X-Git-Url: https://git.llucax.com/software/libev.git/blobdiff_plain/5ad960a6f99234c2085d0247aaf0c9343cae5be1..73861ad6c4342633fff7dcd5913bcaa2749dba09:/ev.pod?ds=inline

diff --git a/ev.pod b/ev.pod
index 199eac0..6e39af3 100644
--- a/ev.pod
+++ b/ev.pod
@@ -6,10 +6,56 @@ libev - a high performance full-featured event loop written in C
 
   #include <ev.h>
 
+=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
+
+  #include <ev.h>
+
+  ev_io stdin_watcher;
+  ev_timer timeout_watcher;
+
+  /* called when data readable on stdin */
+  static void
+  stdin_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_io *w, int revents)
+  {
+    /* puts ("stdin ready"); */
+    ev_io_stop (EV_A_ w); /* just a syntax example */
+    ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ALL); /* leave all loop calls */
+  }
+
+  static void
+  timeout_cb (EV_P_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+  {
+    /* puts ("timeout"); */
+    ev_unloop (EV_A_ EVUNLOOP_ONE); /* leave one loop call */
+  }
+
+  int
+  main (void)
+  {
+    struct ev_loop *loop = ev_default_loop (0);
+
+    /* initialise an io watcher, then start it */
+    ev_io_init (&stdin_watcher, stdin_cb, /*STDIN_FILENO*/ 0, EV_READ);
+    ev_io_start (loop, &stdin_watcher);
+
+    /* simple non-repeating 5.5 second timeout */
+    ev_timer_init (&timeout_watcher, timeout_cb, 5.5, 0.);
+    ev_timer_start (loop, &timeout_watcher);
+
+    /* loop till timeout or data ready */
+    ev_loop (loop, 0);
+
+    return 0;
+  }
+
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
+The newest version of this document is also available as a html-formatted
+web page you might find easier to navigate when reading it for the first
+time: L<http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.html>.
+
 Libev is an event loop: you register interest in certain events (such as a
-file descriptor being readable or a timeout occuring), and it will manage
+file descriptor being readable or a timeout occurring), and it will manage
 these event sources and provide your program with events.
 
 To do this, it must take more or less complete control over your process
@@ -23,23 +69,29 @@ watcher.
 
 =head1 FEATURES
 
-Libev supports select, poll, the linux-specific epoll and the bsd-specific
-kqueue mechanisms for file descriptor events, relative timers, absolute
-timers with customised rescheduling, signal events, process status change
-events (related to SIGCHLD), and event watchers dealing with the event
-loop mechanism itself (idle, prepare and check watchers). It also is quite
-fast (see this L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing
-it to libevent for example).
+Libev supports C<select>, C<poll>, the Linux-specific C<epoll>, the
+BSD-specific C<kqueue> and the Solaris-specific event port mechanisms
+for file descriptor events (C<ev_io>), the Linux C<inotify> interface
+(for C<ev_stat>), relative timers (C<ev_timer>), absolute timers
+with customised rescheduling (C<ev_periodic>), synchronous signals
+(C<ev_signal>), process status change events (C<ev_child>), and event
+watchers dealing with the event loop mechanism itself (C<ev_idle>,
+C<ev_embed>, C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> watchers) as well as
+file watchers (C<ev_stat>) and even limited support for fork events
+(C<ev_fork>).
+
+It also is quite fast (see this
+L<benchmark|http://libev.schmorp.de/bench.html> comparing it to libevent
+for example).
 
 =head1 CONVENTIONS
 
-Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration
-will be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info
-about various configuration options please have a look at the file
-F<README.embed> in the libev distribution. If libev was configured without
-support for multiple event loops, then all functions taking an initial
-argument of name C<loop> (which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>)
-will not have this argument.
+Libev is very configurable. In this manual the default configuration will
+be described, which supports multiple event loops. For more info about
+various configuration options please have a look at B<EMBED> section in
+this manual. If libev was configured without support for multiple event
+loops, then all functions taking an initial argument of name C<loop>
+(which is always of type C<struct ev_loop *>) will not have this argument.
 
 =head1 TIME REPRESENTATION
 
@@ -48,8 +100,9 @@ Libev represents time as a single floating point number, representing the
 the beginning of 1970, details are complicated, don't ask). This type is
 called C<ev_tstamp>, which is what you should use too. It usually aliases
 to the C<double> type in C, and when you need to do any calculations on
-it, you should treat it as such.
-
+it, you should treat it as some floatingpoint value. Unlike the name
+component C<stamp> might indicate, it is also used for time differences
+throughout libev.
 
 =head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
 
@@ -68,19 +121,22 @@ you actually want to know.
 
 =item int ev_version_minor ()
 
-You can find out the major and minor version numbers of the library
+You can find out the major and minor ABI version numbers of the library
 you linked against by calling the functions C<ev_version_major> and
 C<ev_version_minor>. If you want, you can compare against the global
 symbols C<EV_VERSION_MAJOR> and C<EV_VERSION_MINOR>, which specify the
 version of the library your program was compiled against.
 
+These version numbers refer to the ABI version of the library, not the
+release version.
+
 Usually, it's a good idea to terminate if the major versions mismatch,
-as this indicates an incompatible change.  Minor versions are usually
+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.
 
