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Revision 1.84 by root, Wed Dec 12 22:26:37 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.204 by root, Mon Oct 27 11:08:29 2008 UTC

…		…
2		2
3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C	3	libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	#include <ev.h>	7	#include <ev.h>
8		8
9	=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM	9	=head2 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
10		10
		11	// a single header file is required
11	#include <ev.h>	12	#include <ev.h>
12		13
		14	// every watcher type has its own typedef'd struct
		15	// with the name ev_TYPE
13	ev_io stdin_watcher;	16	ev_io stdin_watcher;
14	ev_timer timeout_watcher;	17	ev_timer timeout_watcher;
15		18
16	/* called when data readable on stdin */	19	// all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
		20	// this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
17	static void	21	static void
18	stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)	22	stdin_cb (EV_P_ 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_ 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	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
53	The newest version of this document is also available as a html-formatted	67	The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
54	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first	68	web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
55	time: L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.html>.	69	time: L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
56		70
57	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
58	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
59	these event sources and provide your program with events.	73	these event sources and provide your program with events.
60		74
61	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
62	(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
63	communicate events via a callback mechanism.	77	communicate events via a callback mechanism.
…		…
65	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
66	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the	80	watchers>, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
67	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
68	watcher.	82	watcher.
69		83
70	=head1 FEATURES	84	=head2 FEATURES
71		85
72	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
73	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms	87	BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
74	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
75	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers	89	(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers
…		…
82		96
83	It also is quite fast (see this	97	It also is quite fast (see this
84	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
85	for example).	99	for example).
86		100
87	=head1 CONVENTIONS	101	=head2 CONVENTIONS
88		102
89	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will	103	Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
90	be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about	104	configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
91	various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in	105	more info about various configuration options please have a look at
92	this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event	106	B<EMBED> section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
93	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
94	(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.	108	name C<loop> (which is always of type C<ev_loop *>) will not have
		109	this argument.
95		110
96	=head1 TIME REPRESENTATION	111	=head2 TIME REPRESENTATION
97		112
98	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the	113	Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
99	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near	114	(fractional) number of seconds since the (POSIX) epoch (somewhere near
100	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
101	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
102	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
103	it, you should treat it as such.	118	it, you should treat it as some floating point value. Unlike the name
		119	component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
		120	throughout libev.
		121
		122	=head1 ERROR HANDLING
		123
		124	Libev knows three classes of errors: operating system errors, usage errors
		125	and internal errors (bugs).
		126
		127	When libev catches an operating system error it cannot handle (for example
		128	a system call indicating a condition libev cannot fix), it calls the callback
		129	set via C<ev_set_syserr_cb>, which is supposed to fix the problem or
		130	abort. The default is to print a diagnostic message and to call C<abort
		131	()>.
		132
		133	When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
		134	it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the C<assert> mechanism,
		135	so C<NDEBUG> will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
		136	the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
		137
		138	Libev also has a few internal error-checking C<assert>ions, and also has
		139	extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
		140	circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.
		141
104		142
105	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	143	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
106		144
107	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the	145	These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
108	library in any way.	146	library in any way.
…		…
112	=item ev_tstamp ev_time ()	150	=item ev_tstamp ev_time ()
113		151
114	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the	152	Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
115	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp	153	C<ev_now> function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
116	you actually want to know.	154	you actually want to know.
		155
		156	=item ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)
		157
		158	Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
		159	either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
		160	this is a sub-second-resolution C<sleep ()>.
117		161
118	=item int ev_version_major ()	162	=item int ev_version_major ()
119		163
120	=item int ev_version_minor ()	164	=item int ev_version_minor ()
121		165
…		…
134	not a problem.	178	not a problem.
135		179
136	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong	180	Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
137	version.	181	version.
138		182
139	assert (("libev version mismatch",	183	assert (("libev version mismatch",
140	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR	184	ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
141	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));	185	&& ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
142		186
143	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()	187	=item unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()
144		188
145	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>	189	Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding C<EV_BACKEND_*>
146	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their	190	value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
…		…
148	a description of the set values.	192	a description of the set values.
149		193
150	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and	194	Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
151	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11	195	a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11
152		196
153	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",	197	assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",
154	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));	198	ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
155		199
156	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()	200	=item unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()
157		201
158	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also	202	Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and also
159	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one	203	recommended for this platform. This set is often smaller than the one
160	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on	204	returned by C<ev_supported_backends>, as for example kqueue is broken on
161	most BSDs and will not be autodetected unless you explicitly request it	205	most BSDs and will not be auto-detected unless you explicitly request it
162	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that	206	(assuming you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that
163	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.	207	libev will probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
164		208
165	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()	209	=item unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()
166		210
…		…
170	C<ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for	214	C<ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_supported_backends ()>, likewise for
171	recommended ones.	215	recommended ones.
172		216
173	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.	217	See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
174		218
175	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))	219	=item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size)) [NOT REENTRANT]
176		220
177	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the	221	Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
178	semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to	222	semantics are identical to the C<realloc> C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
179	allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when	223	used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
180	memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some	224	when memory needs to be allocated (C<size != 0>), the library might abort
181	potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc	225	or take some potentially destructive action.
182	function.	226
		227	Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
		228	correct C<realloc> semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
		229	C<realloc> and C<free> functions by default.
183		230
184	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,	231	You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
185	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,	232	free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
186	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.	233	or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
187		234
188	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then	235	Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
189	retries).	236	retries (example requires a standards-compliant C<realloc>).
190		237
191	static void *	238	static void *
192	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)	239	persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
193	{	240	{
194	for (;;)	241	for (;;)
…		…
203	}	250	}
204		251
205	...	252	...
206	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);	253	ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
207		254
208	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg));	255	=item ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg)); [NOT REENTRANT]
209		256
210	Set the callback function to call on a retryable syscall error (such	257	Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
211	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string	258	as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
212	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this	259	indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
213	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the sitution, no	260	callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
214	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the	261	matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
215	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff	262	requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
216	(such as abort).	263	(such as abort).
217		264
218	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.	265	Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
…		…
229		276
230	=back	277	=back
231		278
232	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP	279	=head1 FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING THE EVENT LOOP
233		280
234	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *>. The library knows two	281	An event loop is described by a C<struct ev_loop *> (the C<struct>
235	types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which supports signals and child	282	is I<not> optional in this case, as there is also an C<ev_loop>
236	events, and dynamically created loops which do not.	283	I<function>).
237		284
238	If you use threads, a common model is to run the default event loop	285	The library knows two types of such loops, the I<default> loop, which
239	in your main thread (or in a separate thread) and for each thread you	286	supports signals and child events, and dynamically created loops which do
240	create, you also create another event loop. Libev itself does no locking	287	not.
241	whatsoever, so if you mix calls to the same event loop in different
242	threads, make sure you lock (this is usually a bad idea, though, even if
243	done correctly, because it's hideous and inefficient).
244		288
245	=over 4	289	=over 4
246		290
247	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)	291	=item struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)
248		292
…		…
252	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).	296	flags. If that is troubling you, check C<ev_backend ()> afterwards).
253		297
254	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this	298	If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
255	function.	299	function.
256		300
		301	Note that this function is I<not> thread-safe, so if you want to use it
		302	from multiple threads, you have to lock (note also that this is unlikely,
		303	as loops cannot bes hared easily between threads anyway).
		304
		305	The default loop is the only loop that can handle C<ev_signal> and
		306	C<ev_child> watchers, and to do this, it always registers a handler
		307	for C<SIGCHLD>. If this is a problem for your application you can either
		308	create a dynamic loop with C<ev_loop_new> that doesn't do that, or you
		309	can simply overwrite the C<SIGCHLD> signal handler I<after> calling
		310	C<ev_default_init>.
		311
257	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific	312	The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
258	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).	313	backends to use, and is usually specified as C<0> (or C<EVFLAG_AUTO>).
259		314
260	The following flags are supported:	315	The following flags are supported:
261		316
…		…
266	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right	321	The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
267	thing, believe me).	322	thing, believe me).
268		323
269	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>	324	=item C<EVFLAG_NOENV>
270		325
271	If this flag bit is ored into the flag value (or the program runs setuid	326	If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
272	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable	327	or setgid) then libev will I<not> look at the environment variable
273	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will	328	C<LIBEV_FLAGS>. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
274	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is	329	override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
275	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work	330	useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
276	around bugs.	331	around bugs.
…		…
282	enabling this flag.	337	enabling this flag.
283		338
284	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,	339	This works by calling C<getpid ()> on every iteration of the loop,
285	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop	340	and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
286	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my	341	iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
287	Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence	342	GNU/Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
288	without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has	343	without a system call and thus I<very> fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
289	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).	344	C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
290		345
291	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and	346	The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
292	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this	347	forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
293	flag.	348	flag.
294		349
295	This flag setting cannot be overriden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>	350	This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
296	environment variable.	351	environment variable.
297		352
298	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)	353	=item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> (value 1, portable select backend)
299		354
300	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as	355	This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
301	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,	356	libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
302	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when	357	but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
303	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its usually	358	using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
304	the fastest backend for a low number of fds.	359	usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
		360
		361	To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
		362	parallelism (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
		363	writing a server, you should C<accept ()> in a loop to accept as many
		364	connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
		365	a look at C<ev_set_io_collect_interval ()> to increase the amount of
		366	readiness notifications you get per iteration.
		367
		368	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to the C<readfds> set and C<EV_WRITE> to the
		369	C<writefds> set (and to work around Microsoft Windows bugs, also onto the
		370	C<exceptfds> set on that platform).
305		371
306	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)	372	=item C<EVBACKEND_POLL> (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)
307		373
308	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated than	374	And this is your standard poll(2) backend. It's more complicated
309	select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial limit on the	375	than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
310	number of fds you can use (except it will slow down considerably with a	376	limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
311	lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).	377	considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
		378	i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>, above, for
		379	performance tips.
		380
		381	This backend maps C<EV_READ> to C<POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP>, and
		382	C<EV_WRITE> to C<POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP>.
312		383
313	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)	384	=item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL> (value 4, Linux)
314		385
315	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,	386	For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
316	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale like	387	but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
317	O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd), epoll scales	388	like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
318	either O(1) or O(active_fds).	389	epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds). The epoll design has a number
		390	of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
		391	cases and requiring a system call per fd change, no fork support and bad
		392	support for dup.
319		393
		394	Epoll is also notoriously buggy - embedding epoll fds should work, but
		395	of course doesn't, and epoll just loves to report events for totally
		396	I<different> file descriptors (even already closed ones) than registered
		397	in the set (especially on SMP systems). Libev tries to counter these
		398	spurious notifications by employing an additional generation counter and
		399	comparing that against the events to filter out spurious ones.
		400
320	While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will	401	While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
321	result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident	402	will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such incident
322	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its	403	(because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
323	best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very	404	best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
324	well if you register events for both fds.	405	very well if you register events for both fds.
325		406
326	Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you	407	Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
327	need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data	408	watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible,
328	(or space) is available.	409	i.e. keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times. Stopping and
		410	starting a watcher (without re-setting it) also usually doesn't cause
		411	extra overhead.
		412
		413	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
		414	all kernel versions tested so far.
		415
		416	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
		417	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
329		418
330	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)	419	=item C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE> (value 8, most BSD clones)
331		420
332	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it	421	Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it was
333	was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work with	422	broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably with
334	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its	423	anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course it's
335	completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"	424	completely useless). For this reason it's not being "auto-detected" unless
336	unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using	425	you explicitly specify it in the flags (i.e. using C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or
337	C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).	426	libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough) system like NetBSD.
		427
		428	You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
		429	only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
		430	the target platform). See C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
338		431
339	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the	432	It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
340	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of	433	kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
341	course). While starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an	434	course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
342	extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per	435	cause an extra system call as with C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>, it still adds up to
343	incident, so its best to avoid that.	436	two event changes per incident. Support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it
		437	drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect cases.
		438
		439	This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
		440
		441	While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
		442	everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
		443	almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
		444	(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
		445	(e.g. C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>) and, did I mention it,
		446	using it only for sockets.
		447
		448	This backend maps C<EV_READ> into an C<EVFILT_READ> kevent with
		449	C<NOTE_EOF>, and C<EV_WRITE> into an C<EVFILT_WRITE> kevent with
		450	C<NOTE_EOF>.
344		451
345	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)	452	=item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
346		453
347	This is not implemented yet (and might never be).	454	This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
		455	implementation). According to reports, C</dev/poll> only supports sockets
		456	and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
		457	immensely.
348		458
349	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)	459	=item C<EVBACKEND_PORT> (value 32, Solaris 10)
350		460
351	This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,	461	This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
352	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).	462	it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
353		463
354	Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious	464	Please note that Solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
355	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid	465	notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
356	blocking when no data (or space) is available.	466	blocking when no data (or space) is available.
		467
		468	While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
		469	file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
		470	descriptors a "slow" C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL> backend
		471	might perform better.
		472
		473	On the positive side, with the exception of the spurious readiness
		474	notifications, this backend actually performed fully to specification
		475	in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat among the
		476	OS-specific backends.
		477
		478	This backend maps C<EV_READ> and C<EV_WRITE> in the same way as
		479	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
357		480
358	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>	481	=item C<EVBACKEND_ALL>
359		482
360	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried	483	Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
361	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as	484	with C<EVFLAG_AUTO>). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
362	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.	485	C<EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>.
363		486
		487	It is definitely not recommended to use this flag.
		488
364	=back	489	=back
365		490
366	If one or more of these are ored into the flags value, then only these	491	If one or more of these are or'ed into the flags value, then only these
367	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as given here). If none are	492	backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed here). If none are
368	specified, most compiled-in backend will be tried, usually in reverse	493	specified, all backends in C<ev_recommended_backends ()> will be tried.
369	order of their flag values :)
370		494
371	The most typical usage is like this:	495	Example: This is the most typical usage.
372		496
373	if (!ev_default_loop (0))	497	if (!ev_default_loop (0))
374	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");	498	fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
375		499
376	Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow	500	Example: Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
377	environment settings to be taken into account:	501	environment settings to be taken into account:
378		502
379	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);	503	ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
380		504
381	Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is used if	505	Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is
382	available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own private	506	used if available (warning, breaks stuff, best use only with your own
383	event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of fds):	507	private event loop and only if you know the OS supports your types of
		508	fds):
384		509
385	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);	510	ev_default_loop (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
386		511
387	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)	512	=item struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)
388		513
389	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is	514	Similar to C<ev_default_loop>, but always creates a new event loop that is
390	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot	515	always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
391	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by	516	handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
392	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).	517	undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
393		518
		519	Note that this function I<is> thread-safe, and the recommended way to use
		520	libev with threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the
		521	default loop in the "main" or "initial" thread.
