events).	998	receiving events as long as the condition persists. Remember you can stop
		999	the watcher if you don't want to act on the event and neither want to
		1000	receive future events.
699		1001
700	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1002	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
701	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1003	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
702	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1004	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
703	required if you know what you are doing).	1005	required if you know what you are doing).
704		1006
705	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
706	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
707	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
708	to the same underlying file/socket etc. description (that is, they share
709	the same underlying "file open").
710
711	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend	1007	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
712	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and	1008	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
713	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).	1009	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
714		1010
		1011	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
		1012	receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might
		1013	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
		1014	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
		1015	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
		1016	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
		1017	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
		1018	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
		1019
		1020	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
		1021	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test
		1022	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
		1023	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
		1024	its own, so its quite safe to use).
		1025
		1026	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
		1027
		1028	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
		1029	descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
		1030	such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
		1031	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
		1032	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
		1033	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
		1034	fact, a different file descriptor.
		1035
		1036	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
		1037	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
		1038	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
		1039	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
		1040	you I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
		1041	descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
		1042
		1043	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
		1044	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
		1045	optimisations to libev.
		1046
		1047	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
		1048
		1049	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
		1050	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
		1051	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
		1052	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
		1053
		1054	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
		1055	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
		1056	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1057
		1058	=head3 The special problem of fork
		1059
		1060	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
		1061	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
		1062	it in the child.
		1063
		1064	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
		1065	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
		1066	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
		1067	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1068
		1069
		1070	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
		1071
715	=over 4	1072	=over 4
716		1073
717	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1074	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
718		1075
719	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)	1076	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
720		1077
721	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The fd is the file descriptor to rceeive	1078	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
722	events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_READ |	1079	rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
723	EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.	1080	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
724		1081
725	Please note that most of the more scalable backend mechanisms (for example	1082	=item int fd [read-only]
726	epoll and solaris ports) can result in spurious readyness notifications	1083
727	for file descriptors, so you practically need to use non-blocking I/O (and	1084	The file descriptor being watched.
728	treat callback invocation as hint only), or retest separately with a safe	1085
729	interface before doing I/O (XLib can do this), or force the use of either	1086	=item int events [read-only]
730	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>, which don't suffer from this	1087
731	problem. Also note that it is quite easy to have your callback invoked	1088	The events being watched.
732	when the readyness condition is no longer valid even when employing
733	typical ways of handling events, so its a good idea to use non-blocking
734	I/O unconditionally.
735		1089
736	=back	1090	=back
737		1091
		1092	=head3 Examples
		1093
738	Example: call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1094	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
739	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1095	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
740	attempt to read a whole line in the callback:	1096	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
741		1097
742	static void	1098	static void
743	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1099	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
744	{	1100	{
745	ev_io_stop (loop, w);	1101	ev_io_stop (loop, w);
…		…
752	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	1108	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
753	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);	1109	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
754	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1110	ev_loop (loop, 0);
755		1111
756		1112
757	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts	1113	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
758		1114
759	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a	1115	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
760	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.	1116	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
761		1117
762	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that	1118	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
…		…
775		1131
776	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,	1132	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
777	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then	1133	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
778	order of execution is undefined.	1134	order of execution is undefined.
779		1135
		1136	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1137
780	=over 4	1138	=over 4
781		1139
782	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1140	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
783		1141
784	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1142	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
…		…
797	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1155	=item ev_timer_again (loop)
798		1156
799	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1157	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
800	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1158	repeating. The exact semantics are:
801		1159
		1160	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
		1161
802	If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it.	1162	If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
803		1163
804	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the repeat	1164	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
805	value), or reset the running timer to the repeat value.	1165	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
806		1166
807	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical	1167	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
808	example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle	1168	example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle
809	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60	1169	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
810	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to	1170	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
811	configure an C<ev_timer> with after=repeat=60 and calling ev_timer_again each	1171	configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
812	time you successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle	1172	C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
813	state where you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can stop	1173	you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
814	the timer, and again will automatically restart it if need be.	1174	socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop> the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will
		1175	automatically restart it if need be.
		1176
		1177	That means you can ignore the C<after> value and C<ev_timer_start>
		1178	altogether and only ever use the C<repeat> value and C<ev_timer_again>:
		1179
		1180	ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
		1181	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1182	...
		1183	timer->again = 17.;
		1184	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1185	...
		1186	timer->again = 10.;
		1187	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1188
		1189	This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
		1190	you want to modify its timeout value.