-Example: make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
-version:
+Example: Make sure we haven't accidentally been linked against the wrong
+version.
 
   assert (("libev version mismatch",
            ev_version_major () == EV_VERSION_MAJOR
@@ -120,21 +176,22 @@ See the description of C<ev_embed> watchers for more info.
 
 =item ev_set_allocator (void *(*cb)(void *ptr, long size))
 
-Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar to the
-realloc C function, the semantics are identical). It is used to allocate
-and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when memory
-needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some potentially
-destructive action. The default is your system realloc function.
+Sets the allocation function to use (the prototype is similar - the
+semantics is identical - to the realloc C function). It is used to
+allocate and free memory (no surprises here). If it returns zero when
+memory needs to be allocated, the library might abort or take some
+potentially destructive action. The default is your system realloc
+function.
 
 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.
 
-Example: replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
-retries: better than mine).
+Example: Replace the libev allocator with one that waits a bit and then
+retries).
 
    static void *
-   persistent_realloc (void *ptr, long size)
+   persistent_realloc (void *ptr, size_t size)
    {
      for (;;)
        {
@@ -160,7 +217,7 @@ 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).
 
-Example: do the same thing as libev does internally:
+Example: This is basically the same thing that libev does internally, too.
 
    static void
    fatal_error (const char *msg)
@@ -220,6 +277,26 @@ 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.
 
+=item C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>
+
+Instead of calling C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork> manually after
+a fork, you can also make libev check for a fork in each iteration by
+enabling this flag.
+
+This works by calling C<getpid ()> 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
+Linux system for example, C<getpid> is actually a simple 5-insn sequence
+without a syscall and thus I<very> fast, but my Linux system also has
+C<pthread_atfork> which is even faster).
+
+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.
+
+This flag setting cannot be overriden or specified in the C<LIBEV_FLAGS>
+environment variable.
+
 =item C<EVBACKEND_SELECT>  (value 1, portable select backend)
 
 This is your standard select(2) backend. Not I<completely> standard, as
@@ -238,15 +315,18 @@ lot of inactive fds). It scales similarly to select, i.e. O(total_fds).
 =item C<EVBACKEND_EPOLL>   (value 4, Linux)
 
 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).
-
-While stopping and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration will
-result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
+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). The epoll design has a number
+of shortcomings, such as silently dropping events in some hard-to-detect
+cases and rewuiring a syscall per fd change, no fork support and bad
+support for dup:
+
+While stopping, setting and starting an I/O watcher in the same iteration
+will result in some caching, there is still a syscall per such incident
 (because the fd could point to a different file description now), so its
-best to avoid that. Also, dup()ed file descriptors might not work very
-well if you register events for both fds.
+best to avoid that. Also, C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors might not work
+very well if you register events for both fds.
 
 Please note that epoll sometimes generates spurious notifications, so you
 need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
@@ -255,17 +335,20 @@ need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid blocking when no data
 =item C<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 with
-anything but sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course its
-completely useless). For this reason its not being "autodetected"
+was broken on I<all> BSDs (usually it doesn't work with anything but
+sockets and pipes, except on Darwin, where of course it's completely
+useless. On NetBSD, it seems to work for all the FD types I tested, so it
+is used by default there). For this reason it's not being "autodetected"
 unless you explicitly specify it explicitly in the flags (i.e. using
-C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>).
+C<EVBACKEND_KQUEUE>) or libev was compiled on a known-to-be-good (-enough)
+system like NetBSD.
 
 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 starting and stopping an I/O watcher does not cause an
-extra syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to four event changes per
-incident, so its best to avoid that.
+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 syscall as with epoll, it still adds up to two event
+changes per incident, support for C<fork ()> is very bad and it drops fds
+silently in similarly hard-to-detetc cases.
 
 =item C<EVBACKEND_DEVPOLL> (value 16, Solaris 8)
 
@@ -273,10 +356,10 @@ This is not implemented yet (and might never be).
 
 =item C<EVBACKEND_PORT>    (value 32, Solaris 10)
 
-This uses the Solaris 10 port mechanism. As with everything on Solaris,
+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)).
 
-Please note that solaris ports can result in a lot of spurious
+Please note that solaris event ports can deliver a lot of spurious
 notifications, so you need to use non-blocking I/O or other means to avoid
 blocking when no data (or space) is available.
 
@@ -316,7 +399,7 @@ always distinct from the default loop. Unlike the default loop, it cannot
 handle signal and child watchers, and attempts to do so will be greeted by
 undefined behaviour (or a failed assertion if assertions are enabled).
 
-Example: try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
+Example: Try to create a event loop that uses epoll and nothing else.
 
   struct ev_loop *epoller = ev_loop_new (EVBACKEND_EPOLL | EVFLAG_NOENV);
   if (!epoller)
@@ -329,9 +412,18 @@ etc.). None of the active event watchers will be stopped in the normal
 sense, so e.g. C<ev_is_active> might still return true. It is your
 responsibility to either stop all watchers cleanly yoursef I<before>
 calling this function, or cope with the fact afterwards (which is usually
-the easiest thing, youc na just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
+the easiest thing, you can just ignore the watchers and/or C<free ()> them
 for example).
 