		522
394	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.	523	Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
395		524
396	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);	525	struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
397	if (!epoller)	526	if (!epoller)
398	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");	527	fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
399		528
400	=item ev_default_destroy ()	529	=item ev_default_destroy ()
401		530
402	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state	531	Destroys the default loop again (frees all memory and kernel state
403	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal	532	etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
404	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your	533	sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
405	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>	534	responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yourself I<before>
406	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually	535	calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
407	the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them	536	the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
408	for example).	537	for example).
		538
		539	Note that certain global state, such as signal state (and installed signal
		540	handlers), will not be freed by this function, and related watchers (such
		541	as signal and child watchers) would need to be stopped manually.
		542
		543	In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
		544	rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
		545	pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
		546	C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
409		547
410	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)	548	=item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
411		549
412	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an	550	Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
413	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.	551	earlier call to C<ev_loop_new>.
414		552
415	=item ev_default_fork ()	553	=item ev_default_fork ()
416		554
		555	This function sets a flag that causes subsequent C<ev_loop> iterations
417	This function reinitialises the kernel state for backends that have	556	to reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
418	one. Despite the name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense	557	name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
419	after forking, in either the parent or child process (or both, but that	558	the child process (or both child and parent, but that again makes little
420	again makes little sense).	559	sense). You I<must> call it in the child before using any of the libev
		560	functions, and it will only take effect at the next C<ev_loop> iteration.
421		561
422	You I<must> call this function in the child process after forking if and	562	On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
423	only if you want to use the event library in both processes. If you just	563	process if and only if you want to use the event library in the child. If
424	fork+exec, you don't have to call it.	564	you just fork+exec, you don't have to call it at all.
425		565
426	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call	566	The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
427	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in	567	it just in case after a fork. To make this easy, the function will fit in
428	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:	568	quite nicely into a call to C<pthread_atfork>:
429		569
430	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);	570	pthread_atfork (0, 0, ev_default_fork);
431		571
432	At the moment, C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL> are safe to use
433	without calling this function, so if you force one of those backends you
434	do not need to care.
435
436	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)	572	=item ev_loop_fork (loop)
437		573
438	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by	574	Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
439	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop	575	C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
440	after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.	576	after fork that you want to re-use in the child, and how you do this is
		577	entirely your own problem.
		578
		579	=item int ev_is_default_loop (loop)
		580
		581	Returns true when the given loop is, in fact, the default loop, and false
		582	otherwise.
441		583
442	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)	584	=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
443		585
444	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to	586	Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
445	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and	587	the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
…		…
458		600
459	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop	601	Returns the current "event loop time", which is the time the event loop
460	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not	602	received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
461	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base	603	change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
462	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the	604	time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
463	event occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).	605	event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
		606
		607	=item ev_now_update (loop)
		608
		609	Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
		610	returned by C<ev_now ()> in the progress. This is a costly operation and
		611	is usually done automatically within C<ev_loop ()>.
		612
		613	This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
		614	very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
		615	the current time is a good idea.
		616
		617	See also "The special problem of time updates" in the C<ev_timer> section.
464		618
465	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)	619	=item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
466		620
467	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called	621	Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
468	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling	622	after you initialised all your watchers and you want to start handling
…		…
471	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will not return until	625	If the flags argument is specified as C<0>, it will not return until
472	either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_unloop> was called.	626	either no event watchers are active anymore or C<ev_unloop> was called.
473		627
474	Please note that an explicit C<ev_unloop> is usually better than	628	Please note that an explicit C<ev_unloop> is usually better than
475	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has	629	relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
476	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program that	630	finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program
477	automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue of	631	that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue
478	relying on its watchers stopping correctly is a thing of beauty.	632	of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of
		633	beauty.
479		634
480	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle	635	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_NONBLOCK> will look for new events, will handle
481	those events and any outstanding ones, but will not block your process in	636	those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not block your
482	case there are no events and will return after one iteration of the loop.	637	process in case there are no events and will return after one iteration of
		638	the loop.
483		639
484	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if	640	A flags value of C<EVLOOP_ONESHOT> will look for new events (waiting if
485	neccessary) and will handle those and any outstanding ones. It will block	641	necessary) and will handle those and any already outstanding ones. It
486	your process until at least one new event arrives, and will return after	642	will block your process until at least one new event arrives (which could
487	one iteration of the loop. This is useful if you are waiting for some	643	be an event internal to libev itself, so there is no guarentee that a
488	external event in conjunction with something not expressible using other	644	user-registered callback will be called), and will return after one
		645	iteration of the loop.
		646
		647	This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction
		648	with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your
489	libev watchers. However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is	649	own C<ev_loop>"). However, a pair of C<ev_prepare>/C<ev_check> watchers is
490	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.	650	usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
491		651
492	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:	652	Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
493		653
494	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.	654	- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
495	* If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.	655	* If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
496	- Queue all prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.	656	- If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
		657	- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
497	- If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.	658	- If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
		659	as to not disturb the other process.
498	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.	660	- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
499	- Update the "event loop time".	661	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
500	- Calculate for how long to block.	662	- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
		663	(active idle watchers, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK or not having
		664	any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
		665	- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
501	- Block the process, waiting for any events.	666	- Block the process, waiting for any events.
502	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.	667	- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
503	- Update the "event loop time" and do time jump handling.	668	- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
504	- Queue all outstanding timers.	669	- Queue all expired timers.
505	- Queue all outstanding periodics.	670	- Queue all expired periodics.
506	- If no events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.	671	- Unless any events are pending now, queue all idle watchers.
507	- Queue all check watchers.	672	- Queue all check watchers.
508	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).	673	- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
509	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will	674	Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
510	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.	675	be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
511	- If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK	676	- If ev_unloop has been called, or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
512	were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.	677	were used, or there are no active watchers, return, otherwise
		678	continue with step *.
513		679
514	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding	680	Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
515	anymore.	681	anymore.
516		682
517	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long	683	... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
518	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)	684	... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
519	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);	685	ev_loop (my_loop, 0);
520	... jobs done. yeah!	686	... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
521		687
522	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)	688	=item ev_unloop (loop, how)
523		689
524	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it	690	Can be used to make a call to C<ev_loop> return early (but only after it
525	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either	691	has processed all outstanding events). The C<how> argument must be either
526	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or	692	C<EVUNLOOP_ONE>, which will make the innermost C<ev_loop> call return, or
527	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.	693	C<EVUNLOOP_ALL>, which will make all nested C<ev_loop> calls return.
528		694
		695	This "unloop state" will be cleared when entering C<ev_loop> again.
		696
		697	It is safe to call C<ev_unloop> from otuside any C<ev_loop> calls.
		698
529	=item ev_ref (loop)	699	=item ev_ref (loop)
530		700
531	=item ev_unref (loop)	701	=item ev_unref (loop)
532		702
533	Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event	703	Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event
534	loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference	704	loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference
535	count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own. If you have	705	count is nonzero, C<ev_loop> will not return on its own.
		706
536	a watcher you never unregister that should not keep C<ev_loop> from	707	If you have a watcher you never unregister that should not keep C<ev_loop>
537	returning, ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before stopping it. For	708	from returning, call ev_unref() after starting, and ev_ref() before
		709	stopping it.
		710
538	example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is not	711	As an example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It is
539	visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting if	712	not visible to the libev user and should not keep C<ev_loop> from exiting
540	no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent	713	if no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an excellent
541	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party	714	way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within third-party
542	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.	715	libraries. Just remember to I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>
		716	(but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active before,
		717	respectively).
543		718
544	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>	719	Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
545	running when nothing else is active.	720	running when nothing else is active.
546		721
547	struct ev_signal exitsig;	722	ev_signal exitsig;
548	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);	723	ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
549	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);	724	ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
550	evf_unref (loop);	725	evf_unref (loop);
551		726
552	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.	727	Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
553		728
554	ev_ref (loop);	729	ev_ref (loop);
555	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);	730	ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
		731
		732	=item ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		733
		734	=item ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)
		735
		736	These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
		737	for events. Both time intervals are by default C<0>, meaning that libev
		738	will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
		739	latency.
		740
		741	Setting these to a higher value (the C<interval> I<must> be >= C<0>)
		742	allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
		743	to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
		744	opportunities).
		745
		746	The idea is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to handle
		747	one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes the
		748	program responsive, it also wastes a lot of CPU time to poll for new
		749	events, especially with backends like C<select ()> which have a high
		750	overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
		751
		752	By setting a higher I<io collect interval> you allow libev to spend more
		753	time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
		754	at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both C<ev_periodic> and
		755	C<ev_timer>) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
		756	introduce an additional C<ev_sleep ()> call into most loop iterations.
		757
		758	Likewise, by setting a higher I<timeout collect interval> you allow libev
		759	to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
		760	latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called
		761	later). C<ev_io> watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null
		762	value will not introduce any overhead in libev.
		763
		764	Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
		765	interval to a value near C<0.1> or so, which is often enough for
		766	interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
		767	usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than C<0.01>,
		768	as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems.
		769
		770	Setting the I<timeout collect interval> can improve the opportunity for
		771	saving power, as the program will "bundle" timer callback invocations that
		772	are "near" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
		773	times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
		774	reduce iterations/wake-ups is to use C<ev_periodic> watchers and make sure
		775	they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
		776
		777	=item ev_loop_verify (loop)
		778
		779	This function only does something when C<EV_VERIFY> support has been
		780	compiled in, which is the default for non-minimal builds. It tries to go
		781	through all internal structures and checks them for validity. If anything
		782	is found to be inconsistent, it will print an error message to standard
		783	error and call C<abort ()>.
		784
		785	This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
		786	circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
		787	data structures consistent.
556		788
557	=back	789	=back
558		790
559		791
560	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER	792	=head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
		793
		794	In the following description, uppercase C<TYPE> in names stands for the
		795	watcher type, e.g. C<ev_TYPE_start> can mean C<ev_timer_start> for timer
		796	watchers and C<ev_io_start> for I/O watchers.
561		797
562	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your	798	A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
563	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to	799	interest in some event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to
564	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:	800	become readable, you would create an C<ev_io> watcher for that:
565		801
566	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	802	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
567	{	803	{
568	ev_io_stop (w);	804	ev_io_stop (w);
569	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	805	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
570	}	806	}
571		807
572	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);	808	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
		809
573	struct ev_io stdin_watcher;	810	ev_io stdin_watcher;
		811
574	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);	812	ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
575	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	813	ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
576	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);	814	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
		815
577	ev_loop (loop, 0);	816	ev_loop (loop, 0);
578		817
579	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your	818	As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
580	watcher structures (and it is usually a bad idea to do this on the stack,	819	watcher structures (and it is I<usually> a bad idea to do this on the
581	although this can sometimes be quite valid).	820	stack).
		821
		822	Each watcher has an associated watcher structure (called C<struct ev_TYPE>
		823	or simply C<ev_TYPE>, as typedefs are provided for all watcher structs).
582		824
583	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init	825	Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to C<ev_init
584	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This	826	(watcher *, callback)>, which expects a callback to be provided. This
585	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of io	827	callback gets invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of I/O
586	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given	828	watchers, each time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given
587	is readable and/or writable).	829	is readable and/or writable).
588		830
589	Each watcher type has its own C<< ev_<type>_set (watcher *, ...) >> macro	831	Each watcher type further has its own C<< ev_TYPE_set (watcher *, ...) >>
590	with arguments specific to this watcher type. There is also a macro	832	macro to configure it, with arguments specific to the watcher type. There
591	to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<< ev_<type>_init	833	is also a macro to combine initialisation and setting in one call: C<<
592	(watcher *, callback, ...) >>.	834	ev_TYPE_init (watcher *, callback, ...) >>.
593		835
594	To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it	836	To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it
595	with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_<type>_start (loop, watcher	837	with a watcher-specific start function (C<< ev_TYPE_start (loop, watcher
596	*) >>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the	838	*) >>), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the
597	corresponding stop function (C<< ev_<type>_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.	839	corresponding stop function (C<< ev_TYPE_stop (loop, watcher *) >>.
598		840
599	As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you	841	As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you
600	must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never	842	must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never
601	reinitialise it or call its C<set> macro.	843	reinitialise it or call its C<ev_TYPE_set> macro.
602		844
603	Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the	845	Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the
604	registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as	846	registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as
605	third argument.	847	third argument.
606		848
…		…
660	=item C<EV_FORK>	902	=item C<EV_FORK>
661		903
662	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see	904	The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
663	C<ev_fork>).	905	C<ev_fork>).
664		906
		907	=item C<EV_ASYNC>
		908
		909	The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see C<ev_async>).
		910
665	=item C<EV_ERROR>	911	=item C<EV_ERROR>
666		912
667	An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might	913	An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
668	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev	914	happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
669	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other	915	ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
		916	problem. Libev considers these application bugs.
		917
670	problem. You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping	918	You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping with the
671	with the watcher being stopped.	919	watcher being stopped. Note that well-written programs should not receive
		920	an error ever, so when your watcher receives it, this usually indicates a
		921	bug in your program.
672		922
673	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error,	923	Libev will usually signal a few "dummy" events together with an error, for
674	for example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if	924	example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if your
675	your callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope	925	callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope with
676	with the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multithreaded	926	the error from read() or write(). This will not work in multi-threaded
677	programs, though, so beware.	927	programs, though, as the fd could already be closed and reused for another
		928	thing, so beware.
678		929
679	=back	930	=back
680		931
681	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS	932	=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
682
683	In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,
684	e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.
685		933
686	=over 4	934	=over 4
687		935
688	=item C<ev_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)	936	=item C<ev_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)
689		937
…		…
695	which rolls both calls into one.	943	which rolls both calls into one.
696		944
697	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped	945	You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
698	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.	946	(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.
699		947
700	The callback is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,	948	The callback is always of type C<void (*)(struct ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
701	int revents)>.	949	int revents)>.
		950
		951	Example: Initialise an C<ev_io> watcher in two steps.
		952
		953	ev_io w;
		954	ev_init (&w, my_cb);
		955	ev_io_set (&w, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
702		956
703	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])	957	=item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])
704		958
705	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to	959	This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
706	call C<ev_init> at least once before you call this macro, but you can	960	call C<ev_init> at least once before you call this macro, but you can
…		…
709	difference to the C<ev_init> macro).	963	difference to the C<ev_init> macro).
710		964
711	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments	965	Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
712	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.	966	(e.g. C<ev_prepare>) you still need to call its C<set> macro.
713		967
		968	See C<ev_init>, above, for an example.
		969
714	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])	970	=item C<ev_TYPE_init> (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])
715		971
716	This convinience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro	972	This convenience macro rolls both C<ev_init> and C<ev_TYPE_set> macro
717	calls into a single call. This is the most convinient method to initialise	973	calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
718	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.	974	a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
		975
		976	Example: Initialise and set an C<ev_io> watcher in one step.
		977
		978	ev_io_init (&w, my_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
719		979
720	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)	980	=item C<ev_TYPE_start> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
721		981
722	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive	982	Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
723	events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.	983	events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.
724		984
		985	Example: Start the C<ev_io> watcher that is being abused as example in this
		986	whole section.