		1191
		1192	=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]
		1193
		1194	The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
		1195	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
		1196	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
815		1197
816	=back	1198	=back
817		1199
		1200	=head3 Examples
		1201
818	Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1202	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
819		1203
820	static void	1204	static void
821	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1205	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
822	{	1206	{
823	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here	1207	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
…		…
825		1209
826	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1210	struct ev_timer mytimer;
827	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);	1211	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
828	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);	1212	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
829		1213
830	Example: create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of	1214	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
831	inactivity.	1215	inactivity.
832		1216
833	static void	1217	static void
834	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1218	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
835	{	1219	{
…		…
844	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":	1228	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
845	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds	1229	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
846	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);	1230	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
847		1231
848		1232
849	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron	1233	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?
850		1234
851	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	1235	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
852	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	1236	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
853		1237
854	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)	1238	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
855	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1239	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
856	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1240	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
857	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. c<ev_now ()	1241	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()
858	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1242	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will
859	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1243	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger
860	roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time	1244	roughly 10 seconds later).
861	again).
862		1245
863	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1246	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as
864	triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.	1247	triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,
		1248	rules.
865		1249
866	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1250	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the
867	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1251	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
868	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1252	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
869		1253
		1254	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1255
870	=over 4	1256	=over 4
871		1257
872	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)	1258	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
873		1259
874	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)	1260	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)
…		…
876	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of	1262	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
877	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:	1263	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
878		1264
879	=over 4	1265	=over 4
880		1266
881	=item * absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	1267	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
882		1268
883	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	1269	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time
884	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	1270	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,
885	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	1271	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the
886	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	1272	system time reaches or surpasses this time.
887		1273
888	=item * non-repeating interval timer (interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	1274	=item * non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
889		1275
890	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	1276	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
891	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat, regardless	1277	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
892	of any time jumps.	1278	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
893		1279
894	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	1280	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
895	time:	1281	time:
896		1282
897	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	1283	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
…		…
903		1289
904	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	1290	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
905	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	1291	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
906	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	1292	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
907		1293
		1294	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
		1295	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
		1296	this value.
		1297
908	=item * manual reschedule mode (reschedule_cb = callback)	1298	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
909		1299
910	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	1300	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
911	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	1301	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
912	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	1302	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
913	current time as second argument.	1303	current time as second argument.
914		1304
915	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	1305	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
916	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	1306	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,
917	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by	1307	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
918	starting a prepare watcher).	1308	starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
919		1309
920	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	1310	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,
921	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	1311	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
922		1312
923	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1313	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
…		…
946	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	1336	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
947	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	1337	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
948	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	1338	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
949	program when the crontabs have changed).	1339	program when the crontabs have changed).
950		1340
		1341	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
		1342
		1343	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
		1344	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
		1345
		1346	Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
		1347	timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
		1348
		1349	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]
		1350
		1351	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
		1352	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
		1353	called.
		1354
		1355	=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
		1356
		1357	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
		1358	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
		1359	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
		1360
		1361	=item ev_tstamp at [read-only]
		1362
		1363	When active, contains the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
		1364	trigger next.
		1365
951	=back	1366	=back
952		1367
		1368	=head3 Examples
		1369
953	Example: call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	1370	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
954	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	1371	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
955	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	1372	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
956		1373
957	static void	1374	static void
958	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1375	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
…		…
962		1379
963	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1380	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
964	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);	1381	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
965	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1382	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
966		1383
967	Example: the same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:	1384	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
968		1385
969	#include <math.h>	1386	#include <math.h>
970		1387
971	static ev_tstamp	1388	static ev_tstamp
972	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1389	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
…		…
974	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;	1391	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
975	}	1392	}
976		1393
977	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);	1394	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
978		1395
979	Example: call a callback every hour, starting now:	1396	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
980		1397
981	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1398	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
982	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,	1399	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
983	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);	1400	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
984	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1401	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
985		1402
986		1403
987	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled	1404	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
988		1405
989	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific	1406	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
990	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev	1407	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
991	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the	1408	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
992	normal event processing, like any other event.	1409	normal event processing, like any other event.
…		…
996	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	1413	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
997	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	1414	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
998	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	1415	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
999	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	1416	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
1000		1417
		1418	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1419
1001	=over 4	1420	=over 4
1002		1421
1003	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)	1422	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
1004		1423
1005	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)	1424	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)
1006		1425
1007	Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one	1426	Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one
1008	of the C<SIGxxx> constants).	1427	of the C<SIGxxx> constants).
