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Revision 1.151 by root, Tue May 6 23:42:16 2008 UTC

…		…
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
		19	// all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
16	/* called when data readable on stdin */	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
		67	The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
		68	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
		69	time: L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.html>.
		70
53	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a	71	Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
54	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage	72	file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
55	these event sources and provide your program with events.	73	these event sources and provide your program with events.
56		74
57	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process	75	To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
58	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then	76	(or thread) by executing the I<event loop> handler, and will then
59	communicate events via a callback mechanism.	77	communicate events via a callback mechanism.
…		…
61	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event	79	You register interest in certain events by registering so-called I<event
62	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the	80	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
63	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the	81	details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by I<starting> the
64	watcher.	82	watcher.
65		83
66	=head1 FEATURES	84	=head2 FEATURES
67		85
68	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the	86	Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
69	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms	87	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
70	for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface	88	for 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
79	It also is quite fast (see this	97	It also is quite fast (see this
80	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent	98	L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
81	for example).	99	for example).
82		100
83	=head1 CONVENTIONS	101	=head2 CONVENTIONS
84		102
85	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will	103	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
86	be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about	104	configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
87	various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in	105	more info about various configuration options please have a look at
88	this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event	106	B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
89	loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop>	107	for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
90	(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.	108	name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have
		109	this argument.
91		110
92	=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION	111	=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
93		112
94	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the	113	Libev 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
96	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is	115	the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
97	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases	116	called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
98	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on	117	to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
99	it, you should treat it as such.	118	it, you should treat it as some floatingpoint value. Unlike the name
		119	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
		120	throughout libev.
100		121
101	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	122	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
102		123
103	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	124	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
104	library in any way.	125	library in any way.
…		…
109		130
110	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	131	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
111	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	132	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
112	you actually want to know.	133	you actually want to know.
113		134
		135	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
		136
		137	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
		138	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
		139	this is a subsecond-resolution C<sleep ()>.
		140
114	=item int ev_version_major ()	141	=item int ev_version_major ()
115		142
116	=item int ev_version_minor ()	143	=item int ev_version_minor ()
117		144
118	You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library	145	You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
119	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and	146	you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
120	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global	147	C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
121	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the	148	symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
122	version of the library your program was compiled against.	149	version of the library your program was compiled against.
123		150
		151	These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
		152	release version.
		153
124	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,	154	Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
125	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually	155	as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
126	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually	156	compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
127	not a problem.	157	not a problem.
128		158
129	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	159	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
130	version.	160	version.
…		…
166	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	196	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
167		197
168	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	198	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
169		199
170	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	200	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
171	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to	201	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
172	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when	202	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
173	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some	203	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
174	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc	204	or take some potentially destructive action.
175	function.	205
		206	Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
		207	correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
		208	C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
176		209
177	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	210	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
178	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	211	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
179	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	212	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
180		213
181	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	214	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
182	retries).	215	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
183		216
184	static void *	217	static void *
185	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	218	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
186	{	219	{
187	for (;;)	220	for (;;)
…		…
226		259
227	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two	260	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two
228	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child	261	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child
229	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.	262	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.
230		263
231	If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop
232	in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you
233	create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking
234	whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
235	threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
236	done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
237
238	=over 4	264	=over 4
239		265
240	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)	266	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
241		267
242	This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised	268	This will initialise the default event loop if it hasn't been initialised
…		…
244	false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the	270	false. If it already was initialised it simply returns it (and ignores the
245	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	271	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
246		272
247	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	273	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
248	function.	274	function.
		275
		276	Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
		277	from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
		278	as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
		279
		280	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		281	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		282	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your app you can either
		283	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		284	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		285	C<ev_default_init>.
249		286
250	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	287	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
251	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	288	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
252		289
253	The following flags are supported:	290	The following flags are supported:
…		…
275	enabling this flag.	312	enabling this flag.
276		313
277	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,	314	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
278	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop	315	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
279	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my	316	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
280	Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence	317	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
281	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has	318	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
282	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).	319	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
283		320
284	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and	321	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
285	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this	322	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
286	flag.	323	flag.
…		…
291	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	328	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
292		329
293	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	330	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
294	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	331	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
295	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	332	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
296	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	333	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
297	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	334	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		335
		336	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		337	parallelity (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		338	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		339	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		340	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		341	readyness notifications you get per iteration.
298		342
299	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	343	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
300		344
301	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	345	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
302	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	346	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
303	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	347	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
304	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	348	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		349	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		350	performance tips.
305		351
306	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	352	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
307		353
308	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	354	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
309	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like	355	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
310	O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales	356	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
311	either O(1) or O(active_fds).	357	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
		358	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
		359	cases and requiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad
		360	support for dup.
312		361
313	While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will	362	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
314	result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	363	will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
315	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	364	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
316	best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very	365	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
317	well if you register events for both fds.	366	very well if you register events for both fds.
318		367
319	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	368	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
320	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	369	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
321	(or space) is available.	370	(or space) is available.
322		371
		372	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
		373	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible, i.e.
		374	keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times.
		375
		376	While nominally embeddeble in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		377	all kernel versions tested so far.
		378
323	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	379	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
324		380
325	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	381	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
326	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with	382	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
327	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its	383	with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
328	completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"	384	it's completely useless). For this reason it's not being "autodetected"
329	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	385	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
330	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).	386	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
		387	system like NetBSD.
		388
		389	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		390	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		391	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
331		392
332	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	393	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
333	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	394	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
334	course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an	395	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
335	extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per	396	cause an extra syscall as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
336	incident, so its best to avoid that.	397	two event changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
		398	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
		399
		400	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		401
		402	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		403	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		404	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		405	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		406	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and using it only for
		407	sockets.
337		408
338	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	409	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
339		410
340	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	411	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		412	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		413	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		414	immensely.
341		415
342	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	416	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
343		417
344	This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	418	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
345	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	419	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
346		420
347	Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious	421	Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
348	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	422	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
349	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	423	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		424
		425	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		426	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		427	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		428	might perform better.
		429
		430	On the positive side, ignoring the spurious readyness notifications, this
		431	backend actually performed to specification in all tests and is fully
		432	embeddable, which is a rare feat among the OS-specific backends.
