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Revision 1.61 by root, Thu Nov 29 12:21:05 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.179 by root, Sat Sep 13 19:14:21 2008 UTC

2 2
3libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C 3libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 #include <ev.h> 7 #include <ev.h>
8 8
9=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 9=head2 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
10 10
11 // a single header file is required
11 #include <ev.h> 12 #include <ev.h>
12 13
14 // every watcher type has its own typedef'd struct
15 // with the name ev_<type>
13 ev_io stdin_watcher; 16 ev_io stdin_watcher;
14 ev_timer timeout_watcher; 17 ev_timer timeout_watcher;
15 18
16 /* called when data readable on stdin */ 19 // all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
20 // this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
17 static void 21 static void
18 stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents) 22 stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
19 { 23 {
20 /* puts ("stdin ready"); */ 24 puts ("stdin ready");
21 ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */ 25 // for one-shot events, one must manually stop the watcher
22 ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */ 26 // with its corresponding stop function.
27 ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
28
29 // this causes all nested ev_loop's to stop iterating
30 ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL);
23 } 31 }
24 32
33 // another callback, this time for a time-out
25 static void 34 static void
26 timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 35 timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
27 { 36 {
28 /* puts ("timeout"); */ 37 puts ("timeout");
29 ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */ 38 // this causes the innermost ev_loop to stop iterating
39 ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE);
30 } 40 }
31 41
32 int 42 int
33 main (void) 43 main (void)
34 { 44 {
45 // use the default event loop unless you have special needs
35 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0); 46 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
36 47
37 /* initialise an io watcher, then start it */ 48 // initialise an io watcher, then start it
49 // this one will watch for stdin to become readable
38 ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ); 50 ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
39 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher); 51 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
40 52
53 // initialise a timer watcher, then start it
41 /* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */ 54 // simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout
42 ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.); 55 ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
43 ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher); 56 ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
44 57
45 /* loop till timeout or data ready */ 58 // now wait for events to arrive
46 ev_loop (loop, 0); 59 ev_loop (loop, 0);
47 60
61 // unloop was called, so exit
48 return 0; 62 return 0;
49 } 63 }
50 64
51=head1 DESCRIPTION 65=head1 DESCRIPTION
52 66
67The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
68web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
69time: L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
70
53Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a 71Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
54file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage 72file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
55these event sources and provide your program with events. 73these event sources and provide your program with events.
56 74
57To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process 75To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
58(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then 76(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then
59communicate events via a callback mechanism. 77communicate events via a callback mechanism.
61You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event 79You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event
62watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the 80watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
63details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the 81details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
64watcher. 82watcher.
65 83
66=head1 FEATURES 84=head2 FEATURES
67 85
68Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the 86Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
69BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms 87BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
70for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface 88for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface
71(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers 89(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers
78 96
79It also is quite fast (see this 97It also is quite fast (see this
80L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent 98L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
81for example). 99for example).
82 100
83=head1 CONVENTIONS 101=head2 CONVENTIONS
84 102
85Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will 103Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
86be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about 104configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
87various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in 105more info about various configuration options please have a look at
88this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event 106B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
89loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop> 107for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
90(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument. 108name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have
109this argument.
91 110
92=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION 111=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
93 112
94Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the 113Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
95(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near 114(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
96the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is 115the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
97called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases 116called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
98to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on 117to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
99it, you should treat it as such. 118it, you should treat it as some floating point value. Unlike the name
119component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
120throughout libev.
121
122=head1 ERROR HANDLING
123
124Libev knows three classes of errors: operating system errors, usage errors
125and internal errors (bugs).
126
127When libev catches an operating system error it cannot handle (for example
128a system call indicating a condition libev cannot fix), it calls the callback
129set via C<ev_set_syserr_cb>, which is supposed to fix the problem or
130abort. The default is to print a diagnostic message and to call C<abort
131()>.
132
133When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
134it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,
135so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
136the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
137
138Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions, and also has
139extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
140circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.
141
100 142
101=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS 143=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
102 144
103These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the 145These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
104library in any way. 146library in any way.
109 151
110Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the 152Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
111C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp 153C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
112you actually want to know. 154you actually want to know.
113 155
156=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
157
158Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
159either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
160this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.
161
114=item int ev_version_major () 162=item int ev_version_major ()
115 163
116=item int ev_version_minor () 164=item int ev_version_minor ()
117 165
118You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library 166You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
119you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and 167you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
120C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global 168C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
121symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the 169symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
122version of the library your program was compiled against. 170version of the library your program was compiled against.
123 171
172These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
173release version.
174
124Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch, 175Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
125as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually 176as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
126compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually 177compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
127not a problem. 178not a problem.
128 179
129Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong 180Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
130version. 181version.
131 182
132 assert (("libev version mismatch", 183 assert (("libev version mismatch",
133 ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR 184 ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
134 && ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR)); 185 && ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
135 186
136=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends () 187=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()
137 188
138Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*> 189Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>
139value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their 190value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
141a description of the set values. 192a description of the set values.
142 193
143Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and 194Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
144a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11 195a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11
145 196
146 assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex", 197 assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",
147 ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL)); 198 ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
148 199
149=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends () 200=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()
150 201
151Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also 202Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also
152recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one 203recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one
153returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on 204returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on
154most BSDs and will not be autodetected unless you explicitly request it 205most BSDs and will not be auto-detected unless you explicitly request it
155(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that 206(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
156libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly. 207libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
157 208
158=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends () 209=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()
159 210
166See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info. 217See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
167 218
168=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size)) 219=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
169 220
170Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the 221Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
171semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to 222semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
172allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when 223used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
173memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some 224when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
174potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc 225or take some potentially destructive action.
175function. 226
227Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
228correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
229C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
176 230
177You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say, 231You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
178free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator, 232free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
179or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available. 233or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
180 234
181Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then 235Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
182retries). 236retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
183 237
184 static void * 238 static void *
185 persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size) 239 persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
186 { 240 {
187 for (;;) 241 for (;;)
198 ... 252 ...
199 ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc); 253 ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
200 254
201=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg)); 255=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));
202 256
203Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such 257Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
204as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string 258as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
205indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this 259indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
206callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no 260callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
207matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the 261matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
208requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff 262requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
209(such as abort). 263(such as abort).
210 264
211Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too. 265Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
225=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP 279=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP
226 280
227An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two 281An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two
228types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child 282types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child
229events, and dynamically created loops which do not. 283events, and dynamically created loops which do not.
230
231If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop
232in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you
233create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking
234whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
235threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
236done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
237 284
238=over 4 285=over 4
239 286
240=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags) 287=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
241 288
245flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards). 292flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
246 293
247If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this 294If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
248function. 295function.
249 296
297Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
298from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
299as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
300
301The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
302C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
303for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your application you can either
304create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
305can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
306C<ev_default_init>.
307
250The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific 308The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
251backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). 309backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
252 310
253The following flags are supported: 311The following flags are supported:
254 312
259The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right 317The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
260thing, believe me). 318thing, believe me).
261 319
262=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV> 320=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>
263 321
264If this flag bit is ored into the flag value (or the program runs setuid 322If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
265or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable 323or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable
266C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will 324C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
267override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is 325override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
268useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work 326useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
269around bugs. 327around bugs.
270 328
329=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>
330
331Instead of calling C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork> manually after
332a fork, you can also make libev check for a fork in each iteration by
333enabling this flag.
334
335This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
336and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
337iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
338GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
339without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
340C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
341
342The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
343forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
344flag.
345
346This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
347environment variable.
348
271=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend) 349=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
272 350
273This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as 351This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
274libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds, 352libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
275but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when 353but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
276using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually 354using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
277the fastest backend for a low number of fds. 355usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
356
357To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
358parallelism (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
359writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
360connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
361a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
362readiness notifications you get per iteration.
363
364This backend maps C<EV_READ> to the C<readfds> set and C<EV_WRITE> to the
365C<writefds> set (and to work around Microsoft Windows bugs, also onto the
366C<exceptfds> set on that platform).
278 367
279=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows) 368=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
280 369
281And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than 370And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
282select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the 371than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
283number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a 372limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
284lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds). 373considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
374i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
375performance tips.
376
377This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and
378C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.
285 379
286=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux) 380=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
287 381
288For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select, 382For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
289but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like 383but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
290O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales 384like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
291either O(1) or O(active_fds). 385epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
386of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
387cases and requiring a system call per fd change, no fork support and bad
388support for dup.
292 389
293While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will 390While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
294result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident 391will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such incident
295(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its 392(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
296best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very 393best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
297well if you register events for both fds. 394very well if you register events for both fds.
298 395
299Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you 396Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
300need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data 397need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
301(or space) is available. 398(or space) is available.
302 399
400Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
401watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
402keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
403
404While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
405all kernel versions tested so far.
406
407This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
408C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
409
303=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones) 410=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
304 411
305Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it 412Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
306was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with 413was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
307anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its 414with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
308completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected" 415it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "auto-detected"
309unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using 416unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
310C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>). 417C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
418system like NetBSD.
419
420You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
421only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
422the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
311 423
312It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the 424It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
313kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of 425kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
314course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an 426course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
315extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per 427cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
316incident, so its best to avoid that. 428two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
429drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
430
431This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
432
433While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
434everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
435almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
436(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
437(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
438sockets.
439
440This backend maps C<EV_READ> into an C<EVFILT_READ> kevent with
441C<NOTE_EOF>, and C<EV_WRITE> into an C<EVFILT_WRITE> kevent with
442C<NOTE_EOF>.
