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+.rm #[ #] #H #V #F C
+.\" ========================================================================
+.\"
+.IX Title "LIBEV 3"
+.TH LIBEV 3 "2011-01-11" "libev-4.03" "libev - high performance full featured event loop"
+.\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
+.\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
+.if n .ad l
+.nh
+.SH "NAME"
+libev \- a high performance full\-featured event loop written in C
+.SH "SYNOPSIS"
+.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include <ev.h>
+.Ve
+.SS "\s-1EXAMPLE\s0 \s-1PROGRAM\s0"
+.IX Subsection "EXAMPLE PROGRAM"
+.Vb 2
+\&   // a single header file is required
+\&   #include <ev.h>
+\&
+\&   #include <stdio.h> // for puts
+\&
+\&   // every watcher type has its own typedef\*(Aqd struct
+\&   // with the name ev_TYPE
+\&   ev_io stdin_watcher;
+\&   ev_timer timeout_watcher;
+\&
+\&   // all watcher callbacks have a similar signature
+\&   // this callback is called when data is readable on stdin
+\&   static void
+\&   stdin_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     puts ("stdin ready");
+\&     // for one\-shot events, one must manually stop the watcher
+\&     // with its corresponding stop function.
+\&     ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&
+\&     // this causes all nested ev_run\*(Aqs to stop iterating
+\&     ev_break (EV_A_ EVBREAK_ALL);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   // another callback, this time for a time\-out
+\&   static void
+\&   timeout_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     puts ("timeout");
+\&     // this causes the innermost ev_run to stop iterating
+\&     ev_break (EV_A_ EVBREAK_ONE);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   int
+\&   main (void)
+\&   {
+\&     // use the default event loop unless you have special needs
+\&     struct ev_loop *loop = EV_DEFAULT;
+\&
+\&     // initialise an io watcher, then start it
+\&     // this one will watch for stdin to become readable
+\&     ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
+\&     ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
+\&
+\&     // initialise a timer watcher, then start it
+\&     // simple non\-repeating 5.5 second timeout
+\&     ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
+\&     ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
+\&
+\&     // now wait for events to arrive
+\&     ev_run (loop, 0);
+\&
+\&     // unloop was called, so exit
+\&     return 0;
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.SH "ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT"
+.IX Header "ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT"
+This document documents the libev software package.
+.PP
+The newest version of this document is also available as an html-formatted
+web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
+time: <http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod>.
+.PP
+While this document tries to be as complete as possible in documenting
+libev, its usage and the rationale behind its design, it is not a tutorial
+on event-based programming, nor will it introduce event-based programming
+with libev.
+.PP
+Familiarity with event based programming techniques in general is assumed
+throughout this document.
+.SH "WHAT TO READ WHEN IN A HURRY"
+.IX Header "WHAT TO READ WHEN IN A HURRY"
+This manual tries to be very detailed, but unfortunately, this also makes
+it very long. If you just want to know the basics of libev, I suggest
+reading \*(L"\s-1ANATOMY\s0 \s-1OF\s0 A \s-1WATCHER\s0\*(R", then the \*(L"\s-1EXAMPLE\s0 \s-1PROGRAM\s0\*(R" above and
+look up the missing functions in \*(L"\s-1GLOBAL\s0 \s-1FUNCTIONS\s0\*(R" and the \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR sections in \*(L"\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1TYPES\s0\*(R".
+.SH "ABOUT LIBEV"
+.IX Header "ABOUT LIBEV"
+Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
+file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
+these event sources and provide your program with events.
+.PP
+To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
+(or thread) by executing the \fIevent loop\fR handler, and will then
+communicate events via a callback mechanism.
+.PP
+You register interest in certain events by registering so-called \fIevent
+watchers\fR, which are relatively small C structures you initialise with the
+details of the event, and then hand it over to libev by \fIstarting\fR the
+watcher.
+.SS "\s-1FEATURES\s0"
+.IX Subsection "FEATURES"
+Libev supports \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR, the Linux-specific \f(CW\*(C`epoll\*(C'\fR, the
+BSD-specific \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
+for file descriptor events (\f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR), the Linux \f(CW\*(C`inotify\*(C'\fR interface
+(for \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR), Linux eventfd/signalfd (for faster and cleaner
+inter-thread wakeup (\f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR)/signal handling (\f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR)) relative
+timers (\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR), absolute timers with customised rescheduling
+(\f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR), synchronous signals (\f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR), process status
+change events (\f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR), and event watchers dealing with the event
+loop mechanism itself (\f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers) as well as file watchers (\f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR) and even
+limited support for fork events (\f(CW\*(C`ev_fork\*(C'\fR).
+.PP
+It also is quite fast (see this
+<benchmark> comparing it to libevent
+for example).
+.SS "\s-1CONVENTIONS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "CONVENTIONS"
+Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default (and most common)
+configuration will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For
+more info about various configuration options please have a look at
+\&\fB\s-1EMBED\s0\fR section in this manual. If libev was configured without support
+for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of
+name \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR (which is always of type \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR) will not have
+this argument.
+.SS "\s-1TIME\s0 \s-1REPRESENTATION\s0"
+.IX Subsection "TIME REPRESENTATION"
+Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing
+the (fractional) number of seconds since the (\s-1POSIX\s0) epoch (in practice
+somewhere near the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't
+ask). This type is called \f(CW\*(C`ev_tstamp\*(C'\fR, which is what you should use
+too. It usually aliases to the \f(CW\*(C`double\*(C'\fR type in C. When you need to do
+any calculations on it, you should treat it as some floating point value.
+.PP
+Unlike the name component \f(CW\*(C`stamp\*(C'\fR might indicate, it is also used for
+time differences (e.g. delays) throughout libev.
+.SH "ERROR HANDLING"
+.IX Header "ERROR HANDLING"
+Libev knows three classes of errors: operating system errors, usage errors
+and internal errors (bugs).
+.PP
+When libev catches an operating system error it cannot handle (for example
+a system call indicating a condition libev cannot fix), it calls the callback
+set via \f(CW\*(C`ev_set_syserr_cb\*(C'\fR, which is supposed to fix the problem or
+abort. The default is to print a diagnostic message and to call \f(CW\*(C`abort
+()\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+When libev detects a usage error such as a negative timer interval, then
+it will print a diagnostic message and abort (via the \f(CW\*(C`assert\*(C'\fR mechanism,
+so \f(CW\*(C`NDEBUG\*(C'\fR will disable this checking): these are programming errors in
+the libev caller and need to be fixed there.
+.PP
+Libev also has a few internal error-checking \f(CW\*(C`assert\*(C'\fRions, and also has
+extensive consistency checking code. These do not trigger under normal
+circumstances, as they indicate either a bug in libev or worse.
+.SH "GLOBAL FUNCTIONS"
+.IX Header "GLOBAL FUNCTIONS"
+These functions can be called anytime, even before initialising the
+library in any way.
+.IP "ev_tstamp ev_time ()" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp ev_time ()"
+Returns the current time as libev would use it. Please note that the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_now\*(C'\fR function is usually faster and also often returns the timestamp
+you actually want to know. Also interesting is the combination of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_update_now\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_now\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_sleep (ev_tstamp interval)"
+Sleep for the given interval: The current thread will be blocked until
+either it is interrupted or the given time interval has passed. Basically
+this is a sub-second-resolution \f(CW\*(C`sleep ()\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "int ev_version_major ()" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_version_major ()"
+.PD 0
+.IP "int ev_version_minor ()" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_version_minor ()"
+.PD
+You can find out the major and minor \s-1ABI\s0 version numbers of the library
+you linked against by calling the functions \f(CW\*(C`ev_version_major\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_version_minor\*(C'\fR. If you want, you can compare against the global
+symbols \f(CW\*(C`EV_VERSION_MAJOR\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_VERSION_MINOR\*(C'\fR, which specify the
+version of the library your program was compiled against.
+.Sp
+These version numbers refer to the \s-1ABI\s0 version of the library, not the
+release version.
+.Sp
+Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
+as this indicates an incompatible change. Minor versions are usually
+compatible to older versions, so a larger minor version alone is usually
+not a problem.
+.Sp
+Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
+version (note, however, that this will not detect other \s-1ABI\s0 mismatches,
+such as \s-1LFS\s0 or reentrancy).
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   assert (("libev version mismatch",
+\&            ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
+\&            && ev_version_minor () >= EV_VERSION_MINOR));
+.Ve
+.IP "unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_supported_backends ()"
+Return the set of all backends (i.e. their corresponding \f(CW\*(C`EV_BACKEND_*\*(C'\fR
+value) compiled into this binary of libev (independent of their
+availability on the system you are running on). See \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_loop\*(C'\fR for
+a description of the set values.
+.Sp
+Example: make sure we have the epoll method, because yeah this is cool and
+a must have and can we have a torrent of it please!!!11
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   assert (("sorry, no epoll, no sex",
+\&            ev_supported_backends () & EVBACKEND_EPOLL));
+.Ve
+.IP "unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_recommended_backends ()"
+Return the set of all backends compiled into this binary of libev and
+also recommended for this platform, meaning it will work for most file
+descriptor types. This set is often smaller than the one returned by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_supported_backends\*(C'\fR, as for example kqueue is broken on most BSDs
+and will not be auto-detected unless you explicitly request it (assuming
+you know what you are doing). This is the set of backends that libev will
+probe for if you specify no backends explicitly.
+.IP "unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_embeddable_backends ()"
+Returns the set of backends that are embeddable in other event loops. This
+value is platform-specific but can include backends not available on the
+current system. To find which embeddable backends might be supported on
+the current system, you would need to look at \f(CW\*(C`ev_embeddable_backends ()
+& ev_supported_backends ()\*(C'\fR, likewise for recommended ones.
+.Sp
+See the description of \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watchers for more info.
+.IP "ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))"
+Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar \- the
+semantics are identical to the \f(CW\*(C`realloc\*(C'\fR C89/SuS/POSIX function). It is
+used to allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero
+when memory needs to be allocated (\f(CW\*(C`size != 0\*(C'\fR), the library might abort
+or take some potentially destructive action.
+.Sp
+Since some systems (at least OpenBSD and Darwin) fail to implement
+correct \f(CW\*(C`realloc\*(C'\fR semantics, libev will use a wrapper around the system
+\&\f(CW\*(C`realloc\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`free\*(C'\fR functions by default.
+.Sp
+You could override this function in high-availability programs to, say,
+free some memory if it cannot allocate memory, to use a special allocator,
+or even to sleep a while and retry until some memory is available.
+.Sp
+Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
+retries (example requires a standards-compliant \f(CW\*(C`realloc\*(C'\fR).
+.Sp
+.Vb 6
+\&   static void *
+\&   persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
+\&   {
+\&     for (;;)
+\&       {
+\&         void *newptr = realloc (ptr, size);
+\&
+\&         if (newptr)
+\&           return newptr;
+\&
+\&         sleep (60);
+\&       }
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   ev_set_allocator (persistent_realloc);
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg))" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_syserr_cb (void (*cb)(const char *msg))"
+Set the callback function to call on a retryable system call error (such
+as failed select, poll, epoll_wait). The message is a printable string
+indicating the system call or subsystem causing the problem. If this
+callback is set, then libev will expect it to remedy the situation, no
+matter what, when it returns. That is, libev will generally retry the
+requested operation, or, if the condition doesn't go away, do bad stuff
+(such as abort).
+.Sp
+Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
+.Sp
+.Vb 6
+\&   static void
+\&   fatal_error (const char *msg)
+\&   {
+\&     perror (msg);
+\&     abort ();
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   ev_set_syserr_cb (fatal_error);
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_feed_signal (int signum)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_feed_signal (int signum)"
+This function can be used to \*(L"simulate\*(R" a signal receive. It is completely
+safe to call this function at any time, from any context, including signal
+handlers or random threads.
+.Sp
+Its main use is to customise signal handling in your process, especially
+in the presence of threads. For example, you could block signals
+by default in all threads (and specifying \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK\*(C'\fR when
+creating any loops), and in one thread, use \f(CW\*(C`sigwait\*(C'\fR or any other
+mechanism to wait for signals, then \*(L"deliver\*(R" them to libev by calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_signal\*(C'\fR.
+.SH "FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING EVENT LOOPS"
+.IX Header "FUNCTIONS CONTROLLING EVENT LOOPS"
+An event loop is described by a \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR (the \f(CW\*(C`struct\*(C'\fR is
+\&\fInot\fR optional in this case unless libev 3 compatibility is disabled, as
+libev 3 had an \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR function colliding with the struct name).
+.PP
+The library knows two types of such loops, the \fIdefault\fR loop, which
+supports child process events, and dynamically created event loops which
+do not.
+.IP "struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)" 4
+.IX Item "struct ev_loop *ev_default_loop (unsigned int flags)"
+This returns the \*(L"default\*(R" event loop object, which is what you should
+normally use when you just need \*(L"the event loop\*(R". Event loop objects and
+the \f(CW\*(C`flags\*(C'\fR parameter are described in more detail in the entry for
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+If the default loop is already initialised then this function simply
+returns it (and ignores the flags. If that is troubling you, check
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_backend ()\*(C'\fR afterwards). Otherwise it will create it with the given
+flags, which should almost always be \f(CW0\fR, unless the caller is also the
+one calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR or otherwise qualifies as \*(L"the main program\*(R".
+.Sp
+If you don't know what event loop to use, use the one returned from this
+function (or via the \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT\*(C'\fR macro).
+.Sp
+Note that this function is \fInot\fR thread-safe, so if you want to use it
+from multiple threads, you have to employ some kind of mutex (note also
+that this case is unlikely, as loops cannot be shared easily between
+threads anyway).
+.Sp
+The default loop is the only loop that can handle \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watchers,
+and to do this, it always registers a handler for \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR. If this is
+a problem for your application you can either create a dynamic loop with
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR which doesn't do that, or you can simply overwrite the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR signal handler \fIafter\fR calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_init\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+Example: This is the most typical usage.
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   if (!ev_default_loop (0))
+\&     fatal ("could not initialise libev, bad $LIBEV_FLAGS in environment?");
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Example: Restrict libev to the select and poll backends, and do not allow
+environment settings to be taken into account:
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_default_loop (EVBACKEND_POLL | EVBACKEND_SELECT | EVFLAG_NOENV);
+.Ve
+.IP "struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)" 4
+.IX Item "struct ev_loop *ev_loop_new (unsigned int flags)"
+This will create and initialise a new event loop object. If the loop
+could not be initialised, returns false.
+.Sp
+This function is thread-safe, and one common way to use libev with
+threads is indeed to create one loop per thread, and using the default
+loop in the \*(L"main\*(R" or \*(L"initial\*(R" thread.
+.Sp
+The flags argument can be used to specify special behaviour or specific
+backends to use, and is usually specified as \f(CW0\fR (or \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_AUTO\*(C'\fR).
+.Sp
+The following flags are supported:
+.RS 4
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_AUTO""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_AUTO\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_AUTO"
+The default flags value. Use this if you have no clue (it's the right
+thing, believe me).
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_NOENV""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_NOENV\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_NOENV"
+If this flag bit is or'ed into the flag value (or the program runs setuid
+or setgid) then libev will \fInot\fR look at the environment variable
+\&\f(CW\*(C`LIBEV_FLAGS\*(C'\fR. Otherwise (the default), this environment variable will
+override the flags completely if it is found in the environment. This is
+useful to try out specific backends to test their performance, or to work
+around bugs.
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_FORKCHECK""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_FORKCHECK\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_FORKCHECK"
+Instead of calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR manually after a fork, you can also
+make libev check for a fork in each iteration by enabling this flag.
+.Sp
+This works by calling \f(CW\*(C`getpid ()\*(C'\fR on every iteration of the loop,
+and thus this might slow down your event loop if you do a lot of loop
+iterations and little real work, but is usually not noticeable (on my
+GNU/Linux system for example, \f(CW\*(C`getpid\*(C'\fR is actually a simple 5\-insn sequence
+without a system call and thus \fIvery\fR fast, but my GNU/Linux system also has
+\&\f(CW\*(C`pthread_atfork\*(C'\fR which is even faster).
+.Sp
+The big advantage of this flag is that you can forget about fork (and
+forget about forgetting to tell libev about forking) when you use this
+flag.
+.Sp
+This flag setting cannot be overridden or specified in the \f(CW\*(C`LIBEV_FLAGS\*(C'\fR
+environment variable.
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_NOINOTIFY""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_NOINOTIFY\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_NOINOTIFY"
+When this flag is specified, then libev will not attempt to use the
+\&\fIinotify\fR \s-1API\s0 for its \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers. Apart from debugging and
+testing, this flag can be useful to conserve inotify file descriptors, as
+otherwise each loop using \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers consumes one inotify handle.
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_SIGNALFD""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_SIGNALFD\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_SIGNALFD"
+When this flag is specified, then libev will attempt to use the
+\&\fIsignalfd\fR \s-1API\s0 for its \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR (and \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR) watchers. This \s-1API\s0
+delivers signals synchronously, which makes it both faster and might make
+it possible to get the queued signal data. It can also simplify signal
+handling with threads, as long as you properly block signals in your
+threads that are not interested in handling them.
+.Sp
+Signalfd will not be used by default as this changes your signal mask, and
+there are a lot of shoddy libraries and programs (glib's threadpool for
+example) that can't properly initialise their signal masks.
+.ie n .IP """EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVFLAG_NOSIGMASK\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK"
+When this flag is specified, then libev will avoid to modify the signal
+mask. Specifically, this means you ahve to make sure signals are unblocked
+when you want to receive them.
+.Sp
+This behaviour is useful when you want to do your own signal handling, or
+want to handle signals only in specific threads and want to avoid libev
+unblocking the signals.
+.Sp
+This flag's behaviour will become the default in future versions of libev.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_SELECT""  (value 1, portable select backend)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_SELECT\fR  (value 1, portable select backend)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_SELECT  (value 1, portable select backend)"
+This is your standard \fIselect\fR\|(2) backend. Not \fIcompletely\fR standard, as
+libev tries to roll its own fd_set with no limits on the number of fds,
+but if that fails, expect a fairly low limit on the number of fds when
+using this backend. It doesn't scale too well (O(highest_fd)), but its
+usually the fastest backend for a low number of (low-numbered :) fds.
+.Sp
+To get good performance out of this backend you need a high amount of
+parallelism (most of the file descriptors should be busy). If you are
+writing a server, you should \f(CW\*(C`accept ()\*(C'\fR in a loop to accept as many
+connections as possible during one iteration. You might also want to have
+a look at \f(CW\*(C`ev_set_io_collect_interval ()\*(C'\fR to increase the amount of
+readiness notifications you get per iteration.
+.Sp
+This backend maps \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR to the \f(CW\*(C`readfds\*(C'\fR set and \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR to the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`writefds\*(C'\fR set (and to work around Microsoft Windows bugs, also onto the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`exceptfds\*(C'\fR set on that platform).
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_POLL""    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_POLL\fR    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_POLL    (value 2, poll backend, available everywhere except on windows)"
+And this is your standard \fIpoll\fR\|(2) backend. It's more complicated
+than select, but handles sparse fds better and has no artificial
+limit on the number of fds you can use (except it will slow down
+considerably with a lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select,
+i.e. O(total_fds). See the entry for \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR, above, for
+performance tips.
+.Sp
+This backend maps \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR to \f(CW\*(C`POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP\*(C'\fR, and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR to \f(CW\*(C`POLLOUT | POLLERR | POLLHUP\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_EPOLL""   (value 4, Linux)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_EPOLL\fR   (value 4, Linux)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_EPOLL   (value 4, Linux)"
+Use the linux-specific \fIepoll\fR\|(7) interface (for both pre\- and post\-2.6.9
+kernels).
+.Sp
+For few fds, this backend is a bit little slower than poll and select,
+but it scales phenomenally better. While poll and select usually scale
+like O(total_fds) where n is the total number of fds (or the highest fd),
+epoll scales either O(1) or O(active_fds).
+.Sp
+The epoll mechanism deserves honorable mention as the most misdesigned
+of the more advanced event mechanisms: mere annoyances include silently
+dropping file descriptors, requiring a system call per change per file
+descriptor (and unnecessary guessing of parameters), problems with dup,
+returning before the timeout value, resulting in additional iterations
+(and only giving 5ms accuracy while select on the same platform gives
+0.1ms) and so on. The biggest issue is fork races, however \- if a program
+forks then \fIboth\fR parent and child process have to recreate the epoll
+set, which can take considerable time (one syscall per file descriptor)
+and is of course hard to detect.
+.Sp
+Epoll is also notoriously buggy \- embedding epoll fds \fIshould\fR work, but
+of course \fIdoesn't\fR, and epoll just loves to report events for totally
+\&\fIdifferent\fR file descriptors (even already closed ones, so one cannot
+even remove them from the set) than registered in the set (especially
+on \s-1SMP\s0 systems). Libev tries to counter these spurious notifications by
+employing an additional generation counter and comparing that against the
+events to filter out spurious ones, recreating the set when required. Last
+not least, it also refuses to work with some file descriptors which work
+perfectly fine with \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR (files, many character devices...).
+.Sp
+Epoll is truly the train wreck analog among event poll mechanisms,
+a frankenpoll, cobbled together in a hurry, no thought to design or
+interaction with others.
+.Sp
+While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
+will result in some caching, there is still a system call per such
+incident (because the same \fIfile descriptor\fR could point to a different
+\&\fIfile description\fR now), so its best to avoid that. Also, \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed
+file descriptors might not work very well if you register events for both
+file descriptors.
+.Sp
+Best performance from this backend is achieved by not unregistering all
+watchers for a file descriptor until it has been closed, if possible,
+i.e. keep at least one watcher active per fd at all times. Stopping and
+starting a watcher (without re-setting it) also usually doesn't cause
+extra overhead. A fork can both result in spurious notifications as well
+as in libev having to destroy and recreate the epoll object, which can
+take considerable time and thus should be avoided.
+.Sp
+All this means that, in practice, \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR can be as fast or
+faster than epoll for maybe up to a hundred file descriptors, depending on
+the usage. So sad.
+.Sp
+While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this feature is broken in
+all kernel versions tested so far.
+.Sp
+This backend maps \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR in the same way as
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_KQUEUE""  (value 8, most \s-1BSD\s0 clones)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_KQUEUE\fR  (value 8, most \s-1BSD\s0 clones)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_KQUEUE  (value 8, most BSD clones)"
+Kqueue deserves special mention, as at the time of this writing, it
+was broken on all BSDs except NetBSD (usually it doesn't work reliably
+with anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course
+it's completely useless). Unlike epoll, however, whose brokenness
+is by design, these kqueue bugs can (and eventually will) be fixed
+without \s-1API\s0 changes to existing programs. For this reason it's not being
+\&\*(L"auto-detected\*(R" unless you explicitly specify it in the flags (i.e. using
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_KQUEUE\*(C'\fR) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (\-enough)
+system like NetBSD.
+.Sp
+You still can embed kqueue into a normal poll or select backend and use it
+only for sockets (after having made sure that sockets work with kqueue on
+the target platform). See \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watchers for more info.
+.Sp
+It scales in the same way as the epoll backend, but the interface to the
+kernel is more efficient (which says nothing about its actual speed, of
+course). While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher does never
+cause an extra system call as with \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_EPOLL\*(C'\fR, it still adds up to
+two event changes per incident. Support for \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR is very bad (but
+sane, unlike epoll) and it drops fds silently in similarly hard-to-detect
+cases
+.Sp
+This backend usually performs well under most conditions.
+.Sp
+While nominally embeddable in other event loops, this doesn't work
+everywhere, so you might need to test for this. And since it is broken
+almost everywhere, you should only use it when you have a lot of sockets
+(for which it usually works), by embedding it into another event loop
+(e.g. \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR (but \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR is of course
+also broken on \s-1OS\s0 X)) and, did I mention it, using it only for sockets.
+.Sp
+This backend maps \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR into an \f(CW\*(C`EVFILT_READ\*(C'\fR kevent with
+\&\f(CW\*(C`NOTE_EOF\*(C'\fR, and \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR into an \f(CW\*(C`EVFILT_WRITE\*(C'\fR kevent with
+\&\f(CW\*(C`NOTE_EOF\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL"" (value 16, Solaris 8)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_DEVPOLL\fR (value 16, Solaris 8)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL (value 16, Solaris 8)"
+This is not implemented yet (and might never be, unless you send me an
+implementation). According to reports, \f(CW\*(C`/dev/poll\*(C'\fR only supports sockets
+and is not embeddable, which would limit the usefulness of this backend
+immensely.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_PORT""    (value 32, Solaris 10)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_PORT\fR    (value 32, Solaris 10)" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_PORT    (value 32, Solaris 10)"
+This uses the Solaris 10 event port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
+it's really slow, but it still scales very well (O(active_fds)).
+.Sp
+While this backend scales well, it requires one system call per active
+file descriptor per loop iteration. For small and medium numbers of file
+descriptors a \*(L"slow\*(R" \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR backend
+might perform better.
+.Sp
+On the positive side, this backend actually performed fully to
+specification in all tests and is fully embeddable, which is a rare feat
+among the OS-specific backends (I vastly prefer correctness over speed
+hacks).
+.Sp
+On the negative side, the interface is \fIbizarre\fR \- so bizarre that
+even sun itself gets it wrong in their code examples: The event polling
+function sometimes returning events to the caller even though an error
+occurred, but with no indication whether it has done so or not (yes, it's
+even documented that way) \- deadly for edge-triggered interfaces where
+you absolutely have to know whether an event occurred or not because you
+have to re-arm the watcher.
+.Sp
+Fortunately libev seems to be able to work around these idiocies.
+.Sp
+This backend maps \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR in the same way as
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_ALL""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_ALL\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_ALL"
+Try all backends (even potentially broken ones that wouldn't be tried
+with \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_AUTO\*(C'\fR). Since this is a mask, you can do stuff such as
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_ALL & ~EVBACKEND_KQUEUE\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+It is definitely not recommended to use this flag, use whatever
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_recommended_backends ()\*(C'\fR returns, or simply do not specify a backend
+at all.
+.ie n .IP """EVBACKEND_MASK""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEVBACKEND_MASK\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EVBACKEND_MASK"
+Not a backend at all, but a mask to select all backend bits from a
+\&\f(CW\*(C`flags\*(C'\fR value, in case you want to mask out any backends from a flags
+value (e.g. when modifying the \f(CW\*(C`LIBEV_FLAGS\*(C'\fR environment variable).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.Sp
+If one or more of the backend flags are or'ed into the flags value,
+then only these backends will be tried (in the reverse order as listed
+here). If none are specified, all backends in \f(CW\*(C`ev_recommended_backends
+()\*(C'\fR will be tried.