1009		1428
		1429	=item int signum [read-only]
		1430
		1431	The signal the watcher watches out for.
		1432
1010	=back	1433	=back
1011		1434
1012		1435
1013	=head2 C<ev_child> - wait for pid status changes	1436	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1014		1437
1015	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	1438	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1016	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	1439	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).
		1440
		1441	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1017		1442
1018	=over 4	1443	=over 4
1019		1444
1020	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	1445	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)
1021		1446
…		…
1026	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	1451	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1027	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	1452	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1028	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	1453	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1029	process causing the status change.	1454	process causing the status change.
1030		1455
		1456	=item int pid [read-only]
		1457
		1458	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
		1459
		1460	=item int rpid [read-write]
		1461
		1462	The process id that detected a status change.
		1463
		1464	=item int rstatus [read-write]
		1465
		1466	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
		1467	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
		1468
1031	=back	1469	=back
1032		1470
		1471	=head3 Examples
		1472
1033	Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	1473	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
1034		1474
1035	static void	1475	static void
1036	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	1476	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
1037	{	1477	{
1038	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	1478	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
…		…
1041	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	1481	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
1042	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	1482	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
1043	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	1483	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
1044		1484
1045		1485
		1486	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
		1487
		1488	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
		1489	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
		1490	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
		1491
		1492	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
		1493	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
		1494	not exist" is signified by the C<st_nlink> field being zero (which is
		1495	otherwise always forced to be at least one) and all the other fields of
		1496	the stat buffer having unspecified contents.
		1497
		1498	The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is
		1499	relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.
		1500
		1501	Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply
		1502	calls C<stat (2)> regularly on the path to see if it changed somehow. You
		1503	can specify a recommended polling interval for this case. If you specify
		1504	a polling interval of C<0> (highly recommended!) then a I<suitable,
		1505	unspecified default> value will be used (which you can expect to be around
		1506	five seconds, although this might change dynamically). Libev will also
		1507	impose a minimum interval which is currently around C<0.1>, but thats
		1508	usually overkill.
		1509
		1510	This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
		1511	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
		1512	resource-intensive.
		1513
		1514	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
		1515	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
		1516	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the
		1517	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs
		1518	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are
		1519	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no
		1520	polling.
		1521
		1522	=head3 Inotify
		1523
		1524	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
		1525	available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
		1526	change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
		1527	when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
		1528
		1529	Inotify presense does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		1530	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		1531	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presense of inotify support
		1532	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
		1533
		1534	(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		1535	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		1536	descriptor open on the object at all times).
		1537
		1538	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		1539
		1540	The C<stat ()> syscall only supports full-second resolution portably, and
		1541	even on systems where the resolution is higher, many filesystems still
		1542	only support whole seconds.
		1543
		1544	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you might
		1545	miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and calls
		1546	your callback, which does something. When there is another update within
		1547	the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it.
		1548
		1549	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for a second (or till
		1550	the next second boundary), using a roughly one-second delay C<ev_timer>
		1551	(C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.01); ev_timer_again (loop, w)>). The C<.01>
		1552	is added to work around small timing inconsistencies of some operating
		1553	systems.
		1554
		1555	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1556
		1557	=over 4
		1558
		1559	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
		1560
		1561	=item ev_stat_set (ev_stat *, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
		1562
		1563	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of the given
		1564	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
		1565	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
		1566	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
		1567	path for as long as the watcher is active.
		1568
		1569	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,
		1570	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
		1571	last change was detected).
		1572
		1573	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)
		1574
		1575	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
		1576	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid
		1577	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be
		1578	useful simply to find out the new values.
		1579
		1580	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
		1581
		1582	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of
		1583	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
		1584	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there
		1585	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.
		1586
		1587	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
		1588
		1589	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
		1590	C<prev> != C<attr>.
		1591
		1592	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
		1593
		1594	The specified interval.
		1595
		1596	=item const char *path [read-only]
		1597
		1598	The filesystem path that is being watched.
		1599
		1600	=back
		1601
		1602	=head3 Examples
		1603
		1604	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
		1605
		1606	static void
		1607	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
		1608	{
		1609	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
		1610	if (w->attr.st_nlink)
		1611	{
		1612	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
		1613	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
		1614	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
		1615	}
		1616	else
		1617	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
		1618	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
		1619	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");
		1620	}
		1621
		1622	...
		1623	ev_stat passwd;
		1624
		1625	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		1626	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1627
		1628	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		1629	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		1630	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		1631	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		1632
		1633	static ev_stat passwd;
		1634	static ev_timer timer;
		1635
		1636	static void
		1637	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1638	{
		1639	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1640
		1641	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		1642	}
		1643
		1644	static void
		1645	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		1646	{
		1647	/* reset the one-second timer */
		1648	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		1649	}
		1650
		1651	...