317 443
318=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8) 444=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
319 445
320This is not implemented yet (and might never be). 446This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
447implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
448and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
449immensely.
321 450
322=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10) 451=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
323 452
324This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris, 453This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
325it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)). 454it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
326 455
327Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious 456Please note that Solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
328notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid 457notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
329blocking when no data (or space) is available. 458blocking when no data (or space) is available.
459
460While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
461file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
462descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
463might perform better.
464
465On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readiness notifications, this
466backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
467embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
468
469This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
470C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
330 471
331=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL> 472=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
332 473
333Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried 474Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
334with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as 475with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
335C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>. 476C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
336 477
478It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
479
337=back 480=back
338 481
339If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these 482If one or more of these are or'ed into the flags value, then only these
340backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are 483backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
341specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse 484specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
342order of their flag values :)
343 485
344The most typical usage is like this: 486The most typical usage is like this:
345 487
346 if (!ev_default_loop (0)) 488 if (!ev_default_loop (0))
347 fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?"); 489 fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
348 490
349Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow 491Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
350environment settings to be taken into account: 492environment settings to be taken into account:
351 493
352 ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV); 494 ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
353 495
354Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if 496Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if
355available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private 497available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private
356event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds): 498event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):
357 499
358 ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE); 500 ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
359 501
360=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags) 502=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)
361 503
362Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is 504Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
363always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot 505always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
364handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by 506handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
365undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled). 507undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
366 508
509Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and the recommended way to use
510libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
511default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
512
367Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else. 513Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
368 514
369 struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV); 515 struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
370 if (!epoller) 516 if (!epoller)
371 fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair"); 517 fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
372 518
373=item ev_default_destroy () 519=item ev_default_destroy ()
374 520
375Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state 521Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
376etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal 522etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
377sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your 523sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
378responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before> 524responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yourself I<before>
379calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually 525calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
380the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them 526the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
381for example). 527for example).
528
529Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
530this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
531would need to be stopped manually.
532
533In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
534rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
535pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
536C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
382 537
383=item ev_loop_destroy (loop) 538=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
384 539
385Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an 540Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
386earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>. 541earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
387 542
388=item ev_default_fork () 543=item ev_default_fork ()
389 544
545This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
390This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have 546to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
391one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense 547name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
392after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that 548the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
393again makes little sense). 549sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
550functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
394 551
395You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and 552On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
396only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just 553process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
397fork+exec, you don't have to call it. 554you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
398 555
399The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call 556The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
400it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in 557it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
401quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>: 558quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
402 559
403 pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork); 560 pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
404 561
405At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
406without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
407do not need to care.
408
409=item ev_loop_fork (loop) 562=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
410 563
411Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by 564Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
412C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop 565C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
413after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem. 566after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
567
568=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
569
570Returns true when the given loop actually is the default loop, false otherwise.
571
572=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
573
574Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
575the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
576happily wraps around with enough iterations.
577
578This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
579"ticks" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
580C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> calls.
414 581
415=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop) 582=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)
416 583
417Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in 584Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in
418use. 585use.
421 588
422Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop 589Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
423received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not 590received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
424change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base 591change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
425time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the 592time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
426event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it). 593event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
594
595=item ev_now_update (loop)
596
597Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
598returned by C<ev_now ()> in the progress. This is a costly operation and
599is usually done automatically within C<ev_loop ()>.
600
601This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
602very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
603the current time is a good idea.
604
605See also "The special problem of time updates" in the C<ev_timer> section.
427 606
428=item ev_loop (loop, int flags) 607=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
429 608
430Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called 609Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
431after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling 610after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
443A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle 622A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle
444those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in 623those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in
445case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop. 624case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.
446 625
447A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if 626A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if
448neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block 627necessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block
449your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after 628your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after
450one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some 629one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some
451external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other 630external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other
452libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is 631libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
453usually a better approach for this kind of thing. 632usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
454 633
455Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does: 634Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
456 635
457 * If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return. 636 - Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
458 - Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers. 637 * If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
638 - If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
639 - Queue and call all prepare watchers.
459 - If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state. 640 - If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
641 as to not disturb the other process.
460 - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes. 642 - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
461 - Update the "event loop time". 643 - Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
462 - Calculate for how long to block. 644 - Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
645 (active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
646 any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
647 - Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
463 - Block the process, waiting for any events. 648 - Block the process, waiting for any events.
464 - Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events. 649 - Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
465 - Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling. 650 - Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
466 - Queue all outstanding timers. 651 - Queue all outstanding timers.
467 - Queue all outstanding periodics. 652 - Queue all outstanding periodics.
468 - If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers. 653 - Unless any events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
469 - Queue all check watchers. 654 - Queue all check watchers.
470 - Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first). 655 - Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
471 Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will 656 Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
472 be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed. 657 be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
473 - If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK 658 - If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
474 were used, return, otherwise continue with step *. 659 were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
660 continue with step *.
475 661
476Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding 662Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
477anymore. 663anymore.
478 664
479 ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long 665 ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
480 ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..) 666 ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
481 ev_loop (my_loop, 0); 667 ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
482 ... jobs done. yeah! 668 ... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
483 669
484=item ev_unloop (loop, how) 670=item ev_unloop (loop, how)
485 671
486Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it 672Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
487has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either 673has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
488C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or 674C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
489C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return. 675C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
676
677This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
490 678
491=item ev_ref (loop) 679=item ev_ref (loop)
492 680
493=item ev_unref (loop) 681=item ev_unref (loop)
494 682
499returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For 687returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
500example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not 688example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
501visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if 689visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
502no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent 690no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
503way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party 691way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
504libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>. 692libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
693(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
694respectively).
505 695
506Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop> 696Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
507running when nothing else is active. 697running when nothing else is active.
508 698
509 struct ev_signal exitsig; 699 struct ev_signal exitsig;
510 ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT); 700 ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
511 ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig); 701 ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
512 evf_unref (loop); 702 evf_unref (loop);
513 703
514Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again. 704Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
515 705
516 ev_ref (loop); 706 ev_ref (loop);
517 ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig); 707 ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
708
709=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
710
711=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
712
713These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
714for events. Both time intervals are by default C<0>, meaning that libev
715will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
716latency.
717
718Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
719allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
720to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
721opportunities).
722
723The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
724handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
725the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
726events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
727overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
728
729By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
730time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
731at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
732C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
733introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
734
735Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
736to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
737latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
738will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
739any overhead in libev.
740
741Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
742interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
743interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
744usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
745as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems.
746
747Setting the I<timeout collect interval> can improve the opportunity for
748saving power, as the program will "bundle" timer callback invocations that
749are "near" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
750times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
751reduce iterations/wake-ups is to use C<ev_periodic> watchers and make sure
752they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
753
754=item ev_loop_verify (loop)
755
756This function only does something when C<EV_VERIFY> support has been
757compiled in. It tries to go through all internal structures and checks
758them for validity. If anything is found to be inconsistent, it will print
759an error message to standard error and call C<abort ()>.
760
761This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
762circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
763data structures consistent.
518 764
519=back 765=back
520 766
521 767
522=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER 768=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
523 769
524A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your 770A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
525interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to 771interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
526become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that: 772become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:
527 773
528 static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents) 774 static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
529 { 775 {
530 ev_io_stop (w); 776 ev_io_stop (w);
531 ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL); 777 ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
532 } 778 }
533 779
534 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0); 780 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
535 struct ev_io stdin_watcher; 781 struct ev_io stdin_watcher;
536 ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb); 782 ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
537 ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ); 783 ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
538 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher); 784 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
539 ev_loop (loop, 0); 785 ev_loop (loop, 0);
540 786
541As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your 787As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
542watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack, 788watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,
543although this can sometimes be quite valid). 789although this can sometimes be quite valid).
544 790
545Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init 791Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init
546(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This 792(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This
547callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of io 793callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of I/O
548watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given 794watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given
549is readable and/or writable). 795is readable and/or writable).
550 796
551Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro 797Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro
552with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro 798with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro
622=item C<EV_FORK> 868=item C<EV_FORK>
623 869
624The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see 870The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
625C<ev_fork>). 871C<ev_fork>).
626 872
873=item C<EV_ASYNC>
874
875The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
876
627=item C<EV_ERROR> 877=item C<EV_ERROR>
628 878
629An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might 879An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
630happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev 880happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
631ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other 881ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
632problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping 882problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping
633with the watcher being stopped. 883with the watcher being stopped.
634 884
635Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error, 885Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,
636for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if 886for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if
637your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope 887your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope
638with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded 888with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
639programs, though, so beware. 889programs, though, so beware.
640 890
641=back 891=back
642 892
643=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS 893=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
673Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments 923Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
674(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro. 924(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.
675 925
676=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args]) 926=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])
677 927
678This convinience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro 928This convenience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro
679calls into a single call. This is the most convinient method to initialise 929calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
680a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course. 930a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
681 931
682=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher) 932=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
683 933
684Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive 934Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
702=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher) 952=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)
703 953
704Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding 954Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
705events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher 955events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
706is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but 956is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
707C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to 957C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
708libev (e.g. you cnanot C<free ()> it). 958make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot C<free ()>
959it).
709 960
710=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher) 961=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
711 962
712Returns the callback currently set on the watcher. 963Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
713 964
714=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback) 965=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
715 966
716Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time 967Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
717(modulo threads). 968(modulo threads).