350		433
351	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	434	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
352		435
353	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	436	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
354	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	437	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
355	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	438	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
356		439
		440	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		441
357	=back	442	=back
358		443
359	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	444	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these
360	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	445	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
361	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	446	specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
362	order of their flag values :)
363		447
364	The most typical usage is like this:	448	The most typical usage is like this:
365		449
366	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	450	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
367	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	451	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
…		…
381		465
382	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	466	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
383	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	467	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
384	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	468	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
385	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	469	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
		470
		471	Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and the recommended way to use
		472	libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
		473	default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
386		474
387	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	475	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
388		476
389	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	477	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
390	if (!epoller)	478	if (!epoller)
…		…
395	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	483	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
396	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	484	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
397	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your	485	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
398	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>	486	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>
399	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually	487	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
400	the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them	488	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
401	for example).	489	for example).
		490
		491	Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
		492	this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
		493	would need to be stopped manually.
		494
		495	In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
		496	rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
		497	pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
		498	C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
402		499
403	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	500	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
404		501
405	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	502	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
406	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	503	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
407		504
408	=item ev_default_fork ()	505	=item ev_default_fork ()
409		506
		507	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
410	This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have	508	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
411	one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense	509	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
412	after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that	510	the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
413	again makes little sense).	511	sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
		512	functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
414		513
415	You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and	514	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
416	only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just	515	process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
417	fork+exec, you don't have to call it.	516	you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
418		517
419	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call	518	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
420	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in	519	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
421	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:	520	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
422		521
423	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);	522	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
424		523
425	At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
426	without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
427	do not need to care.
428
429	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	524	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
430		525
431	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	526	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
432	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	527	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
433	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	528	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
		529
		530	=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
		531
		532	Returns true when the given loop actually is the default loop, false otherwise.
		533
		534	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
		535
		536	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
		537	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
		538	happily wraps around with enough iterations.
		539
		540	This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
		541	"ticks" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
		542	C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> calls.
434		543
435	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)	544	=item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)
436		545
437	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in	546	Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in
438	use.	547	use.
…		…
441		550
442	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop	551	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
443	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not	552	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
444	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base	553	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
445	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the	554	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
446	event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).	555	event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
447		556
448	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)	557	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
449		558
450	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	559	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
451	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling	560	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
…		…
472	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	581	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
473	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	582	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
474		583
475	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	584	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
476		585
477	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	586	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
478	- Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	587	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
		588	- If a fork was detected, queue and call all fork watchers.
		589	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
479	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	590	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
480	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	591	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
481	- Update the "event loop time".	592	- Update the "event loop time".
482	- Calculate for how long to block.	593	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		594	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		595	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		596	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
483	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	597	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
484	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	598	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
485	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	599	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.
486	- Queue all outstanding timers.	600	- Queue all outstanding timers.
487	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	601	- Queue all outstanding periodics.
488	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	602	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
489	- Queue all check watchers.	603	- Queue all check watchers.
490	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	604	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
491	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	605	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
492	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	606	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
493	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	607	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
494	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	608	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		609	continue with step *.
495		610
496	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	611	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
497	anymore.	612	anymore.
498		613
499	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	614	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
500	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	615	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
501	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	616	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
…		…
505		620
506	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	621	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
507	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	622	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
508	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	623	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
509	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	624	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
		625
		626	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
510		627
511	=item ev_ref (loop)	628	=item ev_ref (loop)
512		629
513	=item ev_unref (loop)	630	=item ev_unref (loop)
514		631
…		…
519	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	636	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For
520	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	637	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not
521	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	638	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if
522	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	639	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
523	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	640	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
524	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	641	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
		642	(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
		643	respectively).
525		644
526	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	645	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
527	running when nothing else is active.	646	running when nothing else is active.
528		647
529	struct ev_signal exitsig;	648	struct ev_signal exitsig;
…		…
533		652
534	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	653	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
535		654
536	ev_ref (loop);	655	ev_ref (loop);
537	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	656	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
		657
		658	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		659
		660	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		661
		662	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
		663	for events. Both are by default C<0>, meaning that libev will try to
		664	invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum latency.
		665
		666	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
		667	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks to
		668	increase efficiency of loop iterations.
		669
		670	The background is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to
		671	handle one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes
		672	the program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
		673	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
		674	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
		675
		676	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
		677	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
		678	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
		679	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		680	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
		681
		682	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
		683	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
		684	latency (the watcher callback will be called later). C<ev_io> watchers
		685	will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null value will not introduce
		686	any overhead in libev.
		687
		688	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the io collect
		689	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
		690	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
		691	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
		692	as this approsaches the timing granularity of most systems.
538		693
539	=back	694	=back
540		695
541		696
542	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	697	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
…		…
642	=item C<EV_FORK>	797	=item C<EV_FORK>
643		798
644	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see	799	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
645	C<ev_fork>).	800	C<ev_fork>).
646		801
		802	=item C<EV_ASYNC>
		803
		804	The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
		805
647	=item C<EV_ERROR>	806	=item C<EV_ERROR>
648		807
649	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	808	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might
650	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	809	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
651	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other	810	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
…		…
722	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)	881	=item bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)
723		882
724	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding	883	Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
725	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher	884	events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
726	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but	885	is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
727	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to	886	C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
728	libev (e.g. you cnanot C<free ()> it).	887	make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot C<free ()>
		888	it).
729		889
730	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)	890	=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
731		891
732	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.	892	Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
733		893
734	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	894	=item ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
735		895
736	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time	896	Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
737	(modulo threads).	897	(modulo threads).
		898
		899	=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, priority)
		900
		901	=item int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)
		902
		903	Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
		904	integer between C<EV_MAXPRI> (default: C<2>) and C<EV_MINPRI>
		905	(default: C<-2>). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
		906	before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
		907	from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
		908
		909	This means that priorities are I<only> used for ordering callback
		910	invocation after new events have been received. This is useful, for
		911	example, to reduce latency after idling, or more often, to bind two
		912	watchers on the same event and make sure one is called first.
		913
		914	If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
		915	you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
		916
		917	You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
		918	pending.
		919
		920	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
		921	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
		922
		923	Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
		924	fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
		925	or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.
		926
		927	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
		928
		929	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
		930	C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
		931	can deal with that fact.
		932
		933	=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
		934
		935	If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status
		936	and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
		937	watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
738		938
739	=back	939	=back
740		940
741		941
742	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER	942	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
…		…
827	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1027	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
828	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1028	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
829	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1029	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
830	required if you know what you are doing).	1030	required if you know what you are doing).
831		1031
832	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
833	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
834	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
835	to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
836	the same underlying "file open").
837
838	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend	1032	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
839	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and	1033	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
840	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).	1034	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
841		1035
842	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1036	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
…		…
848	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning	1042	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
849	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.	1043	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
850		1044
851	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not	1045	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not
852	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test	1046	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test
853	wether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface	1047	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
854	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on	1048	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
855	its own, so its quite safe to use).	1049	its own, so its quite safe to use).