+.Sp
+Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
+\&   if (!epoller)
+\&     fatal ("no epoll found here, maybe it hides under your chair");
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Example: Use whatever libev has to offer, but make sure that kqueue is
+used if available.
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop = ev_loop_new (ev_recommended_backends () | EVBACKEND_KQUEUE);
+.Ve
+.RE
+.IP "ev_loop_destroy (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_loop_destroy (loop)"
+Destroys an event loop object (frees all memory and kernel state
+etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
+sense, so e.g. \f(CW\*(C`ev_is_active\*(C'\fR might still return true. It is your
+responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yourself \fIbefore\fR
+calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
+the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or \f(CW\*(C`free ()\*(C'\fR them
+for example).
+.Sp
+Note that certain global state, such as signal state (and installed signal
+handlers), will not be freed by this function, and related watchers (such
+as signal and child watchers) would need to be stopped manually.
+.Sp
+This function is normally used on loop objects allocated by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR, but it can also be used on the default loop returned by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_default_loop\*(C'\fR, in which case it is not thread-safe.
+.Sp
+Note that it is not advisable to call this function on the default loop
+except in the rare occasion where you really need to free its resources.
+If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_new\*(C'\fR
+and \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_destroy\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "ev_loop_fork (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_loop_fork (loop)"
+This function sets a flag that causes subsequent \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR iterations to
+reinitialise the kernel state for backends that have one. Despite the
+name, you can call it anytime, but it makes most sense after forking, in
+the child process. You \fImust\fR call it (or use \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_FORKCHECK\*(C'\fR) in the
+child before resuming or calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+Again, you \fIhave\fR to call it on \fIany\fR loop that you want to re-use after 
+a fork, \fIeven if you do not plan to use the loop in the parent\fR. This is
+because some kernel interfaces *cough* \fIkqueue\fR *cough* do funny things
+during fork.
+.Sp
+On the other hand, you only need to call this function in the child
+process if and only if you want to use the event loop in the child. If
+you just fork+exec or create a new loop in the child, you don't have to
+call it at all (in fact, \f(CW\*(C`epoll\*(C'\fR is so badly broken that it makes a
+difference, but libev will usually detect this case on its own and do a
+costly reset of the backend).
+.Sp
+The function itself is quite fast and it's usually not a problem to call
+it just in case after a fork.
+.Sp
+Example: Automate calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR on the default loop when
+using pthreads.
+.Sp
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   post_fork_child (void)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_loop_fork (EV_DEFAULT);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   pthread_atfork (0, 0, post_fork_child);
+.Ve
+.IP "int ev_is_default_loop (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_is_default_loop (loop)"
+Returns true when the given loop is, in fact, the default loop, and false
+otherwise.
+.IP "unsigned int ev_iteration (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_iteration (loop)"
+Returns the current iteration count for the event loop, which is identical
+to the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at \f(CW0\fR
+and happily wraps around with enough iterations.
+.Sp
+This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
+\&\*(L"ticks\*(R" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR calls \- and is incremented between the
+prepare and check phases.
+.IP "unsigned int ev_depth (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_depth (loop)"
+Returns the number of times \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR was entered minus the number of
+times \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR was exited normally, in other words, the recursion depth.
+.Sp
+Outside \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR, this number is zero. In a callback, this number is
+\&\f(CW1\fR, unless \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR was invoked recursively (or from another thread),
+in which case it is higher.
+.Sp
+Leaving \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR abnormally (setjmp/longjmp, cancelling the thread,
+throwing an exception etc.), doesn't count as \*(L"exit\*(R" \- consider this
+as a hint to avoid such ungentleman-like behaviour unless it's really
+convenient, in which case it is fully supported.
+.IP "unsigned int ev_backend (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "unsigned int ev_backend (loop)"
+Returns one of the \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_*\*(C'\fR flags indicating the event backend in
+use.
+.IP "ev_tstamp ev_now (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp ev_now (loop)"
+Returns the current \*(L"event loop time\*(R", which is the time the event loop
+received events and started processing them. This timestamp does not
+change as long as callbacks are being processed, and this is also the base
+time used for relative timers. You can treat it as the timestamp of the
+event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
+.IP "ev_now_update (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_now_update (loop)"
+Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
+returned by \f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR in the progress. This is a costly operation and
+is usually done automatically within \f(CW\*(C`ev_run ()\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
+very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
+the current time is a good idea.
+.Sp
+See also \*(L"The special problem of time updates\*(R" in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR section.
+.IP "ev_suspend (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_suspend (loop)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_resume (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_resume (loop)"
+.PD
+These two functions suspend and resume an event loop, for use when the
+loop is not used for a while and timeouts should not be processed.
+.Sp
+A typical use case would be an interactive program such as a game:  When
+the user presses \f(CW\*(C`^Z\*(C'\fR to suspend the game and resumes it an hour later it
+would be best to handle timeouts as if no time had actually passed while
+the program was suspended. This can be achieved by calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR
+in your \f(CW\*(C`SIGTSTP\*(C'\fR handler, sending yourself a \f(CW\*(C`SIGSTOP\*(C'\fR and calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR directly afterwards to resume timer processing.
+.Sp
+Effectively, all \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR watchers will be delayed by the time spend
+between \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR, and all \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR watchers
+will be rescheduled (that is, they will lose any events that would have
+occurred while suspended).
+.Sp
+After calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR you \fBmust not\fR call \fIany\fR function on the
+given loop other than \f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR, and you \fBmust not\fR call \f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR
+without a previous call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+Calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR/\f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR has the side effect of updating the
+event loop time (see \f(CW\*(C`ev_now_update\*(C'\fR).
+.IP "ev_run (loop, int flags)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_run (loop, int flags)"
+Finally, this is it, the event handler. This function usually is called
+after you have initialised all your watchers and you want to start
+handling events. It will ask the operating system for any new events, call
+the watcher callbacks, an then repeat the whole process indefinitely: This
+is why event loops are called \fIloops\fR.
+.Sp
+If the flags argument is specified as \f(CW0\fR, it will keep handling events
+until either no event watchers are active anymore or \f(CW\*(C`ev_break\*(C'\fR was
+called.
+.Sp
+Please note that an explicit \f(CW\*(C`ev_break\*(C'\fR is usually better than
+relying on all watchers to be stopped when deciding when a program has
+finished (especially in interactive programs), but having a program
+that automatically loops as long as it has to and no longer by virtue
+of relying on its watchers stopping correctly, that is truly a thing of
+beauty.
+.Sp
+This function is also \fImostly\fR exception-safe \- you can break out of
+a \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR call by calling \f(CW\*(C`longjmp\*(C'\fR in a callback, throwing a \*(C+
+exception and so on. This does not decrement the \f(CW\*(C`ev_depth\*(C'\fR value, nor
+will it clear any outstanding \f(CW\*(C`EVBREAK_ONE\*(C'\fR breaks.
+.Sp
+A flags value of \f(CW\*(C`EVRUN_NOWAIT\*(C'\fR will look for new events, will handle
+those events and any already outstanding ones, but will not wait and
+block your process in case there are no events and will return after one
+iteration of the loop. This is sometimes useful to poll and handle new
+events while doing lengthy calculations, to keep the program responsive.
+.Sp
+A flags value of \f(CW\*(C`EVRUN_ONCE\*(C'\fR will look for new events (waiting if
+necessary) and will handle those and any already outstanding ones. It
+will block your process until at least one new event arrives (which could
+be an event internal to libev itself, so there is no guarantee that a
+user-registered callback will be called), and will return after one
+iteration of the loop.
+.Sp
+This is useful if you are waiting for some external event in conjunction
+with something not expressible using other libev watchers (i.e. "roll your
+own \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR"). However, a pair of \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR/\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers is
+usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
+.Sp
+Here are the gory details of what \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR does:
+.Sp
+.Vb 10
+\&   \- Increment loop depth.
+\&   \- Reset the ev_break status.
+\&   \- Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
+\&   LOOP:
+\&   \- If EVFLAG_FORKCHECK was used, check for a fork.
+\&   \- If a fork was detected (by any means), queue and call all fork watchers.
+\&   \- Queue and call all prepare watchers.
+\&   \- If ev_break was called, goto FINISH.
+\&   \- If we have been forked, detach and recreate the kernel state
+\&     as to not disturb the other process.
+\&   \- Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
+\&   \- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()).
+\&   \- Calculate for how long to sleep or block, if at all
+\&     (active idle watchers, EVRUN_NOWAIT or not having
+\&     any active watchers at all will result in not sleeping).
+\&   \- Sleep if the I/O and timer collect interval say so.
+\&   \- Increment loop iteration counter.
+\&   \- Block the process, waiting for any events.
+\&   \- Queue all outstanding I/O (fd) events.
+\&   \- Update the "event loop time" (ev_now ()), and do time jump adjustments.
+\&   \- Queue all expired timers.
+\&   \- Queue all expired periodics.
+\&   \- Queue all idle watchers with priority higher than that of pending events.
+\&   \- Queue all check watchers.
+\&   \- Call all queued watchers in reverse order (i.e. check watchers first).
+\&     Signals and child watchers are implemented as I/O watchers, and will
+\&     be handled here by queueing them when their watcher gets executed.
+\&   \- If ev_break has been called, or EVRUN_ONCE or EVRUN_NOWAIT
+\&     were used, or there are no active watchers, goto FINISH, otherwise
+\&     continue with step LOOP.
+\&   FINISH:
+\&   \- Reset the ev_break status iff it was EVBREAK_ONE.
+\&   \- Decrement the loop depth.
+\&   \- Return.
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outstanding
+anymore.
+.Sp
+.Vb 4
+\&   ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
+\&   ... as they still have work to do (even an idle watcher will do..)
+\&   ev_run (my_loop, 0);
+\&   ... jobs done or somebody called unloop. yeah!
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_break (loop, how)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_break (loop, how)"
+Can be used to make a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR return early (but only after it
+has processed all outstanding events). The \f(CW\*(C`how\*(C'\fR argument must be either
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBREAK_ONE\*(C'\fR, which will make the innermost \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR call return, or
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBREAK_ALL\*(C'\fR, which will make all nested \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR calls return.
+.Sp
+This \*(L"break state\*(R" will be cleared on the next call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+It is safe to call \f(CW\*(C`ev_break\*(C'\fR from outside any \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR calls, too, in
+which case it will have no effect.
+.IP "ev_ref (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_ref (loop)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_unref (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_unref (loop)"
+.PD
+Ref/unref can be used to add or remove a reference count on the event
+loop: Every watcher keeps one reference, and as long as the reference
+count is nonzero, \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR will not return on its own.
+.Sp
+This is useful when you have a watcher that you never intend to
+unregister, but that nevertheless should not keep \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR from
+returning. In such a case, call \f(CW\*(C`ev_unref\*(C'\fR after starting, and \f(CW\*(C`ev_ref\*(C'\fR
+before stopping it.
+.Sp
+As an example, libev itself uses this for its internal signal pipe: It
+is not visible to the libev user and should not keep \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR from
+exiting if no event watchers registered by it are active. It is also an
+excellent way to do this for generic recurring timers or from within
+third-party libraries. Just remember to \fIunref after start\fR and \fIref
+before stop\fR (but only if the watcher wasn't active before, or was active
+before, respectively. Note also that libev might stop watchers itself
+(e.g. non-repeating timers) in which case you have to \f(CW\*(C`ev_ref\*(C'\fR
+in the callback).
+.Sp
+Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR
+running when nothing else is active.
+.Sp
+.Vb 4
+\&   ev_signal exitsig;
+\&   ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
+\&   ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
+\&   ev_unref (loop);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_ref (loop);
+\&   ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_io_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (loop, ev_tstamp interval)"
+.PD
+These advanced functions influence the time that libev will spend waiting
+for events. Both time intervals are by default \f(CW0\fR, meaning that libev
+will try to invoke timer/periodic callbacks and I/O callbacks with minimum
+latency.
+.Sp
+Setting these to a higher value (the \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR \fImust\fR be >= \f(CW0\fR)
+allows libev to delay invocation of I/O and timer/periodic callbacks
+to increase efficiency of loop iterations (or to increase power-saving
+opportunities).
+.Sp
+The idea is that sometimes your program runs just fast enough to handle
+one (or very few) event(s) per loop iteration. While this makes the
+program responsive, it also wastes a lot of \s-1CPU\s0 time to poll for new
+events, especially with backends like \f(CW\*(C`select ()\*(C'\fR which have a high
+overhead for the actual polling but can deliver many events at once.
+.Sp
+By setting a higher \fIio collect interval\fR you allow libev to spend more
+time collecting I/O events, so you can handle more events per iteration,
+at the cost of increasing latency. Timeouts (both \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR) will be not affected. Setting this to a non-null value will
+introduce an additional \f(CW\*(C`ev_sleep ()\*(C'\fR call into most loop iterations. The
+sleep time ensures that libev will not poll for I/O events more often then
+once per this interval, on average.
+.Sp
+Likewise, by setting a higher \fItimeout collect interval\fR you allow libev
+to spend more time collecting timeouts, at the expense of increased
+latency/jitter/inexactness (the watcher callback will be called
+later). \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watchers will not be affected. Setting this to a non-null
+value will not introduce any overhead in libev.
+.Sp
+Many (busy) programs can usually benefit by setting the I/O collect
+interval to a value near \f(CW0.1\fR or so, which is often enough for
+interactive servers (of course not for games), likewise for timeouts. It
+usually doesn't make much sense to set it to a lower value than \f(CW0.01\fR,
+as this approaches the timing granularity of most systems. Note that if
+you do transactions with the outside world and you can't increase the
+parallelity, then this setting will limit your transaction rate (if you
+need to poll once per transaction and the I/O collect interval is 0.01,
+then you can't do more than 100 transactions per second).
+.Sp
+Setting the \fItimeout collect interval\fR can improve the opportunity for
+saving power, as the program will \*(L"bundle\*(R" timer callback invocations that
+are \*(L"near\*(R" in time together, by delaying some, thus reducing the number of
+times the process sleeps and wakes up again. Another useful technique to
+reduce iterations/wake\-ups is to use \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR watchers and make sure
+they fire on, say, one-second boundaries only.
+.Sp
+Example: we only need 0.1s timeout granularity, and we wish not to poll
+more often than 100 times per second:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_set_timeout_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.1);
+\&   ev_set_io_collect_interval (EV_DEFAULT_UC_ 0.01);
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_invoke_pending (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_invoke_pending (loop)"
+This call will simply invoke all pending watchers while resetting their
+pending state. Normally, \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR does this automatically when required,
+but when overriding the invoke callback this call comes handy. This
+function can be invoked from a watcher \- this can be useful for example
+when you want to do some lengthy calculation and want to pass further
+event handling to another thread (you still have to make sure only one
+thread executes within \f(CW\*(C`ev_invoke_pending\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR of course).
+.IP "int ev_pending_count (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_pending_count (loop)"
+Returns the number of pending watchers \- zero indicates that no watchers
+are pending.
+.IP "ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (loop, void (*invoke_pending_cb)(\s-1EV_P\s0))" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (loop, void (*invoke_pending_cb)(EV_P))"
+This overrides the invoke pending functionality of the loop: Instead of
+invoking all pending watchers when there are any, \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR will call
+this callback instead. This is useful, for example, when you want to
+invoke the actual watchers inside another context (another thread etc.).
+.Sp
+If you want to reset the callback, use \f(CW\*(C`ev_invoke_pending\*(C'\fR as new
+callback.
+.IP "ev_set_loop_release_cb (loop, void (*release)(\s-1EV_P\s0), void (*acquire)(\s-1EV_P\s0))" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_loop_release_cb (loop, void (*release)(EV_P), void (*acquire)(EV_P))"
+Sometimes you want to share the same loop between multiple threads. This
+can be done relatively simply by putting mutex_lock/unlock calls around
+each call to a libev function.
+.Sp
+However, \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR can run an indefinite time, so it is not feasible
+to wait for it to return. One way around this is to wake up the event
+loop via \f(CW\*(C`ev_break\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`av_async_send\*(C'\fR, another way is to set these
+\&\fIrelease\fR and \fIacquire\fR callbacks on the loop.
+.Sp
+When set, then \f(CW\*(C`release\*(C'\fR will be called just before the thread is
+suspended waiting for new events, and \f(CW\*(C`acquire\*(C'\fR is called just
+afterwards.
+.Sp
+Ideally, \f(CW\*(C`release\*(C'\fR will just call your mutex_unlock function, and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`acquire\*(C'\fR will just call the mutex_lock function again.
+.Sp
+While event loop modifications are allowed between invocations of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`release\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`acquire\*(C'\fR (that's their only purpose after all), no
+modifications done will affect the event loop, i.e. adding watchers will
+have no effect on the set of file descriptors being watched, or the time
+waited. Use an \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher to wake up \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR when you want it
+to take note of any changes you made.
+.Sp
+In theory, threads executing \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR will be async-cancel safe between
+invocations of \f(CW\*(C`release\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`acquire\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+See also the locking example in the \f(CW\*(C`THREADS\*(C'\fR section later in this
+document.
+.IP "ev_set_userdata (loop, void *data)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_userdata (loop, void *data)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "void *ev_userdata (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "void *ev_userdata (loop)"
+.PD
+Set and retrieve a single \f(CW\*(C`void *\*(C'\fR associated with a loop. When
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_set_userdata\*(C'\fR has never been called, then \f(CW\*(C`ev_userdata\*(C'\fR returns
+\&\f(CW0\fR.
+.Sp
+These two functions can be used to associate arbitrary data with a loop,
+and are intended solely for the \f(CW\*(C`invoke_pending_cb\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`release\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`acquire\*(C'\fR callbacks described above, but of course can be (ab\-)used for
+any other purpose as well.
+.IP "ev_verify (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_verify (loop)"
+This function only does something when \f(CW\*(C`EV_VERIFY\*(C'\fR support has been
+compiled in, which is the default for non-minimal builds. It tries to go
+through all internal structures and checks them for validity. If anything
+is found to be inconsistent, it will print an error message to standard
+error and call \f(CW\*(C`abort ()\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+This can be used to catch bugs inside libev itself: under normal
+circumstances, this function will never abort as of course libev keeps its
+data structures consistent.
+.SH "ANATOMY OF A WATCHER"
+.IX Header "ANATOMY OF A WATCHER"
+In the following description, uppercase \f(CW\*(C`TYPE\*(C'\fR in names stands for the
+watcher type, e.g. \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_start\*(C'\fR can mean \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_start\*(C'\fR for timer
+watchers and \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_start\*(C'\fR for I/O watchers.
+.PP
+A watcher is an opaque structure that you allocate and register to record
+your interest in some event. To make a concrete example, imagine you want
+to wait for \s-1STDIN\s0 to become readable, you would create an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher
+for that:
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_io_stop (w);
+\&     ev_break (loop, EVBREAK_ALL);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
+\&
+\&   ev_io stdin_watcher;
+\&
+\&   ev_init (&stdin_watcher, my_cb);
+\&   ev_io_set (&stdin_watcher, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+\&   ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
+\&
+\&   ev_run (loop, 0);
+.Ve
+.PP
+As you can see, you are responsible for allocating the memory for your
+watcher structures (and it is \fIusually\fR a bad idea to do this on the
+stack).
+.PP
+Each watcher has an associated watcher structure (called \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_TYPE\*(C'\fR
+or simply \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE\*(C'\fR, as typedefs are provided for all watcher structs).
+.PP
+Each watcher structure must be initialised by a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_init (watcher
+*, callback)\*(C'\fR, which expects a callback to be provided. This callback is
+invoked each time the event occurs (or, in the case of I/O watchers, each
+time the event loop detects that the file descriptor given is readable
+and/or writable).
+.PP
+Each watcher type further has its own \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set (watcher *, ...)\*(C'\fR
+macro to configure it, with arguments specific to the watcher type. There
+is also a macro to combine initialisation and setting in one call: \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_init (watcher *, callback, ...)\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+To make the watcher actually watch out for events, you have to start it
+with a watcher-specific start function (\f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_start (loop, watcher
+*)\*(C'\fR), and you can stop watching for events at any time by calling the
+corresponding stop function (\f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_stop (loop, watcher *)\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+As long as your watcher is active (has been started but not stopped) you
+must not touch the values stored in it. Most specifically you must never
+reinitialise it or call its \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR macro.
+.PP
+Each and every callback receives the event loop pointer as first, the
+registered watcher structure as second, and a bitset of received events as
+third argument.
+.PP
+The received events usually include a single bit per event type received
+(you can receive multiple events at the same time). The possible bit masks
+are:
+.ie n .IP """EV_READ""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_READ\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_READ"
+.PD 0
+.ie n .IP """EV_WRITE""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_WRITE\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_WRITE"
+.PD
+The file descriptor in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher has become readable and/or
+writable.
+.ie n .IP """EV_TIMER""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_TIMER\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_TIMER"
+The \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR watcher has timed out.
+.ie n .IP """EV_PERIODIC""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_PERIODIC\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_PERIODIC"
+The \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR watcher has timed out.
+.ie n .IP """EV_SIGNAL""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_SIGNAL\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_SIGNAL"
+The signal specified in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR watcher has been received by a thread.
+.ie n .IP """EV_CHILD""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_CHILD\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CHILD"
+The pid specified in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watcher has received a status change.
+.ie n .IP """EV_STAT""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_STAT\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_STAT"
+The path specified in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watcher changed its attributes somehow.
+.ie n .IP """EV_IDLE""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_IDLE\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_IDLE"
+The \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.
+.ie n .IP """EV_PREPARE""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_PREPARE\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_PREPARE"
+.PD 0
+.ie n .IP """EV_CHECK""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_CHECK\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CHECK"
+.PD
+All \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watchers are invoked just \fIbefore\fR \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR starts
+to gather new events, and all \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers are invoked just after
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR has gathered them, but before it invokes any callbacks for any
+received events. Callbacks of both watcher types can start and stop as
+many watchers as they want, and all of them will be taken into account
+(for example, a \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watcher might start an idle watcher to keep
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR from blocking).
+.ie n .IP """EV_EMBED""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_EMBED\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_EMBED"
+The embedded event loop specified in the \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watcher needs attention.
+.ie n .IP """EV_FORK""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_FORK\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_FORK"
+The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_fork\*(C'\fR).
+.ie n .IP """EV_CLEANUP""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_CLEANUP\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CLEANUP"
+The event loop is about to be destroyed (see \f(CW\*(C`ev_cleanup\*(C'\fR).
+.ie n .IP """EV_ASYNC""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_ASYNC\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_ASYNC"
+The given async watcher has been asynchronously notified (see \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR).
+.ie n .IP """EV_CUSTOM""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_CUSTOM\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CUSTOM"
+Not ever sent (or otherwise used) by libev itself, but can be freely used
+by libev users to signal watchers (e.g. via \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_event\*(C'\fR).
+.ie n .IP """EV_ERROR""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_ERROR\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_ERROR"
+An unspecified error has occurred, the watcher has been stopped. This might
+happen because the watcher could not be properly started because libev
+ran out of memory, a file descriptor was found to be closed or any other
+problem. Libev considers these application bugs.
+.Sp
+You best act on it by reporting the problem and somehow coping with the
+watcher being stopped. Note that well-written programs should not receive
+an error ever, so when your watcher receives it, this usually indicates a
+bug in your program.
+.Sp
+Libev will usually signal a few \*(L"dummy\*(R" events together with an error, for
+example it might indicate that a fd is readable or writable, and if your
+callbacks is well-written it can just attempt the operation and cope with
+the error from \fIread()\fR or \fIwrite()\fR. This will not work in multi-threaded
+programs, though, as the fd could already be closed and reused for another
+thing, so beware.
+.SS "\s-1GENERIC\s0 \s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1FUNCTIONS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS"
+.ie n .IP """ev_init"" (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_init\fR (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_init (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)"
+This macro initialises the generic portion of a watcher. The contents
+of the watcher object can be arbitrary (so \f(CW\*(C`malloc\*(C'\fR will do). Only
+the generic parts of the watcher are initialised, you \fIneed\fR to call
+the type-specific \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR macro afterwards to initialise the
+type-specific parts. For each type there is also a \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_init\*(C'\fR macro
+which rolls both calls into one.
+.Sp
+You can reinitialise a watcher at any time as long as it has been stopped
+(or never started) and there are no pending events outstanding.
+.Sp
+The callback is always of type \f(CW\*(C`void (*)(struct ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
+int revents)\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+Example: Initialise an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher in two steps.
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   ev_io w;
+\&   ev_init (&w, my_cb);
+\&   ev_io_set (&w, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+.Ve
+.ie n .IP """ev_TYPE_set"" (ev_TYPE *watcher, [args])" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_TYPE_set\fR (ev_TYPE *watcher, [args])" 4
+.IX Item "ev_TYPE_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, [args])"
+This macro initialises the type-specific parts of a watcher. You need to
+call \f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR at least once before you call this macro, but you can
+call \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR any number of times. You must not, however, call this
+macro on a watcher that is active (it can be pending, however, which is a
+difference to the \f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR macro).
+.Sp
+Although some watcher types do not have type-specific arguments
+(e.g. \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR) you still need to call its \f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR macro.
+.Sp
+See \f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR, above, for an example.
+.ie n .IP """ev_TYPE_init"" (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_TYPE_init\fR (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])" 4
+.IX Item "ev_TYPE_init (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback, [args])"
+This convenience macro rolls both \f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR macro
+calls into a single call. This is the most convenient method to initialise
+a watcher. The same limitations apply, of course.
+.Sp
+Example: Initialise and set an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher in one step.
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_io_init (&w, my_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+.Ve
+.ie n .IP """ev_TYPE_start"" (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_TYPE_start\fR (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_TYPE_start (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+Starts (activates) the given watcher. Only active watchers will receive
+events. If the watcher is already active nothing will happen.
+.Sp
+Example: Start the \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher that is being abused as example in this
+whole section.
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_UC, &w);
+.Ve
+.ie n .IP """ev_TYPE_stop"" (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_TYPE_stop\fR (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_TYPE_stop (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+Stops the given watcher if active, and clears the pending status (whether
+the watcher was active or not).
+.Sp
+It is possible that stopped watchers are pending \- for example,
+non-repeating timers are being stopped when they become pending \- but
+calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_stop\*(C'\fR ensures that the watcher is neither active nor
+pending. If you want to free or reuse the memory used by the watcher it is
+therefore a good idea to always call its \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_stop\*(C'\fR function.
+.IP "bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "bool ev_is_active (ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+Returns a true value iff the watcher is active (i.e. it has been started
+and not yet been stopped). As long as a watcher is active you must not modify
+it.