969
970=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, priority)
971
972=item int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)
973
974Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
975integer between C<EV_MAXPRI> (default: C<2>) and C<EV_MINPRI>
976(default: C<-2>). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
977before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
978from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
979
980This means that priorities are I<only> used for ordering callback
981invocation after new events have been received. This is useful, for
982example, to reduce latency after idling, or more often, to bind two
983watchers on the same event and make sure one is called first.
984
985If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
986you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
987
988You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
989pending.
990
991The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
992always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
993
994Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
995fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
996or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.
997
998=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
999
1000Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
1001C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
1002can deal with that fact.
1003
1004=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
1005
1006If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status
1007and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
1008watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
718 1009
719=back 1010=back
720 1011
721 1012
722=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER 1013=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
726to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and 1017to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
727don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data 1018don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
728member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own 1019member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
729data: 1020data:
730 1021
731 struct my_io 1022 struct my_io
732 { 1023 {
733 struct ev_io io; 1024 struct ev_io io;
734 int otherfd; 1025 int otherfd;
735 void *somedata; 1026 void *somedata;
736 struct whatever *mostinteresting; 1027 struct whatever *mostinteresting;
737 } 1028 };
1029
1030 ...
1031 struct my_io w;
1032 ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
738 1033
739And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you 1034And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
740can cast it back to your own type: 1035can cast it back to your own type:
741 1036
742 static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents) 1037 static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)
743 { 1038 {
744 struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_; 1039 struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
745 ... 1040 ...
746 } 1041 }
747 1042
748More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type 1043More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
749instead have been omitted. 1044instead have been omitted.
750 1045
751Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple 1046Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
752watchers: 1047embedded watchers:
753 1048
754 struct my_biggy 1049 struct my_biggy
755 { 1050 {
756 int some_data; 1051 int some_data;
757 ev_timer t1; 1052 ev_timer t1;
758 ev_timer t2; 1053 ev_timer t2;
759 } 1054 }
760 1055
761In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated, 1056In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
762you need to use C<offsetof>: 1057complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct
1058in the C<data> member of the watcher, or you need to use some pointer
1059arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers:
763 1060
764 #include <stddef.h> 1061 #include <stddef.h>
765 1062
766 static void 1063 static void
767 t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 1064 t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
768 { 1065 {
769 struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy * 1066 struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
770 (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1)); 1067 (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
771 } 1068 }
772 1069
773 static void 1070 static void
774 t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 1071 t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
775 { 1072 {
776 struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy * 1073 struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
777 (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2)); 1074 (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
778 } 1075 }
779 1076
780 1077
781=head1 WATCHER TYPES 1078=head1 WATCHER TYPES
782 1079
783This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat 1080This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
807In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per 1104In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
808fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file 1105fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
809descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not 1106descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
810required if you know what you are doing). 1107required if you know what you are doing).
811 1108
812You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
813(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
814descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
815to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
816the same underlying "file open").
817
818If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend 1109If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
819(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and 1110(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
820C<EVBACKEND_POLL>). 1111C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
821 1112
822Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to 1113Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
823receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might 1114receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
824be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block 1115be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
825because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a 1116because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
826lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into 1117lot of those (for example Solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
827this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus 1118this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
828it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning 1119it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
829C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives. 1120C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
830 1121
831If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not 1122If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
832play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test 1123play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately re-test
833wether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface 1124whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
834such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on 1125such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
835its own, so its quite safe to use). 1126its own, so its quite safe to use).
836 1127
1128=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
1129
1130Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
1131descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
1132such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
1133descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
1134this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
1135registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
1136fact, a different file descriptor.
1137
1138To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
1139the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
1140will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
1141it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
1142you I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
1143descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
1144
1145This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
1146the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
1147optimisations to libev.
1148
1149=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
1150
1151Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
1152but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
1153have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
1154events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
1155
1156There is no workaround possible except not registering events
1157for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
1158C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1159
1160=head3 The special problem of fork
1161
1162Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
1163useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
1164it in the child.
1165
1166To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
1167C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
1168enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
1169C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
1170
1171=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
1172
1173While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about SIGPIPE:
1174when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
1175send a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
1176this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
1177
1178So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
1179ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
1180somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
1181
1182
1183=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
1184
837=over 4 1185=over 4
838 1186
839=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events) 1187=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
840 1188
841=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events) 1189=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
842 1190
843Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to 1191Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
844rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or 1192receive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
845C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events. 1193C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
846 1194
847=item int fd [read-only] 1195=item int fd [read-only]
848 1196
849The file descriptor being watched. 1197The file descriptor being watched.
851=item int events [read-only] 1199=item int events [read-only]
852 1200
853The events being watched. 1201The events being watched.
854 1202
855=back 1203=back
1204
1205=head3 Examples
856 1206
857Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well 1207Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
858readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could 1208readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
859attempt to read a whole line in the callback. 1209attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
860 1210
861 static void 1211 static void
862 stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents) 1212 stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
863 { 1213 {
864 ev_io_stop (loop, w); 1214 ev_io_stop (loop, w);
865 .. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors 1215 .. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors
866 } 1216 }
867 1217
868 ... 1218 ...
869 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0); 1219 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
870 struct ev_io stdin_readable; 1220 struct ev_io stdin_readable;
871 ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ); 1221 ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
872 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable); 1222 ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
873 ev_loop (loop, 0); 1223 ev_loop (loop, 0);
874 1224
875 1225
876=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts 1226=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
877 1227
878Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a 1228Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
879given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that. 1229given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
880 1230
881The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that 1231The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
882times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years 1232times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
883time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because 1233year, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because
884detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the 1234detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
885monotonic clock option helps a lot here). 1235monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
1236
1237The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only after its timeout has passed,
1238but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
1239order of execution is undefined.
1240
1241=head3 The special problem of time updates
1242
1243Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
1244least two system calls): EV therefore updates its idea of the current
1245time only before and after C<ev_loop> polls for new events, which causes
1246a growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling
1247lots of events.
886 1248
887The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()> 1249The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
888time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time 1250time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
889of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If 1251of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
890you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout 1252you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
891on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this: 1253timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
892 1254
893 ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.); 1255 ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
894 1256
895The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed, 1257If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
896but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then 1258update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update
897order of execution is undefined. 1259()>.
1260
1261=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
898 1262
899=over 4 1263=over 4
900 1264
901=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat) 1265=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
902 1266
903=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat) 1267=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
904 1268
905Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat> is 1269Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>
906C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped. If it is positive, then the 1270is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
907timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds 1271reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
908later, again, and again, until stopped manually. 1272configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,
1273until stopped manually.
909 1274
910The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if you 1275The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
911configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at 1276you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
912exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with 1277trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
913the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the 1278keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
914timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration. 1279do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
915 1280
916=item ev_timer_again (loop) 1281=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
917 1282
918This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is 1283This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
919repeating. The exact semantics are: 1284repeating. The exact semantics are:
920 1285
921If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared. 1286If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
922 1287
923If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out). 1288If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
924 1289
925If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the 1290If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
926C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value. 1291C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
927 1292
928This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical 1293This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
929example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle 1294example: Imagine you have a TCP connection and you want a so-called idle
930timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60 1295timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
931seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to 1296seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
932configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call 1297configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
933C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If 1298C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
934you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the 1299you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
956or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any), 1321or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
957which is also when any modifications are taken into account. 1322which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
958 1323
959=back 1324=back
960 1325
1326=head3 Examples
1327
961Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds. 1328Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
962 1329
963 static void 1330 static void
964 one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 1331 one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
965 { 1332 {
966 .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here 1333 .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
967 } 1334 }
968 1335
969 struct ev_timer mytimer; 1336 struct ev_timer mytimer;
970 ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.); 1337 ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
971 ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer); 1338 ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
972 1339
973Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of 1340Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
974inactivity. 1341inactivity.
975 1342
976 static void 1343 static void
977 timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents) 1344 timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
978 { 1345 {
979 .. ten seconds without any activity 1346 .. ten seconds without any activity
980 } 1347 }
981 1348
982 struct ev_timer mytimer; 1349 struct ev_timer mytimer;
983 ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */ 1350 ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
984 ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */ 1351 ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
985 ev_loop (loop, 0); 1352 ev_loop (loop, 0);
986 1353
987 // and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity": 1354 // and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
988 // reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds 1355 // reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
989 ev_timer_again (&mytimer); 1356 ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
990 1357
991 1358
992=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron? 1359=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?
993 1360
994Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile 1361Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
995(and unfortunately a bit complex). 1362(and unfortunately a bit complex).
996 1363
997Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time) 1364Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
998but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher 1365but on wall clock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
999to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a 1366to trigger after some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
1000periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now () 1367periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now ()
1001+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will 1368+ 10.>, that is, an absolute time not a delay) and then reset your system
1369clock to January of the previous year, then it will take more than year
1002take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger 1370to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger
1003roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time 1371roughly 10 seconds later as it uses a relative timeout).
1004again).
1005 1372
1006They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as 1373C<ev_periodic>s can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers,
1007triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time. 1374such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or other
1375complicated, rules.
1008 1376
1009As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the 1377As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
1010time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready 1378time (C<at>) has passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
1011during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined. 1379during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
1380
1381=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1012 1382
1013=over 4 1383=over 4
1014 1384
1015=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb) 1385=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1016 1386
1019Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of 1389Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
1020operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex: 1390operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
1021 1391
1022=over 4 1392=over 4
1023 1393
1024=item * absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0) 1394=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
1025 1395
1026In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time 1396In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
1027C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs, 1397time C<at> has passed and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time
1028that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the 1398jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will
1029system time reaches or surpasses this time. 1399run when the system time reaches or surpasses this time.