		987
		988	ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_UC, &w);
		989
725	=item C<ev_TYPE_stop> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)	990	=item C<ev_TYPE_stop> (loop *, ev_TYPE *watcher)
726		991
727	Stops the given watcher again (if active) and clears the pending	992	Stops the given watcher if active, and clears the pending status (whether
		993	the watcher was active or not).
		994
728	status. It is possible that stopped watchers are pending (for example,	995	It is possible that stopped watchers are pending - for example,
729	non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending), but	996	non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending - but
730	C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor pending. If	997	calling C<ev_TYPE_stop> ensures that the watcher is neither active nor
731	you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is therefore a	998	pending. If you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is
732	good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.	999	therefore a good idea to always call its C<ev_TYPE_stop> function.
733		1000
734	=item bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)	1001	=item bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)
735		1002
736	Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started	1003	Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started
737	and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify	1004	and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify
…		…
779	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is	1046	The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
780	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).	1047	always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
781		1048
782	Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is	1049	Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
783	fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might	1050	fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
784	or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.	1051	or might not have been clamped to the valid range.
785		1052
786	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)	1053	=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
787		1054
788	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither	1055	Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
789	C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback	1056	C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
790	can deal with that fact.	1057	can deal with that fact, as both are simply passed through to the
		1058	callback.
791		1059
792	=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)	1060	=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
793		1061
794	If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status	1062	If the watcher is pending, this function clears its pending status and
795	and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the	1063	returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
796	watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.	1064	watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
797		1065
		1066	Sometimes it can be useful to "poll" a watcher instead of waiting for its
		1067	callback to be invoked, which can be accomplished with this function.
		1068
798	=back	1069	=back
799		1070
800		1071
801	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER	1072	=head2 ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER
802		1073
803	Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change	1074	Each watcher has, by default, a member C<void *data> that you can change
804	and read at any time, libev will completely ignore it. This can be used	1075	and read at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
805	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and	1076	to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
806	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data	1077	don't want to allocate memory and store a pointer to it in that data
807	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own	1078	member, you can also "subclass" the watcher type and provide your own
808	data:	1079	data:
809		1080
810	struct my_io	1081	struct my_io
811	{	1082	{
812	struct ev_io io;	1083	ev_io io;
813	int otherfd;	1084	int otherfd;
814	void *somedata;	1085	void *somedata;
815	struct whatever *mostinteresting;	1086	struct whatever *mostinteresting;
816	}	1087	};
		1088
		1089	...
		1090	struct my_io w;
		1091	ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
817		1092
818	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you	1093	And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
819	can cast it back to your own type:	1094	can cast it back to your own type:
820		1095
821	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w_, int revents)	1096	static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
822	{	1097	{
823	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;	1098	struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
824	...	1099	...
825	}	1100	}
826		1101
827	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type	1102	More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
828	instead have been omitted.	1103	instead have been omitted.
829		1104
830	Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple	1105	Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
831	watchers:	1106	embedded watchers:
832		1107
833	struct my_biggy	1108	struct my_biggy
834	{	1109	{
835	int some_data;	1110	int some_data;
836	ev_timer t1;	1111	ev_timer t1;
837	ev_timer t2;	1112	ev_timer t2;
838	}	1113	}
839		1114
840	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,	1115	In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more
841	you need to use C<offsetof>:	1116	complicated: Either you store the address of your C<my_biggy> struct
		1117	in the C<data> member of the watcher (for woozies), or you need to use
		1118	some pointer arithmetic using C<offsetof> inside your watchers (for real
		1119	programmers):
842		1120
843	#include <stddef.h>	1121	#include <stddef.h>
844		1122
845	static void	1123	static void
846	t1_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1124	t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
847	{	1125	{
848	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1126	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
849	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));	1127	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
850	}	1128	}
851		1129
852	static void	1130	static void
853	t2_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1131	t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
854	{	1132	{
855	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *	1133	struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
856	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));	1134	(((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
857	}	1135	}
858		1136
859		1137
860	=head1 WATCHER TYPES	1138	=head1 WATCHER TYPES
861		1139
862	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat	1140	This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
…		…
886	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per	1164	In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
887	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file	1165	fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
888	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not	1166	descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
889	required if you know what you are doing).	1167	required if you know what you are doing).
890		1168
891	You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends	1169	If you cannot use non-blocking mode, then force the use of a
892	(the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file	1170	known-to-be-good backend (at the time of this writing, this includes only
893	descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing	1171	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
894	to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
895	the same underlying "file open").
896
897	If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
898	(at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
899	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
900		1172
901	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to	1173	Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
902	receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might	1174	receive "spurious" readiness notifications, that is your callback might
903	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block	1175	be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
904	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a	1176	because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
905	lot of those (for example solaris ports), it is very easy to get into	1177	lot of those (for example Solaris ports), it is very easy to get into
906	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus	1178	this situation even with a relatively standard program structure. Thus
907	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning	1179	it is best to always use non-blocking I/O: An extra C<read>(2) returning
908	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.	1180	C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
909		1181
910	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should not	1182	If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should
911	play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to seperately re-test	1183	not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately
912	whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface	1184	re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good
913	such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on	1185	interface such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already
914	its own, so its quite safe to use).	1186	does this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally
		1187	use C<SIGALRM> and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block
		1188	indefinitely.
		1189
		1190	But really, best use non-blocking mode.
915		1191
916	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors	1192	=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
917		1193
918	Some backends (e.g kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file	1194	Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
919	descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,	1195	descriptor (either due to calling C<close> explicitly or any other means,
920	such as C<dup>). The reason is that you register interest in some file	1196	such as C<dup2>). The reason is that you register interest in some file
921	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop	1197	descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
922	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is	1198	this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
923	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in	1199	registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
924	fact, a different file descriptor.	1200	fact, a different file descriptor.
925		1201
…		…
932		1208
933	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that	1209	This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
934	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave	1210	the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
935	optimisations to libev.	1211	optimisations to libev.
936		1212
		1213	=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
		1214
		1215	Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
		1216	but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
		1217	have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
		1218	events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
		1219
		1220	There is no workaround possible except not registering events
		1221	for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
		1222	C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1223
		1224	=head3 The special problem of fork
		1225
		1226	Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
		1227	useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
		1228	it in the child.
		1229
		1230	To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
		1231	C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
		1232	enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
		1233	C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
		1234
		1235	=head3 The special problem of SIGPIPE
		1236
		1237	While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about C<SIGPIPE>:
		1238	when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
		1239	sent a SIGPIPE, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
		1240	this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
		1241
		1242	So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
		1243	ignore SIGPIPE (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
		1244	somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
		1245
937		1246
938	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions	1247	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
939		1248
940	=over 4	1249	=over 4
941		1250
942	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)	1251	=item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
943		1252
944	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)	1253	=item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
945		1254
946	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to	1255	Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
947	rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or	1256	receive events for and C<events> is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
948	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.	1257	C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE>, to express the desire to receive the given events.
949		1258
950	=item int fd [read-only]	1259	=item int fd [read-only]
951		1260
952	The file descriptor being watched.	1261	The file descriptor being watched.
953		1262
954	=item int events [read-only]	1263	=item int events [read-only]
955		1264
956	The events being watched.	1265	The events being watched.
957		1266
958	=back	1267	=back
		1268
		1269	=head3 Examples
959		1270
960	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well	1271	Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
961	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could	1272	readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
962	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.	1273	attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
963		1274
964	static void	1275	static void
965	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1276	stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
966	{	1277	{
967	ev_io_stop (loop, w);	1278	ev_io_stop (loop, w);
968	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and haqndle any I/O errors	1279	.. read from stdin here (or from w->fd) and handle any I/O errors
969	}	1280	}
970		1281
971	...	1282	...
972	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);	1283	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
973	struct ev_io stdin_readable;	1284	ev_io stdin_readable;
974	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);	1285	ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
975	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);	1286	ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
976	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1287	ev_loop (loop, 0);
977		1288
978		1289
979	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts	1290	=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
980		1291
981	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a	1292	Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
982	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.	1293	given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
983		1294
984	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that	1295	The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
985	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to last years	1296	times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
986	time, it will still time out after (roughly) and hour. "Roughly" because	1297	year, it will still time out after (roughly) one hour. "Roughly" because
987	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the	1298	detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
988	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).	1299	monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
		1300
		1301	The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only I<after> its timeout has
		1302	passed, but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration
		1303	then order of execution is undefined.
		1304
		1305	=head3 Be smart about timeouts
		1306
		1307	Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error
		1308	recovery. A typical example is an HTTP request - if the other side hangs,
		1309	you want to raise some error after a while.
		1310
		1311	What follows are some ways to handle this problem, from obvious and
		1312	inefficient to smart and efficient.
		1313
		1314	In the following, a 60 second activity timeout is assumed - a timeout that
		1315	gets reset to 60 seconds each time there is activity (e.g. each time some
		1316	data or other life sign was received).
		1317
		1318	=over 4
		1319
		1320	=item 1. Use a timer and stop, reinitialise and start it on activity.
		1321
		1322	This is the most obvious, but not the most simple way: In the beginning,
		1323	start the watcher:
		1324
		1325	ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 60., 0.);
		1326	ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
		1327
		1328	Then, each time there is some activity, C<ev_timer_stop> it, initialise it
		1329	and start it again:
		1330
		1331	ev_timer_stop (loop, timer);
		1332	ev_timer_set (timer, 60., 0.);
		1333	ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
		1334
		1335	This is relatively simple to implement, but means that each time there is
		1336	some activity, libev will first have to remove the timer from its internal
		1337	data structure and then add it again. Libev tries to be fast, but it's
		1338	still not a constant-time operation.
		1339
		1340	=item 2. Use a timer and re-start it with C<ev_timer_again> inactivity.
		1341
		1342	This is the easiest way, and involves using C<ev_timer_again> instead of
		1343	C<ev_timer_start>.
		1344
		1345	To implement this, configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value
		1346	of C<60> and then call C<ev_timer_again> at start and each time you
		1347	successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle state where
		1348	you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop>
		1349	the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will automatically restart it if need be.
		1350
		1351	That means you can ignore both the C<ev_timer_start> function and the
		1352	C<after> argument to C<ev_timer_set>, and only ever use the C<repeat>
		1353	member and C<ev_timer_again>.
		1354
		1355	At start:
		1356
		1357	ev_timer_init (timer, callback);
		1358	timer->repeat = 60.;
		1359	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1360
		1361	Each time there is some activity:
		1362
		1363	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1364
		1365	It is even possible to change the time-out on the fly, regardless of
		1366	whether the watcher is active or not:
		1367
		1368	timer->repeat = 30.;
		1369	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
		1370
		1371	This is slightly more efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
		1372	you want to modify its timeout value, as libev does not have to completely
		1373	remove and re-insert the timer from/into its internal data structure.
		1374
		1375	It is, however, even simpler than the "obvious" way to do it.
		1376
		1377	=item 3. Let the timer time out, but then re-arm it as required.
		1378
		1379	This method is more tricky, but usually most efficient: Most timeouts are
		1380	relatively long compared to the intervals between other activity - in
		1381	our example, within 60 seconds, there are usually many I/O events with
		1382	associated activity resets.
		1383
		1384	In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the C<ev_timer> alone,
		1385	but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only
		1386	within the callback:
		1387
		1388	ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity
		1389
		1390	static void
		1391	callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		1392	{
		1393	ev_tstamp now = ev_now (EV_A);
		1394	ev_tstamp timeout = last_activity + 60.;
		1395
		1396	// if last_activity + 60. is older than now, we did time out
		1397	if (timeout < now)
		1398	{
		1399	// timeout occured, take action
		1400	}
		1401	else
		1402	{
		1403	// callback was invoked, but there was some activity, re-arm
		1404	// the watcher to fire in last_activity + 60, which is
		1405	// guaranteed to be in the future, so "again" is positive:
		1406	w->again = timeout - now;
		1407	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ w);
		1408	}
		1409	}
		1410
		1411	To summarise the callback: first calculate the real timeout (defined
		1412	as "60 seconds after the last activity"), then check if that time has
		1413	been reached, which means something I<did>, in fact, time out. Otherwise
		1414	the callback was invoked too early (C<timeout> is in the future), so
		1415	re-schedule the timer to fire at that future time, to see if maybe we have
		1416	a timeout then.
		1417
		1418	Note how C<ev_timer_again> is used, taking advantage of the
		1419	C<ev_timer_again> optimisation when the timer is already running.
		1420
		1421	This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds
		1422	minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to
		1423	libev to change the timeout.
		1424
		1425	To start the timer, simply initialise the watcher and set C<last_activity>
		1426	to the current time (meaning we just have some activity :), then call the
		1427	callback, which will "do the right thing" and start the timer:
		1428
		1429	ev_timer_init (timer, callback);
		1430	last_activity = ev_now (loop);
		1431	callback (loop, timer, EV_TIMEOUT);
		1432
		1433	And when there is some activity, simply store the current time in
		1434	C<last_activity>, no libev calls at all:
		1435
		1436	last_actiivty = ev_now (loop);
		1437
		1438	This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the
		1439	time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.
		1440
		1441	Changing the timeout is trivial as well (if it isn't hard-coded in the
		1442	callback :) - just change the timeout and invoke the callback, which will
		1443	fix things for you.
		1444
		1445	=item 4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts.
		1446
		1447	If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all
		1448	employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can
		1449	do even better:
		1450
		1451	When starting the timeout, calculate the timeout value and put the timeout
		1452	at the I<end> of the list.
		1453
		1454	Then use an C<ev_timer> to fire when the timeout at the I<beginning> of
		1455	the list is expected to fire (for example, using the technique #3).
		1456
		1457	When there is some activity, remove the timer from the list, recalculate
		1458	the timeout, append it to the end of the list again, and make sure to
		1459	update the C<ev_timer> if it was taken from the beginning of the list.
		1460
		1461	This way, one can manage an unlimited number of timeouts in O(1) time for
		1462	starting, stopping and updating the timers, at the expense of a major
		1463	complication, and having to use a constant timeout. The constant timeout
		1464	ensures that the list stays sorted.
		1465
		1466	=back
		1467
		1468	So which method the best?
		1469
		1470	Method #2 is a simple no-brain-required solution that is adequate in most
		1471	situations. Method #3 requires a bit more thinking, but handles many cases
		1472	better, and isn't very complicated either. In most case, choosing either
		1473	one is fine, with #3 being better in typical situations.
		1474
		1475	Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is
		1476	rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays
		1477	off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually
		1478	overkill :)
		1479
		1480	=head3 The special problem of time updates
		1481
		1482	Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
		1483	least two system calls): EV therefore updates its idea of the current
		1484	time only before and after C<ev_loop> collects new events, which causes a
		1485	growing difference between C<ev_now ()> and C<ev_time ()> when handling
		1486	lots of events in one iteration.