		1050
		1051	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
		1052
		1053	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
		1054	descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
		1055	such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
		1056	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
		1057	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
		1058	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
		1059	fact, a different file descriptor.
		1060
		1061	To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
		1062	the following policy: Each time C<ev_io_set> is being called, libev
		1063	will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
		1064	it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
		1065	you I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
		1066	descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
		1067
		1068	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
		1069	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
		1070	optimisations to libev.
		1071
		1072	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
		1073
		1074	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
		1075	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
		1076	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
		1077	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
		1078
		1079	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
		1080	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
		1081	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1082
		1083	=head3 The special problem of fork
		1084
		1085	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
		1086	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
		1087	it in the child.
		1088
		1089	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
		1090	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
		1091	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
		1092	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1093
		1094	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
		1095
		1096	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about SIGPIPE:
		1097	when reading from a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program
		1098	gets send a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most
		1099	programs this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually
		1100	undesirable.
		1101
		1102	So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
		1103	ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
		1104	somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
		1105
		1106
		1107	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
856		1108
857	=over 4	1109	=over 4
858		1110
859	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1111	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
860		1112
…		…
871	=item int events [read-only]	1123	=item int events [read-only]
872		1124
873	The events being watched.	1125	The events being watched.
874		1126
875	=back	1127	=back
		1128
		1129	=head3 Examples
876		1130
877	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1131	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
878	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1132	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
879	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.	1133	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
880		1134
…		…
914		1168
915	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,	1169	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
916	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then	1170	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
917	order of execution is undefined.	1171	order of execution is undefined.
918		1172
		1173	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1174
919	=over 4	1175	=over 4
920		1176
921	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1177	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
922		1178
923	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1179	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
…		…
931	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at	1187	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at
932	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with	1188	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with
933	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the	1189	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the
934	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	1190	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
935		1191
936	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1192	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
937		1193
938	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1194	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
939	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1195	repeating. The exact semantics are:
940		1196
941	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	1197	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
…		…
976	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),	1232	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
977	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.	1233	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
978		1234
979	=back	1235	=back
980		1236
		1237	=head3 Examples
		1238
981	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1239	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
982		1240
983	static void	1241	static void
984	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1242	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
985	{	1243	{
…		…
1018	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1276	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
1019	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1277	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
1020	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()	1278	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()
1021	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1279	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will
1022	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1280	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger
1023	roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time	1281	roughly 10 seconds later).
1024	again).
1025		1282
1026	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1283	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as
1027	triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.	1284	triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,
		1285	rules.
1028		1286
1029	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1287	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the
1030	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1288	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
1031	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1289	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
1032		1290
		1291	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1292
1033	=over 4	1293	=over 4
1034		1294
1035	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)	1295	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1036		1296
1037	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)	1297	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)
…		…
1039	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of	1299	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
1040	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:	1300	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
1041		1301
1042	=over 4	1302	=over 4
1043		1303
1044	=item * absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	1304	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
1045		1305
1046	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	1306	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time
1047	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	1307	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,
1048	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	1308	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the
1049	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	1309	system time reaches or surpasses this time.
1050		1310
1051	=item * non-repeating interval timer (interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	1311	=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1052		1312
1053	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	1313	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1054	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat, regardless	1314	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
1055	of any time jumps.	1315	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
1056		1316
1057	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	1317	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
1058	time:	1318	time:
1059		1319
1060	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	1320	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
…		…
1066		1326
1067	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	1327	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
1068	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	1328	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1069	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	1329	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1070		1330
		1331	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
		1332	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
		1333	this value.
		1334
1071	=item * manual reschedule mode (reschedule_cb = callback)	1335	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1072		1336
1073	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	1337	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
1074	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	1338	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1075	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	1339	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1076	current time as second argument.	1340	current time as second argument.
1077		1341
1078	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	1342	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
1079	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	1343	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,
1080	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by	1344	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
1081	starting a prepare watcher).	1345	starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
1082		1346
1083	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	1347	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,
1084	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	1348	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1085		1349
1086	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1350	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
…		…
1109	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	1373	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1110	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	1374	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1111	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	1375	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1112	program when the crontabs have changed).	1376	program when the crontabs have changed).
1113		1377
		1378	=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
		1379
		1380	When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
		1381	trigger next.
		1382
		1383	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
		1384
		1385	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
		1386	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
		1387
		1388	Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
		1389	timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
		1390
1114	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]	1391	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-write]
1115		1392
1116	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only	1393	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
1117	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being	1394	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
1118	called.	1395	called.
…		…
1122	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is	1399	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
1123	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when	1400	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1124	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.	1401	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1125		1402
1126	=back	1403	=back
		1404
		1405	=head3 Examples
1127		1406
1128	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	1407	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1129	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	1408	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1130	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	1409	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
1131		1410
…		…
1171	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	1450	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long
1172	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	1451	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
1173	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	1452	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
1174	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	1453	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
1175		1454
		1455	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
		1456	C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so syscalls should not be unduly
		1457	interrupted. If you have a problem with syscalls getting interrupted by
		1458	signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher and unblock
		1459	them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
		1460
		1461	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1462
1176	=over 4	1463	=over 4
1177		1464
1178	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)	1465	=item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
1179		1466
1180	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)	1467	=item ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)
…		…
1186		1473
1187	The signal the watcher watches out for.	1474	The signal the watcher watches out for.
1188		1475
1189	=back	1476	=back
1190		1477
		1478	=head3 Examples
		1479
		1480	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
		1481
		1482	static void
		1483	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
		1484	{
		1485	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
		1486	}
		1487
		1488	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;
		1489	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
		1490	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
		1491
1191		1492
1192	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes	1493	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1193		1494
1194	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	1495	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1195	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	1496	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies). It
		1497	is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child has been
		1498	forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long as the event
		1499	loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher).
		1500
		1501	Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
		1502	you can only rgeister child watchers in the default event loop.
		1503
		1504	=head3 Process Interaction
		1505
		1506	Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
		1507	initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if
		1508	the first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurance
		1509	of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
		1510	synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
		1511	children, even ones not watched.
		1512
		1513	=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
		1514
		1515	Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
		1516	processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
		1517	handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
		1518	C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
		1519	default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
		1520	event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
		1521	that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
		1522
		1523	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1196		1524
1197	=over 4	1525	=over 4
1198		1526
1199	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	1527	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1200		1528
1201	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)	1529	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1202		1530
1203	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or	1531	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1204	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look	1532	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1205	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	1533	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1206	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	1534	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1207	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	1535	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1208	process causing the status change.	1536	process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
		1537	activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
		1538	activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1209		1539
1210	=item int pid [read-only]	1540	=item int pid [read-only]
1211		1541
1212	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.	1542	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1213		1543
…		…
1220	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems	1550	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1221	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).	1551	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1222		1552
1223	=back	1553	=back
1224		1554
1225	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	1555	=head3 Examples
		1556
		1557	Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
		1558	its completion.