1030 1400
1031=item * non-repeating interval timer (interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0) 1401=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1032 1402
1033In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next 1403In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1034C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat, regardless 1404C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
1035of any time jumps. 1405and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
1036 1406
1037This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system 1407This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
1038time: 1408time, for example, here is a C<ev_periodic> that triggers each hour, on
1409the hour:
1039 1410
1040 ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0); 1411 ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
1041 1412
1042This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers, 1413This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
1043but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a 1414but only that the callback will be called when the system time shows a
1044full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible 1415full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible
1045by 3600. 1416by 3600.
1046 1417
1047Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that 1418Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
1048C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible 1419C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1049time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps. 1420time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1050 1421
1422For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
1423C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
1424this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
1425
1426Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU
1427speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
1428will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
1429millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
1430
1051=item * manual reschedule mode (reschedule_cb = callback) 1431=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1052 1432
1053In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being 1433In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
1054ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the 1434ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1055reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the 1435reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1056current time as second argument. 1436current time as second argument.
1057 1437
1058NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher, 1438NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
1059ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it, 1439ever, or make ANY event loop modifications whatsoever>.
1060return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
1061starting a prepare watcher).
1062 1440
1441If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
1442it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
1443only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
1444
1063Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, 1445The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic
1064ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.: 1446*w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1065 1447
1066 static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) 1448 static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1067 { 1449 {
1068 return now + 60.; 1450 return now + 60.;
1069 } 1451 }
1071It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value 1453It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
1072(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It 1454(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
1073will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but 1455will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
1074might be called at other times, too. 1456might be called at other times, too.
1075 1457
1076NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is later than the 1458NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
1077passed C<now> value >>. Not even C<now> itself will do, it I<must> be larger. 1459equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
1078 1460
1079This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that 1461This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
1080triggers on each midnight, local time. To do this, you would calculate the 1462triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the
1081next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How 1463next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How
1082you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main 1464you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
1083reason I omitted it as an example). 1465reason I omitted it as an example).
1084 1466
1085=back 1467=back
1089Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful 1471Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1090when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return 1472when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1091a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like 1473a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1092program when the crontabs have changed). 1474program when the crontabs have changed).
1093 1475
1476=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
1477
1478When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
1479trigger next.
1480
1481=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
1482
1483When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
1484absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
1485
1486Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
1487timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1488
1094=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write] 1489=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]
1095 1490
1096The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only 1491The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
1097take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being 1492take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
1098called. 1493called.
1103switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when 1498switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1104the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called. 1499the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1105 1500
1106=back 1501=back
1107 1502
1503=head3 Examples
1504
1108Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the 1505Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1109system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have 1506system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1110potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability. 1507potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
1111 1508
1112 static void 1509 static void
1113 clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents) 1510 clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
1114 { 1511 {
1115 ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows) 1512 ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
1116 } 1513 }
1117 1514
1118 struct ev_periodic hourly_tick; 1515 struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1119 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0); 1516 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
1120 ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick); 1517 ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1121 1518
1122Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it: 1519Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
1123 1520
1124 #include <math.h> 1521 #include <math.h>
1125 1522
1126 static ev_tstamp 1523 static ev_tstamp
1127 my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) 1524 my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1128 { 1525 {
1129 return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.; 1526 return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;
1130 } 1527 }
1131 1528
1132 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb); 1529 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
1133 1530
1134Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now: 1531Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
1135 1532
1136 struct ev_periodic hourly_tick; 1533 struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1137 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 1534 ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
1138 fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0); 1535 fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
1139 ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick); 1536 ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1140 1537
1141 1538
1142=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled! 1539=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
1143 1540
1144Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific 1541Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
1151with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long 1548with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
1152as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal 1549as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
1153watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to 1550watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
1154SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before). 1551SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
1155 1552
1553If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
1554C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so system calls should not be unduly
1555interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting interrupted by
1556signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher and unblock
1557them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
1558
1559=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1560
1156=over 4 1561=over 4
1157 1562
1158=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum) 1563=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
1159 1564
1160=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum) 1565=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)
1166 1571
1167The signal the watcher watches out for. 1572The signal the watcher watches out for.
1168 1573
1169=back 1574=back
1170 1575
1576=head3 Examples
1577
1578Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
1579
1580 static void
1581 sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
1582 {
1583 ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
1584 }
1585
1586 struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
1587 ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
1588 ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
1589
1171 1590
1172=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes 1591=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1173 1592
1174Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to 1593Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1175some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). 1594some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). It
1595is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child has been
1596forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long as the event
1597loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher).
1598
1599Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
1600you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
1601
1602=head3 Process Interaction
1603
1604Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
1605initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if
1606the first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurrence
1607of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
1608synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
1609children, even ones not watched.
1610
1611=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
1612
1613Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
1614processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
1615handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
1616C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
1617default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
1618event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
1619that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
1620
1621=head3 Stopping the Child Watcher
1622
1623Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
1624child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
1625callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
1626when a child exit is detected.
1627
1628=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1176 1629
1177=over 4 1630=over 4
1178 1631
1179=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid) 1632=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1180 1633
1181=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid) 1634=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1182 1635
1183Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or 1636Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1184I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look 1637I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1185at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see 1638at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1186the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems 1639the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1187C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the 1640C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1188process causing the status change. 1641process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
1642activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
1643activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1189 1644
1190=item int pid [read-only] 1645=item int pid [read-only]
1191 1646
1192The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id. 1647The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1193 1648
1200The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems 1655The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1201C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details). 1656C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1202 1657
1203=back 1658=back
1204 1659
1205Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM. 1660=head3 Examples
1206 1661
1662Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
1663its completion.
1664
1665 ev_child cw;
1666
1207 static void 1667 static void
1208 sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents) 1668 child_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_child *w, int revents)
1209 { 1669 {
1210 ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL); 1670 ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
1671 printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1211 } 1672 }
1212 1673
1213 struct ev_signal signal_watcher; 1674 pid_t pid = fork ();
1214 ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT); 1675
1215 ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb); 1676 if (pid < 0)
1677 // error
1678 else if (pid == 0)
1679 {
1680 // the forked child executes here
1681 exit (1);
1682 }
1683 else
1684 {
1685 ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
1686 ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
1687 }
1216 1688
1217 1689
1218=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change? 1690=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1219 1691
1220This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls 1692This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
1221C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed 1693C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
1222compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did. 1694compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
1223 1695
1224The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does 1696The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
1225not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does 1697not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
1243as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be 1715as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1244resource-intensive. 1716resource-intensive.
1245 1717
1246At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is 1718At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
1247implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the 1719implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
1720reader, note, however, that the author sees no way of implementing ev_stat
1248reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the 1721semantics with kqueue). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should
1249semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs 1722not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev
1250to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are 1723sometimes needs to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify,
1251usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no 1724but changes are usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there
1252polling. 1725will be no polling.
1726
1727=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
1728
1729Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
1730compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
1731support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
1732structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
1733use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
1734compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
1735obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
1736most noticeably disabled with ev_stat and large file support.
1737
1738The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
1739file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
1740optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
1741to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
1742default compilation environment.
1743
1744=head3 Inotify
1745
1746When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
1747available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
1748change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
1749when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
1750
1751Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
1752except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
1753making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
1754there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
1755
1756(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
1757implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
1758descriptor open on the object at all times).
1759
1760=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
1761
1762The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably, and
1763even on systems where the resolution is higher, many file systems still
1764only support whole seconds.
1765
1766That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
1767easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
1768calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
1769within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it as the stat
1770data does not change.
1771
1772The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
1773than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
1774a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
1775ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
1776
1777The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
1778of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
1779might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
1780C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
1781a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
1782update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
1783the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
1784the timer callback).
1785
1786=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1253 1787
1254=over 4 1788=over 4
1255 1789
1256=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval) 1790=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
1257 1791
1261C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to 1795C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1262be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose 1796be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1263a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same 1797a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1264path for as long as the watcher is active. 1798path for as long as the watcher is active.
1265 1799
1266The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, 1800The callback will receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, relative
1267relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the 1801to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the last change
1268last change was detected). 1802was detected).
1269 1803
1270=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *) 1804=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1271 1805
1272Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the 1806Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1273watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid 1807watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1274detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be 1808detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1275useful simply to find out the new values. 1809the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
1810new values.
1276 1811
1277=item ev_statdata attr [read-only] 1812=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1278 1813
1279The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of 1814The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1280C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types 1815C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1281suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there 1816suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
1817members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1282was some error while C<stat>ing the file. 1818some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1283 1819
1284=item ev_statdata prev [read-only] 1820=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1285 1821
1286The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever 1822The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1287C<prev> != C<attr>. 1823C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
1824differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
1825C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1288 1826
1289=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only] 1827=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1290 1828
1291The specified interval. 1829The specified interval.
1292 1830
1293=item const char *path [read-only] 1831=item const char *path [read-only]
1294 1832
1295The filesystem path that is being watched. 1833The file system path that is being watched.
1296 1834
1297=back 1835=back
1298 1836
1837=head3 Examples
1838
1299Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes. 1839Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1300 1840
1301 static void 1841 static void
1302 passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents) 1842 passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
1303 { 1843 {
1304 /* /etc/passwd changed in some way */ 1844 /* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
1305 if (w->attr.st_nlink) 1845 if (w->attr.st_nlink)
1306 { 1846 {
1307 printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size); 1847 printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
1308 printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime); 1848 printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1309 printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime); 1849 printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1310 } 1850 }
1311 else 1851 else
1312 /* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */ 1852 /* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
1313 puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. " 1853 puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
1314 "if this is windows, they already arrived\n"); 1854 "if this is windows, they already arrived\n");
1315 } 1855 }
1316 1856
1317 ... 1857 ...