		1652	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		1653	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1654	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.01);
		1655
		1656
1046	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do	1657	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1047		1658
1048	Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending	1659	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
1049	(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long	1660	priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not
1050	as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals,	1661	count).
1051	imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle	1662
1052	watchers are being called again and again, once per event loop iteration -	1663	That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
		1664	(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
		1665	triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
		1666	are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
1053	until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events and becomes	1667	iteration - until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events
1054	busy.	1668	and becomes busy again with higher priority stuff.
1055		1669
1056	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are	1670	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
1057	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.	1671	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
1058		1672
1059	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful	1673	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
1060	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do	1674	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
1061	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the	1675	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
1062	event loop has handled all outstanding events.	1676	event loop has handled all outstanding events.
1063		1677
		1678	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1679
1064	=over 4	1680	=over 4
1065		1681
1066	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)	1682	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1067		1683
1068	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any	1684	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
1069	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	1685	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1070	believe me.	1686	believe me.
1071		1687
1072	=back	1688	=back
1073		1689
		1690	=head3 Examples
		1691
1074	Example: dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle>, start it, and in the	1692	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1075	callback, free it. Alos, use no error checking, as usual.	1693	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1076		1694
1077	static void	1695	static void
1078	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	1696	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1079	{	1697	{
1080	free (w);	1698	free (w);
…		…
1085	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	1703	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1086	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	1704	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1087	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	1705	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
1088		1706
1089		1707
1090	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop	1708	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
1091		1709
1092	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:	1710	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
1093	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers	1711	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
1094	afterwards.	1712	afterwards.
1095		1713
		1714	You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter
		1715	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>
		1716	watchers. Other loops than the current one are fine, however. The
		1717	rationale behind this is that you do not need to check for recursion in
		1718	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,
		1719	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
		1720	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
		1721
1096	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and	1722	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
1097	their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track	1723	their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track
1098	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a	1724	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
1099	coroutine library and lots more.	1725	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
		1726	you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
		1727	in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>
		1728	watcher).
1100		1729
1101	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need	1730	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
1102	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for	1731	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for
1103	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries	1732	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
1104	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for	1733	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
…		…
1114	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine	1743	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
1115	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event	1744	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
1116	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping	1745	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
1117	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).	1746	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
1118		1747
		1748	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
		1749	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
		1750	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
		1751	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
		1752	supports this, they will be called before other C<ev_check> watchers
		1753	did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
		1754	(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
		1755	state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
		1756	coexist peacefully with others).
		1757
		1758	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1759
1119	=over 4	1760	=over 4
1120		1761
1121	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)	1762	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
1122		1763
1123	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)	1764	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)
…		…
1126	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	1767	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1127	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	1768	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
1128		1769
1129	=back	1770	=back
1130		1771
1131	Example: *TODO*.	1772	=head3 Examples
1132		1773
		1774	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
		1775	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
		1776	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
		1777	use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib>
		1778	embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV
		1779	into the Glib event loop).
1133		1780
		1781	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
		1782	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
		1783	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
		1784	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
		1785	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
		1786
		1787	static ev_io iow [nfd];
		1788	static ev_timer tw;
		1789
		1790	static void
		1791	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
		1792	{
		1793	}
		1794
		1795	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
		1796	static void
		1797	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
		1798	{
		1799	int timeout = 3600000;
		1800	struct pollfd fds [nfd];
		1801	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
		1802	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
		1803
		1804	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
		1805	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
		1806	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
		1807
		1808	// create one ev_io per pollfd
		1809	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
		1810	{
		1811	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
		1812	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
		1813	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
		1814
		1815	fds [i].revents = 0;
		1816	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
		1817	}
		1818	}
		1819
		1820	// stop all watchers after blocking
		1821	static void
		1822	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
		1823	{
		1824	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
		1825
		1826	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
		1827	{
		1828	// set the relevant poll flags
		1829	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
		1830	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
		1831	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
		1832	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
		1833	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
		1834
		1835	// now stop the watcher
		1836	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
		1837	}
		1838
		1839	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
		1840	}
		1841
		1842	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
		1843	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
		1844
		1845	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
		1846	notification (adns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
		1847	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
		1848
		1849	static void
		1850	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1851	{
		1852	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		1853	update_now (EV_A);
		1854
		1855	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
		1856	}
		1857
		1858	static void
		1859	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
		1860	{
		1861	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		1862	update_now (EV_A);
		1863
		1864	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		1865	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		1866	}
		1867
		1868	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll
		1869
		1870	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
		1871	want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override
		1872	their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main
		1873	loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
		1874	this.