+.IP "bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "bool ev_is_pending (ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+Returns a true value iff the watcher is pending, (i.e. it has outstanding
+events but its callback has not yet been invoked). As long as a watcher
+is pending (but not active) you must not call an init function on it (but
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
+make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot \f(CW\*(C`free ()\*(C'\fR
+it).
+.IP "callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
+.IP "ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_cb_set (ev_TYPE *watcher, callback)"
+Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
+(modulo threads).
+.IP "ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, int priority)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, int priority)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+.PD
+Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
+integer between \f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR (default: \f(CW2\fR) and \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINPRI\*(C'\fR
+(default: \f(CW\*(C`\-2\*(C'\fR). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
+before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
+from being executed (except for \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watchers).
+.Sp
+If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
+you need to look at \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watchers, which provide this functionality.
+.Sp
+You \fImust not\fR change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
+pending.
+.Sp
+Setting a priority outside the range of \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINPRI\*(C'\fR to \f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR is
+fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
+or might not have been clamped to the valid range.
+.Sp
+The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
+always \f(CW0\fR, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
+.Sp
+See \*(L"\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1PRIORITY\s0 \s-1MODELS\s0\*(R", below, for a more thorough treatment of
+priorities.
+.IP "ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)"
+Invoke the \f(CW\*(C`watcher\*(C'\fR with the given \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`revents\*(C'\fR. Neither
+\&\f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR nor \f(CW\*(C`revents\*(C'\fR need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
+can deal with that fact, as both are simply passed through to the
+callback.
+.IP "int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)" 4
+.IX Item "int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)"
+If the watcher is pending, this function clears its pending status and
+returns its \f(CW\*(C`revents\*(C'\fR bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
+watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns \f(CW0\fR.
+.Sp
+Sometimes it can be useful to \*(L"poll\*(R" a watcher instead of waiting for its
+callback to be invoked, which can be accomplished with this function.
+.IP "ev_feed_event (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_feed_event (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)"
+Feeds the given event set into the event loop, as if the specified event
+had happened for the specified watcher (which must be a pointer to an
+initialised but not necessarily started event watcher). Obviously you must
+not free the watcher as long as it has pending events.
+.Sp
+Stopping the watcher, letting libev invoke it, or calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_clear_pending\*(C'\fR will clear the pending event, even if the watcher was
+not started in the first place.
+.Sp
+See also \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_fd_event\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_signal_event\*(C'\fR for related
+functions that do not need a watcher.
+.PP
+See also the \*(L"\s-1ASSOCIATING\s0 \s-1CUSTOM\s0 \s-1DATA\s0 \s-1WITH\s0 A \s-1WATCHER\s0\*(R" and \*(L"\s-1BUILDING\s0 \s-1YOUR\s0
+\&\s-1OWN\s0 \s-1COMPOSITE\s0 \s-1WATCHERS\s0\*(R" idioms.
+.SS "\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1STATES\s0"
+.IX Subsection "WATCHER STATES"
+There are various watcher states mentioned throughout this manual \-
+active, pending and so on. In this section these states and the rules to
+transition between them will be described in more detail \- and while these
+rules might look complicated, they usually do \*(L"the right thing\*(R".
+.IP "initialiased" 4
+.IX Item "initialiased"
+Before a watcher can be registered with the event looop it has to be
+initialised. This can be done with a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_init\*(C'\fR, or calls to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR followed by the watcher-specific \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR function.
+.Sp
+In this state it is simply some block of memory that is suitable for use
+in an event loop. It can be moved around, freed, reused etc. at will.
+.IP "started/running/active" 4
+.IX Item "started/running/active"
+Once a watcher has been started with a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_start\*(C'\fR it becomes
+property of the event loop, and is actively waiting for events. While in
+this state it cannot be accessed (except in a few documented ways), moved,
+freed or anything else \- the only legal thing is to keep a pointer to it,
+and call libev functions on it that are documented to work on active watchers.
+.IP "pending" 4
+.IX Item "pending"
+If a watcher is active and libev determines that an event it is interested
+in has occurred (such as a timer expiring), it will become pending. It will
+stay in this pending state until either it is stopped or its callback is
+about to be invoked, so it is not normally pending inside the watcher
+callback.
+.Sp
+The watcher might or might not be active while it is pending (for example,
+an expired non-repeating timer can be pending but no longer active). If it
+is stopped, it can be freely accessed (e.g. by calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR),
+but it is still property of the event loop at this time, so cannot be
+moved, freed or reused. And if it is active the rules described in the
+previous item still apply.
+.Sp
+It is also possible to feed an event on a watcher that is not active (e.g.
+via \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_event\*(C'\fR), in which case it becomes pending without being
+active.
+.IP "stopped" 4
+.IX Item "stopped"
+A watcher can be stopped implicitly by libev (in which case it might still
+be pending), or explicitly by calling its \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_stop\*(C'\fR function. The
+latter will clear any pending state the watcher might be in, regardless
+of whether it was active or not, so stopping a watcher explicitly before
+freeing it is often a good idea.
+.Sp
+While stopped (and not pending) the watcher is essentially in the
+initialised state, that is it can be reused, moved, modified in any way
+you wish.
+.SS "\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1PRIORITY\s0 \s-1MODELS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "WATCHER PRIORITY MODELS"
+Many event loops support \fIwatcher priorities\fR, which are usually small
+integers that influence the ordering of event callback invocation
+between watchers in some way, all else being equal.
+.PP
+In libev, Watcher priorities can be set using \f(CW\*(C`ev_set_priority\*(C'\fR. See its
+description for the more technical details such as the actual priority
+range.
+.PP
+There are two common ways how these these priorities are being interpreted
+by event loops:
+.PP
+In the more common lock-out model, higher priorities \*(L"lock out\*(R" invocation
+of lower priority watchers, which means as long as higher priority
+watchers receive events, lower priority watchers are not being invoked.
+.PP
+The less common only-for-ordering model uses priorities solely to order
+callback invocation within a single event loop iteration: Higher priority
+watchers are invoked before lower priority ones, but they all get invoked
+before polling for new events.
+.PP
+Libev uses the second (only-for-ordering) model for all its watchers
+except for idle watchers (which use the lock-out model).
+.PP
+The rationale behind this is that implementing the lock-out model for
+watchers is not well supported by most kernel interfaces, and most event
+libraries will just poll for the same events again and again as long as
+their callbacks have not been executed, which is very inefficient in the
+common case of one high-priority watcher locking out a mass of lower
+priority ones.
+.PP
+Static (ordering) priorities are most useful when you have two or more
+watchers handling the same resource: a typical usage example is having an
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher to receive data, and an associated \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR to handle
+timeouts. Under load, data might be received while the program handles
+other jobs, but since timers normally get invoked first, the timeout
+handler will be executed before checking for data. In that case, giving
+the timer a lower priority than the I/O watcher ensures that I/O will be
+handled first even under adverse conditions (which is usually, but not
+always, what you want).
+.PP
+Since idle watchers use the \*(L"lock-out\*(R" model, meaning that idle watchers
+will only be executed when no same or higher priority watchers have
+received events, they can be used to implement the \*(L"lock-out\*(R" model when
+required.
+.PP
+For example, to emulate how many other event libraries handle priorities,
+you can associate an \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watcher to each such watcher, and in
+the normal watcher callback, you just start the idle watcher. The real
+processing is done in the idle watcher callback. This causes libev to
+continuously poll and process kernel event data for the watcher, but when
+the lock-out case is known to be rare (which in turn is rare :), this is
+workable.
+.PP
+Usually, however, the lock-out model implemented that way will perform
+miserably under the type of load it was designed to handle. In that case,
+it might be preferable to stop the real watcher before starting the
+idle watcher, so the kernel will not have to process the event in case
+the actual processing will be delayed for considerable time.
+.PP
+Here is an example of an I/O watcher that should run at a strictly lower
+priority than the default, and which should only process data when no
+other events are pending:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_idle idle; // actual processing watcher
+\&   ev_io io;     // actual event watcher
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     // stop the I/O watcher, we received the event, but
+\&     // are not yet ready to handle it.
+\&     ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&
+\&     // start the idle watcher to handle the actual event.
+\&     // it will not be executed as long as other watchers
+\&     // with the default priority are receiving events.
+\&     ev_idle_start (EV_A_ &idle);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   idle_cb (EV_P_ ev_idle *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     // actual processing
+\&     read (STDIN_FILENO, ...);
+\&
+\&     // have to start the I/O watcher again, as
+\&     // we have handled the event
+\&     ev_io_start (EV_P_ &io);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   // initialisation
+\&   ev_idle_init (&idle, idle_cb);
+\&   ev_io_init (&io, io_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+\&   ev_io_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &io);
+.Ve
+.PP
+In the \*(L"real\*(R" world, it might also be beneficial to start a timer, so that
+low-priority connections can not be locked out forever under load. This
+enables your program to keep a lower latency for important connections
+during short periods of high load, while not completely locking out less
+important ones.
+.SH "WATCHER TYPES"
+.IX Header "WATCHER TYPES"
+This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
+information given in the last section. Any initialisation/set macros,
+functions and members specific to the watcher type are explained.
+.PP
+Members are additionally marked with either \fI[read\-only]\fR, meaning that,
+while the watcher is active, you can look at the member and expect some
+sensible content, but you must not modify it (you can modify it while the
+watcher is stopped to your hearts content), or \fI[read\-write]\fR, which
+means you can expect it to have some sensible content while the watcher
+is active, but you can also modify it. Modifying it may not do something
+sensible or take immediate effect (or do anything at all), but libev will
+not crash or malfunction in any way.
+.ie n .SS """ev_io"" \- is this file descriptor readable or writable?"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_io\fP \- is this file descriptor readable or writable?"
+.IX Subsection "ev_io - is this file descriptor readable or writable?"
+I/O watchers check whether a file descriptor is readable or writable
+in each iteration of the event loop, or, more precisely, when reading
+would not block the process and writing would at least be able to write
+some data. This behaviour is called level-triggering because you keep
+receiving events as long as the condition persists. Remember you can stop
+the watcher if you don't want to act on the event and neither want to
+receive future events.
+.PP
+In general you can register as many read and/or write event watchers per
+fd as you want (as long as you don't confuse yourself). Setting all file
+descriptors to non-blocking mode is also usually a good idea (but not
+required if you know what you are doing).
+.PP
+Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
+receive \*(L"spurious\*(R" readiness notifications, that is, your callback might
+be called with \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR but a subsequent \f(CW\*(C`read\*(C'\fR(2) will actually block
+because there is no data. It is very easy to get into this situation even
+with a relatively standard program structure. Thus it is best to always
+use non-blocking I/O: An extra \f(CW\*(C`read\*(C'\fR(2) returning \f(CW\*(C`EAGAIN\*(C'\fR is far
+preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
+.PP
+If you cannot run the fd in non-blocking mode (for example you should
+not play around with an Xlib connection), then you have to separately
+re-test whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good
+interface such as poll (fortunately in the case of Xlib, it already does
+this on its own, so its quite safe to use). Some people additionally
+use \f(CW\*(C`SIGALRM\*(C'\fR and an interval timer, just to be sure you won't block
+indefinitely.
+.PP
+But really, best use non-blocking mode.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of disappearing file descriptors\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of disappearing file descriptors"
+.PP
+Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
+descriptor (either due to calling \f(CW\*(C`close\*(C'\fR explicitly or any other means,
+such as \f(CW\*(C`dup2\*(C'\fR). The reason is that you register interest in some file
+descriptor, but when it goes away, the operating system will silently drop
+this interest. If another file descriptor with the same number then is
+registered with libev, there is no efficient way to see that this is, in
+fact, a different file descriptor.
+.PP
+To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
+the following policy:  Each time \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_set\*(C'\fR is being called, libev
+will assume that this is potentially a new file descriptor, otherwise
+it is assumed that the file descriptor stays the same. That means that
+you \fIhave\fR to call \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_set\*(C'\fR (or \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_init\*(C'\fR) when you change the
+descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
+.PP
+This is how one would do it normally anyway, the important point is that
+the libev application should not optimise around libev but should leave
+optimisations to libev.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of dup'ed file descriptors\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors"
+.PP
+Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
+but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That means when you
+have \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors or weirder constellations, and register
+events for them, only one file descriptor might actually receive events.
+.PP
+There is no workaround possible except not registering events
+for potentially \f(CW\*(C`dup ()\*(C'\fR'ed file descriptors, or to resort to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of files\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of files"
+.PP
+Many people try to use \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR (or libev) on file descriptors
+representing files, and expect it to become ready when their program
+doesn't block on disk accesses (which can take a long time on their own).
+.PP
+However, this cannot ever work in the \*(L"expected\*(R" way \- you get a readiness
+notification as soon as the kernel knows whether and how much data is
+there, and in the case of open files, that's always the case, so you
+always get a readiness notification instantly, and your read (or possibly
+write) will still block on the disk I/O.
+.PP
+Another way to view it is that in the case of sockets, pipes, character
+devices and so on, there is another party (the sender) that delivers data
+on its own, but in the case of files, there is no such thing: the disk
+will not send data on its own, simply because it doesn't know what you
+wish to read \- you would first have to request some data.
+.PP
+Since files are typically not-so-well supported by advanced notification
+mechanism, libev tries hard to emulate \s-1POSIX\s0 behaviour with respect
+to files, even though you should not use it. The reason for this is
+convenience: sometimes you want to watch \s-1STDIN\s0 or \s-1STDOUT\s0, which is
+usually a tty, often a pipe, but also sometimes files or special devices
+(for example, \f(CW\*(C`epoll\*(C'\fR on Linux works with \fI/dev/random\fR but not with
+\&\fI/dev/urandom\fR), and even though the file might better be served with
+asynchronous I/O instead of with non-blocking I/O, it is still useful when
+it \*(L"just works\*(R" instead of freezing.
+.PP
+So avoid file descriptors pointing to files when you know it (e.g. use
+libeio), but use them when it is convenient, e.g. for \s-1STDIN/STDOUT\s0, or
+when you rarely read from a file instead of from a socket, and want to
+reuse the same code path.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of fork\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of fork"
+.PP
+Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR at all or exhibit
+useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
+it in the child if you want to continue to use it in the child.
+.PP
+To support fork in your child processes, you have to call \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork
+()\*(C'\fR after a fork in the child, enable \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_FORKCHECK\*(C'\fR, or resort to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_POLL\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of \s-1SIGPIPE\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of SIGPIPE"
+.PP
+While not really specific to libev, it is easy to forget about \f(CW\*(C`SIGPIPE\*(C'\fR:
+when writing to a pipe whose other end has been closed, your program gets
+sent a \s-1SIGPIPE\s0, which, by default, aborts your program. For most programs
+this is sensible behaviour, for daemons, this is usually undesirable.
+.PP
+So when you encounter spurious, unexplained daemon exits, make sure you
+ignore \s-1SIGPIPE\s0 (and maybe make sure you log the exit status of your daemon
+somewhere, as that would have given you a big clue).
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of \fIaccept()\fIing when you can't\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of accept()ing when you can't"
+.PP
+Many implementations of the \s-1POSIX\s0 \f(CW\*(C`accept\*(C'\fR function (for example,
+found in post\-2004 Linux) have the peculiar behaviour of not removing a
+connection from the pending queue in all error cases.
+.PP
+For example, larger servers often run out of file descriptors (because
+of resource limits), causing \f(CW\*(C`accept\*(C'\fR to fail with \f(CW\*(C`ENFILE\*(C'\fR but not
+rejecting the connection, leading to libev signalling readiness on
+the next iteration again (the connection still exists after all), and
+typically causing the program to loop at 100% \s-1CPU\s0 usage.
+.PP
+Unfortunately, the set of errors that cause this issue differs between
+operating systems, there is usually little the app can do to remedy the
+situation, and no known thread-safe method of removing the connection to
+cope with overload is known (to me).
+.PP
+One of the easiest ways to handle this situation is to just ignore it
+\&\- when the program encounters an overload, it will just loop until the
+situation is over. While this is a form of busy waiting, no \s-1OS\s0 offers an
+event-based way to handle this situation, so it's the best one can do.
+.PP
+A better way to handle the situation is to log any errors other than
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EAGAIN\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EWOULDBLOCK\*(C'\fR, making sure not to flood the log with such
+messages, and continue as usual, which at least gives the user an idea of
+what could be wrong (\*(L"raise the ulimit!\*(R"). For extra points one could stop
+the \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher on the listening fd \*(L"for a while\*(R", which reduces \s-1CPU\s0
+usage.
+.PP
+If your program is single-threaded, then you could also keep a dummy file
+descriptor for overload situations (e.g. by opening \fI/dev/null\fR), and
+when you run into \f(CW\*(C`ENFILE\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EMFILE\*(C'\fR, close it, run \f(CW\*(C`accept\*(C'\fR,
+close that fd, and create a new dummy fd. This will gracefully refuse
+clients under typical overload conditions.
+.PP
+The last way to handle it is to simply log the error and \f(CW\*(C`exit\*(C'\fR, as
+is often done with \f(CW\*(C`malloc\*(C'\fR failures, but this results in an easy
+opportunity for a DoS attack.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions"
+.IP "ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)"
+.PD
+Configures an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher. The \f(CW\*(C`fd\*(C'\fR is the file descriptor to
+receive events for and \f(CW\*(C`events\*(C'\fR is either \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR or
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_READ | EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR, to express the desire to receive the given events.
+.IP "int fd [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "int fd [read-only]"
+The file descriptor being watched.
+.IP "int events [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "int events [read-only]"
+The events being watched.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Call \f(CW\*(C`stdin_readable_cb\*(C'\fR when \s-1STDIN_FILENO\s0 has become, well
+readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
+attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
+.PP
+.Vb 6
+\&   static void
+\&   stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&      ev_io_stop (loop, w);
+\&     .. read from stdin here (or from w\->fd) and handle any I/O errors
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
+\&   ev_io stdin_readable;
+\&   ev_io_init (&stdin_readable, stdin_readable_cb, STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ);
+\&   ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_readable);
+\&   ev_run (loop, 0);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_timer"" \- relative and optionally repeating timeouts"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_timer\fP \- relative and optionally repeating timeouts"
+.IX Subsection "ev_timer - relative and optionally repeating timeouts"
+Timer watchers are simple relative timers that generate an event after a
+given time, and optionally repeating in regular intervals after that.
+.PP
+The timers are based on real time, that is, if you register an event that
+times out after an hour and you reset your system clock to January last
+year, it will still time out after (roughly) one hour. \*(L"Roughly\*(R" because
+detecting time jumps is hard, and some inaccuracies are unavoidable (the
+monotonic clock option helps a lot here).
+.PP
+The callback is guaranteed to be invoked only \fIafter\fR its timeout has
+passed (not \fIat\fR, so on systems with very low-resolution clocks this
+might introduce a small delay). If multiple timers become ready during the
+same loop iteration then the ones with earlier time-out values are invoked
+before ones of the same priority with later time-out values (but this is
+no longer true when a callback calls \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR recursively).
+.PP
+\fIBe smart about timeouts\fR
+.IX Subsection "Be smart about timeouts"
+.PP
+Many real-world problems involve some kind of timeout, usually for error
+recovery. A typical example is an \s-1HTTP\s0 request \- if the other side hangs,
+you want to raise some error after a while.
+.PP
+What follows are some ways to handle this problem, from obvious and
+inefficient to smart and efficient.
+.PP
+In the following, a 60 second activity timeout is assumed \- a timeout that
+gets reset to 60 seconds each time there is activity (e.g. each time some
+data or other life sign was received).
+.IP "1. Use a timer and stop, reinitialise and start it on activity." 4
+.IX Item "1. Use a timer and stop, reinitialise and start it on activity."
+This is the most obvious, but not the most simple way: In the beginning,
+start the watcher:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 60., 0.);
+\&   ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Then, each time there is some activity, \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_stop\*(C'\fR it, initialise it
+and start it again:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   ev_timer_stop (loop, timer);
+\&   ev_timer_set (timer, 60., 0.);
+\&   ev_timer_start (loop, timer);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+This is relatively simple to implement, but means that each time there is
+some activity, libev will first have to remove the timer from its internal
+data structure and then add it again. Libev tries to be fast, but it's
+still not a constant-time operation.
+.ie n .IP "2. Use a timer and re-start it with ""ev_timer_again"" inactivity." 4
+.el .IP "2. Use a timer and re-start it with \f(CWev_timer_again\fR inactivity." 4
+.IX Item "2. Use a timer and re-start it with ev_timer_again inactivity."
+This is the easiest way, and involves using \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR instead of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_start\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+To implement this, configure an \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR with a \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR value
+of \f(CW60\fR and then call \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR at start and each time you
+successfully read or write some data. If you go into an idle state where
+you do not expect data to travel on the socket, you can \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_stop\*(C'\fR
+the timer, and \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR will automatically restart it if need be.
+.Sp
+That means you can ignore both the \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_start\*(C'\fR function and the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`after\*(C'\fR argument to \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_set\*(C'\fR, and only ever use the \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR
+member and \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+At start:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   ev_init (timer, callback);
+\&   timer\->repeat = 60.;
+\&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Each time there is some activity:
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+It is even possible to change the time-out on the fly, regardless of
+whether the watcher is active or not:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   timer\->repeat = 30.;
+\&   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+This is slightly more efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
+you want to modify its timeout value, as libev does not have to completely
+remove and re-insert the timer from/into its internal data structure.
+.Sp
+It is, however, even simpler than the \*(L"obvious\*(R" way to do it.
+.IP "3. Let the timer time out, but then re-arm it as required." 4
+.IX Item "3. Let the timer time out, but then re-arm it as required."
+This method is more tricky, but usually most efficient: Most timeouts are
+relatively long compared to the intervals between other activity \- in
+our example, within 60 seconds, there are usually many I/O events with
+associated activity resets.
+.Sp
+In this case, it would be more efficient to leave the \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR alone,
+but remember the time of last activity, and check for a real timeout only
+within the callback:
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_tstamp last_activity; // time of last activity
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   callback (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_tstamp now     = ev_now (EV_A);
+\&     ev_tstamp timeout = last_activity + 60.;
+\&
+\&     // if last_activity + 60. is older than now, we did time out
+\&     if (timeout < now)
+\&       {
+\&         // timeout occurred, take action
+\&       }
+\&     else
+\&       {
+\&         // callback was invoked, but there was some activity, re\-arm
+\&         // the watcher to fire in last_activity + 60, which is
+\&         // guaranteed to be in the future, so "again" is positive:
+\&         w\->repeat = timeout \- now;
+\&         ev_timer_again (EV_A_ w);
+\&       }
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.Sp
+To summarise the callback: first calculate the real timeout (defined
+as \*(L"60 seconds after the last activity\*(R"), then check if that time has
+been reached, which means something \fIdid\fR, in fact, time out. Otherwise
+the callback was invoked too early (\f(CW\*(C`timeout\*(C'\fR is in the future), so
+re-schedule the timer to fire at that future time, to see if maybe we have
+a timeout then.
+.Sp
+Note how \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR is used, taking advantage of the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR optimisation when the timer is already running.
+.Sp
+This scheme causes more callback invocations (about one every 60 seconds
+minus half the average time between activity), but virtually no calls to
+libev to change the timeout.
+.Sp
+To start the timer, simply initialise the watcher and set \f(CW\*(C`last_activity\*(C'\fR
+to the current time (meaning we just have some activity :), then call the
+callback, which will \*(L"do the right thing\*(R" and start the timer:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   ev_init (timer, callback);
+\&   last_activity = ev_now (loop);
+\&   callback (loop, timer, EV_TIMER);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+And when there is some activity, simply store the current time in
+\&\f(CW\*(C`last_activity\*(C'\fR, no libev calls at all:
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   last_activity = ev_now (loop);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+This technique is slightly more complex, but in most cases where the
+time-out is unlikely to be triggered, much more efficient.
+.Sp
+Changing the timeout is trivial as well (if it isn't hard-coded in the
+callback :) \- just change the timeout and invoke the callback, which will
+fix things for you.
+.IP "4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts." 4
+.IX Item "4. Wee, just use a double-linked list for your timeouts."
+If there is not one request, but many thousands (millions...), all
+employing some kind of timeout with the same timeout value, then one can
+do even better:
+.Sp
+When starting the timeout, calculate the timeout value and put the timeout
+at the \fIend\fR of the list.
+.Sp
+Then use an \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR to fire when the timeout at the \fIbeginning\fR of
+the list is expected to fire (for example, using the technique #3).
+.Sp
+When there is some activity, remove the timer from the list, recalculate
+the timeout, append it to the end of the list again, and make sure to
+update the \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR if it was taken from the beginning of the list.
+.Sp
+This way, one can manage an unlimited number of timeouts in O(1) time for
+starting, stopping and updating the timers, at the expense of a major
+complication, and having to use a constant timeout. The constant timeout
+ensures that the list stays sorted.
+.PP
+So which method the best?
+.PP
+Method #2 is a simple no-brain-required solution that is adequate in most
+situations. Method #3 requires a bit more thinking, but handles many cases
+better, and isn't very complicated either. In most case, choosing either
+one is fine, with #3 being better in typical situations.
+.PP
+Method #1 is almost always a bad idea, and buys you nothing. Method #4 is
+rather complicated, but extremely efficient, something that really pays
+off after the first million or so of active timers, i.e. it's usually
+overkill :)
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of time updates\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of time updates"
+.PP
+Establishing the current time is a costly operation (it usually takes at
+least two system calls): \s-1EV\s0 therefore updates its idea of the current
+time only before and after \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR collects new events, which causes a
+growing difference between \f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_time ()\*(C'\fR when handling
+lots of events in one iteration.
+.PP
+The relative timeouts are calculated relative to the \f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR
+time. This is usually the right thing as this timestamp refers to the time
+of the event triggering whatever timeout you are modifying/starting. If
+you suspect event processing to be delayed and you \fIneed\fR to base the
+timeout on the current time, use something like this to adjust for this:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_timer_set (&timer, after + ev_now () \- ev_time (), 0.);
+.Ve
+.PP
+If the event loop is suspended for a long time, you can also force an
+update of the time returned by \f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR by calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_now_update
+()\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problems of suspended animation\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problems of suspended animation"
+.PP
+When you leave the server world it is quite customary to hit machines that
+can suspend/hibernate \- what happens to the clocks during such a suspend?
+.PP
+Some quick tests made with a Linux 2.6.28 indicate that a suspend freezes
+all processes, while the clocks (\f(CW\*(C`times\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`CLOCK_MONOTONIC\*(C'\fR) continue
+to run until the system is suspended, but they will not advance while the
+system is suspended. That means, on resume, it will be as if the program
+was frozen for a few seconds, but the suspend time will not be counted
+towards \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR when a monotonic clock source is used. The real time
+clock advanced as expected, but if it is used as sole clocksource, then a
+long suspend would be detected as a time jump by libev, and timers would
+be adjusted accordingly.