1318 ev_stat passwd; 1858 ev_stat passwd;
1319 1859
1320 ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd"); 1860 ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1321 ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd); 1861 ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
1862
1863Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
1864miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
1865one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
1866C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
1867
1868 static ev_stat passwd;
1869 static ev_timer timer;
1870
1871 static void
1872 timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1873 {
1874 ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
1875
1876 /* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
1877 }
1878
1879 static void
1880 stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
1881 {
1882 /* reset the one-second timer */
1883 ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
1884 }
1885
1886 ...
1887 ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1888 ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
1889 ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
1322 1890
1323 1891
1324=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do... 1892=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1325 1893
1326Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending 1894Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
1327(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long 1895priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not
1328as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals, 1896count).
1329imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle 1897
1330watchers are being called again and again, once per event loop iteration - 1898That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
1899(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
1900triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
1901are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
1331until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events and becomes 1902iteration - until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events
1332busy. 1903and becomes busy again with higher priority stuff.
1333 1904
1334The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are 1905The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
1335active, the process will not block when waiting for new events. 1906active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
1336 1907
1337Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful 1908Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
1338effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do 1909effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
1339"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the 1910"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
1340event loop has handled all outstanding events. 1911event loop has handled all outstanding events.
1341 1912
1913=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1914
1342=over 4 1915=over 4
1343 1916
1344=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback) 1917=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1345 1918
1346Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any 1919Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
1347kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless, 1920kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1348believe me. 1921believe me.
1349 1922
1350=back 1923=back
1351 1924
1925=head3 Examples
1926
1352Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the 1927Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1353callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual. 1928callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1354 1929
1355 static void 1930 static void
1356 idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents) 1931 idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1357 { 1932 {
1358 free (w); 1933 free (w);
1359 // now do something you wanted to do when the program has 1934 // now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1360 // no longer asnything immediate to do. 1935 // no longer anything immediate to do.
1361 } 1936 }
1362 1937
1363 struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle)); 1938 struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1364 ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb); 1939 ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1365 ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb); 1940 ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
1366 1941
1367 1942
1368=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop! 1943=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
1369 1944
1370Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem: 1945Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
1389 1964
1390This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need 1965This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
1391to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for 1966to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for
1392them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries 1967them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries
1393provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for 1968provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for
1394any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers 1969any events that occurred (by checking the pending status of all watchers
1395and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer 1970and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer
1396callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless, 1971callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,
1397because you never know, you know?). 1972because you never know, you know?).
1398 1973
1399As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate 1974As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
1403with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine 1978with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
1404of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event 1979of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
1405loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping 1980loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
1406low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks). 1981low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
1407 1982
1983It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
1984priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
1985after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
1986too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
1987supports this, they might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers
1988did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
1989(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
1990state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
1991coexist peacefully with others).
1992
1993=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1994
1408=over 4 1995=over 4
1409 1996
1410=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback) 1997=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
1411 1998
1412=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback) 1999=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)
1415parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set> 2002parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1416macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless. 2003macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
1417 2004
1418=back 2005=back
1419 2006
1420Example: To include a library such as adns, you would add IO watchers 2007=head3 Examples
1421and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler, as required by libadns, and 2008
2009There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
2010into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
2011(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
2012use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
2013Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
2014Glib event loop).
2015
2016Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1422in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows is 2017and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1423pseudo-code only of course: 2018is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
2019priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
2020the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
1424 2021
1425 static ev_io iow [nfd]; 2022 static ev_io iow [nfd];
1426 static ev_timer tw; 2023 static ev_timer tw;
1427 2024
1428 static void 2025 static void
1429 io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents) 2026 io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1430 { 2027 {
1431 // set the relevant poll flags
1432 // could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1433 struct pollfd *fd = (struct pollfd *)w->data;
1434 if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
1435 if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
1436 } 2028 }
1437 2029
1438 // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking 2030 // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1439 static void 2031 static void
1440 adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents) 2032 adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
1441 { 2033 {
1442 int timeout = 3600000;truct pollfd fds [nfd]; 2034 int timeout = 3600000;
2035 struct pollfd fds [nfd];
1443 // actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc. 2036 // actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
1444 adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ())); 2037 adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
1445 2038
1446 /* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */ 2039 /* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1447 ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3); 2040 ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
1448 ev_timer_start (loop, &tw); 2041 ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
1449 2042
1450 // create on ev_io per pollfd 2043 // create one ev_io per pollfd
1451 for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i) 2044 for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1452 { 2045 {
1453 ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd, 2046 ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1454 ((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0) 2047 ((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1455 | (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0))); 2048 | (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1456 2049
1457 fds [i].revents = 0; 2050 fds [i].revents = 0;
1458 iow [i].data = fds + i;
1459 ev_io_start (loop, iow + i); 2051 ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1460 } 2052 }
1461 } 2053 }
1462 2054
1463 // stop all watchers after blocking 2055 // stop all watchers after blocking
1464 static void 2056 static void
1465 adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents) 2057 adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1466 { 2058 {
1467 ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw); 2059 ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
1468 2060
1469 for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i) 2061 for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
2062 {
2063 // set the relevant poll flags
2064 // could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
2065 struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
2066 int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
2067 if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
2068 if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
2069
2070 // now stop the watcher
1470 ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i); 2071 ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
2072 }
1471 2073
1472 adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop)); 2074 adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
1473 } 2075 }
2076
2077Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
2078in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
2079
2080Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
2081notification (libadns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
2082callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
2083
2084 static void
2085 timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
2086 {
2087 adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
2088 update_now (EV_A);
2089
2090 adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
2091 }
2092
2093 static void
2094 io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
2095 {
2096 adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
2097 update_now (EV_A);
2098
2099 if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
2100 if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
2101 }
2102
2103 // do not ever call adns_afterpoll
2104
2105Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
2106want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, you can override
2107their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main
2108loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
2109this.
2110
2111 static gint
2112 event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
2113 {
2114 int got_events = 0;
2115
2116 for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
2117 // create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
2118
2119 if (timeout >= 0)
2120 // create/start timer
2121
2122 // poll
2123 ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
2124
2125 // stop timer again
2126 if (timeout >= 0)
2127 ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
2128
2129 // stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
2130 for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
2131 ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
2132
2133 return got_events;
2134 }
1474 2135
1475 2136
1476=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough... 2137=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1477 2138
1478This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop 2139This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1520portable one. 2181portable one.
1521 2182
1522So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared 2183So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1523that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around 2184that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1524this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to 2185this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1525create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything: 2186create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
1526 2187
1527 struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0); 2188=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1528 struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1529 struct ev_embed embed;
1530
1531 // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
1532 // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
1533 loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
1534 ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
1535 : 0;
1536
1537 // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
1538 if (loop_lo)
1539 {
1540 ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
1541 ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
1542 }
1543 else
1544 loop_lo = loop_hi;
1545 2189
1546=over 4 2190=over 4
1547 2191
1548=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop) 2192=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
1549 2193
1551 2195
1552Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be 2196Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
1553embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be 2197embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1554invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback 2198invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1555to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done, 2199to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1556if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher). 2200if you do not want that, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1557 2201
1558=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *) 2202=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1559 2203
1560Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works 2204Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1561similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most 2205similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1562apropriate way for embedded loops. 2206appropriate way for embedded loops.
1563 2207
1564=item struct ev_loop *loop [read-only] 2208=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
1565 2209
1566The embedded event loop. 2210The embedded event loop.
1567 2211
1568=back 2212=back
2213
2214=head3 Examples
2215
2216Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
2217event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
2218loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the embeddable loop is stored in
2219C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the case no embeddable loop can be
2220used).
2221
2222 struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
2223 struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
2224 struct ev_embed embed;
2225
2226 // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
2227 // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
2228 loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
2229 ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
2230 : 0;
2231
2232 // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
2233 if (loop_lo)
2234 {
2235 ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
2236 ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
2237 }
2238 else
2239 loop_lo = loop_hi;
2240
2241Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
2242a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
2243kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
2244C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
2245
2246 struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
2247 struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
2248 struct ev_embed embed;
2249
2250 if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
2251 if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
2252 {
2253 ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
2254 ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
2255 }
2256
2257 if (!loop_socket)
2258 loop_socket = loop;
2259
2260 // now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1569 2261
1570 2262
1571=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork 2263=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1572 2264
1573Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because 2265Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
1576event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called, 2268event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
1577and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling 2269and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
1578C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork 2270C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
1579handlers will be invoked, too, of course. 2271handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
1580 2272
2273=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
2274
1581=over 4 2275=over 4
1582 2276
1583=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback) 2277=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1584 2278
1585Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any 2279Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
1586kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless, 2280kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1587believe me. 2281believe me.
2282
2283=back
2284
2285
2286=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
2287
2288In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
2289asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
2290loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
2291
2292Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
2293control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
2294C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
2295can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
2296safe.
2297
2298This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
2299too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
2300(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
2301C<ev_async_sent> calls).
2302
2303Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
2304just the default loop.
2305
2306=head3 Queueing
2307
2308C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
2309is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
2310multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
2311need elaborate support such as pthreads.