		1875
		1876	static gint
		1877	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
		1878	{
		1879	int got_events = 0;
		1880
		1881	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		1882	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
		1883
		1884	if (timeout >= 0)
		1885	// create/start timer
		1886
		1887	// poll
		1888	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
		1889
		1890	// stop timer again
		1891	if (timeout >= 0)
		1892	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
		1893
		1894	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
		1895	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		1896	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
		1897
		1898	return got_events;
		1899	}
		1900
		1901
1134	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough	1902	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1135		1903
1136	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop	1904	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1137	into another (currently only C<ev_io> events are supported in the embedded	1905	into another (currently only C<ev_io> events are supported in the embedded
1138	loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect	1906	loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
1139	fashion and must not be used).	1907	fashion and must not be used).
…		…
1178	portable one.	1946	portable one.
1179		1947
1180	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	1948	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1181	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	1949	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1182	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	1950	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1183	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	1951	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
		1952
		1953	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1954
		1955	=over 4
		1956
		1957	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		1958
		1959	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		1960
		1961	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
		1962	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
		1963	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
		1964	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
		1965	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
		1966
		1967	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
		1968
		1969	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
		1970	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
		1971	apropriate way for embedded loops.
		1972
		1973	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
		1974
		1975	The embedded event loop.
		1976
		1977	=back
		1978
		1979	=head3 Examples
		1980
		1981	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		1982	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		1983	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the mebeddable loop is stored in
		1984	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the acse no embeddable loop can be
		1985	used).
1184		1986
1185	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	1987	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
1186	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;	1988	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1187	struct ev_embed embed;	1989	struct ev_embed embed;
1188		1990
…		…
1199	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);	2001	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
1200	}	2002	}
1201	else	2003	else
1202	loop_lo = loop_hi;	2004	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1203		2005
		2006	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2007	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2008	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2009	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
		2010
		2011	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2012	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2013	struct ev_embed embed;
		2014
		2015	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2016	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2017	{
		2018	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2019	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2020	}
		2021
		2022	if (!loop_socket)
		2023	loop_socket = loop;
		2024
		2025	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
		2026
		2027
		2028	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
		2029
		2030	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
		2031	whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling
		2032	C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork>). The invocation is done before the
		2033	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
		2034	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
		2035	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
		2036	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
		2037
		2038	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2039
1204	=over 4	2040	=over 4
1205		2041
1206	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2042	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1207		2043
1208	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2044	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
1209		2045	kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1210	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2046	believe me.
1211	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1212	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1213	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1214	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1215
1216	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1217
1218	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1219	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1220	apropriate way for embedded loops.
1221		2047
1222	=back	2048	=back
1223		2049
1224		2050
1225	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	2051	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
…		…
1306		2132
1307	=back	2133	=back
1308		2134
1309	=head1 C++ SUPPORT	2135	=head1 C++ SUPPORT
1310		2136
1311	TBD.	2137	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
		2138	you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
		2139	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
		2140
		2141	To use it,
		2142
		2143	#include <ev++.h>
		2144
		2145	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
		2146	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
		2147	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
		2148	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
		2149
		2150	Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++
		2151	classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
		2152	that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
		2153	you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
		2154
		2155	Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions can be
		2156	used as callbacks. Other types should be easy to add as long as they only
		2157	need one additional pointer for context. If you need support for other
		2158	types of functors please contact the author (preferably after implementing
		2159	it).
		2160
		2161	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
		2162
		2163	=over 4
		2164
		2165	=item C<ev::READ>, C<ev::WRITE> etc.
		2166
		2167	These are just enum values with the same values as the C<EV_READ> etc.
		2168	macros from F<ev.h>.
		2169
		2170	=item C<ev::tstamp>, C<ev::now>
		2171
		2172	Aliases to the same types/functions as with the C<ev_> prefix.
		2173
		2174	=item C<ev::io>, C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic>, C<ev::idle>, C<ev::sig> etc.
		2175
		2176	For each C<ev_TYPE> watcher in F<ev.h> there is a corresponding class of
		2177	the same name in the C<ev> namespace, with the exception of C<ev_signal>
		2178	which is called C<ev::sig> to avoid clashes with the C<signal> macro
		2179	defines by many implementations.