+.PP
+I would not be surprised to see different behaviour in different between
+operating systems, \s-1OS\s0 versions or even different hardware.
+.PP
+The other form of suspend (job control, or sending a \s-1SIGSTOP\s0) will see a
+time jump in the monotonic clocks and the realtime clock. If the program
+is suspended for a very long time, and monotonic clock sources are in use,
+then you can expect \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fRs to expire as the full suspension time
+will be counted towards the timers. When no monotonic clock source is in
+use, then libev will again assume a timejump and adjust accordingly.
+.PP
+It might be beneficial for this latter case to call \f(CW\*(C`ev_suspend\*(C'\fR
+and \f(CW\*(C`ev_resume\*(C'\fR in code that handles \f(CW\*(C`SIGTSTP\*(C'\fR, to at least get
+deterministic behaviour in this case (you can do nothing against
+\&\f(CW\*(C`SIGSTOP\*(C'\fR).
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_timer_set (ev_timer *, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)"
+.PD
+Configure the timer to trigger after \f(CW\*(C`after\*(C'\fR seconds. If \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR
+is \f(CW0.\fR, then it will automatically be stopped once the timeout is
+reached. If it is positive, then the timer will automatically be
+configured to trigger again \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR seconds later, again, and again,
+until stopped manually.
+.Sp
+The timer itself will do a best-effort at avoiding drift, that is, if
+you configure a timer to trigger every 10 seconds, then it will normally
+trigger at exactly 10 second intervals. If, however, your program cannot
+keep up with the timer (because it takes longer than those 10 seconds to
+do stuff) the timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
+.IP "ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_timer_again (loop, ev_timer *)"
+This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
+repeating. The exact semantics are:
+.Sp
+If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
+.Sp
+If the timer is started but non-repeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
+.Sp
+If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR value), or reset the running timer to the \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR value.
+.Sp
+This sounds a bit complicated, see \*(L"Be smart about timeouts\*(R", above, for a
+usage example.
+.IP "ev_tstamp ev_timer_remaining (loop, ev_timer *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp ev_timer_remaining (loop, ev_timer *)"
+Returns the remaining time until a timer fires. If the timer is active,
+then this time is relative to the current event loop time, otherwise it's
+the timeout value currently configured.
+.Sp
+That is, after an \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_set (w, 5, 7)\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_remaining\*(C'\fR returns
+\&\f(CW5\fR. When the timer is started and one second passes, \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_remaining\*(C'\fR
+will return \f(CW4\fR. When the timer expires and is restarted, it will return
+roughly \f(CW7\fR (likely slightly less as callback invocation takes some time,
+too), and so on.
+.IP "ev_tstamp repeat [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]"
+The current \f(CW\*(C`repeat\*(C'\fR value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
+or \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_again\*(C'\fR is called, and determines the next timeout (if any),
+which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     .. one minute over, w is actually stopped right here
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_timer mytimer;
+\&   ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
+\&   ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
+inactivity.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   timeout_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     .. ten seconds without any activity
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_timer mytimer;
+\&   ev_timer_init (&mytimer, timeout_cb, 0., 10.); /* note, only repeat used */
+\&   ev_timer_again (&mytimer); /* start timer */
+\&   ev_run (loop, 0);
+\&
+\&   // and in some piece of code that gets executed on any "activity":
+\&   // reset the timeout to start ticking again at 10 seconds
+\&   ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_periodic"" \- to cron or not to cron?"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_periodic\fP \- to cron or not to cron?"
+.IX Subsection "ev_periodic - to cron or not to cron?"
+Periodic watchers are also timers of a kind, but they are very versatile
+(and unfortunately a bit complex).
+.PP
+Unlike \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR, periodic watchers are not based on real time (or
+relative time, the physical time that passes) but on wall clock time
+(absolute time, the thing you can read on your calender or clock). The
+difference is that wall clock time can run faster or slower than real
+time, and time jumps are not uncommon (e.g. when you adjust your
+wrist-watch).
+.PP
+You can tell a periodic watcher to trigger after some specific point
+in time: for example, if you tell a periodic watcher to trigger \*(L"in 10
+seconds\*(R" (by specifying e.g. \f(CW\*(C`ev_now () + 10.\*(C'\fR, that is, an absolute time
+not a delay) and then reset your system clock to January of the previous
+year, then it will take a year or more to trigger the event (unlike an
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR, which would still trigger roughly 10 seconds after starting
+it, as it uses a relative timeout).
+.PP
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR watchers can also be used to implement vastly more complex
+timers, such as triggering an event on each \*(L"midnight, local time\*(R", or
+other complicated rules. This cannot be done with \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR watchers, as
+those cannot react to time jumps.
+.PP
+As with timers, the callback is guaranteed to be invoked only when the
+point in time where it is supposed to trigger has passed. If multiple
+timers become ready during the same loop iteration then the ones with
+earlier time-out values are invoked before ones with later time-out values
+(but this is no longer true when a callback calls \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR recursively).
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_periodic_set (ev_periodic *, ev_tstamp offset, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)"
+.PD
+Lots of arguments, let's sort it out... There are basically three modes of
+operation, and we will explain them from simplest to most complex:
+.RS 4
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+absolute timer (offset = absolute time, interval = 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
+.Sp
+In this configuration the watcher triggers an event after the wall clock
+time \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR has passed. It will not repeat and will not adjust when a
+time jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it
+will be stopped and invoked when the system clock reaches or surpasses
+this point in time.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+repeating interval timer (offset = offset within interval, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
+.Sp
+In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
+\&\f(CW\*(C`offset + N * interval\*(C'\fR time (for some integer N, which can also be
+negative) and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps. The \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR
+argument is merely an offset into the \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR periods.
+.Sp
+This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to the
+system clock, for example, here is an \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR that triggers each
+hour, on the hour (with respect to \s-1UTC\s0):
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_periodic_set (&periodic, 0., 3600., 0);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+This doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
+but only that the callback will be called when the system time shows a
+full hour (\s-1UTC\s0), or more correctly, when the system time is evenly divisible
+by 3600.
+.Sp
+Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
+time where \f(CW\*(C`time = offset (mod interval)\*(C'\fR, regardless of any time jumps.
+.Sp
+For numerical stability it is preferable that the \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR value is near
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_now ()\*(C'\fR (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
+this value, and in fact is often specified as zero.
+.Sp
+Note also that there is an upper limit to how often a timer can fire (\s-1CPU\s0
+speed for example), so if \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR is very small then timing stability
+will of course deteriorate. Libev itself tries to be exact to be about one
+millisecond (if the \s-1OS\s0 supports it and the machine is fast enough).
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+manual reschedule mode (offset ignored, interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
+.Sp
+In this mode the values for \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR are both being
+ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
+reschedule callback will be called with the watcher as first, and the
+current time as second argument.
+.Sp
+\&\s-1NOTE:\s0 \fIThis callback \s-1MUST\s0 \s-1NOT\s0 stop or destroy any periodic watcher, ever,
+or make \s-1ANY\s0 other event loop modifications whatsoever, unless explicitly
+allowed by documentation here\fR.
+.Sp
+If you need to stop it, return \f(CW\*(C`now + 1e30\*(C'\fR (or so, fudge fudge) and stop
+it afterwards (e.g. by starting an \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watcher, which is the
+only event loop modification you are allowed to do).
+.Sp
+The callback prototype is \f(CW\*(C`ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic
+*w, ev_tstamp now)\*(C'\fR, e.g.:
+.Sp
+.Vb 5
+\&   static ev_tstamp
+\&   my_rescheduler (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
+\&   {
+\&     return now + 60.;
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.Sp
+It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
+(that is, the lowest time value larger than to the second argument). It
+will usually be called just before the callback will be triggered, but
+might be called at other times, too.
+.Sp
+\&\s-1NOTE:\s0 \fIThis callback must always return a time that is higher than or
+equal to the passed \f(CI\*(C`now\*(C'\fI value\fR.
+.Sp
+This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
+triggers on \*(L"next midnight, local time\*(R". To do this, you would calculate the
+next midnight after \f(CW\*(C`now\*(C'\fR and return the timestamp value for this. How
+you do this is, again, up to you (but it is not trivial, which is the main
+reason I omitted it as an example).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.RE
+.IP "ev_periodic_again (loop, ev_periodic *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_periodic_again (loop, ev_periodic *)"
+Simply stops and restarts the periodic watcher again. This is only useful
+when you changed some parameters or the reschedule callback would return
+a different time than the last time it was called (e.g. in a crond like
+program when the crontabs have changed).
+.IP "ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp ev_periodic_at (ev_periodic *)"
+When active, returns the absolute time that the watcher is supposed
+to trigger next. This is not the same as the \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR argument to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic_set\*(C'\fR, but indeed works even in interval and manual
+rescheduling modes.
+.IP "ev_tstamp offset [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp offset [read-write]"
+When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
+absolute point in time (the \f(CW\*(C`offset\*(C'\fR value passed to \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic_set\*(C'\fR,
+although libev might modify this value for better numerical stability).
+.Sp
+Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
+timer fires or \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic_again\*(C'\fR is being called.
+.IP "ev_tstamp interval [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp interval [read-write]"
+The current interval value. Can be modified any time, but changes only
+take effect when the periodic timer fires or \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic_again\*(C'\fR is being
+called.
+.IP "ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]"
+The current reschedule callback, or \f(CW0\fR, if this functionality is
+switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
+the periodic timer fires or \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic_again\*(C'\fR is being called.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
+system time is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
+potentially a lot of jitter, but good long-term stability.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   clock_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_periodic *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ... its now a full hour (UTC, or TAI or whatever your clock follows)
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_periodic hourly_tick;
+\&   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
+\&   ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include <math.h>
+\&
+\&   static ev_tstamp
+\&   my_scheduler_cb (ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now)
+\&   {
+\&     return now + (3600. \- fmod (now, 3600.));
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   ev_periodic hourly_tick;
+\&   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
+\&                     fmod (ev_now (loop), 3600.), 3600., 0);
+\&   ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_signal"" \- signal me when a signal gets signalled!"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_signal\fP \- signal me when a signal gets signalled!"
+.IX Subsection "ev_signal - signal me when a signal gets signalled!"
+Signal watchers will trigger an event when the process receives a specific
+signal one or more times. Even though signals are very asynchronous, libev
+will try its best to deliver signals synchronously, i.e. as part of the
+normal event processing, like any other event.
+.PP
+If you want signals to be delivered truly asynchronously, just use
+\&\f(CW\*(C`sigaction\*(C'\fR as you would do without libev and forget about sharing
+the signal. You can even use \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR from a signal handler to
+synchronously wake up an event loop.
+.PP
+You can configure as many watchers as you like for the same signal, but
+only within the same loop, i.e. you can watch for \f(CW\*(C`SIGINT\*(C'\fR in your
+default loop and for \f(CW\*(C`SIGIO\*(C'\fR in another loop, but you cannot watch for
+\&\f(CW\*(C`SIGINT\*(C'\fR in both the default loop and another loop at the same time. At
+the moment, \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR is permanently tied to the default loop.
+.PP
+When the first watcher gets started will libev actually register something
+with the kernel (thus it coexists with your own signal handlers as long as
+you don't register any with libev for the same signal).
+.PP
+If possible and supported, libev will install its handlers with
+\&\f(CW\*(C`SA_RESTART\*(C'\fR (or equivalent) behaviour enabled, so system calls should
+not be unduly interrupted. If you have a problem with system calls getting
+interrupted by signals you can block all signals in an \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watcher
+and unblock them in an \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watcher.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of inheritance over fork/execve/pthread_create\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of inheritance over fork/execve/pthread_create"
+.PP
+Both the signal mask (\f(CW\*(C`sigprocmask\*(C'\fR) and the signal disposition
+(\f(CW\*(C`sigaction\*(C'\fR) are unspecified after starting a signal watcher (and after
+stopping it again), that is, libev might or might not block the signal,
+and might or might not set or restore the installed signal handler.
+.PP
+While this does not matter for the signal disposition (libev never
+sets signals to \f(CW\*(C`SIG_IGN\*(C'\fR, so handlers will be reset to \f(CW\*(C`SIG_DFL\*(C'\fR on
+\&\f(CW\*(C`execve\*(C'\fR), this matters for the signal mask: many programs do not expect
+certain signals to be blocked.
+.PP
+This means that before calling \f(CW\*(C`exec\*(C'\fR (from the child) you should reset
+the signal mask to whatever \*(L"default\*(R" you expect (all clear is a good
+choice usually).
+.PP
+The simplest way to ensure that the signal mask is reset in the child is
+to install a fork handler with \f(CW\*(C`pthread_atfork\*(C'\fR that resets it. That will
+catch fork calls done by libraries (such as the libc) as well.
+.PP
+In current versions of libev, the signal will not be blocked indefinitely
+unless you use the \f(CW\*(C`signalfd\*(C'\fR \s-1API\s0 (\f(CW\*(C`EV_SIGNALFD\*(C'\fR). While this reduces
+the window of opportunity for problems, it will not go away, as libev
+\&\fIhas\fR to modify the signal mask, at least temporarily.
+.PP
+So I can't stress this enough: \fIIf you do not reset your signal mask when
+you expect it to be empty, you have a race condition in your code\fR. This
+is not a libev-specific thing, this is true for most event libraries.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of threads signal handling\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of threads signal handling"
+.PP
+\&\s-1POSIX\s0 threads has problematic signal handling semantics, specifically,
+a lot of functionality (sigfd, sigwait etc.) only really works if all
+threads in a process block signals, which is hard to achieve.
+.PP
+When you want to use sigwait (or mix libev signal handling with your own
+for the same signals), you can tackle this problem by globally blocking
+all signals before creating any threads (or creating them with a fully set
+sigprocmask) and also specifying the \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_NOSIGMASK\*(C'\fR when creating
+loops. Then designate one thread as \*(L"signal receiver thread\*(R" which handles
+these signals. You can pass on any signals that libev might be interested
+in by calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_signal\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_signal_set (ev_signal *, int signum)"
+.PD
+Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one
+of the \f(CW\*(C`SIGxxx\*(C'\fR constants).
+.IP "int signum [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "int signum [read-only]"
+The signal the watcher watches out for.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Try to exit cleanly on \s-1SIGINT\s0.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_signal *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_break (loop, EVBREAK_ALL);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_signal signal_watcher;
+\&   ev_signal_init (&signal_watcher, sigint_cb, SIGINT);
+\&   ev_signal_start (loop, &signal_watcher);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_child"" \- watch out for process status changes"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_child\fP \- watch out for process status changes"
+.IX Subsection "ev_child - watch out for process status changes"
+Child watchers trigger when your process receives a \s-1SIGCHLD\s0 in response to
+some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies or
+exits). It is permissible to install a child watcher \fIafter\fR the child
+has been forked (which implies it might have already exited), as long
+as the event loop isn't entered (or is continued from a watcher), i.e.,
+forking and then immediately registering a watcher for the child is fine,
+but forking and registering a watcher a few event loop iterations later or
+in the next callback invocation is not.
+.PP
+Only the default event loop is capable of handling signals, and therefore
+you can only register child watchers in the default event loop.
+.PP
+Due to some design glitches inside libev, child watchers will always be
+handled at maximum priority (their priority is set to \f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR by
+libev)
+.PP
+\fIProcess Interaction\fR
+.IX Subsection "Process Interaction"
+.PP
+Libev grabs \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR as soon as the default event loop is
+initialised. This is necessary to guarantee proper behaviour even if the
+first child watcher is started after the child exits. The occurrence
+of \f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR is recorded asynchronously, but child reaping is done
+synchronously as part of the event loop processing. Libev always reaps all
+children, even ones not watched.
+.PP
+\fIOverriding the Built-In Processing\fR
+.IX Subsection "Overriding the Built-In Processing"
+.PP
+Libev offers no special support for overriding the built-in child
+processing, but if your application collides with libev's default child
+handler, you can override it easily by installing your own handler for
+\&\f(CW\*(C`SIGCHLD\*(C'\fR after initialising the default loop, and making sure the
+default loop never gets destroyed. You are encouraged, however, to use an
+event-based approach to child reaping and thus use libev's support for
+that, so other libev users can use \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watchers freely.
+.PP
+\fIStopping the Child Watcher\fR
+.IX Subsection "Stopping the Child Watcher"
+.PP
+Currently, the child watcher never gets stopped, even when the
+child terminates, so normally one needs to stop the watcher in the
+callback. Future versions of libev might stop the watcher automatically
+when a child exit is detected (calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_child_stop\*(C'\fR twice is not a
+problem).
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid, int trace)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_child_set (ev_child *, int pid, int trace)"
+.PD
+Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of process \f(CW\*(C`pid\*(C'\fR (or
+\&\fIany\fR process if \f(CW\*(C`pid\*(C'\fR is specified as \f(CW0\fR). The callback can look
+at the \f(CW\*(C`rstatus\*(C'\fR member of the \f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watcher structure to see
+the status word (use the macros from \f(CW\*(C`sys/wait.h\*(C'\fR and see your systems
+\&\f(CW\*(C`waitpid\*(C'\fR documentation). The \f(CW\*(C`rpid\*(C'\fR member contains the pid of the
+process causing the status change. \f(CW\*(C`trace\*(C'\fR must be either \f(CW0\fR (only
+activate the watcher when the process terminates) or \f(CW1\fR (additionally
+activate the watcher when the process is stopped or continued).
+.IP "int pid [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "int pid [read-only]"
+The process id this watcher watches out for, or \f(CW0\fR, meaning any process id.
+.IP "int rpid [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "int rpid [read-write]"
+The process id that detected a status change.
+.IP "int rstatus [read\-write]" 4
+.IX Item "int rstatus [read-write]"
+The process exit/trace status caused by \f(CW\*(C`rpid\*(C'\fR (see your systems
+\&\f(CW\*(C`waitpid\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`sys/wait.h\*(C'\fR documentation for details).
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: \f(CW\*(C`fork()\*(C'\fR a new process and install a child handler to wait for
+its completion.
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   ev_child cw;
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   child_cb (EV_P_ ev_child *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_child_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&     printf ("process %d exited with status %x\en", w\->rpid, w\->rstatus);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   pid_t pid = fork ();
+\&
+\&   if (pid < 0)
+\&     // error
+\&   else if (pid == 0)
+\&     {
+\&       // the forked child executes here
+\&       exit (1);
+\&     }
+\&   else
+\&     {
+\&       ev_child_init (&cw, child_cb, pid, 0);
+\&       ev_child_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &cw);
+\&     }
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_stat"" \- did the file attributes just change?"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_stat\fP \- did the file attributes just change?"
+.IX Subsection "ev_stat - did the file attributes just change?"
+This watches a file system path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
+\&\f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fR on that path in regular intervals (or when the \s-1OS\s0 says it changed)
+and sees if it changed compared to the last time, invoking the callback if
+it did.
+.PP
+The path does not need to exist: changing from \*(L"path exists\*(R" to \*(L"path does
+not exist\*(R" is a status change like any other. The condition \*(L"path does not
+exist\*(R" (or more correctly \*(L"path cannot be stat'ed\*(R") is signified by the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`st_nlink\*(C'\fR field being zero (which is otherwise always forced to be at
+least one) and all the other fields of the stat buffer having unspecified
+contents.
+.PP
+The path \fImust not\fR end in a slash or contain special components such as
+\&\f(CW\*(C`.\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`..\*(C'\fR. The path \fIshould\fR be absolute: If it is relative and
+your working directory changes, then the behaviour is undefined.
+.PP
+Since there is no portable change notification interface available, the
+portable implementation simply calls \f(CWstat(2)\fR regularly on the path
+to see if it changed somehow. You can specify a recommended polling
+interval for this case. If you specify a polling interval of \f(CW0\fR (highly
+recommended!) then a \fIsuitable, unspecified default\fR value will be used
+(which you can expect to be around five seconds, although this might
+change dynamically). Libev will also impose a minimum interval which is
+currently around \f(CW0.1\fR, but that's usually overkill.
+.PP
+This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
+as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
+resource-intensive.
+.PP
+At the time of this writing, the only OS-specific interface implemented
+is the Linux inotify interface (implementing kqueue support is left as an
+exercise for the reader. Note, however, that the author sees no way of
+implementing \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR semantics with kqueue, except as a hint).
+.PP
+\fI\s-1ABI\s0 Issues (Largefile Support)\fR
+.IX Subsection "ABI Issues (Largefile Support)"
+.PP
+Libev by default (unless the user overrides this) uses the default
+compilation environment, which means that on systems with large file
+support disabled by default, you get the 32 bit version of the stat
+structure. When using the library from programs that change the \s-1ABI\s0 to
+use 64 bit file offsets the programs will fail. In that case you have to
+compile libev with the same flags to get binary compatibility. This is
+obviously the case with any flags that change the \s-1ABI\s0, but the problem is
+most noticeably displayed with ev_stat and large file support.
+.PP
+The solution for this is to lobby your distribution maker to make large
+file interfaces available by default (as e.g. FreeBSD does) and not
+optional. Libev cannot simply switch on large file support because it has
+to exchange stat structures with application programs compiled using the
+default compilation environment.
+.PP
+\fIInotify and Kqueue\fR
+.IX Subsection "Inotify and Kqueue"
+.PP
+When \f(CW\*(C`inotify (7)\*(C'\fR support has been compiled into libev and present at
+runtime, it will be used to speed up change detection where possible. The
+inotify descriptor will be created lazily when the first \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR
+watcher is being started.
+.PP
+Inotify presence does not change the semantics of \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers
+except that changes might be detected earlier, and in some cases, to avoid
+making regular \f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fR calls. Even in the presence of inotify support
+there are many cases where libev has to resort to regular \f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fR polling,
+but as long as kernel 2.6.25 or newer is used (2.6.24 and older have too
+many bugs), the path exists (i.e. stat succeeds), and the path resides on
+a local filesystem (libev currently assumes only ext2/3, jfs, reiserfs and
+xfs are fully working) libev usually gets away without polling.
+.PP
+There is no support for kqueue, as apparently it cannot be used to
+implement this functionality, due to the requirement of having a file
+descriptor open on the object at all times, and detecting renames, unlinks
+etc. is difficult.
+.PP
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`stat ()\*(C'\fI is a synchronous operation\fR
+.IX Subsection "stat () is a synchronous operation"
+.PP
+Libev doesn't normally do any kind of I/O itself, and so is not blocking
+the process. The exception are \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers \- those call \f(CW\*(C`stat
+()\*(C'\fR, which is a synchronous operation.
+.PP
+For local paths, this usually doesn't matter: unless the system is very
+busy or the intervals between stat's are large, a stat call will be fast,
+as the path data is usually in memory already (except when starting the
+watcher).
+.PP
+For networked file systems, calling \f(CW\*(C`stat ()\*(C'\fR can block an indefinite
+time due to network issues, and even under good conditions, a stat call
+often takes multiple milliseconds.
+.PP
+Therefore, it is best to avoid using \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers on networked
+paths, although this is fully supported by libev.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of stat time resolution\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of stat time resolution"
+.PP
+The \f(CW\*(C`stat ()\*(C'\fR system call only supports full-second resolution portably,
+and even on systems where the resolution is higher, most file systems
+still only support whole seconds.
+.PP
+That means that, if the time is the only thing that changes, you can
+easily miss updates: on the first update, \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR detects a change and
+calls your callback, which does something. When there is another update
+within the same second, \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR will be unable to detect unless the
+stat data does change in other ways (e.g. file size).
+.PP
+The solution to this is to delay acting on a change for slightly more
+than a second (or till slightly after the next full second boundary), using
+a roughly one-second-delay \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR (e.g. \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer_set (w, 0., 1.02);
+ev_timer_again (loop, w)\*(C'\fR).
+.PP
+The \f(CW.02\fR offset is added to work around small timing inconsistencies
+of some operating systems (where the second counter of the current time
+might be be delayed. One such system is the Linux kernel, where a call to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`gettimeofday\*(C'\fR might return a timestamp with a full second later than
+a subsequent \f(CW\*(C`time\*(C'\fR call \- if the equivalent of \f(CW\*(C`time ()\*(C'\fR is used to
+update file times then there will be a small window where the kernel uses
+the previous second to update file times but libev might already execute
+the timer callback).
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_stat_set (ev_stat *, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_stat_set (ev_stat *, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)"
+.PD
+Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of the given
+\&\f(CW\*(C`path\*(C'\fR. The \f(CW\*(C`interval\*(C'\fR is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
+be detected and should normally be specified as \f(CW0\fR to let libev choose
+a suitable value. The memory pointed to by \f(CW\*(C`path\*(C'\fR must point to the same
+path for as long as the watcher is active.
+.Sp
+The callback will receive an \f(CW\*(C`EV_STAT\*(C'\fR event when a change was detected,
+relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
+last change was detected).
+.IP "ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_stat_stat (loop, ev_stat *)"
+Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
+watched path in your callback, you could call this function to avoid
+detecting this change (while introducing a race condition if you are not
+the only one changing the path). Can also be useful simply to find out the
+new values.
+.IP "ev_statdata attr [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_statdata attr [read-only]"
+The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_statdata\*(C'\fR, this is usually the (or one of the) \f(CW\*(C`struct stat\*(C'\fR types
+suitable for your system, but you can only rely on the POSIX-standardised
+members to be present. If the \f(CW\*(C`st_nlink\*(C'\fR member is \f(CW0\fR, then there was
+some error while \f(CW\*(C`stat\*(C'\fRing the file.
+.IP "ev_statdata prev [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_statdata prev [read-only]"
+The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
+\&\f(CW\*(C`prev\*(C'\fR != \f(CW\*(C`attr\*(C'\fR, or, more precisely, one or more of these members
+differ: \f(CW\*(C`st_dev\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_ino\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_mode\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_nlink\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_uid\*(C'\fR,
+\&\f(CW\*(C`st_gid\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_rdev\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_size\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_atime\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_mtime\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`st_ctime\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "ev_tstamp interval [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "ev_tstamp interval [read-only]"
+The specified interval.
+.IP "const char *path [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "const char *path [read-only]"
+The file system path that is being watched.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Watch \f(CW\*(C`/etc/passwd\*(C'\fR for attribute changes.
+.PP
+.Vb 10
+\&   static void
+\&   passwd_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_stat *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     /* /etc/passwd changed in some way */
+\&     if (w\->attr.st_nlink)
+\&       {
+\&         printf ("passwd current size  %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_size);
+\&         printf ("passwd current atime %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_mtime);
+\&         printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\en", (long)w\->attr.st_mtime);
+\&       }
+\&     else
+\&       /* you shalt not abuse printf for puts */
+\&       puts ("wow, /etc/passwd is not there, expect problems. "
+\&             "if this is windows, they already arrived\en");
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   ev_stat passwd;
+\&
+\&   ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
+\&   ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: Like above, but additionally use a one-second delay so we do not
+miss updates (however, frequent updates will delay processing, too, so
+one might do the work both on \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR callback invocation \fIand\fR on
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR callback invocation).