+Note that certain global state, such as signal state, will not be freed by
+this function, and related watchers (such as signal and child watchers)
+would need to be stopped manually.
+
+In general it is not advisable to call this function except in the
+rare occasion where you really need to free e.g. the signal handling
+pipe fds. If you need dynamically allocated loops it is better to use
+C<ev_loop_new> and C<ev_loop_destroy>).
+
 =item ev_loop_destroy (loop)
 
 Like C<ev_default_destroy>, but destroys an event loop created by an
@@ -364,6 +456,16 @@ Like C<ev_default_fork>, but acts on an event loop created by
 C<ev_loop_new>. Yes, you have to call this on every allocated event loop
 after fork, and how you do this is entirely your own problem.
 
+=item unsigned int ev_loop_count (loop)
+
+Returns the count of loop iterations for the loop, which is identical to
+the number of times libev did poll for new events. It starts at C<0> and
+happily wraps around with enough iterations.
+
+This value can sometimes be useful as a generation counter of sorts (it
+"ticks" the number of loop iterations), as it roughly corresponds with
+C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> calls.
+
 =item unsigned int ev_backend (loop)
 
 Returns one of the C<EVBACKEND_*> flags indicating the event backend in
@@ -375,7 +477,7 @@ Returns the current "event loop time", 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 occuring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
+event occurring (or more correctly, libev finding out about it).
 
 =item ev_loop (loop, int flags)
 
@@ -406,8 +508,9 @@ usually a better approach for this kind of thing.
 
 Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
 
+   - Before the first iteration, call any pending watchers.
    * If there are no active watchers (reference count is zero), return.
-   - Queue prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.
+   - Queue all prepare watchers and then call all outstanding watchers.
    - If we have been forked, recreate the kernel state.
    - Update the kernel state with all outstanding changes.
    - Update the "event loop time".
@@ -425,7 +528,7 @@ Here are the gory details of what C<ev_loop> does:
    - If ev_unloop has been called or EVLOOP_ONESHOT or EVLOOP_NONBLOCK
      were used, return, otherwise continue with step *.
 
-Example: queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding
+Example: Queue some jobs and then loop until no events are outsanding
 anymore.
 
    ... queue jobs here, make sure they register event watchers as long
@@ -455,21 +558,22 @@ 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 I<unref after start> and I<ref before stop>.
 
-Example: create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
+Example: Create a signal watcher, but keep it from keeping C<ev_loop>
 running when nothing else is active.
 
-  struct dv_signal exitsig;
+  struct ev_signal exitsig;
   ev_signal_init (&exitsig, sig_cb, SIGINT);
-  ev_signal_start (myloop, &exitsig);
-  evf_unref (myloop);
+  ev_signal_start (loop, &exitsig);
+  evf_unref (loop);
 
-Example: for some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
+Example: For some weird reason, unregister the above signal handler again.
 
-  ev_ref (myloop);
-  ev_signal_stop (myloop, &exitsig);
+  ev_ref (loop);
+  ev_signal_stop (loop, &exitsig);
 
 =back
 
+
 =head1 ANATOMY OF A WATCHER
 
 A watcher is a structure that you create and register to record your
@@ -546,6 +650,10 @@ The signal specified in the C<ev_signal> watcher has been received by a thread.
 
 The pid specified in the C<ev_child> watcher has received a status change.
 
+=item C<EV_STAT>
+
+The path specified in the C<ev_stat> watcher changed its attributes somehow.
+
 =item C<EV_IDLE>
 
 The C<ev_idle> watcher has determined that you have nothing better to do.
@@ -562,6 +670,15 @@ many watchers as they want, and all of them will be taken into account
 (for example, a C<ev_prepare> watcher might start an idle watcher to keep
 C<ev_loop> from blocking).
 
+=item C<EV_EMBED>
+
+The embedded event loop specified in the C<ev_embed> watcher needs attention.
+
+=item C<EV_FORK>
+
+The event loop has been resumed in the child process after fork (see
+C<ev_fork>).
+
 =item C<EV_ERROR>
 
 An unspecified error has occured, the watcher has been stopped. This might
@@ -578,7 +695,7 @@ programs, though, so beware.
 
 =back
 
-=head2 SUMMARY OF GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
+=head2 GENERIC WATCHER FUNCTIONS
 
 In the following description, C<TYPE> stands for the watcher type,
 e.g. C<timer> for C<ev_timer> watchers and C<io> for C<ev_io> watchers.
@@ -597,7 +714,7 @@ which rolls both calls into one.
 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.
 
-The callbakc is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
+The callback is always of type C<void (*)(ev_loop *loop, ev_TYPE *watcher,
 int revents)>.
 
 =item C<ev_TYPE_set> (ev_TYPE *, [args])
@@ -642,10 +759,11 @@ it.
 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
-C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe) and you must make sure the watcher is available to
-libev (e.g. you cnanot C<free ()> it).
+C<ev_TYPE_set> is safe), you must not change its priority, and you must
+make sure the watcher is available to libev (e.g. you cannot C<free ()>
+it).
 
-=item callback = ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
+=item callback ev_cb (ev_TYPE *watcher)
 
 Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
 
@@ -654,6 +772,46 @@ Returns the callback currently set on the watcher.
 Change the callback. You can change the callback at virtually any time
 (modulo threads).
 