2312
2313That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
2314queue. But at least I can tell you would implement locking around your
2315queue:
2316
2317=over 4
2318
2319=item queueing from a signal handler context
2320
2321To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
2322handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is an example that does that for
2323some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
2324
2325 static ev_async mysig;
2326
2327 static void
2328 sigusr1_handler (void)
2329 {
2330 sometype data;
2331
2332 // no locking etc.
2333 queue_put (data);
2334 ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
2335 }
2336
2337 static void
2338 mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
2339 {
2340 sometype data;
2341 sigset_t block, prev;
2342
2343 sigemptyset (&block);
2344 sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
2345 sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
2346
2347 while (queue_get (&data))
2348 process (data);
2349
2350 if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
2351 sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
2352 }
2353
2354(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
2355instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
2356either...).
2357
2358=item queueing from a thread context
2359
2360The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
2361threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
2362employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
2363
2364 static ev_async mysig;
2365 static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
2366
2367 static void
2368 otherthread (void)
2369 {
2370 // only need to lock the actual queueing operation
2371 pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
2372 queue_put (data);
2373 pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
2374
2375 ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
2376 }
2377
2378 static void
2379 mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
2380 {
2381 pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
2382
2383 while (queue_get (&data))
2384 process (data);
2385
2386 pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
2387 }
2388
2389=back
2390
2391
2392=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
2393
2394=over 4
2395
2396=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
2397
2398Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
2399kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
2400believe me.
2401
2402=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
2403
2404Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
2405an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
2406C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do in other threads, signal or
2407similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
2408section below on what exactly this means).
2409
2410This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per loop iteration,
2411so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to repeated
2412calls to C<ev_async_send>.
2413
2414=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
2415
2416Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
2417watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
2418event loop.
2419
2420C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
2421the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
2422it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
2423quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
2424
2425Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending, only
2426whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
1588 2427
1589=back 2428=back
1590 2429
1591 2430
1592=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS 2431=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
1603or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or 2442or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
1604more watchers yourself. 2443more watchers yourself.
1605 2444
1606If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events 2445If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events
1607is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and 2446is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and
1608C<events> set will be craeted and started. 2447C<events> set will be created and started.
1609 2448
1610If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be 2449If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
1611started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and 2450started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and
1612repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of 2451repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of
1613dubious value. 2452dubious value.
1615The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets 2454The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets
1616passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of 2455passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
1617C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg> 2456C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>
1618value passed to C<ev_once>: 2457value passed to C<ev_once>:
1619 2458
1620 static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg) 2459 static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
1621 { 2460 {
1622 if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT) 2461 if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
1623 /* doh, nothing entered */; 2462 /* doh, nothing entered */;
1624 else if (revents & EV_READ) 2463 else if (revents & EV_READ)
1625 /* stdin might have data for us, joy! */; 2464 /* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
1626 } 2465 }
1627 2466
1628 ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0); 2467 ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
1629 2468
1630=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents) 2469=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
1631 2470
1632Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event 2471Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
1633had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an 2472had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
1638Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected 2477Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
1639the given events it. 2478the given events it.
1640 2479
1641=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum) 2480=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)
1642 2481
1643Feed an event as if the given signal occured (C<loop> must be the default 2482Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default
1644loop!). 2483loop!).
1645 2484
1646=back 2485=back
1647 2486
1648 2487
1664 2503
1665=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities 2504=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1666will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there 2505will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1667is an ev_pri field. 2506is an ev_pri field.
1668 2507
2508=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
2509first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
2510
1669=item * Other members are not supported. 2511=item * Other members are not supported.
1670 2512
1671=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need 2513=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1672to use the libev header file and library. 2514to use the libev header file and library.
1673 2515
1674=back 2516=back
1675 2517
1676=head1 C++ SUPPORT 2518=head1 C++ SUPPORT
1677 2519
1678Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow 2520Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1679you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change 2521you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1680the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects. 2522the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
1681 2523
1682To use it, 2524To use it,
1683 2525
1684 #include <ev++.h> 2526 #include <ev++.h>
1685 2527
1686(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes F<ev.h> 2528This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
1687and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global 2529of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
1688namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the C<ev> namespace. 2530put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
2531options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
1689 2532
1690It should support all the same embedding options as F<ev.h>, most notably 2533Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++
1691C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. 2534classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
2535that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
2536you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
2537
2538Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions can be
2539used as callbacks. Other types should be easy to add as long as they only
2540need one additional pointer for context. If you need support for other
2541types of functors please contact the author (preferably after implementing
2542it).
1692 2543
1693Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace: 2544Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
1694 2545
1695=over 4 2546=over 4
1696 2547
1712 2563
1713All of those classes have these methods: 2564All of those classes have these methods:
1714 2565
1715=over 4 2566=over 4
1716 2567
1717=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *) 2568=item ev::TYPE::TYPE ()
1718 2569
1719=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *) 2570=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (struct ev_loop *)
1720 2571
1721=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE 2572=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE
1722 2573
1723The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to 2574The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
1724the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls 2575with. If it is omitted, it will use C<EV_DEFAULT>.
1725C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the C<set> method 2576
1726before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor 2577The constructor calls C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the
1727automatically associates the default loop with this watcher. 2578C<set> method before starting it.
2579
2580It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated C<set>
2581method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
2582
2583(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in C++ which does
2584not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
1728 2585
1729The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active. 2586The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
2587
2588=item w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)
2589
2590This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
2591signature of C<void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)>, it receives the watcher as
2592first argument and the C<revents> as second. The object must be given as
2593parameter and is stored in the C<data> member of the watcher.
2594
2595This method synthesizes efficient thunking code to call your method from
2596the C callback that libev requires. If your compiler can inline your
2597callback (i.e. it is visible to it at the place of the C<set> call and
2598your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
2599thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
2600
2601Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
2602
2603 struct myclass
2604 {
2605 void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
2606 }
2607
2608 myclass obj;
2609 ev::io iow;
2610 iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
2611
2612=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
2613
2614Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
2615callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
2616C<data> member and is free for you to use.
2617
2618The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
2619
2620See the method-C<set> above for more details.
2621
2622Example:
2623
2624 static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
2625 iow.set <io_cb> ();
1730 2626
1731=item w->set (struct ev_loop *) 2627=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
1732 2628
1733Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only 2629Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
1734do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either). 2630do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
1735 2631
1736=item w->set ([args]) 2632=item w->set ([arguments])
1737 2633
1738Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be 2634Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same arguments. Must be
1739called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets 2635called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
1740automatically stopped and restarted. 2636automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
2637method.
1741 2638
1742=item w->start () 2639=item w->start ()
1743 2640
1744Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument as the 2641Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
1745constructor already takes the loop. 2642constructor already stores the event loop.
1746 2643
1747=item w->stop () 2644=item w->stop ()
1748 2645
1749Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument. 2646Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
1750 2647
1751=item w->again () C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only 2648=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
1752 2649
1753For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding 2650For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
1754C<ev_TYPE_again> function. 2651C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
1755 2652
1756=item w->sweep () C<ev::embed> only 2653=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
1757 2654
1758Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>. 2655Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
1759 2656
1760=item w->update () C<ev::stat> only 2657=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
1761 2658
1762Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>. 2659Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
1763 2660
1764=back 2661=back
1765 2662
1766=back 2663=back
1767 2664
1768Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in 2665Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1769the constructor. 2666the constructor.
1770 2667
1771 class myclass 2668 class myclass
1772 { 2669 {
1773 ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents); 2670 ev::io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
1774 ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents); 2671 ev:idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
1775 2672
1776 myclass (); 2673 myclass (int fd)
1777 } 2674 {
2675 io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
2676 idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
1778 2677
1779 myclass::myclass (int fd)
1780 : io (this, &myclass::io_cb),
1781 idle (this, &myclass::idle_cb)
1782 {
1783 io.start (fd, ev::READ); 2678 io.start (fd, ev::READ);
2679 }
1784 } 2680 };
2681
2682
2683=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
2684
2685Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
2686number of languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
2687any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
2688me a note.
2689
2690=over 4
2691
2692=item Perl
2693
2694The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
2695libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
2696there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
2697to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>), C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the
2698C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV> and C<EV::Glib>).
2699
2700It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is at
2701L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
2702
2703=item Python
2704
2705Python bindings can be found at L<http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
2706seems to be quite complete and well-documented. Note, however, that the
2707patch they require for libev is outright dangerous as it breaks the ABI
2708for everybody else, and therefore, should never be applied in an installed
2709libev (if python requires an incompatible ABI then it needs to embed
2710libev).
2711
2712=item Ruby
2713
2714Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
2715of the libev API and adds file handle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
2716more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
2717L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
2718
2719=item D
2720
2721Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
2722be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
2723
2724=back
1785 2725
1786 2726
1787=head1 MACRO MAGIC 2727=head1 MACRO MAGIC
1788 2728
1789Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundemantal is 2729Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamental
1790C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines wether (most) functions and 2730of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
1791callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument. 2731functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
1792 2732
1793To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the 2733To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
1794following macros are defined: 2734following macros are defined:
1795 2735
1796=over 4 2736=over 4
1799 2739
1800This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev 2740This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
1801loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument, 2741loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
1802C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example: 2742C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
1803 2743
1804 ev_unref (EV_A); 2744 ev_unref (EV_A);
1805 ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher); 2745 ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
1806 ev_loop (EV_A_ 0); 2746 ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
1807 2747
1808It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope, 2748It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
1809which is often provided by the following macro. 2749which is often provided by the following macro.