989		1487
990	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>	1488	The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the C<ev_now ()>
991	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time	1489	time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
992	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If	1490	of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
993	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the timeout	1491	you suspect event processing to be delayed and you I<need> to base the
994	on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:	1492	timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
995		1493
996	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);	1494	ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () - ev_time (), 0.);
997		1495
998	The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,	1496	If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
999	but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then	1497	update of the time returned by C<ev_now ()> by calling C<ev_now_update
1000	order of execution is undefined.	1498	()>.
1001		1499
1002	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1500	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1003		1501
1004	=over 4	1502	=over 4
1005		1503
1006	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1504	=item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1007		1505
1008	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)	1506	=item ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
1009		1507
1010	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat> is	1508	Configure the timer to trigger after C<after> seconds. If C<repeat>
1011	C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped. If it is positive, then the	1509	is C<0.>, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
1012	timer will automatically be configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds	1510	reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
1013	later, again, and again, until stopped manually.	1511	configured to trigger again C<repeat> seconds later, again, and again,
		1512	until stopped manually.
1014		1513
1015	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if you	1514	The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
1016	configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will trigger at	1515	you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
1017	exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot keep up with	1516	trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
1018	the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to do stuff) the	1517	keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
1019	timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.	1518	do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
1020		1519
1021	=item ev_timer_again (loop)	1520	=item ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)
1022		1521
1023	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is	1522	This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
1024	repeating. The exact semantics are:	1523	repeating. The exact semantics are:
1025		1524
1026	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.	1525	If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
1027		1526
1028	If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out).	1527	If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
1029		1528
1030	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the	1529	If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
1031	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.	1530	C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
1032		1531
1033	This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical	1532	This sounds a bit complicated, see "Be smart about timeouts", above, for a
1034	example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle	1533	usage example.
1035	timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
1036	seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
1037	configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
1038	C<ev_timer_again> each time you successfully read or write some data. If
1039	you go into an idle state where you do not expect data to travel on the
1040	socket, you can C<ev_timer_stop> the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will
1041	automatically restart it if need be.
1042
1043	That means you can ignore the C<after> value and C<ev_timer_start>
1044	altogether and only ever use the C<repeat> value and C<ev_timer_again>:
1045
1046	ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
1047	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
1048	...
1049	timer->again = 17.;
1050	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
1051	...
1052	timer->again = 10.;
1053	ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
1054
1055	This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
1056	you want to modify its timeout value.
1057		1534
1058	=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]	1535	=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]
1059		1536
1060	The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out	1537	The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
1061	or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),	1538	or C<ev_timer_again> is called, and determines the next timeout (if any),
1062	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.	1539	which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
1063		1540
1064	=back	1541	=back
1065		1542
		1543	=head3 Examples
		1544
1066	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.	1545	Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
1067		1546
1068	static void	1547	static void
1069	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1548	one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
1070	{	1549	{
1071	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here	1550	.. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
1072	}	1551	}
1073		1552
1074	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1553	ev_timer mytimer;
1075	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);	1554	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
1076	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);	1555	ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
1077		1556
1078	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of	1557	Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
1079	inactivity.	1558	inactivity.
1080		1559
1081	static void	1560	static void
1082	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)	1561	timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
1083	{	1562	{
1084	.. ten seconds without any activity	1563	.. ten seconds without any activity
1085	}	1564	}
1086		1565
1087	struct ev_timer mytimer;	1566	ev_timer mytimer;
1088	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */	1567	ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
1089	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */	1568	ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
1090	ev_loop (loop, 0);	1569	ev_loop (loop, 0);
1091		1570
1092	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":	1571	// and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
1093	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds	1572	// reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
1094	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);	1573	ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
1095		1574
1096		1575
1097	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?	1576	=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron?
1098		1577
1099	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile	1578	Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
1100	(and unfortunately a bit complex).	1579	(and unfortunately a bit complex).
1101		1580
1102	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)	1581	Unlike C<ev_timer>'s, they are not based on real time (or relative time)
1103	but on wallclock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher	1582	but on wall clock time (absolute time). You can tell a periodic watcher
1104	to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a	1583	to trigger after some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
1105	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()	1584	periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifying e.g. C<ev_now ()
1106	+ 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will	1585	+ 10.>, that is, an absolute time not a delay) and then reset your system
		1586	clock to January of the previous year, then it will take more than year
1107	take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger	1587	to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would still trigger
1108	roughly 10 seconds later).	1588	roughly 10 seconds later as it uses a relative timeout).
1109		1589
1110	They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as	1590	C<ev_periodic>s can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers,
1111	triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,	1591	such as triggering an event on each "midnight, local time", or other
1112	rules.	1592	complicated rules.
1113		1593
1114	As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the	1594	As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
1115	time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready	1595	time (C<at>) has passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
1116	during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.	1596	during the same loop iteration, then order of execution is undefined.
1117		1597
1118	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1598	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1119		1599
1120	=over 4	1600	=over 4
1121		1601
1122	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)	1602	=item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
1123		1603
1124	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)	1604	=item ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat, reschedule_cb)
1125		1605
1126	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of	1606	Lots of arguments, lets sort it out... There are basically three modes of
1127	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:	1607	operation, and we will explain them from simplest to most complex:
1128		1608
1129	=over 4	1609	=over 4
1130		1610
1131	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)	1611	=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
1132		1612
1133	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time	1613	In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
1134	C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,	1614	time C<at> has passed. It will not repeat and will not adjust when a time
1135	that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the	1615	jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will
1136	system time reaches or surpasses this time.	1616	only run when the system clock reaches or surpasses this time.
1137		1617
1138	=item * non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)	1618	=item * repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
1139		1619
1140	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next	1620	In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
1141	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)	1621	C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
1142	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.	1622	and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
1143		1623
1144	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system	1624	This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to the
1145	time:	1625	system clock, for example, here is a C<ev_periodic> that triggers each
		1626	hour, on the hour:
1146		1627
1147	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);	1628	ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
1148		1629
1149	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,	1630	This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
1150	but only that the the callback will be called when the system time shows a	1631	but only that the callback will be called when the system time shows a
1151	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible	1632	full hour (UTC), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible
1152	by 3600.	1633	by 3600.
1153		1634
1154	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that	1635	Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
1155	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible	1636	C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
1156	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.	1637	time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
1157		1638
1158	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near	1639	For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
1159	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for	1640	C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
1160	this value.	1641	this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
		1642
		1643	Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (CPU
		1644	speed for example), so if C<interval> is very small then timing stability
		1645	will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
		1646	millisecond (if the OS supports it and the machine is fast enough).
1161		1647
1162	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)	1648	=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
1163		1649
1164	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being	1650	In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
1165	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the	1651	ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
1166	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the	1652	reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
1167	current time as second argument.	1653	current time as second argument.
1168		1654
1169	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,	1655	NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
1170	ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,	1656	ever, or make ANY event loop modifications whatsoever>.
1171	return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
1172	starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
1173		1657
		1658	If you need to stop it, return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
		1659	it afterwards (e.g. by starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is the
		1660	only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
		1661
1174	Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,	1662	The callback prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic
1175	ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:	1663	*w, ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
1176		1664
		1665	static ev_tstamp
1177	static ev_tstamp my_rescheduler (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1666	my_rescheduler (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1178	{	1667	{
1179	return now + 60.;	1668	return now + 60.;
1180	}	1669	}
1181		1670
1182	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value	1671	It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
1183	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It	1672	(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
1184	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but	1673	will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
1185	might be called at other times, too.	1674	might be called at other times, too.
1186		1675
1187	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is later than the	1676	NOTE: I<< This callback must always return a time that is higher than or
1188	passed C<now> value >>. Not even C<now> itself will do, it I<must> be larger.	1677	equal to the passed C<now> value >>.
1189		1678
1190	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that	1679	This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
1191	triggers on each midnight, local time. To do this, you would calculate the	1680	triggers on "next midnight, local time". To do this, you would calculate the
1192	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How	1681	next midnight after C<now> and return the timestamp value for this. How
1193	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main	1682	you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
1194	reason I omitted it as an example).	1683	reason I omitted it as an example).
1195		1684
1196	=back	1685	=back
…		…
1200	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful	1689	Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
1201	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return	1690	when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
1202	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like	1691	a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
1203	program when the crontabs have changed).	1692	program when the crontabs have changed).
1204		1693
		1694	=item ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)
		1695
		1696	When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
		1697	trigger next.
		1698
1205	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]	1699	=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
1206		1700
1207	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the	1701	When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
1208	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).	1702	absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
1209		1703
…		…
1214		1708
1215	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only	1709	The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
1216	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being	1710	take effect when the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being
1217	called.	1711	called.
1218		1712
1219	=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]	1713	=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
1220		1714
1221	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is	1715	The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
1222	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when	1716	switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
1223	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.	1717	the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
1224		1718
1225	=back	1719	=back
1226		1720
		1721	=head3 Examples
		1722
1227	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the	1723	Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
1228	system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have	1724	system time is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
1229	potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.	1725	potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
1230		1726
1231	static void	1727	static void
1232	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)	1728	clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1233	{	1729	{
1234	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)	1730	... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
1235	}	1731	}
1236		1732
1237	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1733	ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1238	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);	1734	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
1239	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1735	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1240		1736
1241	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:	1737	Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
1242		1738
1243	#include <math.h>	1739	#include <math.h>
1244		1740
1245	static ev_tstamp	1741	static ev_tstamp
1246	my_scheduler_cb (struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)	1742	my_scheduler_cb (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
1247	{	1743	{
1248	return fmod (now, 3600.) + 3600.;	1744	return now + (3600. - fmod (now, 3600.));
1249	}	1745	}
1250		1746
1251	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);	1747	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
1252		1748
1253	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:	1749	Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
1254		1750
1255	struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;	1751	ev_periodic hourly_tick;
1256	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,	1752	ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
1257	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);	1753	fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
1258	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);	1754	ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
1259		1755
1260		1756
1261	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!	1757	=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
1262		1758
1263	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific	1759	Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
1264	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev	1760	signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
1265	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the	1761	will try it's best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
1266	normal event processing, like any other event.	1762	normal event processing, like any other event.
1267		1763
		1764	If you want signals asynchronously, just use C<sigaction> as you would
		1765	do without libev and forget about sharing the signal. You can even use
		1766	C<ev_async> from a signal handler to synchronously wake up an event loop.
		1767
1268	You can configure as many watchers as you like per signal. Only when the	1768	You can configure as many watchers as you like per signal. Only when the
1269	first watcher gets started will libev actually register a signal watcher	1769	first watcher gets started will libev actually register a signal handler
1270	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long	1770	with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long as
1271	as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal	1771	you don't register any with libev for the same signal). Similarly, when
1272	watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to	1772	the last signal watcher for a signal is stopped, libev will reset the
1273	SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).	1773	signal handler to SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
		1774
		1775	If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
		1776	C<SA_RESTART> behaviour enabled, so system calls should not be unduly
		1777	interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting interrupted by
		1778	signals you can block all signals in an C<ev_check> watcher and unblock
		1779	them in an C<ev_prepare> watcher.
1274		1780
1275	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1781	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1276		1782
1277	=over 4	1783	=over 4
1278		1784
…		…
1287		1793
1288	The signal the watcher watches out for.	1794	The signal the watcher watches out for.
1289		1795
1290	=back	1796	=back
1291		1797
		1798	=head3 Examples
		1799
		1800	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT.
		1801
		1802	static void
		1803	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_signal *w, int revents)
		1804	{
		1805	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);
		1806	}
		1807
		1808	ev_signal signal_watcher;
		1809	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
		1810	ev_signal_start (loop, &signal_watcher);
		1811
1292		1812
1293	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes	1813	=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
1294		1814
1295	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to	1815	Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
1296	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).	1816	some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies or
		1817	exits). It is permissible to install a child watcher I<after> the child
		1818	has been forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long
		1819	as the event loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher), i.e.,
		1820	forking and then immediately registering a watcher for the child is fine,
		1821	but forking and registering a watcher a few event loop iterations later is
		1822	not.
		1823
		1824	Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
		1825	you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
		1826
		1827	=head3 Process Interaction
		1828
		1829	Libev grabs C<SIGCHLD> as soon as the default event loop is
		1830	initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if
		1831	the first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurrence
		1832	of C<SIGCHLD> is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
		1833	synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
		1834	children, even ones not watched.
		1835
		1836	=head3 Overriding the Built-In Processing
		1837
		1838	Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
		1839	processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
		1840	handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
		1841	C<SIGCHLD> after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
		1842	default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
		1843	event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
		1844	that, so other libev users can use C<ev_child> watchers freely.
		1845
		1846	=head3 Stopping the Child Watcher
		1847
		1848	Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
		1849	child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
		1850	callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
		1851	when a child exit is detected.
1297		1852
1298	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	1853	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1299		1854
1300	=over 4	1855	=over 4
1301		1856
1302	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)	1857	=item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)
1303		1858
1304	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid)	1859	=item ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)
1305		1860
1306	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or	1861	Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process C<pid> (or
1307	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look	1862	I<any> process if C<pid> is specified as C<0>). The callback can look
1308	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see	1863	at the C<rstatus> member of the C<ev_child> watcher structure to see
1309	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems	1864	the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
1310	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the	1865	C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
1311	process causing the status change.	1866	process causing the status change. C<trace> must be either C<0> (only
		1867	activate the watcher when the process terminates) or C<1> (additionally
		1868	activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
1312		1869
1313	=item int pid [read-only]	1870	=item int pid [read-only]
1314		1871
1315	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.	1872	The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
1316		1873
…		…
1323	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems	1880	The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
1324	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).	1881	C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
1325		1882
1326	=back	1883	=back
1327		1884
1328	Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.	1885	=head3 Examples
1329		1886
		1887	Example: C<fork()> a new process and install a child handler to wait for
		1888	its completion.
		1889
		1890	ev_child cw;
		1891
1330	static void	1892	static void
1331	sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)	1893	child_cb (EV_P_ ev_child *w, int revents)
1332	{	1894	{
1333	ev_unloop (loop, EVUNLOOP_ALL);	1895	ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
		1896	printf ("process %d exited with status %x\n", w->rpid, w->rstatus);
1334	}	1897	}
1335		1898
1336	struct ev_signal signal_watcher;	1899	pid_t pid = fork ();
1337	ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);	1900
1338	ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);	1901	if (pid < 0)
		1902	// error
		1903	else if (pid == 0)
		1904	{
		1905	// the forked child executes here
		1906	exit (1);
		1907	}
		1908	else
		1909	{
		1910	ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
		1911	ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
		1912	}
1339		1913
1340		1914
1341	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?	1915	=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
1342		1916
1343	This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls	1917	This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
1344	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed	1918	C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
1345	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.	1919	compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
1346		1920
1347	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does	1921	The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
1348	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does	1922	not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
…		…
1351	the stat buffer having unspecified contents.	1925	the stat buffer having unspecified contents.
1352		1926
1353	The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is	1927	The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is
1354	relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.	1928	relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.