		1559
		1560	ev_child cw;
1226		1561
1227	static void	1562	static void
1228	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	1563	child_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_child *w, int revents)
1229	{	1564	{
1230	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	1565	ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1566	printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1231	}	1567	}
1232		1568
1233	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	1569	pid_t pid = fork ();
1234	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	1570
1235	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	1571	if (pid < 0)
		1572	// error
		1573	else if (pid == 0)
		1574	{
		1575	// the forked child executes here
		1576	exit (1);
		1577	}
		1578	else
		1579	{
		1580	ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
		1581	ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
		1582	}
1236		1583
1237		1584
1238	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	1585	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1239		1586
1240	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	1587	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
…		…
1263	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be	1610	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1264	resource-intensive.	1611	resource-intensive.
1265		1612
1266	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is	1613	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
1267	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the	1614	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
		1615	reader, note, however, that the author sees no way of implementing ev_stat
1268	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the	1616	semantics with kqueue). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should
1269	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs	1617	not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev
1270	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are	1618	sometimes needs to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify,
1271	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no	1619	but changes are usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there
1272	polling.	1620	will be no polling.
		1621
		1622	=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
		1623
		1624	Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
		1625	compilation environment, which means that on systems with optionally
		1626	disabled large file support, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
		1627	structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
		1628	use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
		1629	compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
		1630	obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
		1631	most noticably with ev_stat and largefile support.
		1632
		1633	=head3 Inotify
		1634
		1635	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally only
		1636	available on Linux) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
		1637	change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created lazily
		1638	when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
		1639
		1640	Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		1641	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		1642	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
		1643	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling.
		1644
		1645	(There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		1646	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		1647	descriptor open on the object at all times).
		1648
		1649	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		1650
		1651	The C<stat ()> syscall only supports full-second resolution portably, and
		1652	even on systems where the resolution is higher, many filesystems still
		1653	only support whole seconds.
		1654
		1655	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
		1656	easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
		1657	calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
		1658	within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect it as the stat
		1659	data does not change.
		1660
		1661	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
		1662	than second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
		1663	a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
		1664	ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
		1665
		1666	The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
		1667	of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
		1668	might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
		1669	C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
		1670	a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
		1671	update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
		1672	the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
		1673	the timer callback).
		1674
		1675	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1273		1676
1274	=over 4	1677	=over 4
1275		1678
1276	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)	1679	=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
1277		1680
…		…
1281	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to	1684	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1282	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose	1685	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1283	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same	1686	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1284	path for as long as the watcher is active.	1687	path for as long as the watcher is active.
1285		1688
1286	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,	1689	The callback will receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected, relative
1287	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the	1690	to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the last change
1288	last change was detected).	1691	was detected).
1289		1692
1290	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)	1693	=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1291		1694
1292	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the	1695	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1293	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid	1696	watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1294	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be	1697	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1295	useful simply to find out the new values.	1698	the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
		1699	new values.
1296		1700
1297	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]	1701	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1298		1702
1299	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of	1703	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1300	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types	1704	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1301	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there	1705	suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
		1706	members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1302	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.	1707	some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1303		1708
1304	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]	1709	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1305		1710
1306	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever	1711	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1307	C<prev> != C<attr>.	1712	C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
		1713	differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
		1714	C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1308		1715
1309	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]	1716	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1310		1717
1311	The specified interval.	1718	The specified interval.
1312		1719
1313	=item const char *path [read-only]	1720	=item const char *path [read-only]
1314		1721
1315	The filesystem path that is being watched.	1722	The filesystem path that is being watched.
1316		1723
1317	=back	1724	=back
		1725
		1726	=head3 Examples
1318		1727
1319	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.	1728	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1320		1729
1321	static void	1730	static void
1322	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)	1731	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
…		…
1335	}	1744	}
1336		1745
1337	...	1746	...
1338	ev_stat passwd;	1747	ev_stat passwd;
1339		1748
1340	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");	1749	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1341	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);	1750	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
1342		1751
		1752	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		1753	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		1754	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		1755	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		1756
		1757	static ev_stat passwd;
		1758	static ev_timer timer;
		1759
		1760	static void
		1761	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1762	{
		1763	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1764
		1765	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		1766	}
		1767
		1768	static void
		1769	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		1770	{
		1771	/* reset the one-second timer */
		1772	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		1773	}
		1774
		1775	...
		1776	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		1777	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		1778	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
		1779
1343		1780
1344	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...	1781	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1345		1782
1346	Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending	1783	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
1347	(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long	1784	priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not
1348	as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals,	1785	count).
1349	imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle	1786
1350	watchers are being called again and again, once per event loop iteration -	1787	That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
		1788	(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
		1789	triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
		1790	are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
1351	until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events and becomes	1791	iteration - until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events
1352	busy.	1792	and becomes busy again with higher priority stuff.
1353		1793
1354	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are	1794	The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
1355	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.	1795	active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
1356		1796
1357	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful	1797	Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
1358	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do	1798	effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
1359	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the	1799	"pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
1360	event loop has handled all outstanding events.	1800	event loop has handled all outstanding events.
1361		1801
		1802	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1803
1362	=over 4	1804	=over 4
1363		1805
1364	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)	1806	=item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1365		1807
1366	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any	1808	Initialises and configures the idle watcher - it has no parameters of any
1367	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	1809	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1368	believe me.	1810	believe me.
1369		1811
1370	=back	1812	=back
		1813
		1814	=head3 Examples
1371		1815
1372	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the	1816	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1373	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	1817	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1374		1818
1375	static void	1819	static void
1376	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	1820	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
1377	{	1821	{
1378	free (w);	1822	free (w);
1379	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	1823	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1380	// no longer asnything immediate to do.	1824	// no longer anything immediate to do.
1381	}	1825	}
1382		1826
1383	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	1827	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));
1384	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	1828	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1385	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	1829	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
…		…
1423	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine	1867	with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
1424	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event	1868	of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
1425	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping	1869	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
1426	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).	1870	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
1427		1871
		1872	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
		1873	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
		1874	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
		1875	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
		1876	supports this, they might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers
		1877	did their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other
		1878	(non-libev) event loops those other event loops might be in an unusable
		1879	state until their C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to
		1880	coexist peacefully with others).