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   static ev_stat passwd;
+\&   static ev_timer timer;
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&
+\&     /* now it\*(Aqs one second after the most recent passwd change */
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   stat_cb (EV_P_ ev_stat *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     /* reset the one\-second timer */
+\&     ev_timer_again (EV_A_ &timer);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   ev_stat_init (&passwd, stat_cb, "/etc/passwd", 0.);
+\&   ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
+\&   ev_timer_init (&timer, timer_cb, 0., 1.02);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_idle"" \- when you've got nothing better to do..."
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_idle\fP \- when you've got nothing better to do..."
+.IX Subsection "ev_idle - when you've got nothing better to do..."
+Idle watchers trigger events when no other events of the same or higher
+priority are pending (prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count
+as receiving \*(L"events\*(R").
+.PP
+That is, as long as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts
+(or even signals, imagine) of the same or higher priority it will not be
+triggered. But when your process is idle (or only lower-priority watchers
+are pending), the idle watchers are being called once per event loop
+iteration \- until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events
+and becomes busy again with higher priority stuff.
+.PP
+The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
+active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
+.PP
+Apart from keeping your process non-blocking (which is a useful
+effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
+\&\*(L"pseudo-background processing\*(R", or delay processing stuff to after the
+event loop has handled all outstanding events.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_idle_init (ev_idle *, callback)"
+Initialises and configures the idle watcher \- it has no parameters of any
+kind. There is a \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle_set\*(C'\fR macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
+believe me.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Dynamically allocate an \f(CW\*(C`ev_idle\*(C'\fR watcher, start it, and in the
+callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
+.PP
+.Vb 7
+\&   static void
+\&   idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_idle *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     free (w);
+\&     // now do something you wanted to do when the program has
+\&     // no longer anything immediate to do.
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_idle *idle_watcher = malloc (sizeof (ev_idle));
+\&   ev_idle_init (idle_watcher, idle_cb);
+\&   ev_idle_start (loop, idle_watcher);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_prepare"" and ""ev_check"" \- customise your event loop!"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_prepare\fP and \f(CWev_check\fP \- customise your event loop!"
+.IX Subsection "ev_prepare and ev_check - customise your event loop!"
+Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in pairs:
+prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
+afterwards.
+.PP
+You \fImust not\fR call \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR or similar functions that enter
+the current event loop from either \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR
+watchers. Other loops than the current one are fine, however. The
+rationale behind this is that you do not need to check for recursion in
+those watchers, i.e. the sequence will always be \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR, blocking,
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
+called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
+.PP
+Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
+their use is somewhat advanced. They could be used, for example, to track
+variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
+coroutine library and lots more. They are also occasionally useful if
+you cache some data and want to flush it before blocking (for example,
+in X programs you might want to do an \f(CW\*(C`XFlush ()\*(C'\fR in an \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR
+watcher).
+.PP
+This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors
+need to be watched by the other library, registering \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watchers
+for them and starting an \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR watcher for any timeouts (many
+libraries provide exactly this functionality). Then, in the check watcher,
+you check for any events that occurred (by checking the pending status
+of all watchers and stopping them) and call back into the library. The
+I/O and timer callbacks will never actually be called (but must be valid
+nevertheless, because you never know, you know?).
+.PP
+As another example, the Perl Coro module uses these hooks to integrate
+coroutines into libev programs, by yielding to other active coroutines
+during each prepare and only letting the process block if no coroutines
+are ready to run (it's actually more complicated: it only runs coroutines
+with priority higher than or equal to the event loop and one coroutine
+of lower priority, but only once, using idle watchers to keep the event
+loop from blocking if lower-priority coroutines are active, thus mapping
+low-priority coroutines to idle/background tasks).
+.PP
+It is recommended to give \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers highest (\f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR)
+priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
+after the poll (this doesn't matter for \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watchers).
+.PP
+Also, \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers (and \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare\*(C'\fR watchers, too) should not
+activate (\*(L"feed\*(R") events into libev. While libev fully supports this, they
+might get executed before other \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers did their job. As
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers are often used to embed other (non-libev) event
+loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
+others).
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_check_init (ev_check *, callback)"
+.PD
+Initialises and configures the prepare or check watcher \- they have no
+parameters of any kind. There are \f(CW\*(C`ev_prepare_set\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_check_set\*(C'\fR
+macros, but using them is utterly, utterly, utterly and completely
+pointless.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+There are a number of principal ways to embed other event loops or modules
+into libev. Here are some ideas on how to include libadns into libev
+(there is a Perl module named \f(CW\*(C`EV::ADNS\*(C'\fR that does this, which you could
+use as a working example. Another Perl module named \f(CW\*(C`EV::Glib\*(C'\fR embeds a
+Glib main context into libev, and finally, \f(CW\*(C`Glib::EV\*(C'\fR embeds \s-1EV\s0 into the
+Glib event loop).
+.PP
+Method 1: Add \s-1IO\s0 watchers and a timeout watcher in a prepare handler,
+and in a check watcher, destroy them and call into libadns. What follows
+is pseudo-code only of course. This requires you to either use a low
+priority for the check watcher or use \f(CW\*(C`ev_clear_pending\*(C'\fR explicitly, as
+the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   static ev_io iow [nfd];
+\&   static ev_timer tw;
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   io_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
+\&   static void
+\&   adns_prepare_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_prepare *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     int timeout = 3600000;
+\&     struct pollfd fds [nfd];
+\&     // actual code will need to loop here and realloc etc.
+\&     adns_beforepoll (ads, fds, &nfd, &timeout, timeval_from (ev_time ()));
+\&
+\&     /* the callback is illegal, but won\*(Aqt be called as we stop during check */
+\&     ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e\-3, 0.);
+\&     ev_timer_start (loop, &tw);
+\&
+\&     // create one ev_io per pollfd
+\&     for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
+\&       {
+\&         ev_io_init (iow + i, io_cb, fds [i].fd,
+\&           ((fds [i].events & POLLIN ? EV_READ : 0)
+\&            | (fds [i].events & POLLOUT ? EV_WRITE : 0)));
+\&
+\&         fds [i].revents = 0;
+\&         ev_io_start (loop, iow + i);
+\&       }
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   // stop all watchers after blocking
+\&   static void
+\&   adns_check_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_check *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_timer_stop (loop, &tw);
+\&
+\&     for (int i = 0; i < nfd; ++i)
+\&       {
+\&         // set the relevant poll flags
+\&         // could also call adns_processreadable etc. here
+\&         struct pollfd *fd = fds + i;
+\&         int revents = ev_clear_pending (iow + i);
+\&         if (revents & EV_READ ) fd\->revents |= fd\->events & POLLIN;
+\&         if (revents & EV_WRITE) fd\->revents |= fd\->events & POLLOUT;
+\&
+\&         // now stop the watcher
+\&         ev_io_stop (loop, iow + i);
+\&       }
+\&
+\&     adns_afterpoll (adns, fds, nfd, timeval_from (ev_now (loop));
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run \f(CW\*(C`adns_afterpoll\*(C'\fR
+in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
+.PP
+Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
+notification (libadns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
+callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   timer_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     adns_state ads = (adns_state)w\->data;
+\&     update_now (EV_A);
+\&
+\&     adns_processtimeouts (ads, &tv_now);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   io_cb (EV_P_ ev_io *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     adns_state ads = (adns_state)w\->data;
+\&     update_now (EV_A);
+\&
+\&     if (revents & EV_READ ) adns_processreadable  (ads, w\->fd, &tv_now);
+\&     if (revents & EV_WRITE) adns_processwriteable (ads, w\->fd, &tv_now);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   // do not ever call adns_afterpoll
+.Ve
+.PP
+Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
+want to embed is not flexible enough to support it. Instead, you can
+override their poll function. The drawback with this solution is that the
+main loop is now no longer controllable by \s-1EV\s0. The \f(CW\*(C`Glib::EV\*(C'\fR module uses
+this approach, effectively embedding \s-1EV\s0 as a client into the horrible
+libglib event loop.
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   static gint
+\&   event_poll_func (GPollFD *fds, guint nfds, gint timeout)
+\&   {
+\&     int got_events = 0;
+\&
+\&     for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
+\&       // create/start io watcher that sets the relevant bits in fds[n] and increment got_events
+\&
+\&     if (timeout >= 0)
+\&       // create/start timer
+\&
+\&     // poll
+\&     ev_run (EV_A_ 0);
+\&
+\&     // stop timer again
+\&     if (timeout >= 0)
+\&       ev_timer_stop (EV_A_ &to);
+\&
+\&     // stop io watchers again \- their callbacks should have set
+\&     for (n = 0; n < nfds; ++n)
+\&       ev_io_stop (EV_A_ iow [n]);
+\&
+\&     return got_events;
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_embed"" \- when one backend isn't enough..."
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_embed\fP \- when one backend isn't enough..."
+.IX Subsection "ev_embed - when one backend isn't enough..."
+This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
+into another (currently only \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR events are supported in the embedded
+loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
+fashion and must not be used).
+.PP
+There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and
+prioritise I/O.
+.PP
+As an example for a bug workaround, the kqueue backend might only support
+sockets on some platform, so it is unusable as generic backend, but you
+still want to make use of it because you have many sockets and it scales
+so nicely. In this case, you would create a kqueue-based loop and embed
+it into your default loop (which might use e.g. poll). Overall operation
+will be a bit slower because first libev has to call \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR and then
+\&\f(CW\*(C`kevent\*(C'\fR, but at least you can use both mechanisms for what they are
+best: \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR for scalable sockets and \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR if you want it to work :)
+.PP
+As for prioritising I/O: under rare circumstances you have the case where
+some fds have to be watched and handled very quickly (with low latency),
+and even priorities and idle watchers might have too much overhead. In
+this case you would put all the high priority stuff in one loop and all
+the rest in a second one, and embed the second one in the first.
+.PP
+As long as the watcher is active, the callback will be invoked every
+time there might be events pending in the embedded loop. The callback
+must then call \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed_sweep (mainloop, watcher)\*(C'\fR to make a single
+sweep and invoke their callbacks (the callback doesn't need to invoke the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_embed_sweep\*(C'\fR function directly, it could also start an idle watcher
+to give the embedded loop strictly lower priority for example).
+.PP
+You can also set the callback to \f(CW0\fR, in which case the embed watcher
+will automatically execute the embedded loop sweep whenever necessary.
+.PP
+Fork detection will be handled transparently while the \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watcher
+is active, i.e., the embedded loop will automatically be forked when the
+embedding loop forks. In other cases, the user is responsible for calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR on the embedded loop.
+.PP
+Unfortunately, not all backends are embeddable: only the ones returned by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_embeddable_backends\*(C'\fR are, which, unfortunately, does not include any
+portable one.
+.PP
+So when you want to use this feature you will always have to be prepared
+that you cannot get an embeddable loop. The recommended way to get around
+this is to have a separate variables for your embeddable loop, try to
+create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything.
+.PP
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fI and fork\fR
+.IX Subsection "ev_embed and fork"
+.PP
+While the \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed\*(C'\fR watcher is running, forks in the embedding loop will
+automatically be applied to the embedded loop as well, so no special
+fork handling is required in that case. When the watcher is not running,
+however, it is still the task of the libev user to call \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork ()\*(C'\fR
+as applicable.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_embed_set (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)"
+.PD
+Configures the watcher to embed the given loop, which must be
+embeddable. If the callback is \f(CW0\fR, then \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed_sweep\*(C'\fR will be
+invoked automatically, otherwise it is the responsibility of the callback
+to invoke it (it will continue to be called until the sweep has been done,
+if you do not want that, you need to temporarily stop the embed watcher).
+.IP "ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_embed_sweep (loop, ev_embed *)"
+Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
+similarly to \f(CW\*(C`ev_run (embedded_loop, EVRUN_NOWAIT)\*(C'\fR, but in the most
+appropriate way for embedded loops.
+.IP "struct ev_loop *other [read\-only]" 4
+.IX Item "struct ev_loop *other [read-only]"
+The embedded event loop.
+.PP
+\fIExamples\fR
+.IX Subsection "Examples"
+.PP
+Example: Try to get an embeddable event loop and embed it into the default
+event loop. If that is not possible, use the default loop. The default
+loop is stored in \f(CW\*(C`loop_hi\*(C'\fR, while the embeddable loop is stored in
+\&\f(CW\*(C`loop_lo\*(C'\fR (which is \f(CW\*(C`loop_hi\*(C'\fR in the case no embeddable loop can be
+used).
+.PP
+.Vb 3
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop_hi = ev_default_init (0);
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop_lo = 0;
+\&   ev_embed embed;
+\&   
+\&   // see if there is a chance of getting one that works
+\&   // (remember that a flags value of 0 means autodetection)
+\&   loop_lo = ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ()
+\&     ? ev_loop_new (ev_embeddable_backends () & ev_recommended_backends ())
+\&     : 0;
+\&
+\&   // if we got one, then embed it, otherwise default to loop_hi
+\&   if (loop_lo)
+\&     {
+\&       ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_lo);
+\&       ev_embed_start (loop_hi, &embed);
+\&     }
+\&   else
+\&     loop_lo = loop_hi;
+.Ve
+.PP
+Example: Check if kqueue is available but not recommended and create
+a kqueue backend for use with sockets (which usually work with any
+kqueue implementation). Store the kqueue/socket\-only event loop in
+\&\f(CW\*(C`loop_socket\*(C'\fR. (One might optionally use \f(CW\*(C`EVFLAG_NOENV\*(C'\fR, too).
+.PP
+.Vb 3
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_init (0);
+\&   struct ev_loop *loop_socket = 0;
+\&   ev_embed embed;
+\&   
+\&   if (ev_supported_backends () & ~ev_recommended_backends () & EVBACKEND_KQUEUE)
+\&     if ((loop_socket = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_KQUEUE))
+\&       {
+\&         ev_embed_init (&embed, 0, loop_socket);
+\&         ev_embed_start (loop, &embed);
+\&       }
+\&
+\&   if (!loop_socket)
+\&     loop_socket = loop;
+\&
+\&   // now use loop_socket for all sockets, and loop for everything else
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_fork"" \- the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_fork\fP \- the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
+.IX Subsection "ev_fork - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork"
+Fork watchers are called when a \f(CW\*(C`fork ()\*(C'\fR was detected (usually because
+whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_default_fork\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR). The invocation is done before the
+event loop blocks next and before \f(CW\*(C`ev_check\*(C'\fR watchers are being called,
+and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_default_fork\*(C'\fR cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
+handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
+.PP
+\fIThe special problem of life after fork \- how is it possible?\fR
+.IX Subsection "The special problem of life after fork - how is it possible?"
+.PP
+Most uses of \f(CW\*(C`fork()\*(C'\fR consist of forking, then some simple calls to set
+up/change the process environment, followed by a call to \f(CW\*(C`exec()\*(C'\fR. This
+sequence should be handled by libev without any problems.
+.PP
+This changes when the application actually wants to do event handling
+in the child, or both parent in child, in effect \*(L"continuing\*(R" after the
+fork.
+.PP
+The default mode of operation (for libev, with application help to detect
+forks) is to duplicate all the state in the child, as would be expected
+when \fIeither\fR the parent \fIor\fR the child process continues.
+.PP
+When both processes want to continue using libev, then this is usually the
+wrong result. In that case, usually one process (typically the parent) is
+supposed to continue with all watchers in place as before, while the other
+process typically wants to start fresh, i.e. without any active watchers.
+.PP
+The cleanest and most efficient way to achieve that with libev is to
+simply create a new event loop, which of course will be \*(L"empty\*(R", and
+use that for new watchers. This has the advantage of not touching more
+memory than necessary, and thus avoiding the copy-on-write, and the
+disadvantage of having to use multiple event loops (which do not support
+signal watchers).
+.PP
+When this is not possible, or you want to use the default loop for
+other reasons, then in the process that wants to start \*(L"fresh\*(R", call
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_destroy (EV_DEFAULT)\*(C'\fR followed by \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_loop (...)\*(C'\fR.
+Destroying the default loop will \*(L"orphan\*(R" (not stop) all registered
+watchers, so you have to be careful not to execute code that modifies
+those watchers. Note also that in that case, you have to re-register any
+signal watchers.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_fork_init (ev_fork *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_fork_init (ev_fork *, callback)"
+Initialises and configures the fork watcher \- it has no parameters of any
+kind. There is a \f(CW\*(C`ev_fork_set\*(C'\fR macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
+really.
+.ie n .SS """ev_cleanup"" \- even the best things end"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_cleanup\fP \- even the best things end"
+.IX Subsection "ev_cleanup - even the best things end"
+Cleanup watchers are called just before the event loop is being destroyed
+by a call to \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_destroy\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+While there is no guarantee that the event loop gets destroyed, cleanup
+watchers provide a convenient method to install cleanup hooks for your
+program, worker threads and so on \- you just to make sure to destroy the
+loop when you want them to be invoked.
+.PP
+Cleanup watchers are invoked in the same way as any other watcher. Unlike
+all other watchers, they do not keep a reference to the event loop (which
+makes a lot of sense if you think about it). Like all other watchers, you
+can call libev functions in the callback, except \f(CW\*(C`ev_cleanup_start\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_cleanup_init (ev_cleanup *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_cleanup_init (ev_cleanup *, callback)"
+Initialises and configures the cleanup watcher \- it has no parameters of
+any kind. There is a \f(CW\*(C`ev_cleanup_set\*(C'\fR macro, but using it is utterly
+pointless, I assure you.
+.PP
+Example: Register an atexit handler to destroy the default loop, so any
+cleanup functions are called.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   program_exits (void)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_loop_destroy (EV_DEFAULT_UC);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   atexit (program_exits);
+.Ve
+.ie n .SS """ev_async"" \- how to wake up an event loop"
+.el .SS "\f(CWev_async\fP \- how to wake up an event loop"
+.IX Subsection "ev_async - how to wake up an event loop"
+In general, you cannot use an \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR from multiple threads or other
+asynchronous sources such as signal handlers (as opposed to multiple event
+loops \- those are of course safe to use in different threads).
+.PP
+Sometimes, however, you need to wake up an event loop you do not control,
+for example because it belongs to another thread. This is what \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR
+watchers do: as long as the \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher is active, you can signal
+it by calling \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR, which is thread\- and signal safe.
+.PP
+This functionality is very similar to \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR watchers, as signals,
+too, are asynchronous in nature, and signals, too, will be compressed
+(i.e. the number of callback invocations may be less than the number of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_async_sent\*(C'\fR calls). In fact, you could use signal watchers as a kind
+of \*(L"global async watchers\*(R" by using a watcher on an otherwise unused
+signal, and \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_signal\*(C'\fR to signal this watcher from another thread,
+even without knowing which loop owns the signal.
+.PP
+Unlike \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR watchers, \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR works with any event loop, not
+just the default loop.
+.PP
+\fIQueueing\fR
+.IX Subsection "Queueing"
+.PP
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR does not support queueing of data in any way. The reason
+is that the author does not know of a simple (or any) algorithm for a
+multiple-writer-single-reader queue that works in all cases and doesn't
+need elaborate support such as pthreads or unportable memory access
+semantics.
+.PP
+That means that if you want to queue data, you have to provide your own
+queue. But at least I can tell you how to implement locking around your
+queue:
+.IP "queueing from a signal handler context" 4
+.IX Item "queueing from a signal handler context"
+To implement race-free queueing, you simply add to the queue in the signal
+handler but you block the signal handler in the watcher callback. Here is
+an example that does that for some fictitious \s-1SIGUSR1\s0 handler:
+.Sp
+.Vb 1
+\&   static ev_async mysig;
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   sigusr1_handler (void)
+\&   {
+\&     sometype data;
+\&
+\&     // no locking etc.
+\&     queue_put (data);
+\&     ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     sometype data;
+\&     sigset_t block, prev;
+\&
+\&     sigemptyset (&block);
+\&     sigaddset (&block, SIGUSR1);
+\&     sigprocmask (SIG_BLOCK, &block, &prev);
+\&
+\&     while (queue_get (&data))
+\&       process (data);
+\&
+\&     if (sigismember (&prev, SIGUSR1)
+\&       sigprocmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &block, 0);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.Sp
+(Note: pthreads in theory requires you to use \f(CW\*(C`pthread_setmask\*(C'\fR
+instead of \f(CW\*(C`sigprocmask\*(C'\fR when you use threads, but libev doesn't do it
+either...).
+.IP "queueing from a thread context" 4
+.IX Item "queueing from a thread context"
+The strategy for threads is different, as you cannot (easily) block
+threads but you can easily preempt them, so to queue safely you need to
+employ a traditional mutex lock, such as in this pthread example:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   static ev_async mysig;
+\&   static pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   otherthread (void)
+\&   {
+\&     // only need to lock the actual queueing operation
+\&     pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
+\&     queue_put (data);
+\&     pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
+\&
+\&     ev_async_send (EV_DEFAULT_ &mysig);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   mysig_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     pthread_mutex_lock (&mymutex);
+\&
+\&     while (queue_get (&data))
+\&       process (data);
+\&
+\&     pthread_mutex_unlock (&mymutex);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+\fIWatcher-Specific Functions and Data Members\fR
+.IX Subsection "Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members"
+.IP "ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_async_init (ev_async *, callback)"
+Initialises and configures the async watcher \- it has no parameters of any
+kind. There is a \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_set\*(C'\fR macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
+trust me.
+.IP "ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_async_send (loop, ev_async *)"
+Sends/signals/activates the given \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher, that is, feeds
+an \f(CW\*(C`EV_ASYNC\*(C'\fR event on the watcher into the event loop. Unlike
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_event\*(C'\fR, this call is safe to do from other threads, signal or
+similar contexts (see the discussion of \f(CW\*(C`EV_ATOMIC_T\*(C'\fR in the embedding
+section below on what exactly this means).
+.Sp
+Note that, as with other watchers in libev, multiple events might get
+compressed into a single callback invocation (another way to look at this
+is that \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watchers are level-triggered, set on \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR,
+reset when the event loop detects that).
+.Sp
+This call incurs the overhead of a system call only once per event loop
+iteration, so while the overhead might be noticeable, it doesn't apply to
+repeated calls to \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR for the same event loop.
+.IP "bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)" 4
+.IX Item "bool = ev_async_pending (ev_async *)"
+Returns a non-zero value when \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR has been called on the
+watcher but the event has not yet been processed (or even noted) by the
+event loop.
+.Sp
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR sets a flag in the watcher and wakes up the loop. When
+the loop iterates next and checks for the watcher to have become active,
+it will reset the flag again. \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_pending\*(C'\fR can be used to very
+quickly check whether invoking the loop might be a good idea.
+.Sp
+Not that this does \fInot\fR check whether the watcher itself is pending,
+only whether it has been requested to make this watcher pending: there
+is a time window between the event loop checking and resetting the async
+notification, and the callback being invoked.
+.SH "OTHER FUNCTIONS"
+.IX Header "OTHER FUNCTIONS"
+There are some other functions of possible interest. Described. Here. Now.
+.IP "ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_once (loop, int fd, int events, ev_tstamp timeout, callback)"
+This function combines a simple timer and an I/O watcher, calls your
+callback on whichever event happens first and automatically stops both
+watchers. This is useful if you want to wait for a single event on an fd
+or timeout without having to allocate/configure/start/stop/free one or
+more watchers yourself.
+.Sp
+If \f(CW\*(C`fd\*(C'\fR is less than 0, then no I/O watcher will be started and the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`events\*(C'\fR argument is being ignored. Otherwise, an \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR watcher for
+the given \f(CW\*(C`fd\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`events\*(C'\fR set will be created and started.
+.Sp
+If \f(CW\*(C`timeout\*(C'\fR is less than 0, then no timeout watcher will be
+started. Otherwise an \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR watcher with after = \f(CW\*(C`timeout\*(C'\fR (and
+repeat = 0) will be started. \f(CW0\fR is a valid timeout.
+.Sp
+The callback has the type \f(CW\*(C`void (*cb)(int revents, void *arg)\*(C'\fR and is
+passed an \f(CW\*(C`revents\*(C'\fR set like normal event callbacks (a combination of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_ERROR\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`EV_WRITE\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`EV_TIMER\*(C'\fR) and the \f(CW\*(C`arg\*(C'\fR
+value passed to \f(CW\*(C`ev_once\*(C'\fR. Note that it is possible to receive \fIboth\fR
+a timeout and an io event at the same time \- you probably should give io
+events precedence.
+.Sp
+Example: wait up to ten seconds for data to appear on \s-1STDIN_FILENO\s0.
+.Sp
+.Vb 7
+\&   static void stdin_ready (int revents, void *arg)
+\&   {
+\&     if (revents & EV_READ)
+\&       /* stdin might have data for us, joy! */;
+\&     else if (revents & EV_TIMER)
+\&       /* doh, nothing entered */;
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_once (STDIN_FILENO, EV_READ, 10., stdin_ready, 0);
+.Ve
+.IP "ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_feed_fd_event (loop, int fd, int revents)"
+Feed an event on the given fd, as if a file descriptor backend detected
+the given events it.
+.IP "ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_feed_signal_event (loop, int signum)"
+Feed an event as if the given signal occurred. See also \f(CW\*(C`ev_feed_signal\*(C'\fR,
+which is async-safe.
+.SH "COMMON OR USEFUL IDIOMS (OR BOTH)"
+.IX Header "COMMON OR USEFUL IDIOMS (OR BOTH)"
+This section explains some common idioms that are not immediately
+obvious. Note that examples are sprinkled over the whole manual, and this
+section only contains stuff that wouldn't fit anywhere else.
+.SS "\s-1ASSOCIATING\s0 \s-1CUSTOM\s0 \s-1DATA\s0 \s-1WITH\s0 A \s-1WATCHER\s0"
+.IX Subsection "ASSOCIATING CUSTOM DATA WITH A WATCHER"
+Each watcher has, by default, a \f(CW\*(C`void *data\*(C'\fR member that you can read
+or modify at any time: libev will completely ignore it. This can be used
+to associate arbitrary data with your watcher. If you need more data and
+don't want to allocate memory separately and store a pointer to it in that
+data member, you can also \*(L"subclass\*(R" the watcher type and provide your own
+data:
+.PP
+.Vb 7
+\&   struct my_io
+\&   {
+\&     ev_io io;
+\&     int otherfd;
+\&     void *somedata;
+\&     struct whatever *mostinteresting;
+\&   };
+\&
+\&   ...