+=item ev_set_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher, priority)
+
+=item int ev_priority (ev_TYPE *watcher)
+
+Set and query the priority of the watcher. The priority is a small
+integer between C<EV_MAXPRI> (default: C<2>) and C<EV_MINPRI>
+(default: C<-2>). Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked
+before watchers with lower priority, but priority will not keep watchers
+from being executed (except for C<ev_idle> watchers).
+
+This means that priorities are I<only> used for ordering callback
+invocation after new events have been received. This is useful, for
+example, to reduce latency after idling, or more often, to bind two
+watchers on the same event and make sure one is called first.
+
+If you need to suppress invocation when higher priority events are pending
+you need to look at C<ev_idle> watchers, which provide this functionality.
+
+You I<must not> change the priority of a watcher as long as it is active or
+pending.
+
+The default priority used by watchers when no priority has been set is
+always C<0>, which is supposed to not be too high and not be too low :).
+
+Setting a priority outside the range of C<EV_MINPRI> to C<EV_MAXPRI> is
+fine, as long as you do not mind that the priority value you query might
+or might not have been adjusted to be within valid range.
+
+=item ev_invoke (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher, int revents)
+
+Invoke the C<watcher> with the given C<loop> and C<revents>. Neither
+C<loop> nor C<revents> need to be valid as long as the watcher callback
+can deal with that fact.
+
+=item int ev_clear_pending (loop, ev_TYPE *watcher)
+
+If the watcher is pending, this function returns clears its pending status
+and returns its C<revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
+watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
+
 =back
 
 
@@ -683,23 +841,64 @@ can cast it back to your own type:
     ...
   }
 
-More interesting and less C-conformant ways of catsing your callback type
-have been omitted....
+More interesting and less C-conformant ways of casting your callback type
+instead have been omitted.
+
+Another common scenario is having some data structure with multiple
+watchers:
+
+  struct my_biggy
+  {
+    int some_data;
+    ev_timer t1;
+    ev_timer t2;
+  }
+
+In this case getting the pointer to C<my_biggy> is a bit more complicated,
+you need to use C<offsetof>:
+
+  #include <stddef.h>
+
+  static void
+  t1_cb (EV_P_ struct 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_ struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
+  {
+    struct my_biggy big = (struct my_biggy *
+      (((char *)w) - offsetof (struct my_biggy, t2));
+  }
 
 
 =head1 WATCHER TYPES
 
 This section describes each watcher in detail, but will not repeat
-information given in the last section.
+information given in the last section. Any initialisation/set macros,
+functions and members specific to the watcher type are explained.
+
+Members are additionally marked with either I<[read-only]>, 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 I<[read-write]>, 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.
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_io> - is this file descriptor readable or writable
+=head2 C<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 (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).
+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.
 
 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
@@ -709,39 +908,97 @@ required if you know what you are doing).
 You have to be careful with dup'ed file descriptors, though. Some backends
 (the linux epoll backend is a notable example) cannot handle dup'ed file
 descriptors correctly if you register interest in two or more fds pointing
-to the same underlying file/socket etc. description (that is, they share
+to the same underlying file/socket/etc. description (that is, they share
 the same underlying "file open").
 
 If you must do this, then force the use of a known-to-be-good backend
 (at the time of this writing, this includes only C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> and
 C<EVBACKEND_POLL>).
 
+Another thing you have to watch out for is that it is quite easy to
+receive "spurious" readyness notifications, that is your callback might
+be called with C<EV_READ> but a subsequent C<read>(2) will actually block
+because there is no data. Not only are some backends known to create a
+lot of those (for example solaris ports), 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 C<read>(2) returning
+C<EAGAIN> is far preferable to a program hanging until some data arrives.
+
+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 seperately re-test
+whether a file descriptor is really ready with a known-to-be good interface
+such as poll (fortunately in our Xlib example, Xlib already does this on
+its own, so its quite safe to use).
+
+=head3 The special problem of disappearing file descriptors
+
+Some backends (e.g. kqueue, epoll) need to be told about closing a file
+descriptor (either by calling C<close> explicitly or by any other means,
+such as C<dup>). 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.
+
+To avoid having to explicitly tell libev about such cases, libev follows
+the following policy:  Each time C<ev_io_set> 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 I<have> to call C<ev_io_set> (or C<ev_io_init>) when you change the
+descriptor even if the file descriptor number itself did not change.
+
+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.
+
+=head3 The special problem of dup'ed file descriptors
+
+Some backends (e.g. epoll), cannot register events for file descriptors,
+but only events for the underlying file descriptions. That menas when you
+have C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors and register events for them, only one
+file descriptor might actually receive events.
+
+There is no workaorund possible except not registering events
+for potentially C<dup ()>'ed file descriptors or to resort to
+C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
+
+=head3 The special problem of fork
+
+Some backends (epoll, kqueue) do not support C<fork ()> at all or exhibit
+useless behaviour. Libev fully supports fork, but needs to be told about
+it in the child.
+
+To support fork in your programs, you either have to call
+C<ev_default_fork ()> or C<ev_loop_fork ()> after a fork in the child,
+enable C<EVFLAG_FORKCHECK>, or resort to C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or
+C<EVBACKEND_POLL>.
+
+
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_io_init (ev_io *, callback, int fd, int events)
 
 =item ev_io_set (ev_io *, int fd, int events)
 
-Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The fd is the file descriptor to rceeive
-events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or C<EV_READ |
-EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
-
-Please note that most of the more scalable backend mechanisms (for example
-epoll and solaris ports) can result in spurious readyness notifications
-for file descriptors, so you practically need to use non-blocking I/O (and
-treat callback invocation as hint only), or retest separately with a safe
-interface before doing I/O (XLib can do this), or force the use of either
-C<EVBACKEND_SELECT> or C<EVBACKEND_POLL>, which don't suffer from this
-problem. Also note that it is quite easy to have your callback invoked
-when the readyness condition is no longer valid even when employing
-typical ways of handling events, so its a good idea to use non-blocking
-I/O unconditionally.
+Configures an C<ev_io> watcher. The C<fd> is the file descriptor to
+rceeive events for and events is either C<EV_READ>, C<EV_WRITE> or
+C<EV_READ | EV_WRITE> to receive the given events.
+
+=item int fd [read-only]
+
+The file descriptor being watched.
+
+=item int events [read-only]
+
+The events being watched.
 
 =back
 
-Example: call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
+Example: Call C<stdin_readable_cb> when STDIN_FILENO has become, well
 readable, but only once. Since it is likely line-buffered, you could
-attempt to read a whole line in the callback:
+attempt to read a whole line in the callback.
 
   static void
   stdin_readable_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_io *w, int revents)
@@ -758,7 +1015,7 @@ attempt to read a whole line in the callback:
   ev_loop (loop, 0);
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_timer> - relative and optionally recurring timeouts
+=head2 C<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.
@@ -781,6 +1038,8 @@ The callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when its timeout has passed,
 but if multiple timers become ready during the same loop iteration then
 order of execution is undefined.
 
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_timer_init (ev_timer *, callback, ev_tstamp after, ev_tstamp repeat)
@@ -803,23 +1062,47 @@ timer will not fire more than once per event loop iteration.
 This will act as if the timer timed out and restart it again if it is
 repeating. The exact semantics are:
 
-If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it.
+If the timer is pending, its pending status is cleared.
 
-If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the repeat
-value), or reset the running timer to the repeat value.
+If the timer is started but nonrepeating, stop it (as if it timed out).
+
+If the timer is repeating, either start it if necessary (with the
+C<repeat> value), or reset the running timer to the C<repeat> value.
 
 This sounds a bit complicated, but here is a useful and typical
 example: Imagine you have a tcp connection and you want a so-called idle
 timeout, that is, you want to be called when there have been, say, 60
 seconds of inactivity on the socket. The easiest way to do this is to
-configure an C<ev_timer> with after=repeat=60 and calling ev_timer_again 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 stop
-the timer, and again will automatically restart it if need be.
+configure an C<ev_timer> with a C<repeat> value of C<60> and then call
+C<ev_timer_again> 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 C<ev_timer_stop> the timer, and C<ev_timer_again> will
+automatically restart it if need be.
+
+That means you can ignore the C<after> value and C<ev_timer_start>
+altogether and only ever use the C<repeat> value and C<ev_timer_again>:
+
+   ev_timer_init (timer, callback, 0., 5.);
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+   ...
+   timer->again = 17.;
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+   ...
+   timer->again = 10.;
+   ev_timer_again (loop, timer);
+
+This is more slightly efficient then stopping/starting the timer each time
+you want to modify its timeout value.
+
+=item ev_tstamp repeat [read-write]
+
+The current C<repeat> value. Will be used each time the watcher times out
+or C<ev_timer_again> is called and determines the next timeout (if any),
+which is also when any modifications are taken into account.
 
 =back
 
-Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
+Example: Create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
 
   static void
   one_minute_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_timer *w, int revents)
@@ -831,7 +1114,7 @@ Example: create a timer that fires after 60 seconds.
   ev_timer_init (&mytimer, one_minute_cb, 60., 0.);
   ev_timer_start (loop, &mytimer);
 
-Example: create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
+Example: Create a timeout timer that times out after 10 seconds of
 inactivity.
 
   static void
@@ -850,7 +1133,7 @@ inactivity.
   ev_timer_again (&mytimer);
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_periodic> - to cron or not to cron
+=head2 C<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).
@@ -861,16 +1144,18 @@ to trigger "at" some specific point in time. For example, if you tell a
 periodic watcher to trigger in 10 seconds (by specifiying e.g. C<ev_now ()
 + 10.>) and then reset your system clock to the last year, then it will
 take a year to trigger the event (unlike an C<ev_timer>, which would trigger
-roughly 10 seconds later and of course not if you reset your system time
-again).
+roughly 10 seconds later).
 
 They can also be used to implement vastly more complex timers, such as
-triggering an event on eahc midnight, local time.
+triggering an event on each midnight, local time or other, complicated,
+rules.
 
 As with timers, the callback is guarenteed to be invoked only when the
 time (C<at>) has been passed, but if multiple periodic timers become ready
 during the same loop iteration then order of execution is undefined.
 
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_periodic_init (ev_periodic *, callback, ev_tstamp at, ev_tstamp interval, reschedule_cb)
@@ -882,18 +1167,18 @@ operation, and we will explain them from simplest to complex:
 
 =over 4
 
-=item * absolute timer (interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
+=item * absolute timer (at = time, interval = reschedule_cb = 0)
 
 In this configuration the watcher triggers an event at the wallclock time
 C<at> and doesn't repeat. It will not adjust when a time jump occurs,
 that is, if it is to be run at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the
 system time reaches or surpasses this time.
 