1810 2750
1811=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_> 2751=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
1812 2752
1813This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev 2753This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
1814loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter, 2754loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
1815C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example: 2755C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
1816 2756
1817 // this is how ev_unref is being declared 2757 // this is how ev_unref is being declared
1818 static void ev_unref (EV_P); 2758 static void ev_unref (EV_P);
1819 2759
1820 // this is how you can declare your typical callback 2760 // this is how you can declare your typical callback
1821 static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents) 2761 static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1822 2762
1823It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite 2763It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
1824suitable for use with C<EV_A>. 2764suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
1825 2765
1826=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> 2766=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
1827 2767
1828Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default 2768Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
1829loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default"). 2769loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
1830 2770
2771=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
2772
2773Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
2774default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
2775is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
2776execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
2777
2778It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
2779watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
2780
1831=back 2781=back
1832 2782
1833Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, working regardless of 2783Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
1834wether multiple loops are supported or not. 2784macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
2785or not.
1835 2786
1836 static void 2787 static void
1837 check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents) 2788 check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1838 { 2789 {
1839 ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w); 2790 ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
1840 } 2791 }
1841 2792
1842 ev_check check; 2793 ev_check check;
1843 ev_check_init (&check, check_cb); 2794 ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
1844 ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check); 2795 ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
1845 ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0); 2796 ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
1846
1847 2797
1848=head1 EMBEDDING 2798=head1 EMBEDDING
1849 2799
1850Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host 2800Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
1851applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra 2801applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
1852Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe) 2802Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
1853and rxvt-unicode. 2803and rxvt-unicode.
1854 2804
1855The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your 2805The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
1856source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so 2806source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
1857you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of 2807you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
1858libev somewhere in your source tree). 2808libev somewhere in your source tree).
1859 2809
1860=head2 FILESETS 2810=head2 FILESETS
1861 2811
1862Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files 2812Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
1863in your app. 2813in your application.
1864 2814
1865=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP 2815=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP
1866 2816
1867To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual 2817To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual
1868configuration (no autoconf): 2818configuration (no autoconf):
1869 2819
1870 #define EV_STANDALONE 1 2820 #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1871 #include "ev.c" 2821 #include "ev.c"
1872 2822
1873This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a 2823This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a
1874single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use 2824single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
1875it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best 2825it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best
1876done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and 2826done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and
1877where you can put other configuration options): 2827where you can put other configuration options):
1878 2828
1879 #define EV_STANDALONE 1 2829 #define EV_STANDALONE 1
1880 #include "ev.h" 2830 #include "ev.h"
1881 2831
1882Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++ 2832Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
1883compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated 2833compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
1884as a bug). 2834as a bug).
1885 2835
1886You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory 2836You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
1887in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev): 2837in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
1888 2838
1889 ev.h 2839 ev.h
1890 ev.c 2840 ev.c
1891 ev_vars.h 2841 ev_vars.h
1892 ev_wrap.h 2842 ev_wrap.h
1893 2843
1894 ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only 2844 ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
1895 2845
1896 ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is by default) 2846 ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
1897 ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default) 2847 ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1898 ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default) 2848 ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1899 ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default) 2849 ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1900 ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default) 2850 ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
1901 2851
1902F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need 2852F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
1903to compile this single file. 2853to compile this single file.
1904 2854
1905=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API 2855=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
1906 2856
1907To include the libevent compatibility API, also include: 2857To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:
1908 2858
1909 #include "event.c" 2859 #include "event.c"
1910 2860
1911in the file including F<ev.c>, and: 2861in the file including F<ev.c>, and:
1912 2862
1913 #include "event.h" 2863 #include "event.h"
1914 2864
1915in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>. 2865in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.
1916 2866
1917You need the following additional files for this: 2867You need the following additional files for this:
1918 2868
1919 event.h 2869 event.h
1920 event.c 2870 event.c
1921 2871
1922=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT 2872=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT
1923 2873
1924Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in 2874Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your configuration in
1925whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your 2875whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
1926F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then 2876F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
1927include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly. 2877include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
1928 2878
1929For this of course you need the m4 file: 2879For this of course you need the m4 file:
1930 2880
1931 libev.m4 2881 libev.m4
1932 2882
1933=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS 2883=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
1934 2884
1935Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define 2885Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
1936before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity 2886define before including any of its files. The default in the absence of
1937and only include the select backend. 2887autoconf is noted for every option.
1938 2888
1939=over 4 2889=over 4
1940 2890
1941=item EV_STANDALONE 2891=item EV_STANDALONE
1942 2892
1947F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone. 2897F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
1948 2898
1949=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC 2899=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
1950 2900
1951If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the 2901If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1952monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use 2902monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no use
1953of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you 2903of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
1954usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when 2904usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
1955the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have 2905the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
1956to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime> 2906to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
1957function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>). 2907function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
1958 2908
1959=item EV_USE_REALTIME 2909=item EV_USE_REALTIME
1960 2910
1961If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the 2911If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1962realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at 2912real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability at
1963runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will 2913runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock option will
1964be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get 2914be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
1965(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries 2915(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
1966in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though. 2916note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
2917
2918=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
2919
2920If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
2921and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
2922
2923=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
2924
2925If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
2926available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
2927C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
2928If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
29292.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
1967 2930
1968=item EV_USE_SELECT 2931=item EV_USE_SELECT
1969 2932
1970If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the 2933If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
1971C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no 2934C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at auto-detection will be done: if no
1972other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend 2935other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
1973will not be compiled in. 2936will not be compiled in.
1974 2937
1975=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET 2938=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET
1976 2939
1977If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set> 2940If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
1978structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing 2941structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
1979C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on 2942C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout on
1980exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some 2943exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
1981low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only 2944low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
1982allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might 2945allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might
1983influence the size of the C<fd_set> used. 2946influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.
1984 2947
1990be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call 2953be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
1991C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise, 2954C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
1992it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even 2955it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
1993on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms. 2956on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
1994 2957
2958=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
2959
2960If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
2961file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
2962default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
2963correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
2964in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
2965
1995=item EV_USE_POLL 2966=item EV_USE_POLL
1996 2967
1997If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2) 2968If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
1998backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It 2969backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
1999takes precedence over select. 2970takes precedence over select.
2000 2971
2001=item EV_USE_EPOLL 2972=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2002 2973
2003If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux 2974If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2004C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime, 2975C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2005otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the 2976otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2006preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems. 2977backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
2978headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2007 2979
2008=item EV_USE_KQUEUE 2980=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2009 2981
2010If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style 2982If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2011C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime, 2983C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
2024otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred 2996otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2025backend for Solaris 10 systems. 2997backend for Solaris 10 systems.
2026 2998
2027=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL 2999=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL
2028 3000
2029reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above. 3001Reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
2030 3002
2031=item EV_USE_INOTIFY 3003=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2032 3004
2033If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify 3005If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2034interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will 3006interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2035be detected at runtime. 3007be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
3008indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
3009
3010=item EV_ATOMIC_T
3011
3012Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
3013access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
3014type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
3015that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
3016as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
3017
3018In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
3019(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
2036 3020
2037=item EV_H 3021=item EV_H
2038 3022
2039The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if 3023The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2040undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This 3024undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2041can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts. 3025used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2042 3026
2043=item EV_CONFIG_H 3027=item EV_CONFIG_H
2044 3028
2045If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override 3029If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2046F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to 3030F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2047C<EV_H>, above. 3031C<EV_H>, above.
2048 3032
2049=item EV_EVENT_H 3033=item EV_EVENT_H
2050 3034
2051Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea 3035Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2052of how the F<event.h> header can be found. 3036of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2053 3037
2054=item EV_PROTOTYPES 3038=item EV_PROTOTYPES
2055 3039
2056If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function 3040If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2057prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is 3041prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
2064will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create 3048will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create
2065additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support 3049additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
2066for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer 3050for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
2067argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop. 3051argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
2068 3052
3053=item EV_MINPRI
3054
3055=item EV_MAXPRI
3056
3057The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
3058C<EV_MAXPRI>, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
3059provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
3060to be C<-2> and C<2>, respectively).
3061
3062When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
3063all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
3064and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
3065fine.
3066
3067If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these both to
3068C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
3069
2069=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 3070=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
2070 3071
2071If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If 3072If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
2072defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of 3073defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
2073code. 3074code.
2074 3075
3076=item EV_IDLE_ENABLE
3077
3078If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then idle watchers are supported. If
3079defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
3080code.
3081
2075=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE 3082=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
2076 3083
2077If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If 3084If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
2078defined to be C<0>, then they are not. 3085defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2079 3086
2085=item EV_FORK_ENABLE 3092=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2086 3093
2087If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If 3094If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
2088defined to be C<0>, then they are not. 3095defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2089 3096
3097=item EV_ASYNC_ENABLE
3098
3099If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then async watchers are supported. If
3100defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
3101
2090=item EV_MINIMAL 3102=item EV_MINIMAL
2091 3103
2092If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some 3104If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
2093speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override 3105speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently this is used to override some
2094some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64. 3106inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% code size on amd64. It also selects a
3107much smaller 2-heap for timer management over the default 4-heap.
2095 3108
2096=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE 3109=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
2097 3110
2098C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by 3111C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2099pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more 3112pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
2100than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to 3113than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
2101increase this value (I<must> be a power of two). 3114increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2102 3115
2103=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE 3116=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2104 3117
2105C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by 3118C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2106inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), 3119inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
2107usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat> 3120usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
2108watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of 3121watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
2109two). 3122two).
2110 3123
3124=item EV_USE_4HEAP
3125
3126Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
3127timer and periodics heap, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
3128to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has
3129noticeably faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
3130
3131The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
3132(disabled).