+\&   struct my_io w;
+\&   ev_io_init (&w.io, my_cb, fd, EV_READ);
+.Ve
+.PP
+And since your callback will be called with a pointer to the watcher, you
+can cast it back to your own type:
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void my_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w_, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     struct my_io *w = (struct my_io *)w_;
+\&     ...
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+More interesting and less C\-conformant ways of casting your callback
+function type instead have been omitted.
+.SS "\s-1BUILDING\s0 \s-1YOUR\s0 \s-1OWN\s0 \s-1COMPOSITE\s0 \s-1WATCHERS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "BUILDING YOUR OWN COMPOSITE WATCHERS"
+Another common scenario is to use some data structure with multiple
+embedded watchers, in effect creating your own watcher that combines
+multiple libev event sources into one \*(L"super-watcher\*(R":
+.PP
+.Vb 6
+\&   struct my_biggy
+\&   {
+\&     int some_data;
+\&     ev_timer t1;
+\&     ev_timer t2;
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+In this case getting the pointer to \f(CW\*(C`my_biggy\*(C'\fR is a bit more
+complicated: Either you store the address of your \f(CW\*(C`my_biggy\*(C'\fR struct in
+the \f(CW\*(C`data\*(C'\fR member of the watcher (for woozies or \*(C+ coders), or you need
+to use some pointer arithmetic using \f(CW\*(C`offsetof\*(C'\fR inside your watchers (for
+real programmers):
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include <stddef.h>
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   t1_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
+\&       (((char *)w) \- offsetof (struct my_biggy, t1));
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   t2_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *)
+\&       (((char *)w) \- offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.SS "\s-1MODEL/NESTED\s0 \s-1EVENT\s0 \s-1LOOP\s0 \s-1INVOCATIONS\s0 \s-1AND\s0 \s-1EXIT\s0 \s-1CONDITIONS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "MODEL/NESTED EVENT LOOP INVOCATIONS AND EXIT CONDITIONS"
+Often (especially in \s-1GUI\s0 toolkits) there are places where you have
+\&\fImodal\fR interaction, which is most easily implemented by recursively
+invoking \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+This brings the problem of exiting \- a callback might want to finish the
+main \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR call, but not the nested one (e.g. user clicked \*(L"Quit\*(R", but
+a modal \*(L"Are you sure?\*(R" dialog is still waiting), or just the nested one
+and not the main one (e.g. user clocked \*(L"Ok\*(R" in a modal dialog), or some
+other combination: In these cases, \f(CW\*(C`ev_break\*(C'\fR will not work alone.
+.PP
+The solution is to maintain \*(L"break this loop\*(R" variable for each \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR
+invocation, and use a loop around \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR until the condition is
+triggered, using \f(CW\*(C`EVRUN_ONCE\*(C'\fR:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   // main loop
+\&   int exit_main_loop = 0;
+\&
+\&   while (!exit_main_loop)
+\&     ev_run (EV_DEFAULT_ EVRUN_ONCE);
+\&
+\&   // in a model watcher
+\&   int exit_nested_loop = 0;
+\&
+\&   while (!exit_nested_loop)
+\&     ev_run (EV_A_ EVRUN_ONCE);
+.Ve
+.PP
+To exit from any of these loops, just set the corresponding exit variable:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   // exit modal loop
+\&   exit_nested_loop = 1;
+\&
+\&   // exit main program, after modal loop is finished
+\&   exit_main_loop = 1;
+\&
+\&   // exit both
+\&   exit_main_loop = exit_nested_loop = 1;
+.Ve
+.SS "\s-1THREAD\s0 \s-1LOCKING\s0 \s-1EXAMPLE\s0"
+.IX Subsection "THREAD LOCKING EXAMPLE"
+Here is a fictitious example of how to run an event loop in a different
+thread from where callbacks are being invoked and watchers are
+created/added/removed.
+.PP
+For a real-world example, see the \f(CW\*(C`EV::Loop::Async\*(C'\fR perl module,
+which uses exactly this technique (which is suited for many high-level
+languages).
+.PP
+The example uses a pthread mutex to protect the loop data, a condition
+variable to wait for callback invocations, an async watcher to notify the
+event loop thread and an unspecified mechanism to wake up the main thread.
+.PP
+First, you need to associate some data with the event loop:
+.PP
+.Vb 6
+\&   typedef struct {
+\&     mutex_t lock; /* global loop lock */
+\&     ev_async async_w;
+\&     thread_t tid;
+\&     cond_t invoke_cv;
+\&   } userdata;
+\&
+\&   void prepare_loop (EV_P)
+\&   {
+\&      // for simplicity, we use a static userdata struct.
+\&      static userdata u;
+\&
+\&      ev_async_init (&u\->async_w, async_cb);
+\&      ev_async_start (EV_A_ &u\->async_w);
+\&
+\&      pthread_mutex_init (&u\->lock, 0);
+\&      pthread_cond_init (&u\->invoke_cv, 0);
+\&
+\&      // now associate this with the loop
+\&      ev_set_userdata (EV_A_ u);
+\&      ev_set_invoke_pending_cb (EV_A_ l_invoke);
+\&      ev_set_loop_release_cb (EV_A_ l_release, l_acquire);
+\&
+\&      // then create the thread running ev_loop
+\&      pthread_create (&u\->tid, 0, l_run, EV_A);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+The callback for the \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher does nothing: the watcher is used
+solely to wake up the event loop so it takes notice of any new watchers
+that might have been added:
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   async_cb (EV_P_ ev_async *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&      // just used for the side effects
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+The \f(CW\*(C`l_release\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`l_acquire\*(C'\fR callbacks simply unlock/lock the mutex
+protecting the loop data, respectively.
+.PP
+.Vb 6
+\&   static void
+\&   l_release (EV_P)
+\&   {
+\&     userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
+\&     pthread_mutex_unlock (&u\->lock);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   static void
+\&   l_acquire (EV_P)
+\&   {
+\&     userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
+\&     pthread_mutex_lock (&u\->lock);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+The event loop thread first acquires the mutex, and then jumps straight
+into \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR:
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   void *
+\&   l_run (void *thr_arg)
+\&   {
+\&     struct ev_loop *loop = (struct ev_loop *)thr_arg;
+\&
+\&     l_acquire (EV_A);
+\&     pthread_setcanceltype (PTHREAD_CANCEL_ASYNCHRONOUS, 0);
+\&     ev_run (EV_A_ 0);
+\&     l_release (EV_A);
+\&
+\&     return 0;
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+Instead of invoking all pending watchers, the \f(CW\*(C`l_invoke\*(C'\fR callback will
+signal the main thread via some unspecified mechanism (signals? pipe
+writes? \f(CW\*(C`Async::Interrupt\*(C'\fR?) and then waits until all pending watchers
+have been called (in a while loop because a) spurious wakeups are possible
+and b) skipping inter-thread-communication when there are no pending
+watchers is very beneficial):
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   static void
+\&   l_invoke (EV_P)
+\&   {
+\&     userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
+\&
+\&     while (ev_pending_count (EV_A))
+\&       {
+\&         wake_up_other_thread_in_some_magic_or_not_so_magic_way ();
+\&         pthread_cond_wait (&u\->invoke_cv, &u\->lock);
+\&       }
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+Now, whenever the main thread gets told to invoke pending watchers, it
+will grab the lock, call \f(CW\*(C`ev_invoke_pending\*(C'\fR and then signal the loop
+thread to continue:
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   static void
+\&   real_invoke_pending (EV_P)
+\&   {
+\&     userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
+\&
+\&     pthread_mutex_lock (&u\->lock);
+\&     ev_invoke_pending (EV_A);
+\&     pthread_cond_signal (&u\->invoke_cv);
+\&     pthread_mutex_unlock (&u\->lock);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+Whenever you want to start/stop a watcher or do other modifications to an
+event loop, you will now have to lock:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_timer timeout_watcher;
+\&   userdata *u = ev_userdata (EV_A);
+\&
+\&   ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
+\&
+\&   pthread_mutex_lock (&u\->lock);
+\&   ev_timer_start (EV_A_ &timeout_watcher);
+\&   ev_async_send (EV_A_ &u\->async_w);
+\&   pthread_mutex_unlock (&u\->lock);
+.Ve
+.PP
+Note that sending the \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher is required because otherwise
+an event loop currently blocking in the kernel will have no knowledge
+about the newly added timer. By waking up the loop it will pick up any new
+watchers in the next event loop iteration.
+.SS "\s-1THREADS\s0, \s-1COROUTINES\s0, \s-1CONTINUATIONS\s0, \s-1QUEUES\s0... \s-1INSTEAD\s0 \s-1OF\s0 \s-1CALLBACKS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "THREADS, COROUTINES, CONTINUATIONS, QUEUES... INSTEAD OF CALLBACKS"
+While the overhead of a callback that e.g. schedules a thread is small, it
+is still an overhead. If you embed libev, and your main usage is with some
+kind of threads or coroutines, you might want to customise libev so that
+doesn't need callbacks anymore.
+.PP
+Imagine you have coroutines that you can switch to using a function
+\&\f(CW\*(C`switch_to (coro)\*(C'\fR, that libev runs in a coroutine called \f(CW\*(C`libev_coro\*(C'\fR
+and that due to some magic, the currently active coroutine is stored in a
+global called \f(CW\*(C`current_coro\*(C'\fR. Then you can build your own \*(L"wait for libev
+event\*(R" primitive by changing \f(CW\*(C`EV_CB_DECLARE\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_CB_INVOKE\*(C'\fR (note
+the differing \f(CW\*(C`;\*(C'\fR conventions):
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #define EV_CB_DECLARE(type)   struct my_coro *cb;
+\&   #define EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher) switch_to ((watcher)\->cb)
+.Ve
+.PP
+That means instead of having a C callback function, you store the
+coroutine to switch to in each watcher, and instead of having libev call
+your callback, you instead have it switch to that coroutine.
+.PP
+A coroutine might now wait for an event with a function called
+\&\f(CW\*(C`wait_for_event\*(C'\fR. (the watcher needs to be started, as always, but it doesn't
+matter when, or whether the watcher is active or not when this function is
+called):
+.PP
+.Vb 6
+\&   void
+\&   wait_for_event (ev_watcher *w)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_cb_set (w) = current_coro;
+\&     switch_to (libev_coro);
+\&   }
+.Ve
+.PP
+That basically suspends the coroutine inside \f(CW\*(C`wait_for_event\*(C'\fR and
+continues the libev coroutine, which, when appropriate, switches back to
+this or any other coroutine. I am sure if you sue this your own :)
+.PP
+You can do similar tricks if you have, say, threads with an event queue \-
+instead of storing a coroutine, you store the queue object and instead of
+switching to a coroutine, you push the watcher onto the queue and notify
+any waiters.
+.PP
+To embed libev, see \s-1EMBEDDING\s0, but in short, it's easiest to create two
+files, \fImy_ev.h\fR and \fImy_ev.c\fR that include the respective libev files:
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   // my_ev.h
+\&   #define EV_CB_DECLARE(type)   struct my_coro *cb;
+\&   #define EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher) switch_to ((watcher)\->cb);
+\&   #include "../libev/ev.h"
+\&
+\&   // my_ev.c
+\&   #define EV_H "my_ev.h"
+\&   #include "../libev/ev.c"
+.Ve
+.PP
+And then use \fImy_ev.h\fR when you would normally use \fIev.h\fR, and compile
+\&\fImy_ev.c\fR into your project. When properly specifying include paths, you
+can even use \fIev.h\fR as header file name directly.
+.SH "LIBEVENT EMULATION"
+.IX Header "LIBEVENT EMULATION"
+Libev offers a compatibility emulation layer for libevent. It cannot
+emulate the internals of libevent, so here are some usage hints:
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Only the libevent\-1.4.1\-beta \s-1API\s0 is being emulated.
+.Sp
+This was the newest libevent version available when libev was implemented,
+and is still mostly unchanged in 2010.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Use it by including <event.h>, as usual.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+The following members are fully supported: ev_base, ev_callback,
+ev_arg, ev_fd, ev_res, ev_events.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Avoid using ev_flags and the EVLIST_*\-macros, while it is
+maintained by libev, it does not work exactly the same way as in libevent (consider
+it a private \s-1API\s0).
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Priorities are not currently supported. Initialising priorities
+will fail and all watchers will have the same priority, even though there
+is an ev_pri field.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+In libevent, the last base created gets the signals, in libev, the
+base that registered the signal gets the signals.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+Other members are not supported.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+The libev emulation is \fInot\fR \s-1ABI\s0 compatible to libevent, you need
+to use the libev header file and library.
+.SH "\*(C+ SUPPORT"
+.IX Header " SUPPORT"
+Libev comes with some simplistic wrapper classes for \*(C+ that mainly allow
+you to use some convenience methods to start/stop watchers and also change
+the callback model to a model using method callbacks on objects.
+.PP
+To use it,
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include <ev++.h>
+.Ve
+.PP
+This automatically includes \fIev.h\fR and puts all of its definitions (many
+of them macros) into the global namespace. All \*(C+ specific things are
+put into the \f(CW\*(C`ev\*(C'\fR namespace. It should support all the same embedding
+options as \fIev.h\fR, most notably \f(CW\*(C`EV_MULTIPLICITY\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+Care has been taken to keep the overhead low. The only data member the \*(C+
+classes add (compared to plain C\-style watchers) is the event loop pointer
+that the watcher is associated with (or no additional members at all if
+you disable \f(CW\*(C`EV_MULTIPLICITY\*(C'\fR when embedding libev).
+.PP
+Currently, functions, static and non-static member functions and classes
+with \f(CW\*(C`operator ()\*(C'\fR can be used as callbacks. Other types should be easy
+to add as long as they only need one additional pointer for context. If
+you need support for other types of functors please contact the author
+(preferably after implementing it).
+.PP
+Here is a list of things available in the \f(CW\*(C`ev\*(C'\fR namespace:
+.ie n .IP """ev::READ"", ""ev::WRITE"" etc." 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev::READ\fR, \f(CWev::WRITE\fR etc." 4
+.IX Item "ev::READ, ev::WRITE etc."
+These are just enum values with the same values as the \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR etc.
+macros from \fIev.h\fR.
+.ie n .IP """ev::tstamp"", ""ev::now""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev::tstamp\fR, \f(CWev::now\fR" 4
+.IX Item "ev::tstamp, ev::now"
+Aliases to the same types/functions as with the \f(CW\*(C`ev_\*(C'\fR prefix.
+.ie n .IP """ev::io"", ""ev::timer"", ""ev::periodic"", ""ev::idle"", ""ev::sig"" etc." 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev::io\fR, \f(CWev::timer\fR, \f(CWev::periodic\fR, \f(CWev::idle\fR, \f(CWev::sig\fR etc." 4
+.IX Item "ev::io, ev::timer, ev::periodic, ev::idle, ev::sig etc."
+For each \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE\*(C'\fR watcher in \fIev.h\fR there is a corresponding class of
+the same name in the \f(CW\*(C`ev\*(C'\fR namespace, with the exception of \f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR
+which is called \f(CW\*(C`ev::sig\*(C'\fR to avoid clashes with the \f(CW\*(C`signal\*(C'\fR macro
+defines by many implementations.
+.Sp
+All of those classes have these methods:
+.RS 4
+.IP "ev::TYPE::TYPE ()" 4
+.IX Item "ev::TYPE::TYPE ()"
+.PD 0
+.IP "ev::TYPE::TYPE (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "ev::TYPE::TYPE (loop)"
+.IP "ev::TYPE::~TYPE" 4
+.IX Item "ev::TYPE::~TYPE"
+.PD
+The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
+with. If it is omitted, it will use \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+The constructor calls \f(CW\*(C`ev_init\*(C'\fR for you, which means you have to call the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR method before starting it.
+.Sp
+It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated \f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR
+method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
+.Sp
+(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in \*(C+ which does
+not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
+.Sp
+The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
+.IP "w\->set<class, &class::method> (object *)" 4
+.IX Item "w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)"
+This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
+signature of \f(CW\*(C`void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)\*(C'\fR, it receives the watcher as
+first argument and the \f(CW\*(C`revents\*(C'\fR as second. The object must be given as
+parameter and is stored in the \f(CW\*(C`data\*(C'\fR member of the watcher.
+.Sp
+This method synthesizes efficient thunking code to call your method from
+the C callback that libev requires. If your compiler can inline your
+callback (i.e. it is visible to it at the place of the \f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR call and
+your compiler is good :), then the method will be fully inlined into the
+thunking function, making it as fast as a direct C callback.
+.Sp
+Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
+.Sp
+.Vb 4
+\&   struct myclass
+\&   {
+\&     void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   myclass obj;
+\&   ev::io iow;
+\&   iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
+.Ve
+.IP "w\->set (object *)" 4
+.IX Item "w->set (object *)"
+This is a variation of a method callback \- leaving out the method to call
+will default the method to \f(CW\*(C`operator ()\*(C'\fR, which makes it possible to use
+functor objects without having to manually specify the \f(CW\*(C`operator ()\*(C'\fR all
+the time. Incidentally, you can then also leave out the template argument
+list.
+.Sp
+The \f(CW\*(C`operator ()\*(C'\fR method prototype must be \f(CW\*(C`void operator ()(watcher &w,
+int revents)\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+See the method\-\f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR above for more details.
+.Sp
+Example: use a functor object as callback.
+.Sp
+.Vb 7
+\&   struct myfunctor
+\&   {
+\&     void operator() (ev::io &w, int revents)
+\&     {
+\&       ...
+\&     }
+\&   }
+\&    
+\&   myfunctor f;
+\&
+\&   ev::io w;
+\&   w.set (&f);
+.Ve
+.IP "w\->set<function> (void *data = 0)" 4
+.IX Item "w->set<function> (void *data = 0)"
+Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
+callback. The optional \f(CW\*(C`data\*(C'\fR argument will be stored in the watcher's
+\&\f(CW\*(C`data\*(C'\fR member and is free for you to use.
+.Sp
+The prototype of the \f(CW\*(C`function\*(C'\fR must be \f(CW\*(C`void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+See the method\-\f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR above for more details.
+.Sp
+Example: Use a plain function as callback.
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
+\&   iow.set <io_cb> ();
+.Ve
+.IP "w\->set (loop)" 4
+.IX Item "w->set (loop)"
+Associates a different \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop\*(C'\fR with this watcher. You can only
+do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
+.IP "w\->set ([arguments])" 4
+.IX Item "w->set ([arguments])"
+Basically the same as \f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_set\*(C'\fR, with the same arguments. Either this
+method or a suitable start method must be called at least once. Unlike the
+C counterpart, an active watcher gets automatically stopped and restarted
+when reconfiguring it with this method.
+.IP "w\->start ()" 4
+.IX Item "w->start ()"
+Starts the watcher. Note that there is no \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR argument, as the
+constructor already stores the event loop.
+.IP "w\->start ([arguments])" 4
+.IX Item "w->start ([arguments])"
+Instead of calling \f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`start\*(C'\fR methods separately, it is often
+convenient to wrap them in one call. Uses the same type of arguments as
+the configure \f(CW\*(C`set\*(C'\fR method of the watcher.
+.IP "w\->stop ()" 4
+.IX Item "w->stop ()"
+Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR argument.
+.ie n .IP "w\->again () (""ev::timer"", ""ev::periodic"" only)" 4
+.el .IP "w\->again () (\f(CWev::timer\fR, \f(CWev::periodic\fR only)" 4
+.IX Item "w->again () (ev::timer, ev::periodic only)"
+For \f(CW\*(C`ev::timer\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev::periodic\*(C'\fR, this invokes the corresponding
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_TYPE_again\*(C'\fR function.
+.ie n .IP "w\->sweep () (""ev::embed"" only)" 4
+.el .IP "w\->sweep () (\f(CWev::embed\fR only)" 4
+.IX Item "w->sweep () (ev::embed only)"
+Invokes \f(CW\*(C`ev_embed_sweep\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP "w\->update () (""ev::stat"" only)" 4
+.el .IP "w\->update () (\f(CWev::stat\fR only)" 4
+.IX Item "w->update () (ev::stat only)"
+Invokes \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat_stat\*(C'\fR.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.RE
+.PP
+Example: Define a class with two I/O and idle watchers, start the I/O
+watchers in the constructor.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   class myclass
+\&   {
+\&     ev::io   io  ; void io_cb   (ev::io   &w, int revents);
+\&     ev::io2  io2 ; void io2_cb  (ev::io   &w, int revents);
+\&     ev::idle idle; void idle_cb (ev::idle &w, int revents);
+\&
+\&     myclass (int fd)
+\&     {
+\&       io  .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb  > (this);
+\&       io2 .set <myclass, &myclass::io2_cb > (this);
+\&       idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
+\&
+\&       io.set (fd, ev::WRITE); // configure the watcher
+\&       io.start ();            // start it whenever convenient
+\&
+\&       io2.start (fd, ev::READ); // set + start in one call
+\&     }
+\&   };
+.Ve
+.SH "OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS"
+.IX Header "OTHER LANGUAGE BINDINGS"
+Libev does not offer other language bindings itself, but bindings for a
+number of languages exist in the form of third-party packages. If you know
+any interesting language binding in addition to the ones listed here, drop
+me a note.
+.IP "Perl" 4
+.IX Item "Perl"
+The \s-1EV\s0 module implements the full libev \s-1API\s0 and is actually used to test
+libev. \s-1EV\s0 is developed together with libev. Apart from the \s-1EV\s0 core module,
+there are additional modules that implement libev-compatible interfaces
+to \f(CW\*(C`libadns\*(C'\fR (\f(CW\*(C`EV::ADNS\*(C'\fR, but \f(CW\*(C`AnyEvent::DNS\*(C'\fR is preferred nowadays),
+\&\f(CW\*(C`Net::SNMP\*(C'\fR (\f(CW\*(C`Net::SNMP::EV\*(C'\fR) and the \f(CW\*(C`libglib\*(C'\fR event core (\f(CW\*(C`Glib::EV\*(C'\fR
+and \f(CW\*(C`EV::Glib\*(C'\fR).
+.Sp
+It can be found and installed via \s-1CPAN\s0, its homepage is at
+<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV>.
+.IP "Python" 4
+.IX Item "Python"
+Python bindings can be found at <http://code.google.com/p/pyev/>. It
+seems to be quite complete and well-documented.
+.IP "Ruby" 4
+.IX Item "Ruby"
+Tony Arcieri has written a ruby extension that offers access to a subset
+of the libev \s-1API\s0 and adds file handle abstractions, asynchronous \s-1DNS\s0 and
+more on top of it. It can be found via gem servers. Its homepage is at
+<http://rev.rubyforge.org/>.
+.Sp
+Roger Pack reports that using the link order \f(CW\*(C`\-lws2_32 \-lmsvcrt\-ruby\-190\*(C'\fR
+makes rev work even on mingw.
+.IP "Haskell" 4
+.IX Item "Haskell"
+A haskell binding to libev is available at
+<http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi\-bin/hackage\-scripts/package/hlibev>.
+.IP "D" 4
+.IX Item "D"
+Leandro Lucarella has written a D language binding (\fIev.d\fR) for libev, to
+be found at <http://proj.llucax.com.ar/wiki/evd>.
+.IP "Ocaml" 4
+.IX Item "Ocaml"
+Erkki Seppala has written Ocaml bindings for libev, to be found at
+<http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~flux/software/ocaml\-ev/>.
+.IP "Lua" 4
+.IX Item "Lua"
+Brian Maher has written a partial interface to libev for lua (at the
+time of this writing, only \f(CW\*(C`ev_io\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_timer\*(C'\fR), to be found at
+<http://github.com/brimworks/lua\-ev>.
+.SH "MACRO MAGIC"
+.IX Header "MACRO MAGIC"
+Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamental
+of which is \f(CW\*(C`EV_MULTIPLICITY\*(C'\fR. This option determines whether (most)
+functions and callbacks have an initial \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR argument.
+.PP
+To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
+following macros are defined:
+.ie n .IP """EV_A"", ""EV_A_""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_A\fR, \f(CWEV_A_\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_A, EV_A_"
+This provides the loop \fIargument\fR for functions, if one is required (\*(L"ev
+loop argument\*(R"). The \f(CW\*(C`EV_A\*(C'\fR form is used when this is the sole argument,
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_A_\*(C'\fR is used when other arguments are following. Example:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   ev_unref (EV_A);
+\&   ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
+\&   ev_run (EV_A_ 0);
+.Ve
+.Sp
+It assumes the variable \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR of type \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR is in scope,
+which is often provided by the following macro.
+.ie n .IP """EV_P"", ""EV_P_""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_P\fR, \f(CWEV_P_\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_P, EV_P_"
+This provides the loop \fIparameter\fR for functions, if one is required (\*(L"ev
+loop parameter\*(R"). The \f(CW\*(C`EV_P\*(C'\fR form is used when this is the sole parameter,
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_P_\*(C'\fR is used when other parameters are following. Example:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   // this is how ev_unref is being declared
+\&   static void ev_unref (EV_P);
+\&
+\&   // this is how you can declare your typical callback
+\&   static void cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+.Ve
+.Sp
+It declares a parameter \f(CW\*(C`loop\*(C'\fR of type \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR, quite
+suitable for use with \f(CW\*(C`EV_A\*(C'\fR.
+.ie n .IP """EV_DEFAULT"", ""EV_DEFAULT_""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_DEFAULT\fR, \f(CWEV_DEFAULT_\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_DEFAULT, EV_DEFAULT_"
+Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
+loop, if multiple loops are supported (\*(L"ev loop default\*(R").
+.ie n .IP """EV_DEFAULT_UC"", ""EV_DEFAULT_UC_""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_DEFAULT_UC\fR, \f(CWEV_DEFAULT_UC_\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_DEFAULT_UC, EV_DEFAULT_UC_"
+Usage identical to \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT_\*(C'\fR, but requires that the
+default loop has been initialised (\f(CW\*(C`UC\*(C'\fR == unchecked). Their behaviour
+is undefined when the default loop has not been initialised by a previous
+execution of \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT_\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_init (...)\*(C'\fR.
+.Sp
+It is often prudent to use \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT\*(C'\fR when initialising the first
+watcher in a function but use \f(CW\*(C`EV_DEFAULT_UC\*(C'\fR afterwards.
+.PP
+Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
+macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
+or not.
+.PP
+.Vb 5
+\&   static void
+\&   check_cb (EV_P_ ev_timer *w, int revents)
+\&   {
+\&     ev_check_stop (EV_A_ w);
+\&   }
+\&
+\&   ev_check check;
+\&   ev_check_init (&check, check_cb);
+\&   ev_check_start (EV_DEFAULT_ &check);
+\&   ev_run (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
+.Ve
+.SH "EMBEDDING"
+.IX Header "EMBEDDING"
+Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
+applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
+Game Server, the \s-1EV\s0 perl module, the \s-1GNU\s0 Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
+and rxvt-unicode.