		1881
		1882	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		1883
1428	=over 4	1884	=over 4
1429		1885
1430	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)	1886	=item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
1431		1887
1432	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)	1888	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)
…		…
1435	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	1891	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1436	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	1892	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
1437		1893
1438	=back	1894	=back
1439		1895
1440	Example: To include a library such as adns, you would add IO watchers	1896	=head3 Examples
1441	and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler, as required by libadns, and	1897
		1898	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
		1899	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
		1900	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
		1901	use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
		1902	Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
		1903	Glib event loop).
		1904
		1905	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1442	in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows is	1906	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1443	pseudo-code only of course:	1907	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
		1908	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
		1909	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
1444		1910
1445	static ev_io iow [nfd];	1911	static ev_io iow [nfd];
1446	static ev_timer tw;	1912	static ev_timer tw;
1447		1913
1448	static void	1914	static void
1449	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)	1915	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1450	{	1916	{
1451	// set the relevant poll flags
1452	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1453	struct pollfd *fd = (struct pollfd *)w->data;
1454	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
1455	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
1456	}	1917	}
1457		1918
1458	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking	1919	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1459	static void	1920	static void
1460	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)	1921	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
…		…
1466		1927
1467	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */	1928	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1468	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);	1929	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
1469	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);	1930	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
1470		1931
1471	// create on ev_io per pollfd	1932	// create one ev_io per pollfd
1472	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	1933	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1473	{	1934	{
1474	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,	1935	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1475	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)	1936	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1476	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));	1937	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1477		1938
1478	fds [i].revents = 0;	1939	fds [i].revents = 0;
1479	iow [i].data = fds + i;
1480	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);	1940	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1481	}	1941	}
1482	}	1942	}
1483		1943
1484	// stop all watchers after blocking	1944	// stop all watchers after blocking
…		…
1486	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)	1946	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1487	{	1947	{
1488	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);	1948	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
1489		1949
1490	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	1950	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
		1951	{
		1952	// set the relevant poll flags
		1953	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
		1954	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
		1955	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
		1956	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
		1957	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
		1958
		1959	// now stop the watcher
1491	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);	1960	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
		1961	}
1492		1962
1493	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));	1963	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
		1964	}
		1965
		1966	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
		1967	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
		1968
		1969	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
		1970	notification (adns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
		1971	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
		1972
		1973	static void
		1974	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1975	{
		1976	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		1977	update_now (EV_A);
		1978
		1979	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
		1980	}
		1981
		1982	static void
		1983	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
		1984	{
		1985	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
		1986	update_now (EV_A);
		1987
		1988	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		1989	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
		1990	}
		1991
		1992	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll
		1993
		1994	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
		1995	want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override
		1996	their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main
		1997	loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
		1998	this.
		1999
		2000	static gint
		2001	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
		2002	{
		2003	int got_events = 0;
		2004
		2005	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		2006	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
		2007
		2008	if (timeout >= 0)
		2009	// create/start timer
		2010
		2011	// poll
		2012	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
		2013
		2014	// stop timer again
		2015	if (timeout >= 0)
		2016	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
		2017
		2018	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
		2019	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
		2020	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
		2021
		2022	return got_events;
1494	}	2023	}
1495		2024
1496		2025
1497	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...	2026	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1498		2027
…		…
1541	portable one.	2070	portable one.
1542		2071
1543	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	2072	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1544	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	2073	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1545	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	2074	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1546	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	2075	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
		2076
		2077	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2078
		2079	=over 4
		2080
		2081	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		2082
		2083	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
		2084
		2085	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
		2086	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
		2087	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
		2088	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
		2089	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
		2090
		2091	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
		2092
		2093	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
		2094	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
		2095	apropriate way for embedded loops.
		2096
		2097	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
		2098
		2099	The embedded event loop.
		2100
		2101	=back
		2102
		2103	=head3 Examples
		2104
		2105	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		2106	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		2107	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the mebeddable loop is stored in
		2108	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the acse no embeddable loop can be
		2109	used).
1547		2110
1548	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	2111	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
1549	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;	2112	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1550	struct ev_embed embed;	2113	struct ev_embed embed;
1551		2114
…		…
1562	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);	2125	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
1563	}	2126	}
1564	else	2127	else
1565	loop_lo = loop_hi;	2128	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1566		2129
1567	=over 4	2130	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2131	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2132	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2133	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
1568		2134
1569	=item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2135	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2136	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2137	struct ev_embed embed;
		2138
		2139	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2140	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2141	{
		2142	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2143	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2144	}
1570		2145
1571	=item ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)	2146	if (!loop_socket)
		2147	loop_socket = loop;
1572		2148
1573	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2149	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1574	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1575	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1576	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1577	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1578
1579	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1580
1581	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1582	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1583	apropriate way for embedded loops.
1584
1585	=item struct ev_loop *loop [read-only]
1586
1587	The embedded event loop.
1588
1589	=back
1590		2150
1591		2151
1592	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	2152	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1593		2153
1594	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	2154	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
…		…
1597	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,	2157	event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
1598	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling	2158	and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
1599	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork	2159	C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
1600	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.	2160	handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
1601		2161
		2162	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2163
1602	=over 4	2164	=over 4
1603		2165
1604	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)	2166	=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
1605		2167
1606	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any	2168	Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
1607	kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	2169	kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1608	believe me.	2170	believe me.
		2171
		2172	=back
		2173
		2174
		2175	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
		2176
		2177	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
		2178	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
		2179	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
		2180
		2181	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
		2182	control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
		2183	C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
		2184	can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
		2185	safe.
		2186
		2187	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
		2188	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
		2189	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
		2190	C<ev_async_sent> calls).
		2191
		2192	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
		2193	just the default loop.
		2194
		2195	=head3 Queueing
		2196
		2197	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
		2198	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
		2199	multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
		2200	need elaborate support such as pthreads.
		2201
		2202	That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
		2203	queue. But at least I can tell you would implement locking around your
		2204	queue:
		2205
		2206	=over 4
		2207
		2208	=item queueing from a signal handler context
		2209
		2210	To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
		2211	handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is an example that does that for
		2212	some fictitiuous SIGUSR1 handler:
		2213
		2214	static ev_async mysig;
		2215
		2216	static void
		2217	sigusr1_handler (void)
		2218	{
		2219	sometype data;
		2220
		2221	// no locking etc.