-=item * non-repeating interval timer (interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
+=item * non-repeating interval timer (at = offset, interval > 0, reschedule_cb = 0)
 
 In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the next
-C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat, regardless
-of any time jumps.
+C<at + N * interval> time (for some integer N, which can also be negative)
+and then repeat, regardless of any time jumps.
 
 This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
 time:
@@ -909,7 +1194,11 @@ Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
 C<ev_periodic> will try to run the callback in this mode at the next possible
 time where C<time = at (mod interval)>, regardless of any time jumps.
 
-=item * manual reschedule mode (reschedule_cb = callback)
+For numerical stability it is preferable that the C<at> value is near
+C<ev_now ()> (the current time), but there is no range requirement for
+this value.
+
+=item * manual reschedule mode (at and interval ignored, reschedule_cb = callback)
 
 In this mode the values for C<interval> and C<at> are both being
 ignored. Instead, each time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the
@@ -919,7 +1208,7 @@ current time as second argument.
 NOTE: I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy any periodic watcher,
 ever, or make any event loop modifications>. If you need to stop it,
 return C<now + 1e30> (or so, fudge fudge) and stop it afterwards (e.g. by
-starting a prepare watcher).
+starting an C<ev_prepare> watcher, which is legal).
 
 Its prototype is C<ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w,
 ev_tstamp now)>, e.g.:
@@ -952,9 +1241,34 @@ 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).
 
+=item ev_tstamp offset [read-write]
+
+When repeating, this contains the offset value, otherwise this is the
+absolute point in time (the C<at> value passed to C<ev_periodic_set>).
+
+Can be modified any time, but changes only take effect when the periodic
+timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
+
+=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 C<ev_periodic_again> is being
+called.
+
+=item ev_tstamp (*reschedule_cb)(struct ev_periodic *w, ev_tstamp now) [read-write]
+
+The current reschedule callback, or C<0>, if this functionality is
+switched off. Can be changed any time, but changes only take effect when
+the periodic timer fires or C<ev_periodic_again> is being called.
+
+=item ev_tstamp at [read-only]
+
+When active, contains the absolute time that the watcher is supposed to
+trigger next.
+
 =back
 
-Example: call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
+Example: Call a callback every hour, or, more precisely, whenever the
 system clock is divisible by 3600. The callback invocation times have
 potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
 
@@ -968,7 +1282,7 @@ potentially a lot of jittering, but good long-term stability.
   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 3600., 0);
   ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
 
-Example: the same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
+Example: The same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
 
   #include <math.h>
 
@@ -980,7 +1294,7 @@ Example: the same as above, but use a reschedule callback to do it:
 
   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb, 0., 0., my_scheduler_cb);
 
-Example: call a callback every hour, starting now:
+Example: Call a callback every hour, starting now:
 
   struct ev_periodic hourly_tick;
   ev_periodic_init (&hourly_tick, clock_cb,
@@ -988,7 +1302,7 @@ Example: call a callback every hour, starting now:
   ev_periodic_start (loop, &hourly_tick);
   
 
-=head2 C<ev_signal> - signal me when a signal gets signalled
+=head2 C<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
@@ -1002,6 +1316,8 @@ as you don't register any with libev). Similarly, when the last signal
 watcher for a signal is stopped libev will reset the signal handler to
 SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
 
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_signal_init (ev_signal *, callback, int signum)
@@ -1011,14 +1327,20 @@ SIG_DFL (regardless of what it was set to before).
 Configures the watcher to trigger on the given signal number (usually one
 of the C<SIGxxx> constants).
 
+=item int signum [read-only]
+
+The signal the watcher watches out for.
+
 =back
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_child> - wait for pid status changes
+=head2 C<ev_child> - watch out for process status changes
 
 Child watchers trigger when your process receives a SIGCHLD in response to
 some child status changes (most typically when a child of yours dies).
 
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_child_init (ev_child *, callback, int pid)
@@ -1032,9 +1354,22 @@ the status word (use the macros from C<sys/wait.h> and see your systems
 C<waitpid> documentation). The C<rpid> member contains the pid of the
 process causing the status change.
 
+=item int pid [read-only]
+
+The process id this watcher watches out for, or C<0>, meaning any process id.
+
+=item int rpid [read-write]
+
+The process id that detected a status change.
+
+=item int rstatus [read-write]
+
+The process exit/trace status caused by C<rpid> (see your systems
+C<waitpid> and C<sys/wait.h> documentation for details).
+
 =back
 
-Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
+Example: Try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
 
   static void
   sigint_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_signal *w, int revents)
@@ -1047,15 +1382,126 @@ Example: try to exit cleanly on SIGINT and SIGTERM.
   ev_signal_start (loop, &sigint_cb);
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_idle> - when you've got nothing better to do
+=head2 C<ev_stat> - did the file attributes just change?
 