+.PP
+The goal is to enable you to just copy the necessary files into your
+source directory without having to change even a single line in them, so
+you can easily upgrade by simply copying (or having a checked-out copy of
+libev somewhere in your source tree).
+.SS "\s-1FILESETS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "FILESETS"
+Depending on what features you need you need to include one or more sets of files
+in your application.
+.PP
+\fI\s-1CORE\s0 \s-1EVENT\s0 \s-1LOOP\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "CORE EVENT LOOP"
+.PP
+To include only the libev core (all the \f(CW\*(C`ev_*\*(C'\fR functions), with manual
+configuration (no autoconf):
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #define EV_STANDALONE 1
+\&   #include "ev.c"
+.Ve
+.PP
+This will automatically include \fIev.h\fR, too, and should be done in a
+single C source file only to provide the function implementations. To use
+it, do the same for \fIev.h\fR in all files wishing to use this \s-1API\s0 (best
+done by writing a wrapper around \fIev.h\fR that you can include instead and
+where you can put other configuration options):
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #define EV_STANDALONE 1
+\&   #include "ev.h"
+.Ve
+.PP
+Both header files and implementation files can be compiled with a \*(C+
+compiler (at least, that's a stated goal, and breakage will be treated
+as a bug).
+.PP
+You need the following files in your source tree, or in a directory
+in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using \-Ilibev):
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   ev.h
+\&   ev.c
+\&   ev_vars.h
+\&   ev_wrap.h
+\&
+\&   ev_win32.c      required on win32 platforms only
+\&
+\&   ev_select.c     only when select backend is enabled (which is enabled by default)
+\&   ev_poll.c       only when poll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
+\&   ev_epoll.c      only when the epoll backend is enabled (disabled by default)
+\&   ev_kqueue.c     only when the kqueue backend is enabled (disabled by default)
+\&   ev_port.c       only when the solaris port backend is enabled (disabled by default)
+.Ve
+.PP
+\&\fIev.c\fR includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
+to compile this single file.
+.PP
+\fI\s-1LIBEVENT\s0 \s-1COMPATIBILITY\s0 \s-1API\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API"
+.PP
+To include the libevent compatibility \s-1API\s0, also include:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include "event.c"
+.Ve
+.PP
+in the file including \fIev.c\fR, and:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   #include "event.h"
+.Ve
+.PP
+in the files that want to use the libevent \s-1API\s0. This also includes \fIev.h\fR.
+.PP
+You need the following additional files for this:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   event.h
+\&   event.c
+.Ve
+.PP
+\fI\s-1AUTOCONF\s0 \s-1SUPPORT\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "AUTOCONF SUPPORT"
+.PP
+Instead of using \f(CW\*(C`EV_STANDALONE=1\*(C'\fR and providing your configuration in
+whatever way you want, you can also \f(CW\*(C`m4_include([libev.m4])\*(C'\fR in your
+\&\fIconfigure.ac\fR and leave \f(CW\*(C`EV_STANDALONE\*(C'\fR undefined. \fIev.c\fR will then
+include \fIconfig.h\fR and configure itself accordingly.
+.PP
+For this of course you need the m4 file:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   libev.m4
+.Ve
+.SS "\s-1PREPROCESSOR\s0 \s-1SYMBOLS/MACROS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "PREPROCESSOR SYMBOLS/MACROS"
+Libev can be configured via a variety of preprocessor symbols you have to
+define before including (or compiling) any of its files. The default in
+the absence of autoconf is documented for every option.
+.PP
+Symbols marked with \*(L"(h)\*(R" do not change the \s-1ABI\s0, and can have different
+values when compiling libev vs. including \fIev.h\fR, so it is permissible
+to redefine them before including \fIev.h\fR without breaking compatibility
+to a compiled library. All other symbols change the \s-1ABI\s0, which means all
+users of libev and the libev code itself must be compiled with compatible
+settings.
+.IP "\s-1EV_COMPAT3\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_COMPAT3 (h)"
+Backwards compatibility is a major concern for libev. This is why this
+release of libev comes with wrappers for the functions and symbols that
+have been renamed between libev version 3 and 4.
+.Sp
+You can disable these wrappers (to test compatibility with future
+versions) by defining \f(CW\*(C`EV_COMPAT3\*(C'\fR to \f(CW0\fR when compiling your
+sources. This has the additional advantage that you can drop the \f(CW\*(C`struct\*(C'\fR
+from \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop\*(C'\fR declarations, as libev will provide an \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR
+typedef in that case.
+.Sp
+In some future version, the default for \f(CW\*(C`EV_COMPAT3\*(C'\fR will become \f(CW0\fR,
+and in some even more future version the compatibility code will be
+removed completely.
+.IP "\s-1EV_STANDALONE\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_STANDALONE (h)"
+Must always be \f(CW1\fR if you do not use autoconf configuration, which
+keeps libev from including \fIconfig.h\fR, and it also defines dummy
+implementations for some libevent functions (such as logging, which is not
+supported). It will also not define any of the structs usually found in
+\&\fIevent.h\fR that are not directly supported by the libev core alone.
+.Sp
+In standalone mode, libev will still try to automatically deduce the
+configuration, but has to be more conservative.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_MONOTONIC\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_MONOTONIC"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will try to detect the availability of the
+monotonic clock option at both compile time and runtime. Otherwise no
+use of the monotonic clock option will be attempted. If you enable this,
+you usually have to link against librt or something similar. Enabling it
+when the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
+to make sure you link against any libraries where the \f(CW\*(C`clock_gettime\*(C'\fR
+function is hiding in (often \fI\-lrt\fR). See also \f(CW\*(C`EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_REALTIME\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_REALTIME"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will try to detect the availability of the
+real-time clock option at compile time (and assume its availability
+at runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the real-time clock
+option will be attempted. This effectively replaces \f(CW\*(C`gettimeofday\*(C'\fR
+by \f(CW\*(C`clock_get (CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)\*(C'\fR and will not normally affect
+correctness. See the note about libraries in the description of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_USE_MONOTONIC\*(C'\fR, though. Defaults to the opposite value of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_CLOCK_SYSCALL"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will try to use a direct syscall instead
+of calling the system-provided \f(CW\*(C`clock_gettime\*(C'\fR function. This option
+exists because on GNU/Linux, \f(CW\*(C`clock_gettime\*(C'\fR is in \f(CW\*(C`librt\*(C'\fR, but \f(CW\*(C`librt\*(C'\fR
+unconditionally pulls in \f(CW\*(C`libpthread\*(C'\fR, slowing down single-threaded
+programs needlessly. Using a direct syscall is slightly slower (in
+theory), because no optimised vdso implementation can be used, but avoids
+the pthread dependency. Defaults to \f(CW1\fR on GNU/Linux with glibc 2.x or
+higher, as it simplifies linking (no need for \f(CW\*(C`\-lrt\*(C'\fR).
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_NANOSLEEP\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_NANOSLEEP"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will assume that \f(CW\*(C`nanosleep ()\*(C'\fR is available
+and will use it for delays. Otherwise it will use \f(CW\*(C`select ()\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_EVENTFD\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_EVENTFD"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, then libev will assume that \f(CW\*(C`eventfd ()\*(C'\fR is
+available and will probe for kernel support at runtime. This will improve
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_signal\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR performance and reduce resource consumption.
+If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc
+2.7 or newer, otherwise disabled.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_SELECT\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_SELECT"
+If undefined or defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the
+\&\f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR(2) backend. No attempt at auto-detection will be done: if no
+other method takes over, select will be it. Otherwise the select backend
+will not be compiled in.
+.IP "\s-1EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET"
+If defined to \f(CW1\fR, then the select backend will use the system \f(CW\*(C`fd_set\*(C'\fR
+structure. This is useful if libev doesn't compile due to a missing
+\&\f(CW\*(C`NFDBITS\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`fd_mask\*(C'\fR definition or it mis-guesses the bitset layout
+on exotic systems. This usually limits the range of file descriptors to
+some low limit such as 1024 or might have other limitations (winsocket
+only allows 64 sockets). The \f(CW\*(C`FD_SETSIZE\*(C'\fR macro, set before compilation,
+configures the maximum size of the \f(CW\*(C`fd_set\*(C'\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET"
+When defined to \f(CW1\fR, the select backend will assume that
+select/socket/connect etc. don't understand file descriptors but
+wants osf handles on win32 (this is the case when the select to
+be used is the winsock select). This means that it will call
+\&\f(CW\*(C`_get_osfhandle\*(C'\fR on the fd to convert it to an \s-1OS\s0 handle. Otherwise,
+it is assumed that all these functions actually work on fds, even
+on win32. Should not be defined on non\-win32 platforms.
+.IP "\s-1EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE\s0(fd)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE(fd)"
+If \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\*(C'\fR is enabled, then libev needs a way to map
+file descriptors to socket handles. When not defining this symbol (the
+default), then libev will call \f(CW\*(C`_get_osfhandle\*(C'\fR, which is usually
+correct. In some cases, programs use their own file descriptor management,
+in which case they can provide this function to map fds to socket handles.
+.IP "\s-1EV_WIN32_HANDLE_TO_FD\s0(handle)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_WIN32_HANDLE_TO_FD(handle)"
+If \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\*(C'\fR then libev maps handles to file descriptors
+using the standard \f(CW\*(C`_open_osfhandle\*(C'\fR function. For programs implementing
+their own fd to handle mapping, overwriting this function makes it easier
+to do so. This can be done by defining this macro to an appropriate value.
+.IP "\s-1EV_WIN32_CLOSE_FD\s0(fd)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_WIN32_CLOSE_FD(fd)"
+If programs implement their own fd to handle mapping on win32, then this
+macro can be used to override the \f(CW\*(C`close\*(C'\fR function, useful to unregister
+file descriptors again. Note that the replacement function has to close
+the underlying \s-1OS\s0 handle.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_POLL\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_POLL"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR(2)
+backend. Otherwise it will be enabled on non\-win32 platforms. It
+takes precedence over select.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_EPOLL\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_EPOLL"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the Linux
+\&\f(CW\*(C`epoll\*(C'\fR(7) backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
+otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
+backend for GNU/Linux systems. If undefined, it will be enabled if the
+headers indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_KQUEUE\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_KQUEUE"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the \s-1BSD\s0 style
+\&\f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR(2) backend. Its actual availability will be detected at runtime,
+otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
+backend for \s-1BSD\s0 and BSD-like systems, although on most BSDs kqueue only
+supports some types of fds correctly (the only platform we found that
+supports ptys for example was NetBSD), so kqueue might be compiled in, but
+not be used unless explicitly requested. The best way to use it is to find
+out whether kqueue supports your type of fd properly and use an embedded
+kqueue loop.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_PORT\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_PORT"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the Solaris
+10 port style backend. Its availability will be detected at runtime,
+otherwise another method will be used as fallback. This is the preferred
+backend for Solaris 10 systems.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_DEVPOLL\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_DEVPOLL"
+Reserved for future expansion, works like the \s-1USE\s0 symbols above.
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_INOTIFY\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_INOTIFY"
+If defined to be \f(CW1\fR, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
+interface to speed up \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers. Its actual availability will
+be detected at runtime. If undefined, it will be enabled if the headers
+indicate GNU/Linux + Glibc 2.4 or newer, otherwise disabled.
+.IP "\s-1EV_ATOMIC_T\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_ATOMIC_T"
+Libev requires an integer type (suitable for storing \f(CW0\fR or \f(CW1\fR) whose
+access is atomic with respect to other threads or signal contexts. No such
+type is easily found in the C language, so you can provide your own type
+that you know is safe for your purposes. It is used both for signal handler \*(L"locking\*(R"
+as well as for signal and thread safety in \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watchers.
+.Sp
+In the absence of this define, libev will use \f(CW\*(C`sig_atomic_t volatile\*(C'\fR
+(from \fIsignal.h\fR), which is usually good enough on most platforms.
+.IP "\s-1EV_H\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_H (h)"
+The name of the \fIev.h\fR header file used to include it. The default if
+undefined is \f(CW"ev.h"\fR in \fIevent.h\fR, \fIev.c\fR and \fIev++.h\fR. This can be
+used to virtually rename the \fIev.h\fR header file in case of conflicts.
+.IP "\s-1EV_CONFIG_H\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CONFIG_H (h)"
+If \f(CW\*(C`EV_STANDALONE\*(C'\fR isn't \f(CW1\fR, this variable can be used to override
+\&\fIev.c\fR's idea of where to find the \fIconfig.h\fR file, similarly to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_H\*(C'\fR, above.
+.IP "\s-1EV_EVENT_H\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_EVENT_H (h)"
+Similarly to \f(CW\*(C`EV_H\*(C'\fR, this macro can be used to override \fIevent.c\fR's idea
+of how the \fIevent.h\fR header can be found, the default is \f(CW"event.h"\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_PROTOTYPES\s0 (h)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_PROTOTYPES (h)"
+If defined to be \f(CW0\fR, then \fIev.h\fR will not define any function
+prototypes, but still define all the structs and other symbols. This is
+occasionally useful if you want to provide your own wrapper functions
+around libev functions.
+.IP "\s-1EV_MULTIPLICITY\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_MULTIPLICITY"
+If undefined or defined to \f(CW1\fR, then all event-loop-specific functions
+will have the \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR as first argument, and you can create
+additional independent event loops. Otherwise there will be no support
+for multiple event loops and there is no first event loop pointer
+argument. Instead, all functions act on the single default loop.
+.IP "\s-1EV_MINPRI\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_MINPRI"
+.PD 0
+.IP "\s-1EV_MAXPRI\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_MAXPRI"
+.PD
+The range of allowed priorities. \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINPRI\*(C'\fR must be smaller or equal to
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
+provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
+to be \f(CW\*(C`\-2\*(C'\fR and \f(CW2\fR, respectively).
+.Sp
+When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to linearly search
+all the priorities, so having many of them (hundreds) uses a lot of space
+and time, so using the defaults of five priorities (\-2 .. +2) is usually
+fine.
+.Sp
+If your embedding application does not need any priorities, defining these
+both to \f(CW0\fR will save some memory and \s-1CPU\s0.
+.IP "\s-1EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_IDLE_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_EMBED_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_STAT_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_PREPARE_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_CHECK_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_FORK_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_SIGNAL_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_ASYNC_ENABLE\s0, \s-1EV_CHILD_ENABLE\s0." 4
+.IX Item "EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE, EV_IDLE_ENABLE, EV_EMBED_ENABLE, EV_STAT_ENABLE, EV_PREPARE_ENABLE, EV_CHECK_ENABLE, EV_FORK_ENABLE, EV_SIGNAL_ENABLE, EV_ASYNC_ENABLE, EV_CHILD_ENABLE."
+If undefined or defined to be \f(CW1\fR (and the platform supports it), then
+the respective watcher type is supported. If defined to be \f(CW0\fR, then it
+is not. Disabling watcher types mainly saves code size.
+.IP "\s-1EV_FEATURES\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_FEATURES"
+If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
+speed (but with the full \s-1API\s0), you can define this symbol to request
+certain subsets of functionality. The default is to enable all features
+that can be enabled on the platform.
+.Sp
+A typical way to use this symbol is to define it to \f(CW0\fR (or to a bitset
+with some broad features you want) and then selectively re-enable
+additional parts you want, for example if you want everything minimal,
+but multiple event loop support, async and child watchers and the poll
+backend, use this:
+.Sp
+.Vb 5
+\&   #define EV_FEATURES 0
+\&   #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 1
+\&   #define EV_USE_POLL 1
+\&   #define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1
+\&   #define EV_ASYNC_ENABLE 1
+.Ve
+.Sp
+The actual value is a bitset, it can be a combination of the following
+values:
+.RS 4
+.ie n .IP "1 \- faster/larger code" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW1\fR \- faster/larger code" 4
+.IX Item "1 - faster/larger code"
+Use larger code to speed up some operations.
+.Sp
+Currently this is used to override some inlining decisions (enlarging the
+code size by roughly 30% on amd64).
+.Sp
+When optimising for size, use of compiler flags such as \f(CW\*(C`\-Os\*(C'\fR with
+gcc is recommended, as well as \f(CW\*(C`\-DNDEBUG\*(C'\fR, as libev contains a number of
+assertions.
+.ie n .IP "2 \- faster/larger data structures" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW2\fR \- faster/larger data structures" 4
+.IX Item "2 - faster/larger data structures"
+Replaces the small 2\-heap for timer management by a faster 4\-heap, larger
+hash table sizes and so on. This will usually further increase code size
+and can additionally have an effect on the size of data structures at
+runtime.
+.ie n .IP "4 \- full \s-1API\s0 configuration" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW4\fR \- full \s-1API\s0 configuration" 4
+.IX Item "4 - full API configuration"
+This enables priorities (sets \f(CW\*(C`EV_MAXPRI\*(C'\fR=2 and \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINPRI\*(C'\fR=\-2), and
+enables multiplicity (\f(CW\*(C`EV_MULTIPLICITY\*(C'\fR=1).
+.ie n .IP "8 \- full \s-1API\s0" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW8\fR \- full \s-1API\s0" 4
+.IX Item "8 - full API"
+This enables a lot of the \*(L"lesser used\*(R" \s-1API\s0 functions. See \f(CW\*(C`ev.h\*(C'\fR for
+details on which parts of the \s-1API\s0 are still available without this
+feature, and do not complain if this subset changes over time.
+.ie n .IP "16 \- enable all optional watcher types" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW16\fR \- enable all optional watcher types" 4
+.IX Item "16 - enable all optional watcher types"
+Enables all optional watcher types.  If you want to selectively enable
+only some watcher types other than I/O and timers (e.g. prepare,
+embed, async, child...) you can enable them manually by defining
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_watchertype_ENABLE\*(C'\fR to \f(CW1\fR instead.
+.ie n .IP "32 \- enable all backends" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW32\fR \- enable all backends" 4
+.IX Item "32 - enable all backends"
+This enables all backends \- without this feature, you need to enable at
+least one backend manually (\f(CW\*(C`EV_USE_SELECT\*(C'\fR is a good choice).
+.ie n .IP "64 \- enable OS-specific ""helper"" APIs" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CW64\fR \- enable OS-specific ``helper'' APIs" 4
+.IX Item "64 - enable OS-specific helper APIs"
+Enable inotify, eventfd, signalfd and similar OS-specific helper APIs by
+default.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.Sp
+Compiling with \f(CW\*(C`gcc \-Os \-DEV_STANDALONE \-DEV_USE_EPOLL=1 \-DEV_FEATURES=0\*(C'\fR
+reduces the compiled size of libev from 24.7Kb code/2.8Kb data to 6.5Kb
+code/0.3Kb data on my GNU/Linux amd64 system, while still giving you I/O
+watchers, timers and monotonic clock support.
+.Sp
+With an intelligent-enough linker (gcc+binutils are intelligent enough
+when you use \f(CW\*(C`\-Wl,\-\-gc\-sections \-ffunction\-sections\*(C'\fR) functions unused by
+your program might be left out as well \- a binary starting a timer and an
+I/O watcher then might come out at only 5Kb.
+.RE
+.IP "\s-1EV_AVOID_STDIO\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_AVOID_STDIO"
+If this is set to \f(CW1\fR at compiletime, then libev will avoid using stdio
+functions (printf, scanf, perror etc.). This will increase the code size
+somewhat, but if your program doesn't otherwise depend on stdio and your
+libc allows it, this avoids linking in the stdio library which is quite
+big.
+.Sp
+Note that error messages might become less precise when this option is
+enabled.
+.IP "\s-1EV_NSIG\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_NSIG"
+The highest supported signal number, +1 (or, the number of
+signals): Normally, libev tries to deduce the maximum number of signals
+automatically, but sometimes this fails, in which case it can be
+specified. Also, using a lower number than detected (\f(CW32\fR should be
+good for about any system in existence) can save some memory, as libev
+statically allocates some 12\-24 bytes per signal number.
+.IP "\s-1EV_PID_HASHSIZE\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_PID_HASHSIZE"
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_child\*(C'\fR watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
+pid. The default size is \f(CW16\fR (or \f(CW1\fR with \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR disabled),
+usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you
+might want to increase this value (\fImust\fR be a power of two).
+.IP "\s-1EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE"
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
+inotify watch id. The default size is \f(CW16\fR (or \f(CW1\fR with \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR
+disabled), usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers you might want to increase this value (\fImust\fR be a
+power of two).
+.IP "\s-1EV_USE_4HEAP\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_USE_4HEAP"
+Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
+timer and periodics heaps, libev uses a 4\-heap when this symbol is defined
+to \f(CW1\fR. The 4\-heap uses more complicated (longer) code but has noticeably
+faster performance with many (thousands) of watchers.
+.Sp
+The default is \f(CW1\fR, unless \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR overrides it, in which case it
+will be \f(CW0\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT"
+Heaps are not very cache-efficient. To improve the cache-efficiency of the
+timer and periodics heaps, libev can cache the timestamp (\fIat\fR) within
+the heap structure (selected by defining \f(CW\*(C`EV_HEAP_CACHE_AT\*(C'\fR to \f(CW1\fR),
+which uses 8\-12 bytes more per watcher and a few hundred bytes more code,
+but avoids random read accesses on heap changes. This improves performance
+noticeably with many (hundreds) of watchers.
+.Sp
+The default is \f(CW1\fR, unless \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR overrides it, in which case it
+will be \f(CW0\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_VERIFY\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_VERIFY"
+Controls how much internal verification (see \f(CW\*(C`ev_verify ()\*(C'\fR) will
+be done: If set to \f(CW0\fR, no internal verification code will be compiled
+in. If set to \f(CW1\fR, then verification code will be compiled in, but not
+called. If set to \f(CW2\fR, then the internal verification code will be
+called once per loop, which can slow down libev. If set to \f(CW3\fR, then the
+verification code will be called very frequently, which will slow down
+libev considerably.
+.Sp
+The default is \f(CW1\fR, unless \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR overrides it, in which case it
+will be \f(CW0\fR.
+.IP "\s-1EV_COMMON\s0" 4
+.IX Item "EV_COMMON"
+By default, all watchers have a \f(CW\*(C`void *data\*(C'\fR member. By redefining
+this macro to something else you can include more and other types of
+members. You have to define it each time you include one of the files,
+though, and it must be identical each time.
+.Sp
+For example, the perl \s-1EV\s0 module uses something like this:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&   #define EV_COMMON                       \e
+\&     SV *self; /* contains this struct */  \e
+\&     SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
+.Ve
+.IP "\s-1EV_CB_DECLARE\s0 (type)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CB_DECLARE (type)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "\s-1EV_CB_INVOKE\s0 (watcher, revents)" 4
+.IX Item "EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)"
+.IP "ev_set_cb (ev, cb)" 4
+.IX Item "ev_set_cb (ev, cb)"
+.PD
+Can be used to change the callback member declaration in each watcher,
+and the way callbacks are invoked and set. Must expand to a struct member
+definition and a statement, respectively. See the \fIev.h\fR header file for
+their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
+avoid the \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop *\*(C'\fR as first argument in all cases, or to use
+method calls instead of plain function calls in \*(C+.
+.SS "\s-1EXPORTED\s0 \s-1API\s0 \s-1SYMBOLS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "EXPORTED API SYMBOLS"
+If you need to re-export the \s-1API\s0 (e.g. via a \s-1DLL\s0) and you need a list of
+exported symbols, you can use the provided \fISymbol.*\fR files which list
+all public symbols, one per line:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   Symbols.ev      for libev proper
+\&   Symbols.event   for the libevent emulation
+.Ve
+.PP
+This can also be used to rename all public symbols to avoid clashes with
+multiple versions of libev linked together (which is obviously bad in
+itself, but sometimes it is inconvenient to avoid this).
+.PP
+A sed command like this will create wrapper \f(CW\*(C`#define\*(C'\fR's that you need to
+include before including \fIev.h\fR:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&   <Symbols.ev sed \-e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
+.Ve
+.PP
+This would create a file \fIwrap.h\fR which essentially looks like this:
+.PP
+.Vb 4
+\&   #define ev_backend     myprefix_ev_backend
+\&   #define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
+\&   #define ev_check_stop  myprefix_ev_check_stop
+\&   ...
+.Ve
+.SS "\s-1EXAMPLES\s0"
+.IX Subsection "EXAMPLES"
+For a real-world example of a program the includes libev
+verbatim, you can have a look at the \s-1EV\s0 perl module
+(<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/EV.html>). It has the libev files in
+the \fIlibev/\fR subdirectory and includes them in the \fI\s-1EV/EVAPI\s0.h\fR (public
+interface) and \fI\s-1EV\s0.xs\fR (implementation) files. Only the \fI\s-1EV\s0.xs\fR file
+will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
+file.
+.PP
+The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a \fIev_cpp.h\fR header file
+that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
+.PP
+.Vb 8
+\&   #define EV_FEATURES 8
+\&   #define EV_USE_SELECT 1
+\&   #define EV_PREPARE_ENABLE 1
+\&   #define EV_IDLE_ENABLE 1
+\&   #define EV_SIGNAL_ENABLE 1
+\&   #define EV_CHILD_ENABLE 1
+\&   #define EV_USE_STDEXCEPT 0
+\&   #define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
+\&
+\&   #include "ev++.h"
+.Ve
+.PP
+And a \fIev_cpp.C\fR implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #include "ev_cpp.h"
+\&   #include "ev.c"
+.Ve
+.SH "INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS, LIBRARIES OR THE ENVIRONMENT"
+.IX Header "INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS, LIBRARIES OR THE ENVIRONMENT"
+.SS "\s-1THREADS\s0 \s-1AND\s0 \s-1COROUTINES\s0"
+.IX Subsection "THREADS AND COROUTINES"
+\fI\s-1THREADS\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "THREADS"
+.PP
+All libev functions are reentrant and thread-safe unless explicitly
+documented otherwise, but libev implements no locking itself. This means
+that you can use as many loops as you want in parallel, as long as there
+are no concurrent calls into any libev function with the same loop
+parameter (\f(CW\*(C`ev_default_*\*(C'\fR calls have an implicit default loop parameter,
+of course): libev guarantees that different event loops share no data
+structures that need any locking.
+.PP
+Or to put it differently: calls with different loop parameters can be done
+concurrently from multiple threads, calls with the same loop parameter
+must be done serially (but can be done from different threads, as long as
+only one thread ever is inside a call at any point in time, e.g. by using
+a mutex per loop).
+.PP
+Specifically to support threads (and signal handlers), libev implements
+so-called \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watchers, which allow some limited form of
+concurrency on the same event loop, namely waking it up \*(L"from the
+outside\*(R".