		2222	queue_put (data);
		2223	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2224	}
		2225
		2226	static void
		2227	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2228	{
		2229	sometype data;
		2230	sigset_t block, prev;
		2231
		2232	sigemptyset (&block);
		2233	sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
		2234	sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
		2235
		2236	while (queue_get (&data))
		2237	process (data);
		2238
		2239	if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
		2240	sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
		2241	}
		2242
		2243	(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
		2244	instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
		2245	either...).
		2246
		2247	=item queueing from a thread context
		2248
		2249	The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
		2250	threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
		2251	employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
		2252
		2253	static ev_async mysig;
		2254	static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
		2255
		2256	static void
		2257	otherthread (void)
		2258	{
		2259	// only need to lock the actual queueing operation
		2260	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2261	queue_put (data);
		2262	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2263
		2264	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2265	}
		2266
		2267	static void
		2268	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2269	{
		2270	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2271
		2272	while (queue_get (&data))
		2273	process (data);
		2274
		2275	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2276	}
		2277
		2278	=back
		2279
		2280
		2281	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2282
		2283	=over 4
		2284
		2285	=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
		2286
		2287	Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
		2288	kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
		2289	believe me.
		2290
		2291	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
		2292
		2293	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
		2294	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
		2295	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do in other threads, signal or
		2296	similar contexts (see the dicusssion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
		2297	section below on what exactly this means).
		2298
		2299	This call incurs the overhead of a syscall only once per loop iteration,
		2300	so while the overhead might be noticable, it doesn't apply to repeated
		2301	calls to C<ev_async_send>.
		2302
		2303	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
		2304
		2305	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
		2306	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
		2307	event loop.
		2308
		2309	C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
		2310	the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
		2311	it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
		2312	quickly check wether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
		2313
		2314	Not that this does I<not> check wether the watcher itself is pending, only
		2315	wether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
1609		2316
1610	=back	2317	=back
1611		2318
1612		2319
1613	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	2320	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
…		…
1685		2392
1686	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities	2393	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1687	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there	2394	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1688	is an ev_pri field.	2395	is an ev_pri field.
1689		2396
		2397	=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
		2398	first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
		2399
1690	=item * Other members are not supported.	2400	=item * Other members are not supported.
1691		2401
1692	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need	2402	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1693	to use the libev header file and library.	2403	to use the libev header file and library.
1694		2404
…		…
1702		2412
1703	To use it,	2413	To use it,
1704		2414
1705	#include <ev++.h>	2415	#include <ev++.h>
1706		2416
1707	(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes F<ev.h>	2417	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
1708	and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global	2418	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
1709	namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the C<ev> namespace.	2419	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
		2420	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
1710		2421
1711	It should support all the same embedding options as F<ev.h>, most notably	2422	Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the C++
1712	C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.	2423	classes add (compared to plain C-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
		2424	that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
		2425	you disable C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
		2426
		2427	Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions can be
		2428	used as callbacks. Other types should be easy to add as long as they only
		2429	need one additional pointer for context. If you need support for other
		2430	types of functors please contact the author (preferably after implementing
		2431	it).
1713		2432
1714	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:	2433	Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
1715		2434
1716	=over 4	2435	=over 4
1717		2436
…		…
1733		2452
1734	All of those classes have these methods:	2453	All of those classes have these methods:
1735		2454
1736	=over 4	2455	=over 4
1737		2456
1738	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *)	2457	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE ()
1739		2458
1740	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *)	2459	=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (struct ev_loop *)
1741		2460
1742	=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE	2461	=item ev::TYPE::~TYPE
1743		2462
1744	The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to	2463	The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
1745	the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls	2464	with. If it is omitted, it will use C<EV_DEFAULT>.
1746	C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the C<set> method	2465
1747	before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor	2466	The constructor calls C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the
1748	automatically associates the default loop with this watcher.	2467	C<set> method before starting it.
		2468
		2469	It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated C<set>
		2470	method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
		2471
		2472	(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in C++ which does
		2473	not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
1749		2474
1750	The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.	2475	The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
		2476
		2477	=item w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)
		2478
		2479	This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
		2480	signature of C<void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)>, it receives the watcher as
		2481	first argument and the C<revents> as second. The object must be given as
		2482	parameter and is stored in the C<data> member of the watcher.
		2483
		2484	This method synthesizes efficient thunking code to call your method from
		2485	the C callback that libev requires. If your compiler can inline your
		2486	callback (i.e. it is visible to it at the place of the C<set> call and
		2487	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
		2488	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
		2489
		2490	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
		2491
		2492	struct myclass
		2493	{
		2494	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		2495	}
		2496
		2497	myclass obj;
		2498	ev::io iow;
		2499	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
		2500
		2501	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
		2502
		2503	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
		2504	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
		2505	C<data> member and is free for you to use.
		2506
		2507	The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
		2508
		2509	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
		2510
		2511	Example:
		2512
		2513	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
		2514	iow.set <io_cb> ();
1751		2515
1752	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)	2516	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
1753		2517
1754	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only	2518	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
1755	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).	2519	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
1756		2520
1757	=item w->set ([args])	2521	=item w->set ([args])
1758		2522
1759	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be	2523	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be
1760	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets	2524	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
1761	automatically stopped and restarted.	2525	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
		2526	method.
1762		2527
1763	=item w->start ()	2528	=item w->start ()
1764		2529
1765	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument as the	2530	Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
1766	constructor already takes the loop.	2531	constructor already stores the event loop.
1767		2532
1768	=item w->stop ()	2533	=item w->stop ()
1769		2534
1770	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.	2535	Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
1771		2536
1772	=item w->again () C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only	2537	=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
1773		2538
1774	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding	2539	For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
1775	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.	2540	C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
1776		2541
1777	=item w->sweep () C<ev::embed> only	2542	=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
1778		2543
1779	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.	2544	Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
1780		2545
1781	=item w->update () C<ev::stat> only	2546	=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
1782		2547
1783	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.	2548	Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
1784		2549
1785	=back	2550	=back
1786		2551
…		…
1789	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in	2554	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
1790	the constructor.	2555	the constructor.
1791		2556
1792	class myclass	2557	class myclass
1793	{	2558	{
1794	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	2559	ev::io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
1795	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	2560	ev:idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
1796		2561
1797	myclass ();	2562	myclass (int fd)
1798	}
1799
1800	myclass::myclass (int fd)
1801	: io (this, &myclass::io_cb),
1802	idle (this, &myclass::idle_cb)
1803	{	2563	{
		2564	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
		2565	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
		2566
1804	io.start (fd, ev::READ);	2567	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		2568	}
1805	}	2569	};
		2570
		2571
		2572	=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
		2573
		2574	Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
		2575	numbe rof languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
		2576	any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
		2577	me a note.