-Idle watchers trigger events when there are no other events are pending
-(prepare, check and other idle watchers do not count). That is, as long
-as your process is busy handling sockets or timeouts (or even signals,
-imagine) it will not be triggered. But when your process is idle all idle
-watchers are being called again and again, once per event loop iteration -
-until stopped, that is, or your process receives more events and becomes
-busy.
+This watches a filesystem path for attribute changes. That is, it calls
+C<stat> regularly (or when the OS says it changed) and sees if it changed
+compared to the last time, invoking the callback if it did.
+
+The path does not need to exist: changing from "path exists" to "path does
+not exist" is a status change like any other. The condition "path does
+not exist" is signified by the C<st_nlink> 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.
+
+The path I<should> be absolute and I<must not> end in a slash. If it is
+relative and your working directory changes, the behaviour is undefined.
+
+Since there is no standard to do this, the portable implementation simply
+calls C<stat (2)> 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 C<0> (highly recommended!) then a I<suitable,
+unspecified default> 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 C<0.1>, but thats
+usually overkill.
+
+This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
+as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
+resource-intensive.
+
+At the time of this writing, only the Linux inotify interface is
+implemented (implementing kqueue support is left as an exercise for the
+reader). Inotify will be used to give hints only and should not change the
+semantics of C<ev_stat> watchers, which means that libev sometimes needs
+to fall back to regular polling again even with inotify, but changes are
+usually detected immediately, and if the file exists there will be no
+polling.
+
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
+=over 4
+
+=item ev_stat_init (ev_stat *, callback, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
+
+=item ev_stat_set (ev_stat *, const char *path, ev_tstamp interval)
+
+Configures the watcher to wait for status changes of the given
+C<path>. The C<interval> is a hint on how quickly a change is expected to
+be detected and should normally be specified as C<0> to let libev choose
+a suitable value. The memory pointed to by C<path> must point to the same
+path for as long as the watcher is active.
+
+The callback will be receive C<EV_STAT> when a change was detected,
+relative to the attributes at the time the watcher was started (or the
+last change was detected).
+
+=item ev_stat_stat (ev_stat *)
+
+Updates the stat buffer immediately with new values. If you change the
+watched path in your callback, you could call this fucntion to avoid
+detecting this change (while introducing a race condition). Can also be
+useful simply to find out the new values.
+
+=item ev_statdata attr [read-only]
+
+The most-recently detected attributes of the file. Although the type is of
+C<ev_statdata>, this is usually the (or one of the) C<struct stat> types
+suitable for your system. If the C<st_nlink> member is C<0>, then there
+was some error while C<stat>ing the file.
+
+=item ev_statdata prev [read-only]
+
+The previous attributes of the file. The callback gets invoked whenever
+C<prev> != C<attr>.
+
+=item ev_tstamp interval [read-only]
+
+The specified interval.
+
+=item const char *path [read-only]
+
+The filesystem path that is being watched.
+
+=back
+
+Example: Watch C</etc/passwd> for attribute changes.
+
+  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\n", (long)w->attr.st_size);
+        printf ("passwd current atime %ld\n", (long)w->attr.st_mtime);
+        printf ("passwd current mtime %ld\n", (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\n");
+  }
+
+  ...
+  ev_stat passwd;
+
+  ev_stat_init (&passwd, passwd_cb, "/etc/passwd");
+  ev_stat_start (loop, &passwd);
+
+
+=head2 C<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).
+
+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.
 
 The most noteworthy effect is that as long as any idle watchers are
 active, the process will not block when waiting for new events.
@@ -1065,6 +1511,8 @@ effect on its own sometimes), idle watchers are a good place to do
 "pseudo-background processing", or delay processing stuff to after the
 event loop has handled all outstanding events.
 
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_idle_init (ev_signal *, callback)
@@ -1075,8 +1523,8 @@ believe me.
 
 =back
 
-Example: dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle>, start it, and in the
-callback, free it. Alos, use no error checking, as usual.
+Example: Dynamically allocate an C<ev_idle> watcher, start it, and in the
+callback, free it. Also, use no error checking, as usual.
 
   static void
   idle_cb (struct ev_loop *loop, struct ev_idle *w, int revents)
@@ -1091,16 +1539,27 @@ callback, free it. Alos, use no error checking, as usual.
   ev_idle_start (loop, idle_cb);
 
 
-=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop
+=head2 C<ev_prepare> and C<ev_check> - customise your event loop!
 
 Prepare and check watchers are usually (but not always) used in tandem:
 prepare watchers get invoked before the process blocks and check watchers
 afterwards.
 
+You I<must not> call C<ev_loop> or similar functions that enter
+the current event loop from either C<ev_prepare> or C<ev_check>
+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 C<ev_prepare>, blocking,
+C<ev_check> so if you have one watcher of each kind they will always be
+called in pairs bracketing the blocking call.
+
 Their main purpose is to integrate other event mechanisms into libev and
 their use is somewhat advanced. This could be used, for example, to track
 variable changes, implement your own watchers, integrate net-snmp or a
-coroutine library and lots more.
+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 C<XFlush ()> in an C<ev_prepare>
+watcher).
 
 This is done by examining in each prepare call which file descriptors need
 to be watched by the other library, registering C<ev_io> watchers for
@@ -1120,6 +1579,18 @@ 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).
 
+It is recommended to give C<ev_check> watchers highest (C<EV_MAXPRI>)
+priority, to ensure that they are being run before any other watchers
+after the poll. Also, C<ev_check> watchers (and C<ev_prepare> watchers,
+too) should not activate ("feed") events into libev. While libev fully
+supports this, they will be called before other C<ev_check> watchers did
+their job. As C<ev_check> watchers are often used to embed other event
+loops those other event loops might be in an unusable state until their
+C<ev_check> watcher ran (always remind yourself to coexist peacefully with
+others).
+
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_prepare_init (ev_prepare *, callback)
@@ -1132,15 +1603,140 @@ macros, but using them is utterly, utterly and completely pointless.
 