		2180
		2181	All of those classes have these methods:
		2182
		2183	=over 4
		2184
		2185	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE ()
		2186
		2187	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (struct ev_loop *)
		2188
		2189	=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE
		2190
		2191	The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
		2192	with. If it is omitted, it will use C<EV_DEFAULT>.
		2193
		2194	The constructor calls C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the
		2195	C<set> method before starting it.
		2196
		2197	It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated C<set>
		2198	method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
		2199
		2200	(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in C++ which does
		2201	not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
		2202
		2203	The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
		2204
		2205	=item w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)
		2206
		2207	This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
		2208	signature of C<void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)>, it receives the watcher as
		2209	first argument and the C<revents> as second. The object must be given as
		2210	parameter and is stored in the C<data> member of the watcher.
		2211
		2212	This method synthesizes efficient thunking code to call your method from
		2213	the C callback that libev requires. If your compiler can inline your
		2214	callback (i.e. it is visible to it at the place of the C<set> call and
		2215	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
		2216	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
		2217
		2218	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
		2219
		2220	struct myclass
		2221	{
		2222	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		2223	}
		2224
		2225	myclass obj;
		2226	ev::io iow;
		2227	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
		2228
		2229	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
		2230
		2231	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
		2232	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
		2233	C<data> member and is free for you to use.
		2234
		2235	The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
		2236
		2237	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
		2238
		2239	Example:
		2240
		2241	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		2242	iow.set <io_cb> ();
		2243
		2244	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
		2245
		2246	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
		2247	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
		2248
		2249	=item w->set ([args])
		2250
		2251	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be
		2252	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
		2253	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
		2254	method.
		2255
		2256	=item w->start ()
		2257
		2258	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
		2259	constructor already stores the event loop.
		2260
		2261	=item w->stop ()
		2262
		2263	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
		2264
		2265	=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
		2266
		2267	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
		2268	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
		2269
		2270	=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
		2271
		2272	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
		2273
		2274	=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
		2275
		2276	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
		2277
		2278	=back
		2279
		2280	=back
		2281
		2282	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
		2283	the constructor.
		2284
		2285	class myclass
		2286	{
		2287	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
		2288	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
		2289
		2290	myclass ();
		2291	}
		2292
		2293	myclass::myclass (int fd)
		2294	{
		2295	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
		2296	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
		2297
		2298	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		2299	}
		2300
		2301
		2302	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
		2303
		2304	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal
		2305	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
		2306	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
		2307
		2308	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
		2309	following macros are defined:
		2310
		2311	=over 4
		2312
		2313	=item C<EV_A>, C<EV_A_>
		2314
		2315	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
		2316	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
		2317	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
		2318
		2319	ev_unref (EV_A);
		2320	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
		2321	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
		2322
		2323	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
		2324	which is often provided by the following macro.
		2325
		2326	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
		2327
		2328	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
		2329	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
		2330	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
		2331
		2332	// this is how ev_unref is being declared
		2333	static void ev_unref (EV_P);
		2334
		2335	// this is how you can declare your typical callback
		2336	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		2337
		2338	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
		2339	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
		2340
		2341	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
		2342
		2343	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
		2344	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
		2345
		2346	=back
		2347
		2348	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
		2349	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
		2350	or not.
		2351
		2352	static void
		2353	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		2354	{
		2355	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
		2356	}
		2357
		2358	ev_check check;
		2359	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
		2360	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
		2361	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
		2362
		2363	=head1 EMBEDDING
		2364
		2365	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
		2366	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
		2367	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
		2368	and rxvt-unicode.
		2369
		2370	The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
		2371	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
		2372	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
		2373	libev somewhere in your source tree).
		2374
		2375	=head2 FILESETS
		2376
		2377	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
		2378	in your app.
		2379
		2380	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP
		2381
		2382	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual
		2383	configuration (no autoconf):
		2384
		2385	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
		2386	#include "ev.c"
		2387
		2388	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a
		2389	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
		2390	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best
		2391	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and
		2392	where you can put other configuration options):
		2393
		2394	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
		2395	#include "ev.h"
		2396
		2397	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
		2398	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
		2399	as a bug).
		2400
		2401	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
		2402	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
		2403
		2404	ev.h
		2405	ev.c
		2406	ev_vars.h
		2407	ev_wrap.h
		2408
		2409	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
		2410
		2411	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
		2412	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
		2413	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
		2414	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
		2415	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
		2416
		2417	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
		2418	to compile this single file.
		2419
		2420	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
		2421
		2422	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:
		2423
		2424	#include "event.c"
		2425
		2426	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:
		2427
		2428	#include "event.h"
		2429
		2430	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.