		2578
		2579	=over 4
		2580
		2581	=item Perl
		2582
		2583	The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
		2584	libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
		2585	there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
		2586	to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>), C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the
		2587	C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV> and C<EV::Glib>).
		2588
		2589	It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is found at
		2590	L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
		2591
		2592	=item Ruby
		2593
		2594	Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
		2595	of the libev API and adds filehandle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
		2596	more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
		2597	L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
		2598
		2599	=item D
		2600
		2601	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
		2602	be found at L<http://git.llucax.com.ar/?p=software/ev.d.git;a=summary>.
		2603
		2604	=back
1806		2605
1807		2606
1808	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	2607	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
1809		2608
1810	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundemantal is	2609	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal
1811	C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines wether (most) functions and	2610	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
1812	callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.	2611	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
1813		2612
1814	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the	2613	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
1815	following macros are defined:	2614	following macros are defined:
1816		2615
1817	=over 4	2616	=over 4
…		…
1847	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	2646	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
1848		2647
1849	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	2648	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
1850	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	2649	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
1851		2650
		2651	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
		2652
		2653	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
		2654	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
		2655	is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
		2656	execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
		2657
		2658	It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
		2659	watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
		2660
1852	=back	2661	=back
1853		2662
1854	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above	2663	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
1855	macros so it will work regardless of wether multiple loops are supported	2664	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
1856	or not.	2665	or not.
1857		2666
1858	static void	2667	static void
1859	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	2668	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1860	{	2669	{
…		…
1871	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host	2680	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
1872	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra	2681	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
1873	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)	2682	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
1874	and rxvt-unicode.	2683	and rxvt-unicode.
1875		2684
1876	The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your	2685	The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
1877	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so	2686	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
1878	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of	2687	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
1879	libev somewhere in your source tree).	2688	libev somewhere in your source tree).
1880		2689
1881	=head2 FILESETS	2690	=head2 FILESETS
…		…
1951		2760
1952	libev.m4	2761	libev.m4
1953		2762
1954	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS	2763	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
1955		2764
1956	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define	2765	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
1957	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity	2766	define before including any of its files. The default in the absense of
1958	and only include the select backend.	2767	autoconf is noted for every option.
1959		2768
1960	=over 4	2769	=over 4
1961		2770
1962	=item EV_STANDALONE	2771	=item EV_STANDALONE
1963		2772
…		…
1971		2780
1972	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2781	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1973	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use	2782	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use
1974	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you	2783	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
1975	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when	2784	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
1976	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have	2785	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
1977	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>	2786	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
1978	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).	2787	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
1979		2788
1980	=item EV_USE_REALTIME	2789	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
1981		2790
1982	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	2791	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
1983	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at	2792	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
1984	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will	2793	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
1985	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get	2794	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
1986	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries	2795	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
1987	in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.	2796	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
		2797
		2798	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
		2799
		2800	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
		2801	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
		2802
		2803	=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
		2804
		2805	If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
		2806	available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
		2807	C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
		2808	If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
		2809	2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
1988		2810
1989	=item EV_USE_SELECT	2811	=item EV_USE_SELECT
1990		2812
1991	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the	2813	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
1992	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no	2814	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no
…		…
2011	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call	2833	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
2012	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,	2834	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
2013	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even	2835	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
2014	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.	2836	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
2015		2837
		2838	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
		2839
		2840	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		2841	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		2842	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		2843	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		2844	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		2845
2016	=item EV_USE_POLL	2846	=item EV_USE_POLL
2017		2847
2018	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	2848	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
2019	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	2849	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
2020	takes precedence over select.	2850	takes precedence over select.
2021		2851
2022	=item EV_USE_EPOLL	2852	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2023		2853
2024	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	2854	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2025	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	2855	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2026	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the	2856	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2027	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.	2857	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
		2858	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2028		2859
2029	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	2860	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2030		2861
2031	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	2862	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2032	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	2863	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
2051		2882
2052	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY	2883	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2053		2884
2054	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	2885	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2055	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	2886	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2056	be detected at runtime.	2887	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
		2888	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		2889
		2890	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
		2891
		2892	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
		2893	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
		2894	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
		2895	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
		2896	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
		2897
		2898	In the absense of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
		2899	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
2057		2900
2058	=item EV_H	2901	=item EV_H
2059		2902
2060	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if	2903	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2061	undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This	2904	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2062	can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.	2905	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2063		2906
2064	=item EV_CONFIG_H	2907	=item EV_CONFIG_H
2065		2908
2066	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override	2909	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2067	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to	2910	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2068	C<EV_H>, above.	2911	C<EV_H>, above.
2069		2912
2070	=item EV_EVENT_H	2913	=item EV_EVENT_H
2071		2914
2072	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea	2915	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2073	of how the F<event.h> header can be found.	2916	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2074		2917
2075	=item EV_PROTOTYPES	2918	=item EV_PROTOTYPES
2076		2919
2077	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function	2920	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2078	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is	2921	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
…		…
2085	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create	2928	will have the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument, and you can create
2086	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support	2929	additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
2087	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer	2930	for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
2088	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.	2931	argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
2089		2932
		2933	=item EV_MINPRI
		2934
		2935	=item EV_MAXPRI
		2936
		2937	The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
		2938	C<EV_MAXPRI>, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
		2939	provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
		2940	to be C<-2> and C<2>, respectively).
		2941
		2942	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
		2943	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
		2944	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
		2945	fine.
		2946
		2947	If your embedding app does not need any priorities, defining these both to
		2948	C<0> will save some memory and cpu.
		2949
2090	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE	2950	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
2091		2951
2092	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If	2952	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
2093	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of	2953	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
2094	code.	2954	code.
2095		2955
		2956	=item EV_IDLE_ENABLE
		2957
		2958	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then idle watchers are supported. If
		2959	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
		2960	code.
		2961
2096	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE	2962	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
2097		2963
2098	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If	2964	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
2099	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	2965	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2100		2966
…		…
2104	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	2970	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2105		2971
2106	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE	2972	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2107		2973
2108	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If	2974	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
		2975	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		2976
		2977	=item EV_ASYNC_ENABLE
		2978
		2979	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then async watchers are supported. If
2109	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	2980	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2110		2981
2111	=item EV_MINIMAL	2982	=item EV_MINIMAL
2112		2983
2113	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some	2984	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
…		…
2121	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to	2992	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
2122	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).	2993	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2123		2994
2124	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE	2995	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2125		2996
2126	C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	2997	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2127	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),	2998	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
2128	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>	2999	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
2129	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of	3000	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
2130	two).	3001	two).