1355		1929
1356	Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply	1930	Since there is no standard kernel interface to do this, the portable
1357	calls C<stat (2)> regularly on the path to see if it changed somehow. You	1931	implementation simply calls C<stat (2)> regularly on the path to see if
1358	can specify a recommended polling interval for this case. If you specify	1932	it changed somehow. You can specify a recommended polling interval for
1359	a polling interval of C<0> (highly recommended!) then a I<suitable,	1933	this case. If you specify a polling interval of C<0> (highly recommended!)
1360	unspecified default> value will be used (which you can expect to be around	1934	then a I<suitable, unspecified default> value will be used (which
1361	five seconds, although this might change dynamically). Libev will also	1935	you can expect to be around five seconds, although this might change
1362	impose a minimum interval which is currently around C<0.1>, but thats	1936	dynamically). Libev will also impose a minimum interval which is currently
1363	usually overkill.	1937	around C<0.1>, but thats usually overkill.
1364		1938
1365	This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,	1939	This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
1366	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be	1940	as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
1367	resource-intensive.	1941	resource-intensive.
1368		1942
1369	At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is	1943	At the time of this writing, the only OS-specific interface implemented
1370	implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the	1944	is the Linux inotify interface (implementing kqueue support is left as
1371	reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the	1945	an exercise for the reader. Note, however, that the author sees no way
1372	semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs	1946	of implementing C<ev_stat> semantics with kqueue).
1373	to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are	1947
1374	usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no	1948	=head3 ABI Issues (Largefile Support)
1375	polling.	1949
		1950	Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
		1951	compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
		1952	support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
		1953	structure. When using the library from programs that change the ABI to
		1954	use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
		1955	compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
		1956	obviously the case with any flags that change the ABI, but the problem is
		1957	most noticeably disabled with ev_stat and large file support.
		1958
		1959	The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
		1960	file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
		1961	optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
		1962	to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
		1963	default compilation environment.
		1964
		1965	=head3 Inotify and Kqueue
		1966
		1967	When C<inotify (7)> support has been compiled into libev (generally
		1968	only available with Linux 2.6.25 or above due to bugs in earlier
		1969	implementations) and present at runtime, it will be used to speed up
		1970	change detection where possible. The inotify descriptor will be created
		1971	lazily when the first C<ev_stat> watcher is being started.
		1972
		1973	Inotify presence does not change the semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers
		1974	except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
		1975	making regular C<stat> calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
		1976	there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular C<stat> polling,
		1977	but as long as the path exists, libev usually gets away without polling.
		1978
		1979	There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
		1980	implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
		1981	descriptor open on the object at all times, and detecting renames, unlinks
		1982	etc. is difficult.
		1983
		1984	=head3 The special problem of stat time resolution
		1985
		1986	The C<stat ()> system call only supports full-second resolution portably, and
		1987	even on systems where the resolution is higher, most file systems still
		1988	only support whole seconds.
		1989
		1990	That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
		1991	easily miss updates: on the first update, C<ev_stat> detects a change and
		1992	calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
		1993	within the same second, C<ev_stat> will be unable to detect unless the
		1994	stat data does change in other ways (e.g. file size).
		1995
		1996	The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
		1997	than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
		1998	a roughly one-second-delay C<ev_timer> (e.g. C<ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
		1999	ev_timer_again (loop, w)>).
		2000
		2001	The C<.02> offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
		2002	of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
		2003	might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
		2004	C<gettimeofday> might return a timestamp with a full second later than
		2005	a subsequent C<time> call - if the equivalent of C<time ()> is used to
		2006	update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
		2007	the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
		2008	the timer callback).
1376		2009
1377	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2010	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1378		2011
1379	=over 4	2012	=over 4
1380		2013
…		…
1386	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to	2019	C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
1387	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose	2020	be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
1388	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same	2021	a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
1389	path for as long as the watcher is active.	2022	path for as long as the watcher is active.
1390		2023
1391	The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,	2024	The callback will receive an C<EV_STAT> event when a change was detected,
1392	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the	2025	relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
1393	last change was detected).	2026	last change was detected).
1394		2027
1395	=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)	2028	=item ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)
1396		2029
1397	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the	2030	Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
1398	watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid	2031	watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
1399	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be	2032	detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
1400	useful simply to find out the new values.	2033	the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
		2034	new values.
1401		2035
1402	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]	2036	=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
1403		2037
1404	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of	2038	The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
1405	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types	2039	C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
1406	suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there	2040	suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
		2041	members to be present. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there was
1407	was some error while C<stat>ing the file.	2042	some error while C<stat>ing the file.
1408		2043
1409	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]	2044	=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
1410		2045
1411	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever	2046	The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
1412	C<prev> != C<attr>.	2047	C<prev> != C<attr>, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
		2048	differ: C<st_dev>, C<st_ino>, C<st_mode>, C<st_nlink>, C<st_uid>,
		2049	C<st_gid>, C<st_rdev>, C<st_size>, C<st_atime>, C<st_mtime>, C<st_ctime>.
1413		2050
1414	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]	2051	=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
1415		2052
1416	The specified interval.	2053	The specified interval.
1417		2054
1418	=item const char *path [read-only]	2055	=item const char *path [read-only]
1419		2056
1420	The filesystem path that is being watched.	2057	The file system path that is being watched.
1421		2058
1422	=back	2059	=back
1423		2060
		2061	=head3 Examples
		2062
1424	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.	2063	Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
1425		2064
1426	static void	2065	static void
1427	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)	2066	passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
1428	{	2067	{
1429	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */	2068	/* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
1430	if (w->attr.st_nlink)	2069	if (w->attr.st_nlink)
1431	{	2070	{
1432	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);	2071	printf ("passwd current size %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
1433	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	2072	printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1434	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);	2073	printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
1435	}	2074	}
1436	else	2075	else
1437	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */	2076	/* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
1438	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "	2077	puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
1439	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");	2078	"if this is windows, they already arrived\n");
1440	}	2079	}
1441		2080
1442	...	2081	...
1443	ev_stat passwd;	2082	ev_stat passwd;
1444		2083
1445	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");	2084	ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
1446	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);	2085	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		2086
		2087	Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
		2088	miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
		2089	one might do the work both on C<ev_stat> callback invocation I<and> on
		2090	C<ev_timer> callback invocation).
		2091
		2092	static ev_stat passwd;
		2093	static ev_timer timer;
		2094
		2095	static void
		2096	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
		2097	{
		2098	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
		2099
		2100	/* now it's one second after the most recent passwd change */
		2101	}
		2102
		2103	static void
		2104	stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
		2105	{
		2106	/* reset the one-second timer */
		2107	ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
		2108	}
		2109
		2110	...
		2111	ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
		2112	ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
		2113	ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
1447		2114
1448		2115
1449	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...	2116	=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do...
1450		2117
1451	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher	2118	Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
1452	priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not	2119	priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count
1453	count).	2120	as receiving "events").
1454		2121
1455	That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts	2122	That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
1456	(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be	2123	(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
1457	triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers	2124	triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
1458	are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop	2125	are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
…		…
1477	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,	2144	kind. There is a C<ev_idle_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
1478	believe me.	2145	believe me.
1479		2146
1480	=back	2147	=back
1481		2148
		2149	=head3 Examples
		2150
1482	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the	2151	Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
1483	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.	2152	callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
1484		2153
1485	static void	2154	static void
1486	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)	2155	idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)
1487	{	2156	{
1488	free (w);	2157	free (w);
1489	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has	2158	// now do something you wanted to do when the program has
1490	// no longer asnything immediate to do.	2159	// no longer anything immediate to do.
1491	}	2160	}
1492		2161
1493	struct ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (struct ev_idle));	2162	ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));
1494	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);	2163	ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
1495	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);	2164	ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
1496		2165
1497		2166
1498	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!	2167	=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
1499		2168
1500	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:	2169	Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in pairs:
1501	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers	2170	prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
1502	afterwards.	2171	afterwards.
1503		2172
1504	You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter	2173	You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter
1505	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>	2174	the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>
…		…
1508	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,	2177	those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be C<ev_prepare>, blocking,
1509	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be	2178	C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
1510	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.	2179	called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
1511		2180
1512	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and	2181	Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
1513	their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track	2182	their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track
1514	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a	2183	variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
1515	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if	2184	coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
1516	you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,	2185	you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
1517	in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>	2186	in X programs you might want to do an C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>
1518	watcher).	2187	watcher).
1519		2188
1520	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need	2189	This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors
1521	to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for	2190	need to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers
1522	them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many libraries	2191	for them and starting an C<ev_timer> watcher for any timeouts (many
1523	provide just this functionality). Then, in the check watcher you check for	2192	libraries provide exactly this functionality). Then, in the check watcher,
1524	any events that occured (by checking the pending status of all watchers	2193	you check for any events that occurred (by checking the pending status
1525	and stopping them) and call back into the library. The I/O and timer	2194	of all watchers and stopping them) and call back into the library. The
1526	callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid nevertheless,	2195	I/O and timer callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid
1527	because you never know, you know?).	2196	nevertheless, because you never know, you know?).
1528		2197
1529	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate	2198	As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
1530	coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines	2199	coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines
1531	during each prepare and only letting the process block if no coroutines	2200	during each prepare and only letting the process block if no coroutines
1532	are ready to run (it's actually more complicated: it only runs coroutines	2201	are ready to run (it's actually more complicated: it only runs coroutines
…		…
1535	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping	2204	loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
1536	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).	2205	low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
1537		2206
1538	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)	2207	It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
1539	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers	2208	priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
		2209	after the poll (this doesn't matter for C<ev_prepare> watchers).
		2210
1540	after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,	2211	Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers, too) should not
1541	too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully	2212	activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they
1542	supports this, they will be called before other C<ev_check> watchers did	2213	might get executed before other C<ev_check> watchers did their job. As
1543	their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other event	2214	C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event
1544	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their	2215	loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
1545	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with	2216	C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
1546	others).	2217	others).
1547		2218
1548	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2219	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
…		…
1553		2224
1554	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)	2225	=item ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)
1555		2226
1556	Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no	2227	Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher - they have no
1557	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>	2228	parameters of any kind. There are C<ev_prepare_set> and C<ev_check_set>
1558	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.	2229	macros, but using them is utterly, utterly, utterly and completely
		2230	pointless.
1559		2231
1560	=back	2232	=back
		2233
		2234	=head3 Examples
1561		2235
1562	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules	2236	There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
1563	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev	2237	into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
1564	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could	2238	(there is a Perl module named C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
1565	use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib>	2239	use as a working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib> embeds a
1566	embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV	2240	Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV into the
1567	into the Glib event loop).	2241	Glib event loop).
1568		2242
1569	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,	2243	Method 1: Add IO watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
1570	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows	2244	and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
1571	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low	2245	is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
1572	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as	2246	priority for the check watcher or use C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
1573	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.	2247	the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
1574		2248
1575	static ev_io iow [nfd];	2249	static ev_io iow [nfd];
1576	static ev_timer tw;	2250	static ev_timer tw;
1577		2251
1578	static void	2252	static void
1579	io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)	2253	io_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
1580	{	2254	{
1581	}	2255	}
1582		2256
1583	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking	2257	// create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
1584	static void	2258	static void
1585	adns_prepare_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)	2259	adns_prepare_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
1586	{	2260	{
1587	int timeout = 3600000;	2261	int timeout = 3600000;
1588	struct pollfd fds [nfd];	2262	struct pollfd fds [nfd];
1589	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.	2263	// actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
1590	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));	2264	adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
1591		2265
1592	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */	2266	/* the callback is illegal, but won't be called as we stop during check */
1593	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);	2267	ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
1594	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);	2268	ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
1595		2269
1596	// create one ev_io per pollfd	2270	// create one ev_io per pollfd
1597	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2271	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1598	{	2272	{
1599	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,	2273	ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
1600	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)	2274	((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
1601	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));	2275	| (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
1602		2276
1603	fds [i].revents = 0;	2277	fds [i].revents = 0;
1604	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);	2278	ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
1605	}	2279	}
1606	}	2280	}
1607		2281
1608	// stop all watchers after blocking	2282	// stop all watchers after blocking
1609	static void	2283	static void
1610	adns_check_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)	2284	adns_check_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
1611	{	2285	{
1612	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);	2286	ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
1613		2287
1614	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)	2288	for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
1615	{	2289	{
1616	// set the relevant poll flags	2290	// set the relevant poll flags
1617	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here	2291	// could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
1618	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;	2292	struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
1619	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);	2293	int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
1620	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;	2294	if (revents & EV_READ ) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLIN;
1621	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;	2295	if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd->revents |= fd->events & POLLOUT;
1622		2296
1623	// now stop the watcher	2297	// now stop the watcher
1624	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);	2298	ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
1625	}	2299	}
1626		2300
1627	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));	2301	adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
1628	}	2302	}
1629		2303
1630	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>	2304	Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
1631	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.	2305	in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
1632		2306
1633	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event	2307	Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
1634	notification (adns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher	2308	notification (libadns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
1635	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.	2309	callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
1636		2310
1637	static void	2311	static void
1638	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	2312	timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
1639	{	2313	{
1640	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;	2314	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
1641	update_now (EV_A);	2315	update_now (EV_A);
1642		2316
1643	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);	2317	adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
1644	}	2318	}
1645		2319
1646	static void	2320	static void
1647	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)	2321	io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
1648	{	2322	{
1649	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;	2323	adns_state ads = (adns_state)w->data;
1650	update_now (EV_A);	2324	update_now (EV_A);
1651		2325
1652	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);	2326	if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
1653	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);	2327	if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w->fd, &tv_now);
1654	}	2328	}
1655		2329
1656	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll	2330	// do not ever call adns_afterpoll
1657		2331
1658	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you	2332	Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
1659	want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override	2333	want to embed is not flexible enough to support it. Instead, you can
1660	their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the main	2334	override their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the
1661	loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does	2335	main loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module uses
1662	this.	2336	this approach, effectively embedding EV as a client into the horrible
		2337	libglib event loop.
1663		2338
1664	static gint	2339	static gint
1665	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)	2340	event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
1666	{	2341	{
1667	int got_events = 0;	2342	int got_events = 0;
1668		2343
1669	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)	2344	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
1670	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events	2345	// create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
1671		2346
1672	if (timeout >= 0)	2347	if (timeout >= 0)
1673	// create/start timer	2348	// create/start timer
1674		2349
1675	// poll	2350	// poll
1676	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);	2351	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
1677		2352
1678	// stop timer again	2353	// stop timer again
1679	if (timeout >= 0)	2354	if (timeout >= 0)
1680	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);	2355	ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
1681		2356
1682	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set	2357	// stop io watchers again - their callbacks should have set
1683	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)	2358	for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
1684	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);	2359	ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
1685		2360
1686	return got_events;	2361	return got_events;
1687	}	2362	}
1688		2363
1689		2364
1690	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...	2365	=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough...
1691		2366
1692	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop	2367	This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
…		…
1698	prioritise I/O.	2373	prioritise I/O.