		2431
		2432	You need the following additional files for this:
		2433
		2434	event.h
		2435	event.c
		2436
		2437	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT
		2438
		2439	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in
		2440	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
		2441	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
		2442	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
		2443
		2444	For this of course you need the m4 file:
		2445
		2446	libev.m4
		2447
		2448	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
		2449
		2450	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define
		2451	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity
		2452	and only include the select backend.
		2453
		2454	=over 4
		2455
		2456	=item EV_STANDALONE
		2457
		2458	Must always be C<1> if you do not use autoconf configuration, which
		2459	keeps libev from including F<config.h>, and it also defines dummy
		2460	implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not
		2461	supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
		2462	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
		2463
		2464	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
		2465
		2466	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
		2467	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use
		2468	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
		2469	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
		2470	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
		2471	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
		2472	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
		2473
		2474	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
		2475
		2476	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
		2477	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
		2478	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
		2479	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
		2480	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
		2481	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
		2482
		2483	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
		2484
		2485	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
		2486	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
		2487
		2488	=item EV_USE_SELECT
		2489
		2490	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
		2491	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no
		2492	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
		2493	will not be compiled in.
		2494
		2495	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET
		2496
		2497	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
		2498	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
		2499	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on
		2500	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
		2501	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
		2502	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might
		2503	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.
		2504
		2505	=item EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET
		2506
		2507	When defined to C<1>, the select backend will assume that
		2508	select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but
		2509	wants osf handles on win32 (this is the case when the select to
		2510	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
		2511	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
		2512	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
		2513	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
		2514
		2515	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
		2516
		2517	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		2518	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		2519	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		2520	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		2521	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		2522
		2523	=item EV_USE_POLL
		2524
		2525	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
		2526	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
		2527	takes precedence over select.
		2528
		2529	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
		2530
		2531	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
		2532	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
		2533	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the
		2534	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.
		2535
		2536	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
		2537
		2538	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
		2539	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
		2540	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
		2541	backend for BSD and BSD-like systems, although on most BSDs kqueue only
		2542	supports some types of fds correctly (the only platform we found that
		2543	supports ptys for example was NetBSD), so kqueue might be compiled in, but
		2544	not be used unless explicitly requested. The best way to use it is to find
		2545	out whether kqueue supports your type of fd properly and use an embedded
		2546	kqueue loop.
		2547
		2548	=item EV_USE_PORT
		2549
		2550	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Solaris
		2551	10 port style backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
		2552	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
		2553	backend for Solaris 10 systems.
		2554
		2555	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL
		2556
		2557	reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
		2558
		2559	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
		2560
		2561	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
		2562	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
		2563	be detected at runtime.
		2564
		2565	=item EV_H
		2566
		2567	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
		2568	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
		2569	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
		2570
		2571	=item EV_CONFIG_H
		2572
		2573	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
		2574	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
		2575	C<EV_H>, above.
		2576
		2577	=item EV_EVENT_H
		2578
		2579	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
		2580	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
		2581
		2582	=item EV_PROTOTYPES
		2583
		2584	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
		2585	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
		2586	occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
		2587	around libev functions.
		2588
		2589	=item EV_MULTIPLICITY
		2590
		2591	If undefined or defined to C<1>, then all event-loop-specific functions
		2592	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create
		2593	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
		2594	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
		2595	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
		2596
		2597	=item EV_MINPRI
		2598
		2599	=item EV_MAXPRI
		2600
		2601	The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
		2602	C<EV_MAXPRI>, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
		2603	provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
		2604	to be C<-2> and C<2>, respectively).
		2605
		2606	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
		2607	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
		2608	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
		2609	fine.
		2610
		2611	If your embedding app does not need any priorities, defining these both to
		2612	C<0> will save some memory and cpu.
		2613
		2614	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
		2615
		2616	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
		2617	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
		2618	code.
		2619
		2620	=item EV_IDLE_ENABLE
		2621
		2622	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then idle watchers are supported. If
		2623	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
		2624	code.
		2625
		2626	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
		2627
		2628	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
		2629	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		2630
		2631	=item EV_STAT_ENABLE
		2632
		2633	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then stat watchers are supported. If
		2634	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		2635
		2636	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
		2637
		2638	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
		2639	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		2640
		2641	=item EV_MINIMAL
		2642
		2643	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
		2644	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override
		2645	some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.