2131		3002
…		…
2148		3019
2149	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)	3020	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
2150		3021
2151	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,	3022	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
2152	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member	3023	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
2153	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.v> header file for	3024	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
2154	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to	3025	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
2155	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use	3026	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2156	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.	3027	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
		3028
		3029	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
		3030
		3031	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of
		3032	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
		3033	all public symbols, one per line:
		3034
		3035	Symbols.ev for libev proper
		3036	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
		3037
		3038	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
		3039	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
		3040	itself, but sometimes it is inconvinient to avoid this).
		3041
		3042	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
		3043	include before including F<ev.h>:
		3044
		3045	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
		3046
		3047	This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
		3048
		3049	#define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
		3050	#define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
		3051	#define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
		3052	...
2157		3053
2158	=head2 EXAMPLES	3054	=head2 EXAMPLES
2159		3055
2160	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev	3056	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
2161	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module	3057	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
…		…
2184		3080
2185	#include "ev_cpp.h"	3081	#include "ev_cpp.h"
2186	#include "ev.c"	3082	#include "ev.c"
2187		3083
2188		3084
		3085	=head1 THREADS AND COROUTINES
		3086
		3087	=head2 THREADS
		3088
		3089	Libev itself is completely threadsafe, but it uses no locking. This
		3090	means that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as
		3091	only one thread ever calls into one libev function with the same loop
		3092	parameter.
		3093
		3094	Or put differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done in
		3095	parallel from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter must be
		3096	done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as only one
		3097	thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using a mutex
		3098	per loop).
		3099
		3100	If you want to know which design is best for your problem, then I cannot
		3101	help you but by giving some generic advice:
		3102
		3103	=over 4
		3104
		3105	=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
		3106	in that thread, or create a seperate thread running only the default loop.
		3107
		3108	This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
		3109	themselves and don't care/know about threading.
		3110
		3111	=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
		3112
		3113	Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
		3114	exists, but it is always a good start.
		3115
		3116	=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
		3117	loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robbin fashion.
		3118
		3119	Chosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you cna do
		3120	better than you currently do :-)
		3121
		3122	=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
		3123	event loop - C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other
		3124	threads safely (or from signal contexts...).
		3125
		3126	=back
		3127
		3128	=head2 COROUTINES
		3129
		3130	Libev is much more accomodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
		3131	libev fully supports nesting calls to it's functions from different
		3132	coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
		3133	different coroutines and switch freely between both coroutines running the
		3134	loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
		3135	you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
		3136
		3137	Care has been invested into making sure that libev does not keep local
		3138	state inside C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow coroutine
		3139	switches.
		3140
		3141
2189	=head1 COMPLEXITIES	3142	=head1 COMPLEXITIES
2190		3143
2191	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside	3144	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
2192	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the	3145	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
2193	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.	3146	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
2194		3147
		3148	All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
		3149	extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
		3150	happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
		3151	mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
		3152	it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
		3153
2195	=over 4	3154	=over 4
2196		3155
2197	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)	3156	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2198		3157
		3158	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
		3159	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will
		3160	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
		3161
2199	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)	3162	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2200		3163
		3164	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
		3165	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
		3166
2201	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)	3167	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2202		3168
		3169	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		3170
2203	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)	3171	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2204		3172
2205	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))	3173	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2206		3174
		3175	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the
		3176	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
		3177	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).
		3178
2207	=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)	3179	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		3180
		3181	By virtue of using a binary heap, the next timer is always found at the
		3182	beginning of the storage array.
2208		3183
2209	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)	3184	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2210		3185
2211	=item Activating one watcher: O(1)	3186	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
		3187	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		3188	on backend and wether C<ev_io_set> was used).
		3189
		3190	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
		3191
		3192	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
		3193
		3194	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
		3195	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
		3196	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		3197	watchers becomes O(1) w.r.t. priority handling.
		3198
		3199	=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
		3200
		3201	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
		3202
		3203	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
		3204
		3205	Sending involves a syscall I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
		3206	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
		3207	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2212		3208
2213	=back	3209	=back
2214		3210
2215		3211
		3212	=head1 Win32 platform limitations and workarounds
		3213
		3214	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		3215	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		3216	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		3217	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		3218	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		3219	e.g. cygwin.
		3220
		3221	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
		3222	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
		3223	things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
		3224	way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
		3225
		3226	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		3227	embedding it into other applications.
		3228
		3229	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
		3230	the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
		3231	is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
		3232	more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
		3233	different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readyness
		3234	notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
		3235	(microsoft monopoly games).
		3236
		3237	=over 4
		3238
		3239	=item The winsocket select function
		3240
		3241	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it requires
		3242	socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors>. This makes select
		3243	very inefficient, and also requires a mapping from file descriptors
		3244	to socket handles. See the discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>,
		3245	C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor
		3246	symbols for more info.
		3247
		3248	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the microsoft runtime
		3249	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		3250
		3251	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		3252	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		3253
		3254	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		3255	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		3256
		3257	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		3258
		3259	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
		3260
		3261	Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
		3262	of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
		3263	can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; microsoft
		3264	recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
		3265	previous thread in each. Great).
		3266
		3267	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		3268	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		3269	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
		3270	select emulation on windows).
		3271
		3272	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the microsoft runtime
		3273	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
		3274	or something like this inside microsoft). You can increase this by calling
		3275	C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
		3276	arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the microsoft runtime
		3277	libraries.
		3278
		3279	This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
		3280	windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
		3281	wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
		3282	calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		3283
		3284	=back
		3285
		3286
		3287	=head1 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
		3288
		3289	In addition to a working ISO-C implementation, libev relies on a few
		3290	additional extensions:
		3291
		3292	=over 4
		3293
		3294	=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
		3295
		3296	The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
		3297	C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic w.r.t. accesses from different
		3298	threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
		3299	believed to be sufficiently portable.
		3300
		3301	=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
		3302
		3303	Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
		3304	allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
		3305	pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
		3306	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
		3307	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
		3308	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
		3309
		3310	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
		3311	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
		3312	well.
		3313
		3314	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
		3315
		3316	To improve portability and simplify using libev, libev uses C<long>
		3317	internally instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On
		3318	non-POSIX systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but
		3319	is still at least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of
		3320	millions of watchers.
		3321
		3322	=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
		3323
		3324	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
		3325	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
		3326	enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
		3327	implementations implementing IEEE 754 (basically all existing ones).
		3328
		3329	=back
		3330
		3331	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
		3332
		3333
2216	=head1 AUTHOR	3334	=head1 AUTHOR
2217		3335
2218	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.	3336	Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.
2219		3337

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