1699		2374
1700	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support	2375	As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
1701	sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you	2376	sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you
1702	still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales	2377	still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales
1703	so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed it	2378	so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed
1704	into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation will	2379	it into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation
1705	be a bit slower because first libev has to poll and then call kevent, but	2380	will be a bit slower because first libev has to call C<poll> and then
1706	at least you can use both at what they are best.	2381	C<kevent>, but at least you can use both mechanisms for what they are
		2382	best: C<kqueue> for scalable sockets and C<poll> if you want it to work :)
1707		2383
1708	As for prioritising I/O: rarely you have the case where some fds have	2384	As for prioritising I/O: under rare circumstances you have the case where
1709	to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency), and even	2385	some fds have to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency),
1710	priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In this case	2386	and even priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In
1711	you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all the rest in	2387	this case you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all
1712	a second one, and embed the second one in the first.	2388	the rest in a second one, and embed the second one in the first.
1713		2389
1714	As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every time	2390	As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every time
1715	there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback must then	2391	there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback must then
1716	call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single sweep and invoke	2392	call C<ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)> to make a single sweep and invoke
1717	their callbacks (you could also start an idle watcher to give the embedded	2393	their callbacks (you could also start an idle watcher to give the embedded
…		…
1725	interested in that.	2401	interested in that.
1726		2402
1727	Also, there have not currently been made special provisions for forking:	2403	Also, there have not currently been made special provisions for forking:
1728	when you fork, you not only have to call C<ev_loop_fork> on both loops,	2404	when you fork, you not only have to call C<ev_loop_fork> on both loops,
1729	but you will also have to stop and restart any C<ev_embed> watchers	2405	but you will also have to stop and restart any C<ev_embed> watchers
1730	yourself.	2406	yourself - but you can use a fork watcher to handle this automatically,
		2407	and future versions of libev might do just that.
1731		2408
1732	Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable, only the ones returned by	2409	Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable: only the ones returned by
1733	C<ev_embeddable_backends> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any	2410	C<ev_embeddable_backends> are, which, unfortunately, does not include any
1734	portable one.	2411	portable one.
1735		2412
1736	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared	2413	So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
1737	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around	2414	that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
1738	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to	2415	this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
1739	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:	2416	create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
1740		2417
1741	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);	2418	=head3 C<ev_embed> and fork
1742	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
1743	struct ev_embed embed;
1744
1745	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
1746	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
1747	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
1748	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
1749	: 0;
1750		2419
1751	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi	2420	While the C<ev_embed> watcher is running, forks in the embedding loop will
1752	if (loop_lo)	2421	automatically be applied to the embedded loop as well, so no special
1753	{	2422	fork handling is required in that case. When the watcher is not running,
1754	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);	2423	however, it is still the task of the libev user to call C<ev_loop_fork ()>
1755	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);	2424	as applicable.
1756	}
1757	else
1758	loop_lo = loop_hi;
1759		2425
1760	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members	2426	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
1761		2427
1762	=over 4	2428	=over 4
1763		2429
…		…
1767		2433
1768	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be	2434	Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
1769	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be	2435	embeddable. If the callback is C<0>, then C<ev_embed_sweep> will be
1770	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback	2436	invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
1771	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,	2437	to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
1772	if you do not want thta, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).	2438	if you do not want that, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
1773		2439
1774	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)	2440	=item ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)
1775		2441
1776	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works	2442	Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
1777	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most	2443	similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
1778	apropriate way for embedded loops.	2444	appropriate way for embedded loops.
1779		2445
1780	=item struct ev_loop *loop [read-only]	2446	=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
1781		2447
1782	The embedded event loop.	2448	The embedded event loop.
1783		2449
1784	=back	2450	=back
		2451
		2452	=head3 Examples
		2453
		2454	Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
		2455	event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
		2456	loop is stored in C<loop_hi>, while the embeddable loop is stored in
		2457	C<loop_lo> (which is C<loop_hi> in the case no embeddable loop can be
		2458	used).
		2459
		2460	struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
		2461	struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
		2462	ev_embed embed;
		2463
		2464	// see if there is a chance of getting one that works
		2465	// (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
		2466	loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
		2467	? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
		2468	: 0;
		2469
		2470	// if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
		2471	if (loop_lo)
		2472	{
		2473	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
		2474	ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
		2475	}
		2476	else
		2477	loop_lo = loop_hi;
		2478
		2479	Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
		2480	a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
		2481	kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket-only event loop in
		2482	C<loop_socket>. (One might optionally use C<EVFLAG_NOENV>, too).
		2483
		2484	struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
		2485	struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
		2486	ev_embed embed;
		2487
		2488	if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
		2489	if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
		2490	{
		2491	ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
		2492	ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
		2493	}
		2494
		2495	if (!loop_socket)
		2496	loop_socket = loop;
		2497
		2498	// now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
1785		2499
1786		2500
1787	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork	2501	=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
1788		2502
1789	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because	2503	Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
…		…
1805	believe me.	2519	believe me.
1806		2520
1807	=back	2521	=back
1808		2522
1809		2523
		2524	=head2 C<ev_async> - how to wake up another event loop
		2525
		2526	In general, you cannot use an C<ev_loop> from multiple threads or other
		2527	asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
		2528	loops - those are of course safe to use in different threads).
		2529
		2530	Sometimes, however, you need to wake up another event loop you do not
		2531	control, for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what
		2532	C<ev_async> watchers do: as long as the C<ev_async> watcher is active, you
		2533	can signal it by calling C<ev_async_send>, which is thread- and signal
		2534	safe.
		2535
		2536	This functionality is very similar to C<ev_signal> watchers, as signals,
		2537	too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
		2538	(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
		2539	C<ev_async_sent> calls).
		2540
		2541	Unlike C<ev_signal> watchers, C<ev_async> works with any event loop, not
		2542	just the default loop.
		2543
		2544	=head3 Queueing
		2545
		2546	C<ev_async> does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
		2547	is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
		2548	multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
		2549	need elaborate support such as pthreads.
		2550
		2551	That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
		2552	queue. But at least I can tell you how to implement locking around your
		2553	queue:
		2554
		2555	=over 4
		2556
		2557	=item queueing from a signal handler context
		2558
		2559	To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
		2560	handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is
		2561	an example that does that for some fictitious SIGUSR1 handler:
		2562
		2563	static ev_async mysig;
		2564
		2565	static void
		2566	sigusr1_handler (void)
		2567	{
		2568	sometype data;
		2569
		2570	// no locking etc.
		2571	queue_put (data);
		2572	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2573	}
		2574
		2575	static void
		2576	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2577	{
		2578	sometype data;
		2579	sigset_t block, prev;
		2580
		2581	sigemptyset (&block);
		2582	sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
		2583	sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
		2584
		2585	while (queue_get (&data))
		2586	process (data);
		2587
		2588	if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
		2589	sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
		2590	}
		2591
		2592	(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use C<pthread_setmask>
		2593	instead of C<sigprocmask> when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
		2594	either...).
		2595
		2596	=item queueing from a thread context
		2597
		2598	The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
		2599	threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
		2600	employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
		2601
		2602	static ev_async mysig;
		2603	static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
		2604
		2605	static void
		2606	otherthread (void)
		2607	{
		2608	// only need to lock the actual queueing operation
		2609	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2610	queue_put (data);
		2611	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2612
		2613	ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
		2614	}
		2615
		2616	static void
		2617	mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
		2618	{
		2619	pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
		2620
		2621	while (queue_get (&data))
		2622	process (data);
		2623
		2624	pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
		2625	}
		2626
		2627	=back
		2628
		2629
		2630	=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
		2631
		2632	=over 4
		2633
		2634	=item ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)
		2635
		2636	Initialises and configures the async watcher - it has no parameters of any
		2637	kind. There is a C<ev_asynd_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
		2638	trust me.
		2639
		2640	=item ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)
		2641
		2642	Sends/signals/activates the given C<ev_async> watcher, that is, feeds
		2643	an C<EV_ASYNC> event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
		2644	C<ev_feed_event>, this call is safe to do from other threads, signal or
		2645	similar contexts (see the discussion of C<EV_ATOMIC_T> in the embedding
		2646	section below on what exactly this means).
		2647
		2648	This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per loop iteration,
		2649	so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to repeated
		2650	calls to C<ev_async_send>.
		2651
		2652	=item bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)
		2653
		2654	Returns a non-zero value when C<ev_async_send> has been called on the
		2655	watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
		2656	event loop.
		2657
		2658	C<ev_async_send> sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
		2659	the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
		2660	it will reset the flag again. C<ev_async_pending> can be used to very
		2661	quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
		2662
		2663	Not that this does I<not> check whether the watcher itself is pending, only
		2664	whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending.
		2665
		2666	=back
		2667
		2668
1810	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS	2669	=head1 OTHER FUNCTIONS
1811		2670
1812	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.	2671	There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.
1813		2672
1814	=over 4	2673	=over 4
1815		2674
1816	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)	2675	=item ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)
1817		2676
1818	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your	2677	This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your
1819	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stop both	2678	callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both
1820	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd	2679	watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd
1821	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or	2680	or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
1822	more watchers yourself.	2681	more watchers yourself.
1823		2682
1824	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and events	2683	If C<fd> is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and the
1825	is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for the given C<fd> and	2684	C<events> argument is being ignored. Otherwise, an C<ev_io> watcher for
1826	C<events> set will be craeted and started.	2685	the given C<fd> and C<events> set will be created and started.
1827		2686
1828	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be	2687	If C<timeout> is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
1829	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and	2688	started. Otherwise an C<ev_timer> watcher with after = C<timeout> (and
1830	repeat = 0) will be started. While C<0> is a valid timeout, it is of	2689	repeat = 0) will be started. C<0> is a valid timeout.
1831	dubious value.
1832		2690
1833	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets	2691	The callback has the type C<void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)> and gets
1834	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of	2692	passed an C<revents> set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
1835	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>	2693	C<EV_ERROR>, C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_TIMEOUT>) and the C<arg>
1836	value passed to C<ev_once>:	2694	value passed to C<ev_once>. Note that it is possible to receive I<both>
		2695	a timeout and an io event at the same time - you probably should give io
		2696	events precedence.
1837		2697
		2698	Example: wait up to ten seconds for data to appear on STDIN_FILENO.
		2699
1838	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)	2700	static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
1839	{	2701	{
1840	if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
1841	/* doh, nothing entered */;
1842	else if (revents & EV_READ)	2702	if (revents & EV_READ)
1843	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;	2703	/* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
		2704	else if (revents & EV_TIMEOUT)
		2705	/* doh, nothing entered */;
1844	}	2706	}
1845		2707
1846	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);	2708	ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
1847		2709
1848	=item ev_feed_event (ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)	2710	=item ev_feed_event (struct ev_loop *, watcher *, int revents)
1849		2711
1850	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event	2712	Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
1851	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an	2713	had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
1852	initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).	2714	initialised but not necessarily started event watcher).
1853		2715
1854	=item ev_feed_fd_event (ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)	2716	=item ev_feed_fd_event (struct ev_loop *, int fd, int revents)
1855		2717
1856	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected	2718	Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
1857	the given events it.	2719	the given events it.
1858		2720
1859	=item ev_feed_signal_event (ev_loop *loop, int signum)	2721	=item ev_feed_signal_event (struct ev_loop *loop, int signum)
1860		2722
1861	Feed an event as if the given signal occured (C<loop> must be the default	2723	Feed an event as if the given signal occurred (C<loop> must be the default
1862	loop!).	2724	loop!).
1863		2725
1864	=back	2726	=back
1865		2727
1866		2728
…		…
1882		2744
1883	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities	2745	=item * Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
1884	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there	2746	will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
1885	is an ev_pri field.	2747	is an ev_pri field.
1886		2748
		2749	=item * In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
		2750	first base created (== the default loop) gets the signals.
		2751
1887	=item * Other members are not supported.	2752	=item * Other members are not supported.
1888		2753
1889	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need	2754	=item * The libev emulation is I<not> ABI compatible to libevent, you need
1890	to use the libev header file and library.	2755	to use the libev header file and library.
1891		2756
1892	=back	2757	=back
1893		2758
1894	=head1 C++ SUPPORT	2759	=head1 C++ SUPPORT
1895		2760
1896	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow	2761	Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for C++ that mainly allow
1897	you to use some convinience methods to start/stop watchers and also change	2762	you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
1898	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.	2763	the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
1899		2764
1900	To use it,	2765	To use it,
1901		2766
1902	#include <ev++.h>	2767	#include <ev++.h>
1903		2768
1904	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many	2769	This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
1905	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are	2770	of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
1906	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding	2771	put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
1907	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.	2772	options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
…		…
1974	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the	2839	your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
1975	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.	2840	thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
1976		2841
1977	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation	2842	Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
1978		2843
1979	struct myclass	2844	struct myclass
1980	{	2845	{
1981	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }	2846	void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
1982	}	2847	}
1983		2848
1984	myclass obj;	2849	myclass obj;
1985	ev::io iow;	2850	ev::io iow;
1986	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);	2851	iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
1987		2852
1988	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)	2853	=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
1989		2854
1990	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as	2855	Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
1991	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's	2856	callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
…		…
1993		2858
1994	The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.	2859	The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
1995		2860
1996	See the method-C<set> above for more details.	2861	See the method-C<set> above for more details.
1997		2862
1998	Example:	2863	Example: Use a plain function as callback.
1999		2864
2000	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }	2865	static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
2001	iow.set <io_cb> ();	2866	iow.set <io_cb> ();
2002		2867
2003	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)	2868	=item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
2004		2869
2005	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only	2870	Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
2006	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).	2871	do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
2007		2872
2008	=item w->set ([args])	2873	=item w->set ([arguments])
2009		2874
2010	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be	2875	Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same arguments. Must be
2011	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets	2876	called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
2012	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this	2877	automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
2013	method.	2878	method.
2014		2879
2015	=item w->start ()	2880	=item w->start ()
…		…
2039	=back	2904	=back
2040		2905
2041	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in	2906	Example: Define a class with an IO and idle watcher, start one of them in
2042	the constructor.	2907	the constructor.
2043		2908
2044	class myclass	2909	class myclass
2045	{	2910	{
2046	ev_io io; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);	2911	ev::io io ; void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents);
2047	ev_idle idle void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);	2912	ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
2048		2913
2049	myclass ();	2914	myclass (int fd)
2050	}	2915	{
2051
2052	myclass::myclass (int fd)
2053	{
2054	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);	2916	io .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb > (this);
2055	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);	2917	idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
2056		2918
2057	io.start (fd, ev::READ);	2919	io.start (fd, ev::READ);
		2920	}
2058	}	2921	};
		2922
		2923
		2924	=head1 OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS
		2925
		2926	Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
		2927	number of languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
		2928	any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
		2929	me a note.
		2930
		2931	=over 4
		2932
		2933	=item Perl
		2934
		2935	The EV module implements the full libev API and is actually used to test
		2936	libev. EV is developed together with libev. Apart from the EV core module,
		2937	there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
		2938	to C<libadns> (C<EV::ADNS>, but C<AnyEvent::DNS> is preferred nowadays),
		2939	C<Net::SNMP> (C<Net::SNMP::EV>) and the C<libglib> event core (C<Glib::EV>
		2940	and C<EV::Glib>).