3133
3134=item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
3135
3136Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
3137timer and periodics heap, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
3138the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
3139which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
3140but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
3141noticeably with with many (hundreds) of watchers.
3142
3143The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
3144(disabled).
3145
3146=item EV_VERIFY
3147
3148Controls how much internal verification (see C<ev_loop_verify ()>) will
3149be done: If set to C<0>, no internal verification code will be compiled
3150in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
3151called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be
3152called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the
3153verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
3154libev considerably.
3155
3156The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set, in which case it will be
3157C<0.>
3158
2111=item EV_COMMON 3159=item EV_COMMON
2112 3160
2113By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining 3161By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
2114this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of 3162this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
2115members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files, 3163members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
2116though, and it must be identical each time. 3164though, and it must be identical each time.
2117 3165
2118For example, the perl EV module uses something like this: 3166For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
2119 3167
2120 #define EV_COMMON \ 3168 #define EV_COMMON \
2121 SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \ 3169 SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
2122 SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */ 3170 SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
2123 3171
2124=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type) 3172=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
2125 3173
2126=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents) 3174=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
2127 3175
2128=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb) 3176=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
2129 3177
2130Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher, 3178Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
2131and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member 3179and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
2132definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.v> header file for 3180definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
2133their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to 3181their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
2134avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use 3182avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2135method calls instead of plain function calls in C++. 3183method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
3184
3185=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
3186
3187If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a DLL) and you need a list of
3188exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
3189all public symbols, one per line:
3190
3191 Symbols.ev for libev proper
3192 Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
3193
3194This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
3195multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
3196itself, but sometimes it is inconvenient to avoid this).
3197
3198A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
3199include before including F<ev.h>:
3200
3201 <Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
3202
3203This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
3204
3205 #define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
3206 #define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
3207 #define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
3208 ...
2136 3209
2137=head2 EXAMPLES 3210=head2 EXAMPLES
2138 3211
2139For a real-world example of a program the includes libev 3212For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
2140verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module 3213verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
2143interface) and F<EV.xs> (implementation) files. Only the F<EV.xs> file 3216interface) and F<EV.xs> (implementation) files. Only the F<EV.xs> file
2144will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header 3217will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
2145file. 3218file.
2146 3219
2147The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file 3220The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
2148that everybody includes and which overrides some autoconf choices: 3221that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
2149 3222
3223 #define EV_MINIMAL 1
2150 #define EV_USE_POLL 0 3224 #define EV_USE_POLL 0
2151 #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0 3225 #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
2152 #define EV_PERIODICS 0 3226 #define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
3227 #define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
3228 #define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
2153 #define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h> 3229 #define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
3230 #define EV_MINPRI 0
3231 #define EV_MAXPRI 0
2154 3232
2155 #include "ev++.h" 3233 #include "ev++.h"
2156 3234
2157And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled: 3235And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
2158 3236
2159 #include "ev_cpp.h" 3237 #include "ev_cpp.h"
2160 #include "ev.c" 3238 #include "ev.c"
3239
3240
3241=head1 THREADS AND COROUTINES
3242
3243=head2 THREADS
3244
3245Libev itself is completely thread-safe, but it uses no locking. This
3246means that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as
3247only one thread ever calls into one libev function with the same loop
3248parameter.
3249
3250Or put differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done in
3251parallel from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter must be
3252done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as only one
3253thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using a mutex
3254per loop).
3255
3256If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
3257without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
3258help you. I can give some generic advice however:
3259
3260=over 4
3261
3262=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
3263in that thread, or create a separate thread running only the default loop.
3264
3265This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
3266themselves and don't care/know about threading.
3267
3268=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
3269
3270Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
3271exists, but it is always a good start.
3272
3273=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
3274loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robin fashion.
3275
3276Choosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you can do
3277better than you currently do :-)
3278
3279=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
3280event loop - C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other
3281threads safely (or from signal contexts...).
3282
3283=back
3284
3285=head2 COROUTINES
3286
3287Libev is much more accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
3288libev fully supports nesting calls to it's functions from different
3289coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
3290different coroutines and switch freely between both coroutines running the
3291loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
3292you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
3293
3294Care has been invested into making sure that libev does not keep local
3295state inside C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow coroutine
3296switches.
2161 3297
2162 3298
2163=head1 COMPLEXITIES 3299=head1 COMPLEXITIES
2164 3300
2165In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside 3301In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
2166libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the 3302libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
2167documentation for C<ev_default_init>. 3303documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
2168 3304
3305All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
3306extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
3307happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
3308mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
3309it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
3310
2169=over 4 3311=over 4
2170 3312
2171=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers) 3313=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2172 3314
3315This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
3316there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
3317have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
3318
2173=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers) 3319=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2174 3320
3321That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
3322as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
3323
2175=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1) 3324=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2176 3325
3326These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
3327
2177=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1) 3328=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2178 3329
2179=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE)) 3330=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2180 3331
3332These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
3333correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
3334have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
3335
2181=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1) 3336=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
3337
3338By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
3339fixed position in the storage array.
2182 3340
2183=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd) 3341=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2184 3342
2185=item Activating one watcher: O(1) 3343A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
3344libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
3345on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
3346
3347=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
3348
3349=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
3350
3351Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
3352priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
3353linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
3354watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. priority handling.
3355
3356=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
3357
3358=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
3359
3360=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
3361
3362Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
3363calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
3364involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2186 3365
2187=back 3366=back
2188 3367
2189 3368
3369=head1 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
3370
3371Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
3372requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
3373model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
3374the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
3375descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
3376e.g. cygwin.
3377
3378Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
3379re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
3380things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
3381way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
3382
3383There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
3384embedding it into other applications.
3385
3386Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
3387accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
3388either accept everything or return C<ENOBUFS> if the buffer is too large,
3389so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
3390megabyte seems safe, but thsi apparently depends on the amount of memory
3391available).
3392
3393Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
3394the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
3395is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
3396more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
3397different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
3398notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
3399(Microsoft monopoly games).
3400
3401A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
3402section for details) and use the following F<evwrap.h> header file instead
3403of F<ev.h>:
3404
3405 #define EV_STANDALONE /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
3406 #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* configure libev for windows select */
3407
3408 #include "ev.h"
3409
3410And compile the following F<evwrap.c> file into your project (make sure
3411you do I<not> compile the F<ev.c> or any other embedded soruce files!):
3412
3413 #include "evwrap.h"
3414 #include "ev.c"
3415
3416=over 4
3417
3418=item The winsocket select function
3419
3420The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it
3421requires socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors> (it is
3422also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
3423requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
3424C runtime provides the function C<_open_osfhandle> for this). See the
3425discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>, C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and
3426C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor symbols for more info.
3427
3428The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the Microsoft runtime
3429libraries and raw winsocket select is:
3430
3431 #define EV_USE_SELECT 1
3432 #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
3433
3434Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
3435complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
3436
3437=item Limited number of file descriptors
3438
3439Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
3440
3441Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
3442of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
3443can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; Microsoft
3444recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
3445previous thread in each. Great).
3446
3447Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
3448to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
3449call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
3450select emulation on windows).
3451
3452Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
3453libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
3454or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this by calling
3455C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
3456arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft runtime
3457libraries.
3458
3459This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
3460windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
3461wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
3462calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
3463
3464=back
3465
3466
3467=head1 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
3468
3469In addition to a working ISO-C implementation, libev relies on a few
3470additional extensions:
3471
3472=over 4
3473
3474=item C<void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)> must have compatible
3475calling conventions regardless of C<ev_watcher_type *>.
3476
3477Libev assumes not only that all watcher pointers have the same internal
3478structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also
3479assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
3480callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
3481calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.
3482
3483=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
3484
3485The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
3486C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic w.r.t. accesses from different
3487threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
3488believed to be sufficiently portable.
3489
3490=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
3491
3492Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
3493allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
3494pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
3495thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
3496be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
3497C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
3498
3499The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
3500except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
3501well.
3502
3503=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
3504
3505To improve portability and simplify using libev, libev uses C<long>
3506internally instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On
3507non-POSIX systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but
3508is still at least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of
3509millions of watchers.
3510
3511=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
3512
3513The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
3514have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
3515enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
3516implementations implementing IEEE 754 (basically all existing ones).
3517
3518=back
3519
3520If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
3521
3522
3523=head1 COMPILER WARNINGS
3524
3525Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
3526lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
3527scared by this.
3528
3529However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
3530has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
3531warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
3532targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
3533
3534Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
3535workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
3536maintainable.
3537
3538And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
3539wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
3540seems to warn about).
3541
3542While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
3543"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
3544with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
3545them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
3546warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
3547
3548
3549=head1 VALGRIND
3550
3551Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
3552highly useful, but valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
3553
3554If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
3555in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
3556
3557 ==2274== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
3558 ==2274== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
3559 ==2274== still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
3560
3561Then there is no memory leak. Similarly, under some circumstances,
3562valgrind might report kernel bugs as if it were a bug in libev, or it
3563might be confused (it is a very good tool, but only a tool).
3564
3565If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
3566with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this is
3567a bug in libev. However, don't be annoyed when you get a brisk "this is
3568no bug" answer and take the chance of learning how to interpret valgrind
3569properly.
3570
3571If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
3572I suggest using suppression lists.
3573
3574
2190=head1 AUTHOR 3575=head1 AUTHOR
2191 3576
2192Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>. 3577Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
2193 3578

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