+.PP
+If you want to know which design (one loop, locking, or multiple loops
+without or something else still) is best for your problem, then I cannot
+help you, but here is some generic advice:
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+most applications have a main thread: use the default libev loop
+in that thread, or create a separate thread running only the default loop.
+.Sp
+This helps integrating other libraries or software modules that use libev
+themselves and don't care/know about threading.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+one loop per thread is usually a good model.
+.Sp
+Doing this is almost never wrong, sometimes a better-performance model
+exists, but it is always a good start.
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+other models exist, such as the leader/follower pattern, where one
+loop is handed through multiple threads in a kind of round-robin fashion.
+.Sp
+Choosing a model is hard \- look around, learn, know that usually you can do
+better than you currently do :\-)
+.IP "\(bu" 4
+often you need to talk to some other thread which blocks in the
+event loop.
+.Sp
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watchers can be used to wake them up from other threads safely
+(or from signal contexts...).
+.Sp
+An example use would be to communicate signals or other events that only
+work in the default loop by registering the signal watcher with the
+default loop and triggering an \f(CW\*(C`ev_async\*(C'\fR watcher from the default loop
+watcher callback into the event loop interested in the signal.
+.PP
+See also \*(L"\s-1THREAD\s0 \s-1LOCKING\s0 \s-1EXAMPLE\s0\*(R".
+.PP
+\fI\s-1COROUTINES\s0\fR
+.IX Subsection "COROUTINES"
+.PP
+Libev is very accommodating to coroutines (\*(L"cooperative threads\*(R"):
+libev fully supports nesting calls to its functions from different
+coroutines (e.g. you can call \f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR on the same loop from two
+different coroutines, and switch freely between both coroutines running
+the loop, as long as you don't confuse yourself). The only exception is
+that you must not do this from \f(CW\*(C`ev_periodic\*(C'\fR reschedule callbacks.
+.PP
+Care has been taken to ensure that libev does not keep local state inside
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_run\*(C'\fR, and other calls do not usually allow for coroutine switches as
+they do not call any callbacks.
+.SS "\s-1COMPILER\s0 \s-1WARNINGS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "COMPILER WARNINGS"
+Depending on your compiler and compiler settings, you might get no or a
+lot of warnings when compiling libev code. Some people are apparently
+scared by this.
+.PP
+However, these are unavoidable for many reasons. For one, each compiler
+has different warnings, and each user has different tastes regarding
+warning options. \*(L"Warn-free\*(R" code therefore cannot be a goal except when
+targeting a specific compiler and compiler-version.
+.PP
+Another reason is that some compiler warnings require elaborate
+workarounds, or other changes to the code that make it less clear and less
+maintainable.
+.PP
+And of course, some compiler warnings are just plain stupid, or simply
+wrong (because they don't actually warn about the condition their message
+seems to warn about). For example, certain older gcc versions had some
+warnings that resulted in an extreme number of false positives. These have
+been fixed, but some people still insist on making code warn-free with
+such buggy versions.
+.PP
+While libev is written to generate as few warnings as possible,
+\&\*(L"warn-free\*(R" code is not a goal, and it is recommended not to build libev
+with any compiler warnings enabled unless you are prepared to cope with
+them (e.g. by ignoring them). Remember that warnings are just that:
+warnings, not errors, or proof of bugs.
+.SS "\s-1VALGRIND\s0"
+.IX Subsection "VALGRIND"
+Valgrind has a special section here because it is a popular tool that is
+highly useful. Unfortunately, valgrind reports are very hard to interpret.
+.PP
+If you think you found a bug (memory leak, uninitialised data access etc.)
+in libev, then check twice: If valgrind reports something like:
+.PP
+.Vb 3
+\&   ==2274==    definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
+\&   ==2274==      possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks.
+\&   ==2274==    still reachable: 256 bytes in 1 blocks.
+.Ve
+.PP
+Then there is no memory leak, just as memory accounted to global variables
+is not a memleak \- the memory is still being referenced, and didn't leak.
+.PP
+Similarly, under some circumstances, valgrind might report kernel bugs
+as if it were a bug in libev (e.g. in realloc or in the poll backend,
+although an acceptable workaround has been found here), or it might be
+confused.
+.PP
+Keep in mind that valgrind is a very good tool, but only a tool. Don't
+make it into some kind of religion.
+.PP
+If you are unsure about something, feel free to contact the mailing list
+with the full valgrind report and an explanation on why you think this
+is a bug in libev (best check the archives, too :). However, don't be
+annoyed when you get a brisk \*(L"this is no bug\*(R" answer and take the chance
+of learning how to interpret valgrind properly.
+.PP
+If you need, for some reason, empty reports from valgrind for your project
+I suggest using suppression lists.
+.SH "PORTABILITY NOTES"
+.IX Header "PORTABILITY NOTES"
+.SS "\s-1GNU/LINUX\s0 32 \s-1BIT\s0 \s-1LIMITATIONS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "GNU/LINUX 32 BIT LIMITATIONS"
+GNU/Linux is the only common platform that supports 64 bit file/large file
+interfaces but \fIdisables\fR them by default.
+.PP
+That means that libev compiled in the default environment doesn't support
+files larger than 2GiB or so, which mainly affects \f(CW\*(C`ev_stat\*(C'\fR watchers.
+.PP
+Unfortunately, many programs try to work around this GNU/Linux issue
+by enabling the large file \s-1API\s0, which makes them incompatible with the
+standard libev compiled for their system.
+.PP
+Likewise, libev cannot enable the large file \s-1API\s0 itself as this would
+suddenly make it incompatible to the default compile time environment,
+i.e. all programs not using special compile switches.
+.SS "\s-1OS/X\s0 \s-1AND\s0 \s-1DARWIN\s0 \s-1BUGS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "OS/X AND DARWIN BUGS"
+The whole thing is a bug if you ask me \- basically any system interface
+you touch is broken, whether it is locales, poll, kqueue or even the
+OpenGL drivers.
+.PP
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fI is buggy\fR
+.IX Subsection "kqueue is buggy"
+.PP
+The kqueue syscall is broken in all known versions \- most versions support
+only sockets, many support pipes.
+.PP
+Libev tries to work around this by not using \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR by default on this
+rotten platform, but of course you can still ask for it when creating a
+loop \- embedding a socket-only kqueue loop into a select-based one is
+probably going to work well.
+.PP
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`poll\*(C'\fI is buggy\fR
+.IX Subsection "poll is buggy"
+.PP
+Instead of fixing \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR, Apple replaced their (working) \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR
+implementation by something calling \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR internally around the 10.5.6
+release, so now \f(CW\*(C`kqueue\*(C'\fR \fIand\fR \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR are broken.
+.PP
+Libev tries to work around this by not using \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR by default on
+this rotten platform, but of course you can still ask for it when creating
+a loop.
+.PP
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`select\*(C'\fI is buggy\fR
+.IX Subsection "select is buggy"
+.PP
+All that's left is \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR, and of course Apple found a way to fuck this
+one up as well: On \s-1OS/X\s0, \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR actively limits the number of file
+descriptors you can pass in to 1024 \- your program suddenly crashes when
+you use more.
+.PP
+There is an undocumented \*(L"workaround\*(R" for this \- defining
+\&\f(CW\*(C`_DARWIN_UNLIMITED_SELECT\*(C'\fR, which libev tries to use, so select \fIshould\fR
+work on \s-1OS/X\s0.
+.SS "\s-1SOLARIS\s0 \s-1PROBLEMS\s0 \s-1AND\s0 \s-1WORKAROUNDS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "SOLARIS PROBLEMS AND WORKAROUNDS"
+\fI\f(CI\*(C`errno\*(C'\fI reentrancy\fR
+.IX Subsection "errno reentrancy"
+.PP
+The default compile environment on Solaris is unfortunately so
+thread-unsafe that you can't even use components/libraries compiled
+without \f(CW\*(C`\-D_REENTRANT\*(C'\fR in a threaded program, which, of course, isn't
+defined by default. A valid, if stupid, implementation choice.
+.PP
+If you want to use libev in threaded environments you have to make sure
+it's compiled with \f(CW\*(C`_REENTRANT\*(C'\fR defined.
+.PP
+\fIEvent port backend\fR
+.IX Subsection "Event port backend"
+.PP
+The scalable event interface for Solaris is called \*(L"event
+ports\*(R". Unfortunately, this mechanism is very buggy in all major
+releases. If you run into high \s-1CPU\s0 usage, your program freezes or you get
+a large number of spurious wakeups, make sure you have all the relevant
+and latest kernel patches applied. No, I don't know which ones, but there
+are multiple ones to apply, and afterwards, event ports actually work
+great.
+.PP
+If you can't get it to work, you can try running the program by setting
+the environment variable \f(CW\*(C`LIBEV_FLAGS=3\*(C'\fR to only allow \f(CW\*(C`poll\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR backends.
+.SS "\s-1AIX\s0 \s-1POLL\s0 \s-1BUG\s0"
+.IX Subsection "AIX POLL BUG"
+\&\s-1AIX\s0 unfortunately has a broken \f(CW\*(C`poll.h\*(C'\fR header. Libev works around
+this by trying to avoid the poll backend altogether (i.e. it's not even
+compiled in), which normally isn't a big problem as \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR works fine
+with large bitsets on \s-1AIX\s0, and \s-1AIX\s0 is dead anyway.
+.SS "\s-1WIN32\s0 \s-1PLATFORM\s0 \s-1LIMITATIONS\s0 \s-1AND\s0 \s-1WORKAROUNDS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "WIN32 PLATFORM LIMITATIONS AND WORKAROUNDS"
+\fIGeneral issues\fR
+.IX Subsection "General issues"
+.PP
+Win32 doesn't support any of the standards (e.g. \s-1POSIX\s0) that libev
+requires, and its I/O model is fundamentally incompatible with the \s-1POSIX\s0
+model. Libev still offers limited functionality on this platform in
+the form of the \f(CW\*(C`EVBACKEND_SELECT\*(C'\fR backend, and only supports socket
+descriptors. This only applies when using Win32 natively, not when using
+e.g. cygwin. Actually, it only applies to the microsofts own compilers,
+as every compielr comes with a slightly differently broken/incompatible
+environment.
+.PP
+Lifting these limitations would basically require the full
+re-implementation of the I/O system. If you are into this kind of thing,
+then note that glib does exactly that for you in a very portable way (note
+also that glib is the slowest event library known to man).
+.PP
+There is no supported compilation method available on windows except
+embedding it into other applications.
+.PP
+Sensible signal handling is officially unsupported by Microsoft \- libev
+tries its best, but under most conditions, signals will simply not work.
+.PP
+Not a libev limitation but worth mentioning: windows apparently doesn't
+accept large writes: instead of resulting in a partial write, windows will
+either accept everything or return \f(CW\*(C`ENOBUFS\*(C'\fR if the buffer is too large,
+so make sure you only write small amounts into your sockets (less than a
+megabyte seems safe, but this apparently depends on the amount of memory
+available).
+.PP
+Due to the many, low, and arbitrary limits on the win32 platform and
+the abysmal performance of winsockets, using a large number of sockets
+is not recommended (and not reasonable). If your program needs to use
+more than a hundred or so sockets, then likely it needs to use a totally
+different implementation for windows, as libev offers the \s-1POSIX\s0 readiness
+notification model, which cannot be implemented efficiently on windows
+(due to Microsoft monopoly games).
+.PP
+A typical way to use libev under windows is to embed it (see the embedding
+section for details) and use the following \fIevwrap.h\fR header file instead
+of \fIev.h\fR:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #define EV_STANDALONE              /* keeps ev from requiring config.h */
+\&   #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1   /* configure libev for windows select */
+\&
+\&   #include "ev.h"
+.Ve
+.PP
+And compile the following \fIevwrap.c\fR file into your project (make sure
+you do \fInot\fR compile the \fIev.c\fR or any other embedded source files!):
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #include "evwrap.h"
+\&   #include "ev.c"
+.Ve
+.PP
+\fIThe winsocket \f(CI\*(C`select\*(C'\fI function\fR
+.IX Subsection "The winsocket select function"
+.PP
+The winsocket \f(CW\*(C`select\*(C'\fR function doesn't follow \s-1POSIX\s0 in that it
+requires socket \fIhandles\fR and not socket \fIfile descriptors\fR (it is
+also extremely buggy). This makes select very inefficient, and also
+requires a mapping from file descriptors to socket handles (the Microsoft
+C runtime provides the function \f(CW\*(C`_open_osfhandle\*(C'\fR for this). See the
+discussion of the \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_FD_TO_WIN32_HANDLE\*(C'\fR preprocessor symbols for more info.
+.PP
+The configuration for a \*(L"naked\*(R" win32 using the Microsoft runtime
+libraries and raw winsocket select is:
+.PP
+.Vb 2
+\&   #define EV_USE_SELECT 1
+\&   #define EV_SELECT_IS_WINSOCKET 1   /* forces EV_SELECT_USE_FD_SET, too */
+.Ve
+.PP
+Note that winsockets handling of fd sets is O(n), so you can easily get a
+complexity in the O(nA\*^X) range when using win32.
+.PP
+\fILimited number of file descriptors\fR
+.IX Subsection "Limited number of file descriptors"
+.PP
+Windows has numerous arbitrary (and low) limits on things.
+.PP
+Early versions of winsocket's select only supported waiting for a maximum
+of \f(CW64\fR handles (probably owning to the fact that all windows kernels
+can only wait for \f(CW64\fR things at the same time internally; Microsoft
+recommends spawning a chain of threads and wait for 63 handles and the
+previous thread in each. Sounds great!).
+.PP
+Newer versions support more handles, but you need to define \f(CW\*(C`FD_SETSIZE\*(C'\fR
+to some high number (e.g. \f(CW2048\fR) before compiling the winsocket select
+call (which might be in libev or elsewhere, for example, perl and many
+other interpreters do their own select emulation on windows).
+.PP
+Another limit is the number of file descriptors in the Microsoft runtime
+libraries, which by default is \f(CW64\fR (there must be a hidden \fI64\fR
+fetish or something like this inside Microsoft). You can increase this
+by calling \f(CW\*(C`_setmaxstdio\*(C'\fR, which can increase this limit to \f(CW2048\fR
+(another arbitrary limit), but is broken in many versions of the Microsoft
+runtime libraries. This might get you to about \f(CW512\fR or \f(CW2048\fR sockets
+(depending on windows version and/or the phase of the moon). To get more,
+you need to wrap all I/O functions and provide your own fd management, but
+the cost of calling select (O(nA\*^X)) will likely make this unworkable.
+.SS "\s-1PORTABILITY\s0 \s-1REQUIREMENTS\s0"
+.IX Subsection "PORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS"
+In addition to a working ISO-C implementation and of course the
+backend-specific APIs, libev relies on a few additional extensions:
+.ie n .IP """void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)"" must have compatible calling conventions regardless of ""ev_watcher_type *""." 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWvoid (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents)\fR must have compatible calling conventions regardless of \f(CWev_watcher_type *\fR." 4
+.IX Item "void (*)(ev_watcher_type *, int revents) must have compatible calling conventions regardless of ev_watcher_type *."
+Libev assumes not only that all watcher pointers have the same internal
+structure (guaranteed by \s-1POSIX\s0 but not by \s-1ISO\s0 C for example), but it also
+assumes that the same (machine) code can be used to call any watcher
+callback: The watcher callbacks have different type signatures, but libev
+calls them using an \f(CW\*(C`ev_watcher *\*(C'\fR internally.
+.IP "pointer accesses must be thread-atomic" 4
+.IX Item "pointer accesses must be thread-atomic"
+Accessing a pointer value must be atomic, it must both be readable and
+writable in one piece \- this is the case on all current architectures.
+.ie n .IP """sig_atomic_t volatile"" must be thread-atomic as well" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWsig_atomic_t volatile\fR must be thread-atomic as well" 4
+.IX Item "sig_atomic_t volatile must be thread-atomic as well"
+The type \f(CW\*(C`sig_atomic_t volatile\*(C'\fR (or whatever is defined as
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_ATOMIC_T\*(C'\fR) must be atomic with respect to accesses from different
+threads. This is not part of the specification for \f(CW\*(C`sig_atomic_t\*(C'\fR, but is
+believed to be sufficiently portable.
+.ie n .IP """sigprocmask"" must work in a threaded environment" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWsigprocmask\fR must work in a threaded environment" 4
+.IX Item "sigprocmask must work in a threaded environment"
+Libev uses \f(CW\*(C`sigprocmask\*(C'\fR to temporarily block signals. This is not
+allowed in a threaded program (\f(CW\*(C`pthread_sigmask\*(C'\fR has to be used). Typical
+pthread implementations will either allow \f(CW\*(C`sigprocmask\*(C'\fR in the \*(L"main
+thread\*(R" or will block signals process-wide, both behaviours would
+be compatible with libev. Interaction between \f(CW\*(C`sigprocmask\*(C'\fR and
+\&\f(CW\*(C`pthread_sigmask\*(C'\fR could complicate things, however.
+.Sp
+The most portable way to handle signals is to block signals in all threads
+except the initial one, and run the default loop in the initial thread as
+well.
+.ie n .IP """long"" must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWlong\fR must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes" 4
+.IX Item "long must be large enough for common memory allocation sizes"
+To improve portability and simplify its \s-1API\s0, libev uses \f(CW\*(C`long\*(C'\fR internally
+instead of \f(CW\*(C`size_t\*(C'\fR when allocating its data structures. On non-POSIX
+systems (Microsoft...) this might be unexpectedly low, but is still at
+least 31 bits everywhere, which is enough for hundreds of millions of
+watchers.
+.ie n .IP """double"" must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWdouble\fR must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy" 4
+.IX Item "double must hold a time value in seconds with enough accuracy"
+The type \f(CW\*(C`double\*(C'\fR is used to represent timestamps. It is required to
+have at least 51 bits of mantissa (and 9 bits of exponent), which is
+good enough for at least into the year 4000 with millisecond accuracy
+(the design goal for libev). This requirement is overfulfilled by
+implementations using \s-1IEEE\s0 754, which is basically all existing ones. With
+\&\s-1IEEE\s0 754 doubles, you get microsecond accuracy until at least 2200.
+.PP
+If you know of other additional requirements drop me a note.
+.SH "ALGORITHMIC COMPLEXITIES"
+.IX Header "ALGORITHMIC COMPLEXITIES"
+In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
+libev will be documented. For complexity discussions about backends see
+the documentation for \f(CW\*(C`ev_default_init\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+All of the following are about amortised time: If an array needs to be
+extended, libev needs to realloc and move the whole array, but this
+happens asymptotically rarer with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
+mean that libev does a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on
+average it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
+.IP "Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)" 4
+.IX Item "Starting and stopping timer/periodic watchers: O(log skipped_other_timers)"
+This means that, when you have a watcher that triggers in one hour and
+there are 100 watchers that would trigger before that, then inserting will
+have to skip roughly seven (\f(CW\*(C`ld 100\*(C'\fR) of these watchers.
+.IP "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)" 4
+.IX Item "Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat or calling again): O(log skipped_other_timers)"
+That means that changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them,
+as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
+.IP "Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child/fork/async watchers: O(1)"
+These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
+.IP "Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Stopping check/prepare/idle/fork/async watchers: O(1)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % \s-1EV_PID_HASHSIZE\s0))" 4
+.IX Item "Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))"
+.PD
+These watchers are stored in lists, so they need to be walked to find the
+correct watcher to remove. The lists are usually short (you don't usually
+have many watchers waiting for the same fd or signal: one is typical, two
+is rare).
+.IP "Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Finding the next timer in each loop iteration: O(1)"
+By virtue of using a binary or 4\-heap, the next timer is always found at a
+fixed position in the storage array.
+.IP "Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)" 4
+.IX Item "Each change on a file descriptor per loop iteration: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_fd)"
+A change means an I/O watcher gets started or stopped, which requires
+libev to recalculate its status (and possibly tell the kernel, depending
+on backend and whether \f(CW\*(C`ev_io_set\*(C'\fR was used).
+.IP "Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Activating one watcher (putting it into the pending state): O(1)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)" 4
+.IX Item "Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)"
+.PD
+Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
+priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
+linearly search all the priorities, but starting/stopping and activating
+watchers becomes O(1) with respect to priority handling.
+.IP "Sending an ev_async: O(1)" 4
+.IX Item "Sending an ev_async: O(1)"
+.PD 0
+.IP "Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)" 4
+.IX Item "Processing ev_async_send: O(number_of_async_watchers)"
+.IP "Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)" 4
+.IX Item "Processing signals: O(max_signal_number)"
+.PD
+Sending involves a system call \fIiff\fR there were no other \f(CW\*(C`ev_async_send\*(C'\fR
+calls in the current loop iteration. Checking for async and signal events
+involves iterating over all running async watchers or all signal numbers.
+.SH "PORTING FROM LIBEV 3.X TO 4.X"
+.IX Header "PORTING FROM LIBEV 3.X TO 4.X"
+The major version 4 introduced some incompatible changes to the \s-1API\s0.
+.PP
+At the moment, the \f(CW\*(C`ev.h\*(C'\fR header file provides compatibility definitions
+for all changes, so most programs should still compile. The compatibility
+layer might be removed in later versions of libev, so better update to the
+new \s-1API\s0 early than late.
+.ie n .IP """EV_COMPAT3"" backwards compatibility mechanism" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_COMPAT3\fR backwards compatibility mechanism" 4
+.IX Item "EV_COMPAT3 backwards compatibility mechanism"
+The backward compatibility mechanism can be controlled by
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_COMPAT3\*(C'\fR. See \*(L"\s-1MACROS\s0\*(R" in \s-1PREPROCESSOR\s0 \s-1SYMBOLS\s0 in the \s-1EMBEDDING\s0
+section.
+.ie n .IP """ev_default_destroy"" and ""ev_default_fork"" have been removed" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWev_default_destroy\fR and \f(CWev_default_fork\fR have been removed" 4
+.IX Item "ev_default_destroy and ev_default_fork have been removed"
+These calls can be replaced easily by their \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_xxx\*(C'\fR counterparts:
+.Sp
+.Vb 2
+\&   ev_loop_destroy (EV_DEFAULT_UC);
+\&   ev_loop_fork (EV_DEFAULT);
+.Ve
+.IP "function/symbol renames" 4
+.IX Item "function/symbol renames"
+A number of functions and symbols have been renamed:
+.Sp
+.Vb 3
+\&  ev_loop         => ev_run
+\&  EVLOOP_NONBLOCK => EVRUN_NOWAIT
+\&  EVLOOP_ONESHOT  => EVRUN_ONCE
+\&
+\&  ev_unloop       => ev_break
+\&  EVUNLOOP_CANCEL => EVBREAK_CANCEL
+\&  EVUNLOOP_ONE    => EVBREAK_ONE
+\&  EVUNLOOP_ALL    => EVBREAK_ALL
+\&
+\&  EV_TIMEOUT      => EV_TIMER
+\&
+\&  ev_loop_count   => ev_iteration
+\&  ev_loop_depth   => ev_depth
+\&  ev_loop_verify  => ev_verify
+.Ve
+.Sp
+Most functions working on \f(CW\*(C`struct ev_loop\*(C'\fR objects don't have an
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_\*(C'\fR prefix, so it was removed; \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop\*(C'\fR, \f(CW\*(C`ev_unloop\*(C'\fR and
+associated constants have been renamed to not collide with the \f(CW\*(C`struct
+ev_loop\*(C'\fR anymore and \f(CW\*(C`EV_TIMER\*(C'\fR now follows the same naming scheme
+as all other watcher types. Note that \f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR is still called
+\&\f(CW\*(C`ev_loop_fork\*(C'\fR because it would otherwise clash with the \f(CW\*(C`ev_fork\*(C'\fR
+typedef.
+.ie n .IP """EV_MINIMAL"" mechanism replaced by ""EV_FEATURES""" 4
+.el .IP "\f(CWEV_MINIMAL\fR mechanism replaced by \f(CWEV_FEATURES\fR" 4
+.IX Item "EV_MINIMAL mechanism replaced by EV_FEATURES"
+The preprocessor symbol \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINIMAL\*(C'\fR has been replaced by a different
+mechanism, \f(CW\*(C`EV_FEATURES\*(C'\fR. Programs using \f(CW\*(C`EV_MINIMAL\*(C'\fR usually compile
+and work, but the library code will of course be larger.
+.SH "GLOSSARY"
+.IX Header "GLOSSARY"
+.IP "active" 4
+.IX Item "active"
+A watcher is active as long as it has been started and not yet stopped.
+See \*(L"\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1STATES\s0\*(R" for details.
+.IP "application" 4
+.IX Item "application"
+In this document, an application is whatever is using libev.
+.IP "backend" 4
+.IX Item "backend"
+The part of the code dealing with the operating system interfaces.
+.IP "callback" 4
+.IX Item "callback"
+The address of a function that is called when some event has been
+detected. Callbacks are being passed the event loop, the watcher that
+received the event, and the actual event bitset.
+.IP "callback/watcher invocation" 4
+.IX Item "callback/watcher invocation"
+The act of calling the callback associated with a watcher.
+.IP "event" 4
+.IX Item "event"
+A change of state of some external event, such as data now being available
+for reading on a file descriptor, time having passed or simply not having
+any other events happening anymore.
+.Sp
+In libev, events are represented as single bits (such as \f(CW\*(C`EV_READ\*(C'\fR or
+\&\f(CW\*(C`EV_TIMER\*(C'\fR).
+.IP "event library" 4
+.IX Item "event library"
+A software package implementing an event model and loop.
+.IP "event loop" 4
+.IX Item "event loop"
+An entity that handles and processes external events and converts them
+into callback invocations.
+.IP "event model" 4
+.IX Item "event model"
+The model used to describe how an event loop handles and processes
+watchers and events.
+.IP "pending" 4
+.IX Item "pending"
+A watcher is pending as soon as the corresponding event has been
+detected. See \*(L"\s-1WATCHER\s0 \s-1STATES\s0\*(R" for details.
+.IP "real time" 4
+.IX Item "real time"
+The physical time that is observed. It is apparently strictly monotonic :)
+.IP "wall-clock time" 4
+.IX Item "wall-clock time"
+The time and date as shown on clocks. Unlike real time, it can actually
+be wrong and jump forwards and backwards, e.g. when the you adjust your
+clock.
+.IP "watcher" 4
+.IX Item "watcher"
+A data structure that describes interest in certain events. Watchers need
+to be started (attached to an event loop) before they can receive events.
+.SH "AUTHOR"
+.IX Header "AUTHOR"
+Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>, with repeated corrections by Mikael
+Magnusson and Emanuele Giaquinta.