		2941
		2942	It can be found and installed via CPAN, its homepage is at
		2943	L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
		2944
		2945	=item Python
		2946
		2947	Python bindings can be found at L<http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
		2948	seems to be quite complete and well-documented. Note, however, that the
		2949	patch they require for libev is outright dangerous as it breaks the ABI
		2950	for everybody else, and therefore, should never be applied in an installed
		2951	libev (if python requires an incompatible ABI then it needs to embed
		2952	libev).
		2953
		2954	=item Ruby
		2955
		2956	Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
		2957	of the libev API and adds file handle abstractions, asynchronous DNS and
		2958	more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
		2959	L<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
		2960
		2961	=item D
		2962
		2963	Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (F<ev.d>) for libev, to
		2964	be found at L<http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
		2965
		2966	=item Ocaml
		2967
		2968	Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at
		2969	L<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml-ev/>.
		2970
		2971	=back
2059		2972
2060		2973
2061	=head1 MACRO MAGIC	2974	=head1 MACRO MAGIC
2062		2975
2063	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal	2976	Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamental
2064	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)	2977	of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
2065	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.	2978	functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
2066		2979
2067	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the	2980	To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
2068	following macros are defined:	2981	following macros are defined:
…		…
2073		2986
2074	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev	2987	This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
2075	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,	2988	loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
2076	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:	2989	C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
2077		2990
2078	ev_unref (EV_A);	2991	ev_unref (EV_A);
2079	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);	2992	ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
2080	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);	2993	ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
2081		2994
2082	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,	2995	It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
2083	which is often provided by the following macro.	2996	which is often provided by the following macro.
2084		2997
2085	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>	2998	=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
2086		2999
2087	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev	3000	This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
2088	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,	3001	loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
2089	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:	3002	C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
2090		3003
2091	// this is how ev_unref is being declared	3004	// this is how ev_unref is being declared
2092	static void ev_unref (EV_P);	3005	static void ev_unref (EV_P);
2093		3006
2094	// this is how you can declare your typical callback	3007	// this is how you can declare your typical callback
2095	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	3008	static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
2096		3009
2097	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite	3010	It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
2098	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.	3011	suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
2099		3012
2100	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>	3013	=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
2101		3014
2102	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default	3015	Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
2103	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").	3016	loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
		3017
		3018	=item C<EV_DEFAULT_UC>, C<EV_DEFAULT_UC_>
		3019
		3020	Usage identical to C<EV_DEFAULT> and C<EV_DEFAULT_>, but requires that the
		3021	default loop has been initialised (C<UC> == unchecked). Their behaviour
		3022	is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
		3023	execution of C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_> or C<ev_default_init (...)>.
		3024
		3025	It is often prudent to use C<EV_DEFAULT> when initialising the first
		3026	watcher in a function but use C<EV_DEFAULT_UC> afterwards.
2104		3027
2105	=back	3028	=back
2106		3029
2107	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above	3030	Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
2108	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported	3031	macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
2109	or not.	3032	or not.
2110		3033
2111	static void	3034	static void
2112	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)	3035	check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
2113	{	3036	{
2114	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);	3037	ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
2115	}	3038	}
2116		3039
2117	ev_check check;	3040	ev_check check;
2118	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);	3041	ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
2119	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);	3042	ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
2120	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);	3043	ev_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
2121		3044
2122	=head1 EMBEDDING	3045	=head1 EMBEDDING
2123		3046
2124	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host	3047	Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
2125	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra	3048	applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
2126	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)	3049	Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
2127	and rxvt-unicode.	3050	and rxvt-unicode.
2128		3051
2129	The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your	3052	The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
2130	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so	3053	source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
2131	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of	3054	you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
2132	libev somewhere in your source tree).	3055	libev somewhere in your source tree).
2133		3056
2134	=head2 FILESETS	3057	=head2 FILESETS
2135		3058
2136	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files	3059	Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
2137	in your app.	3060	in your application.
2138		3061
2139	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP	3062	=head3 CORE EVENT LOOP
2140		3063
2141	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual	3064	To include only the libev core (all the C<ev_*> functions), with manual
2142	configuration (no autoconf):	3065	configuration (no autoconf):
2143		3066
2144	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	3067	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
2145	#include "ev.c"	3068	#include "ev.c"
2146		3069
2147	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a	3070	This will automatically include F<ev.h>, too, and should be done in a
2148	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use	3071	single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
2149	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best	3072	it, do the same for F<ev.h> in all files wishing to use this API (best
2150	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and	3073	done by writing a wrapper around F<ev.h> that you can include instead and
2151	where you can put other configuration options):	3074	where you can put other configuration options):
2152		3075
2153	#define EV_STANDALONE 1	3076	#define EV_STANDALONE 1
2154	#include "ev.h"	3077	#include "ev.h"
2155		3078
2156	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++	3079	Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a C++
2157	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated	3080	compiler (at least, thats a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
2158	as a bug).	3081	as a bug).
2159		3082
2160	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory	3083	You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
2161	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):	3084	in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
2162		3085
2163	ev.h	3086	ev.h
2164	ev.c	3087	ev.c
2165	ev_vars.h	3088	ev_vars.h
2166	ev_wrap.h	3089	ev_wrap.h
2167		3090
2168	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only	3091	ev_win32.c required on win32 platforms only
2169		3092
2170	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)	3093	ev_select.c only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
2171	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3094	ev_poll.c only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2172	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3095	ev_epoll.c only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2173	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3096	ev_kqueue.c only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2174	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)	3097	ev_port.c only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
2175		3098
2176	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need	3099	F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
2177	to compile this single file.	3100	to compile this single file.
2178		3101
2179	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API	3102	=head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
2180		3103
2181	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:	3104	To include the libevent compatibility API, also include:
2182		3105
2183	#include "event.c"	3106	#include "event.c"
2184		3107
2185	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:	3108	in the file including F<ev.c>, and:
2186		3109
2187	#include "event.h"	3110	#include "event.h"
2188		3111
2189	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.	3112	in the files that want to use the libevent API. This also includes F<ev.h>.
2190		3113
2191	You need the following additional files for this:	3114	You need the following additional files for this:
2192		3115
2193	event.h	3116	event.h
2194	event.c	3117	event.c
2195		3118
2196	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT	3119	=head3 AUTOCONF SUPPORT
2197		3120
2198	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in	3121	Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your configuration in
2199	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your	3122	whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
2200	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then	3123	F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
2201	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.	3124	include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
2202		3125
2203	For this of course you need the m4 file:	3126	For this of course you need the m4 file:
2204		3127
2205	libev.m4	3128	libev.m4
2206		3129
2207	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS	3130	=head2 PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS
2208		3131
2209	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to define	3132	Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
2210	before including any of its files. The default is not to build for multiplicity	3133	define before including any of its files. The default in the absence of
2211	and only include the select backend.	3134	autoconf is documented for every option.
2212		3135
2213	=over 4	3136	=over 4
2214		3137
2215	=item EV_STANDALONE	3138	=item EV_STANDALONE
2216		3139
…		…
2221	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.	3144	F<event.h> that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
2222		3145
2223	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC	3146	=item EV_USE_MONOTONIC
2224		3147
2225	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	3148	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2226	monotonic clock option at both compiletime and runtime. Otherwise no use	3149	monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no use
2227	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you	3150	of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this, you
2228	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when	3151	usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it when
2229	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, althoguh you have	3152	the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
2230	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>	3153	to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
2231	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).	3154	function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
2232		3155
2233	=item EV_USE_REALTIME	3156	=item EV_USE_REALTIME
2234		3157
2235	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the	3158	If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
2236	realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at	3159	real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability at
2237	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will	3160	runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock option will
2238	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get	3161	be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
2239	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries	3162	(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
2240	in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.	3163	note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
		3164
		3165	=item EV_USE_NANOSLEEP
		3166
		3167	If defined to be C<1>, libev will assume that C<nanosleep ()> is available
		3168	and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use C<select ()>.
		3169
		3170	=item EV_USE_EVENTFD
		3171
		3172	If defined to be C<1>, then libev will assume that C<eventfd ()> is
		3173	available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
		3174	C<ev_signal> and C<ev_async> performance and reduce resource consumption.
		3175	If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
		3176	2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2241		3177
2242	=item EV_USE_SELECT	3178	=item EV_USE_SELECT
2243		3179
2244	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the	3180	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the
2245	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at autodetection will be done: if no	3181	C<select>(2) backend. No attempt at auto-detection will be done: if no
2246	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend	3182	other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
2247	will not be compiled in.	3183	will not be compiled in.
2248		3184
2249	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET	3185	=item EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET
2250		3186
2251	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>	3187	If defined to C<1>, then the select backend will use the system C<fd_set>
2252	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing	3188	structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
2253	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it misguesses the bitset layout on	3189	C<NFDBITS> or C<fd_mask> definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout on
2254	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some	3190	exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to some
2255	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only	3191	low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket only
2256	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might	3192	allows 64 sockets). The C<FD_SETSIZE> macro, set before compilation, might
2257	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.	3193	influence the size of the C<fd_set> used.
2258		3194
…		…
2264	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call	3200	be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
2265	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,	3201	C<_get_osfhandle> on the fd to convert it to an OS handle. Otherwise,
2266	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even	3202	it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
2267	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.	3203	on win32. Should not be defined on non-win32 platforms.
2268		3204
		3205	=item EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE
		3206
		3207	If C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
		3208	file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
		3209	default), then libev will call C<_get_osfhandle>, which is usually
		3210	correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
		3211	in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
		3212
2269	=item EV_USE_POLL	3213	=item EV_USE_POLL
2270		3214
2271	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)	3215	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the C<poll>(2)
2272	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It	3216	backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non-win32 platforms. It
2273	takes precedence over select.	3217	takes precedence over select.
2274		3218
2275	=item EV_USE_EPOLL	3219	=item EV_USE_EPOLL
2276		3220
2277	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux	3221	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux
2278	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,	3222	C<epoll>(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
2279	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the	3223	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2280	preferred backend for GNU/Linux systems.	3224	backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
		3225	headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
2281		3226
2282	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE	3227	=item EV_USE_KQUEUE
2283		3228
2284	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style	3229	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the BSD style
2285	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,	3230	C<kqueue>(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
…		…
2298	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred	3243	otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
2299	backend for Solaris 10 systems.	3244	backend for Solaris 10 systems.
2300		3245
2301	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL	3246	=item EV_USE_DEVPOLL
2302		3247
2303	reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.	3248	Reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
2304		3249
2305	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY	3250	=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
2306		3251
2307	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify	3252	If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
2308	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will	3253	interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
2309	be detected at runtime.	3254	be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
		3255	indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
		3256
		3257	=item EV_ATOMIC_T
		3258
		3259	Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing C<0> or C<1>) whose
		3260	access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
		3261	type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
		3262	that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler "locking"
		3263	as well as for signal and thread safety in C<ev_async> watchers.
		3264
		3265	In the absence of this define, libev will use C<sig_atomic_t volatile>
		3266	(from F<signal.h>), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
2310		3267
2311	=item EV_H	3268	=item EV_H
2312		3269
2313	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if	3270	The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
2314	undefined is C<< <ev.h> >> in F<event.h> and C<"ev.h"> in F<ev.c>. This	3271	undefined is C<"ev.h"> in F<event.h>, F<ev.c> and F<ev++.h>. This can be
2315	can be used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.	3272	used to virtually rename the F<ev.h> header file in case of conflicts.
2316		3273
2317	=item EV_CONFIG_H	3274	=item EV_CONFIG_H
2318		3275
2319	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override	3276	If C<EV_STANDALONE> isn't C<1>, this variable can be used to override
2320	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to	3277	F<ev.c>'s idea of where to find the F<config.h> file, similarly to
2321	C<EV_H>, above.	3278	C<EV_H>, above.
2322		3279
2323	=item EV_EVENT_H	3280	=item EV_EVENT_H
2324		3281
2325	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea	3282	Similarly to C<EV_H>, this macro can be used to override F<event.c>'s idea
2326	of how the F<event.h> header can be found.	3283	of how the F<event.h> header can be found, the default is C<"event.h">.
2327		3284
2328	=item EV_PROTOTYPES	3285	=item EV_PROTOTYPES
2329		3286
2330	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function	3287	If defined to be C<0>, then F<ev.h> will not define any function
2331	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is	3288	prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
…		…
2352	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search	3309	When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
2353	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space	3310	all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
2354	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually	3311	and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (-2 .. +2) is usually
2355	fine.	3312	fine.
2356		3313
2357	If your embedding app does not need any priorities, defining these both to	3314	If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these
2358	C<0> will save some memory and cpu.	3315	both to C<0> will save some memory and CPU.
2359		3316
2360	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE	3317	=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
2361		3318
2362	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If	3319	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
2363	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of	3320	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
…		…
2370	code.	3327	code.
2371		3328
2372	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE	3329	=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
2373		3330
2374	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If	3331	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
2375	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	3332	defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Embed watchers rely on most other
		3333	watcher types, which therefore must not be disabled.
2376		3334
2377	=item EV_STAT_ENABLE	3335	=item EV_STAT_ENABLE
2378		3336
2379	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then stat watchers are supported. If	3337	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then stat watchers are supported. If
2380	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	3338	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
…		…
2382	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE	3340	=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
2383		3341
2384	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If	3342	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
2385	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.	3343	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
2386		3344
		3345	=item EV_ASYNC_ENABLE
		3346
		3347	If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then async watchers are supported. If
		3348	defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
		3349
2387	=item EV_MINIMAL	3350	=item EV_MINIMAL
2388		3351
2389	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some	3352	If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
2390	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override	3353	speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently this is used to override some
2391	some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.	3354	inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% code size on amd64. It also selects a
		3355	much smaller 2-heap for timer management over the default 4-heap.
2392		3356
2393	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE	3357	=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
2394		3358
2395	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3359	C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2396	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more	3360	pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
2397	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to	3361	than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
2398	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).	3362	increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
2399		3363
2400	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE	3364	=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
2401		3365
2402	C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by	3366	C<ev_stat> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
2403	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),	3367	inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
2404	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>	3368	usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
2405	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of	3369	watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
2406	two).	3370	two).
2407		3371
		3372	=item EV_USE_4HEAP
		3373
		3374	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3375	timer and periodics heaps, libev uses a 4-heap when this symbol is defined
		3376	to C<1>. The 4-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has noticeably
		3377	faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
		3378
		3379	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3380	(disabled).
		3381
		3382	=item EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT
		3383
		3384	Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
		3385	timer and periodics heaps, libev can cache the timestamp (I<at>) within
		3386	the heap structure (selected by defining C<EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT> to C<1>),
		3387	which uses 8-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
		3388	but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
		3389	noticeably with many (hundreds) of watchers.