		2646
		2647	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
		2648
		2649	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
		2650	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
		2651	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
		2652	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
		2653
		2654	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
		2655
		2656	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
		2657	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
		2658	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
		2659	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
		2660	two).
		2661
		2662	=item EV_COMMON
		2663
		2664	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
		2665	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
		2666	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
		2667	though, and it must be identical each time.
		2668
		2669	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
		2670
		2671	#define EV_COMMON \
		2672	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
		2673	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
		2674
		2675	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
		2676
		2677	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
		2678
		2679	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
		2680
		2681	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
		2682	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
		2683	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
		2684	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
		2685	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
		2686	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
		2687
		2688	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
		2689
		2690	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of
		2691	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
		2692	all public symbols, one per line:
		2693
		2694	Symbols.ev for libev proper
		2695	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
		2696
		2697	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
		2698	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
		2699	itself, but sometimes it is inconvinient to avoid this).
		2700
		2701	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
		2702	include before including F<ev.h>:
		2703
		2704	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
		2705
		2706	This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
		2707
		2708	#define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
		2709	#define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
		2710	#define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
		2711	...
		2712
		2713	=head2 EXAMPLES
		2714
		2715	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
		2716	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
		2717	(L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html>). It has the libev files in
		2718	the F<libev/> subdirectory and includes them in the F<EV/EVAPI.h> (public
		2719	interface) and F<EV.xs> (implementation) files. Only the F<EV.xs> file
		2720	will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
		2721	file.
		2722
		2723	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
		2724	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
		2725
		2726	#define EV_MINIMAL 1
		2727	#define EV_USE_POLL 0
		2728	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
		2729	#define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
		2730	#define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
		2731	#define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
		2732	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
		2733	#define EV_MINPRI 0
		2734	#define EV_MAXPRI 0
		2735
		2736	#include "ev++.h"
		2737
		2738	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
		2739
		2740	#include "ev_cpp.h"
		2741	#include "ev.c"
		2742
		2743
		2744	=head1 COMPLEXITIES
		2745
		2746	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
		2747	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
		2748	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
		2749
		2750	All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
		2751	extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
		2752	happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
		2753	mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
		2754	it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
		2755
		2756	=over 4
		2757
		2758	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
		2759
		2760	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
		2761	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
		2762	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
		2763
		2764	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
		2765
		2766	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
		2767	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
		2768
		2769	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)
		2770
		2771	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		2772
		2773	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)
		2774
		2775	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
		2776
		2777	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
		2778	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
		2779	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
		2780
		2781	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		2782
		2783	By virtue of using a binary heap, the next timer is always found at the
		2784	beginning of the storage array.
		2785
		2786	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
		2787
		2788	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
		2789	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		2790	on backend and wether C<ev_io_set> was used).
		2791
		2792	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
		2793
		2794	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
		2795
		2796	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
		2797	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
		2798	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		2799	watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. prioritiy handling.
		2800
		2801	=back
		2802
		2803
		2804	=head1 Win32 platform limitations and workarounds
		2805
		2806	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		2807	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		2808	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		2809	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		2810	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		2811	e.g. cygwin.
		2812
		2813	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		2814	embedding it into other applications.
		2815
		2816	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and the
		2817	abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets is not
		2818	recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use more than
		2819	a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally different
		2820	implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX model, which cannot
		2821	be implemented efficiently on windows (microsoft monopoly games).
		2822
		2823	=over 4
		2824
		2825	=item The winsocket select function
		2826
		2827	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it requires
		2828	socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors>. This makes select
		2829	very inefficient, and also requires a mapping from file descriptors
		2830	to socket handles. See the discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>,
		2831	C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor
		2832	symbols for more info.
		2833
		2834	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the microsoft runtime
		2835	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		2836
		2837	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		2838	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		2839
		2840	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		2841	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		2842
		2843	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		2844
		2845	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things. Early versions
		2846	of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a max. of C<64> handles
		2847	(probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels can only wait for
		2848	C<64> things at the same time internally; microsoft recommends spawning a
		2849	chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the previous thread in each).
		2850
		2851	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		2852	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		2853	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
		2854	select emulation on windows).
		2855
		2856	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the microsoft runtime
		2857	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
		2858	or something like this inside microsoft). You can increase this by calling
		2859	C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
		2860	arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the microsoft runtime
		2861	libraries.
		2862
		2863	This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
		2864	windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
		2865	wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
		2866	calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		2867
		2868	=back
		2869
1312		2870
1313	=head1 AUTHOR	2871	=head1 AUTHOR
1314		2872
1315	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.	2873	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
1316		2874

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