		3390
		3391	The default is C<1> unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set in which case it is C<0>
		3392	(disabled).
		3393
		3394	=item EV_VERIFY
		3395
		3396	Controls how much internal verification (see C<ev_loop_verify ()>) will
		3397	be done: If set to C<0>, no internal verification code will be compiled
		3398	in. If set to C<1>, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
		3399	called. If set to C<2>, then the internal verification code will be
		3400	called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to C<3>, then the
		3401	verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
		3402	libev considerably.
		3403
		3404	The default is C<1>, unless C<EV_MINIMAL> is set, in which case it will be
		3405	C<0>.
		3406
2408	=item EV_COMMON	3407	=item EV_COMMON
2409		3408
2410	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining	3409	By default, all watchers have a C<void *data> member. By redefining
2411	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of	3410	this macro to a something else you can include more and other types of
2412	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,	3411	members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
2413	though, and it must be identical each time.	3412	though, and it must be identical each time.
2414		3413
2415	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:	3414	For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
2416		3415
2417	#define EV_COMMON \	3416	#define EV_COMMON \
2418	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \	3417	SV *self; /* contains this struct */ \
2419	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */	3418	SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
2420		3419
2421	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)	3420	=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
2422		3421
2423	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)	3422	=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
2424		3423
2425	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)	3424	=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
2426		3425
2427	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,	3426	Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
2428	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member	3427	and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
2429	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.v> header file for	3428	definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
2430	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to	3429	their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
2431	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use	3430	avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
2432	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.	3431	method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
		3432
		3433	=back
		3434
		3435	=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
		3436
		3437	If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a DLL) and you need a list of
		3438	exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
		3439	all public symbols, one per line:
		3440
		3441	Symbols.ev for libev proper
		3442	Symbols.event for the libevent emulation
		3443
		3444	This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
		3445	multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
		3446	itself, but sometimes it is inconvenient to avoid this).
		3447
		3448	A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
		3449	include before including F<ev.h>:
		3450
		3451	<Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
		3452
		3453	This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
		3454
		3455	#define ev_backend myprefix_ev_backend
		3456	#define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
		3457	#define ev_check_stop myprefix_ev_check_stop
		3458	...
2433		3459
2434	=head2 EXAMPLES	3460	=head2 EXAMPLES
2435		3461
2436	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev	3462	For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
2437	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module	3463	verbatim, you can have a look at the EV perl module
…		…
2442	file.	3468	file.
2443		3469
2444	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file	3470	The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
2445	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:	3471	that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
2446		3472
2447	#define EV_MINIMAL 1	3473	#define EV_MINIMAL 1
2448	#define EV_USE_POLL 0	3474	#define EV_USE_POLL 0
2449	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0	3475	#define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
2450	#define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0	3476	#define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
2451	#define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0	3477	#define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
2452	#define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0	3478	#define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
2453	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>	3479	#define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
2454	#define EV_MINPRI 0	3480	#define EV_MINPRI 0
2455	#define EV_MAXPRI 0	3481	#define EV_MAXPRI 0
2456		3482
2457	#include "ev++.h"	3483	#include "ev++.h"
2458		3484
2459	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:	3485	And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
2460		3486
2461	#include "ev_cpp.h"	3487	#include "ev_cpp.h"
2462	#include "ev.c"	3488	#include "ev.c"
2463		3489
		3490	=head1 INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS OR LIBRARIES
2464		3491
		3492	=head2 THREADS AND COROUTINES
		3493
		3494	=head3 THREADS
		3495
		3496	All libev functions are reentrant and thread-safe unless explicitly
		3497	documented otherwise, but libev implements no locking itself. This means
		3498	that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as there
		3499	are no concurrent calls into any libev function with the same loop
		3500	parameter (C<ev_default_*> calls have an implicit default loop parameter,
		3501	of course): libev guarantees that different event loops share no data
		3502	structures that need any locking.
		3503
		3504	Or to put it differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done
		3505	concurrently from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter
		3506	must be done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as
		3507	only one thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using
		3508	a mutex per loop).
		3509
		3510	Specifically to support threads (and signal handlers), libev implements
		3511	so-called C<ev_async> watchers, which allow some limited form of
		3512	concurrency on the same event loop, namely waking it up "from the
		3513	outside".
		3514
		3515	If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
		3516	without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
		3517	help you, but here is some generic advice:
		3518
		3519	=over 4
		3520
		3521	=item * most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
		3522	in that thread, or create a separate thread running only the default loop.
		3523
		3524	This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
		3525	themselves and don't care/know about threading.
		3526
		3527	=item * one loop per thread is usually a good model.
		3528
		3529	Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
		3530	exists, but it is always a good start.
		3531
		3532	=item * other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
		3533	loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robin fashion.
		3534
		3535	Choosing a model is hard - look around, learn, know that usually you can do
		3536	better than you currently do :-)
		3537
		3538	=item * often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
		3539	event loop.
		3540
		3541	C<ev_async> watchers can be used to wake them up from other threads safely
		3542	(or from signal contexts...).
		3543
		3544	An example use would be to communicate signals or other events that only
		3545	work in the default loop by registering the signal watcher with the
		3546	default loop and triggering an C<ev_async> watcher from the default loop
		3547	watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.
		3548
		3549	=back
		3550
		3551	=head3 COROUTINES
		3552
		3553	Libev is very accommodating to coroutines ("cooperative threads"):
		3554	libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different
		3555	coroutines (e.g. you can call C<ev_loop> on the same loop from two
		3556	different coroutines, and switch freely between both coroutines running the
		3557	loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is that
		3558	you must not do this from C<ev_periodic> reschedule callbacks.
		3559
		3560	Care has been taken to ensure that libev does not keep local state inside
		3561	C<ev_loop>, and other calls do not usually allow for coroutine switches as
		3562	they do not clal any callbacks.
		3563
		3564	=head2 COMPILER WARNINGS
		3565
		3566	Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
		3567	lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
		3568	scared by this.
		3569
		3570	However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
		3571	has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
		3572	warning options. "Warn-free" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
		3573	targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
		3574
		3575	Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
		3576	workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
		3577	maintainable.
		3578
		3579	And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
		3580	wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
		3581	seems to warn about). For example, certain older gcc versions had some
		3582	warnings that resulted an extreme number of false positives. These have
		3583	been fixed, but some people still insist on making code warn-free with
		3584	such buggy versions.
		3585
		3586	While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
		3587	"warn-free" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
		3588	with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
		3589	them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
		3590	warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
		3591
		3592
		3593	=head2 VALGRIND
		3594
		3595	Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
		3596	highly useful. Unfortunately, valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
		3597
		3598	If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
		3599	in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
		3600
		3601	==2274== definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3602	==2274== possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
		3603	==2274== still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
		3604
		3605	Then there is no memory leak, just as memory accounted to global variables
		3606	is not a memleak - the memory is still being refernced, and didn't leak.
		3607
		3608	Similarly, under some circumstances, valgrind might report kernel bugs
		3609	as if it were a bug in libev (e.g. in realloc or in the poll backend,
		3610	although an acceptable workaround has been found here), or it might be
		3611	confused.
		3612
		3613	Keep in mind that valgrind is a very good tool, but only a tool. Don't
		3614	make it into some kind of religion.
		3615
		3616	If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
		3617	with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this
		3618	is a bug in libev (best check the archives, too :). However, don't be
		3619	annoyed when you get a brisk "this is no bug" answer and take the chance
		3620	of learning how to interpret valgrind properly.
		3621
		3622	If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
		3623	I suggest using suppression lists.
		3624
		3625
		3626	=head1 PORTABILITY NOTES
		3627
		3628	=head2 WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS
		3629
		3630	Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. POSIX) that libev
		3631	requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the POSIX
		3632	model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
		3633	the form of the C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> backend, and only supports socket
		3634	descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
		3635	e.g. cygwin.
		3636
		3637	Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
		3638	re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into these kinds of
		3639	things, then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable
		3640	way (note also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
		3641
		3642	There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
		3643	embedding it into other applications.
		3644
		3645	Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
		3646	accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
		3647	either accept everything or return C<ENOBUFS> if the buffer is too large,
		3648	so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
		3649	megabyte seems safe, but this apparently depends on the amount of memory
		3650	available).
		3651
		3652	Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
		3653	the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
		3654	is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
		3655	more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
		3656	different implementation for windows, as libev offers the POSIX readiness
		3657	notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
		3658	(Microsoft monopoly games).
		3659
		3660	A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
		3661	section for details) and use the following F<evwrap.h> header file instead
		3662	of F<ev.h>:
		3663
		3664	#define EV_STANDALONE /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
		3665	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* configure libev for windows select */
		3666
		3667	#include "ev.h"
		3668
		3669	And compile the following F<evwrap.c> file into your project (make sure
		3670	you do I<not> compile the F<ev.c> or any other embedded source files!):
		3671
		3672	#include "evwrap.h"
		3673	#include "ev.c"
		3674
		3675	=over 4
		3676
		3677	=item The winsocket select function
		3678
		3679	The winsocket C<select> function doesn't follow POSIX in that it
		3680	requires socket I<handles> and not socket I<file descriptors> (it is
		3681	also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
		3682	requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
		3683	C runtime provides the function C<_open_osfhandle> for this). See the
		3684	discussion of the C<EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET>, C<EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET> and
		3685	C<EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE> preprocessor symbols for more info.
		3686
		3687	The configuration for a "naked" win32 using the Microsoft runtime
		3688	libraries and raw winsocket select is:
		3689
		3690	#define EV_USE_SELECT 1
		3691	#define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1 /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
		3692
		3693	Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
		3694	complexity in the O(n²) range when using win32.
		3695
		3696	=item Limited number of file descriptors
		3697
		3698	Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
		3699
		3700	Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
		3701	of C<64> handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
		3702	can only wait for C<64> things at the same time internally; Microsoft
		3703	recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
		3704	previous thread in each. Great).
		3705
		3706	Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define C<FD_SETSIZE>
		3707	to some high number (e.g. C<2048>) before compiling the winsocket select
		3708	call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl does its own
		3709	select emulation on windows).
		3710
		3711	Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
		3712	libraries, which by default is C<64> (there must be a hidden I<64> fetish
		3713	or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this by calling
		3714	C<_setmaxstdio>, which can increase this limit to C<2048> (another
		3715	arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft runtime
		3716	libraries.
		3717
		3718	This might get you to about C<512> or C<2048> sockets (depending on
		3719	windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more, you need to
		3720	wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but the cost of
		3721	calling select (O(n²)) will likely make this unworkable.
		3722
		3723	=back
		3724
		3725	=head2 PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS
		3726
		3727	In addition to a working ISO-C implementation and of course the
		3728	backend-specific APIs, libev relies on a few additional extensions:
		3729
		3730	=over 4
		3731
		3732	=item C<void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)> must have compatible
		3733	calling conventions regardless of C<ev_watcher_type *>.
		3734
		3735	Libev assumes not only that all watcher pointers have the same internal
		3736	structure (guaranteed by POSIX but not by ISO C for example), but it also
		3737	assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
		3738	callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
		3739	calls them using an C<ev_watcher *> internally.
		3740
		3741	=item C<sig_atomic_t volatile> must be thread-atomic as well
		3742
		3743	The type C<sig_atomic_t volatile> (or whatever is defined as
		3744	C<EV_ATOMIC_T>) must be atomic with respect to accesses from different
		3745	threads. This is not part of the specification for C<sig_atomic_t>, but is
		3746	believed to be sufficiently portable.
		3747
		3748	=item C<sigprocmask> must work in a threaded environment
		3749
		3750	Libev uses C<sigprocmask> to temporarily block signals. This is not
		3751	allowed in a threaded program (C<pthread_sigmask> has to be used). Typical
		3752	pthread implementations will either allow C<sigprocmask> in the "main
		3753	thread" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
		3754	be compatible with libev. Interaction between C<sigprocmask> and
		3755	C<pthread_sigmask> could complicate things, however.
		3756
		3757	The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
		3758	except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
		3759	well.
		3760
		3761	=item C<long> must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes
		3762
		3763	To improve portability and simplify its API, libev uses C<long> internally
		3764	instead of C<size_t> when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX
		3765	systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but is still at
		3766	least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of millions of
		3767	watchers.
		3768
		3769	=item C<double> must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy
		3770
		3771	The type C<double> is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
		3772	have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is good
		3773	enough for at least into the year 4000. This requirement is fulfilled by
		3774	implementations implementing IEEE 754 (basically all existing ones).
		3775
		3776	=back
		3777
		3778	If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
		3779
		3780
2465	=head1 COMPLEXITIES	3781	=head1 ALGORITHMIC COMPLEXITIES
2466		3782
2467	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside	3783	In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
2468	libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the	3784	libev will be documented. For complexity discussions about backends see
2469	documentation for C<ev_default_init>.	3785	the documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
2470		3786
2471	All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be	3787	All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
2472	extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this	3788	extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
2473	happens asymptotically never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might	3789	happens asymptotically rarer with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
2474	mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average	3790	mean that libev does a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on
2475	it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.	3791	average it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
2476		3792
2477	=over 4	3793	=over 4
2478		3794
2479	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)	3795	=item Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)
2480		3796
2481	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and	3797	This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
2482	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that then inserting will	3798	there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that, then inserting will
2483	have to skip those 100 watchers.	3799	have to skip roughly seven (C<ld 100>) of these watchers.
2484		3800
2485	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)	3801	=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
2486		3802
2487	That means that for changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them	3803	That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them,
2488	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.	3804	as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
2489		3805
2490	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)	3806	=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2491		3807
2492	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.	3808	These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
		3809
2493	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)	3810	=item Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)
2494		3811
2495	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))	3812	=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
2496		3813
2497	These watchers are stored in lists then need to be walked to find the	3814	These watchers are stored in lists, so they need to be walked to find the
2498	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually	3815	correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
2499	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal).	3816	have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal: one is typical, two
		3817	is rare).
2500		3818
2501	=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)	3819	=item Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)
		3820
		3821	By virtue of using a binary or 4-heap, the next timer is always found at a
		3822	fixed position in the storage array.
2502		3823
2503	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)	3824	=item Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)
2504		3825
2505	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires	3826	A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
2506	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel).	3827	libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
		3828	on backend and whether C<ev_io_set> was used).
2507		3829
2508	=item Activating one watcher: O(1)	3830	=item Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)
2509		3831
2510	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)	3832	=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
2511		3833
2512	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each	3834	Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
2513	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to	3835	priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
2514	linearly search all the priorities.	3836	linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
		3837	watchers becomes O(1) with respect to priority handling.
		3838
		3839	=item Sending an ev_async: O(1)
		3840
		3841	=item Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)
		3842
		3843	=item Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)
		3844
		3845	Sending involves a system call I<iff> there were no other C<ev_async_send>
		3846	calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
		3847	involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
2515		3848
2516	=back	3849	=back
2517		3850
2518		3851
2519	=head1 AUTHOR	3852	=head1 AUTHOR

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