 =back
 
-Example: *TODO*.
+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 C<EV::ADNS> that does this, which you could
+use for an actually working example. Another Perl module named C<EV::Glib>
+embeds a Glib main context into libev, and finally, C<Glib::EV> embeds EV
+into the Glib event loop).
+
+Method 1: Add IO 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 C<ev_clear_pending> explicitly, as
+the callbacks for the IO/timeout watchers might not have been called yet.
+
+  static ev_io iow [nfd];
+  static ev_timer tw;
+
+  static void
+  io_cb (ev_loop *loop, ev_io *w, int revents)
+  {
+  }
+
+  // create io watchers for each fd and a timer before blocking
+  static void
+  adns_prepare_cb (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't be called as we stop during check */
+    ev_timer_init (&tw, 0, timeout * 1e-3);
+    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 (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));
+  }
+
+Method 2: This would be just like method 1, but you run C<adns_afterpoll>
+in the prepare watcher and would dispose of the check watcher.
 
+Method 3: If the module to be embedded supports explicit event
+notification (adns does), you can also make use of the actual watcher
+callbacks, and only destroy/create the watchers in the prepare watcher.
 
-=head2 C<ev_embed> - when one backend isn't enough
+  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
+
+Method 4: Do not use a prepare or check watcher because the module you
+want to embed is too inflexible to support it. Instead, youc na override
+their poll function.  The drawback with this solution is that the main
+loop is now no longer controllable by EV. The C<Glib::EV> module does
+this.
+
+  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_loop (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;
+  }
+
+
+=head2 C<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 C<ev_io> 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).
+fashion and must not be used). (See portability notes, below).
 
 There are primarily two reasons you would want that: work around bugs and
 prioritise I/O.
@@ -1205,6 +1801,24 @@ create it, and if that fails, use the normal loop for everything:
   else
     loop_lo = loop_hi;
 
+=head2 Portability notes
+
+Kqueue is nominally embeddable, but this is broken on all BSDs that I
+tried, in various ways. Usually the embedded event loop will simply never
+receive events, sometimes it will only trigger a few times, sometimes in a
+loop. Epoll is also nominally embeddable, but many Linux kernel versions
+will always eport the epoll fd as ready, even when no events are pending.
+
+While libev allows embedding these backends (they are contained in
+C<ev_embeddable_backends ()>), take extreme care that it will actually
+work.
+
+When in doubt, create a dynamic event loop forced to use sockets (this
+usually works) and possibly another thread and a pipe or so to report to
+your main event loop.
+
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
 =over 4
 
 =item ev_embed_init (ev_embed *, callback, struct ev_loop *embedded_loop)
@@ -1223,6 +1837,33 @@ Make a single, non-blocking sweep over the embedded loop. This works
 similarly to C<ev_loop (embedded_loop, EVLOOP_NONBLOCK)>, but in the most
 apropriate way for embedded loops.
 
+=item struct ev_loop *other [read-only]
+
+The embedded event loop.
+
+=back
+
+
+=head2 C<ev_fork> - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
+
+Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected (usually because
+whoever is a good citizen cared to tell libev about it by calling
+C<ev_default_fork> or C<ev_loop_fork>). The invocation is done before the
+event loop blocks next and before C<ev_check> watchers are being called,
+and only in the child after the fork. If whoever good citizen calling
+C<ev_default_fork> cheats and calls it in the wrong process, the fork
+handlers will be invoked, too, of course.
+
+=head3 Watcher-Specific Functions and Data Members
+
+=over 4
+
+=item ev_fork_init (ev_signal *, callback)
+
+Initialises and configures the fork watcher - it has no parameters of any
+kind. There is a C<ev_fork_set> macro, but using it is utterly pointless,
+believe me.
+
 =back
 
 
@@ -1320,12 +1961,21 @@ To use it,
    
   #include <ev++.h>
 
-(it is not installed by default). This automatically includes F<ev.h>
-and puts all of its definitions (many of them macros) into the global
-namespace. All C++ specific things are put into the C<ev> namespace.
+This automatically includes F<ev.h> and puts all of its definitions (many
+of them macros) into the global namespace. All C++ specific things are
+put into the C<ev> namespace. It should support all the same embedding
+options as F<ev.h>, most notably C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
+
+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 C<EV_MULTIPLICITY> when embedding libev).
 
-It should support all the same embedding options as F<ev.h>, most notably
-C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>.
+Currently, functions, and static and non-static member functions 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).
 
 Here is a list of things available in the C<ev> namespace:
 
@@ -1351,20 +2001,65 @@ All of those classes have these methods:
 
 =over 4
 
-=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *)
+=item ev::TYPE::TYPE ()
 
-=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (object *, object::method *, struct ev_loop *)
+=item ev::TYPE::TYPE (struct ev_loop *)
 
 =item ev::TYPE::~TYPE
 
-The constructor takes a pointer to an object and a method pointer to
-the event handler callback to call in this class. The constructor calls
-C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the C<set> method
-before starting it. If you do not specify a loop then the constructor
-automatically associates the default loop with this watcher.
+The constructor (optionally) takes an event loop to associate the watcher
+with. If it is omitted, it will use C<EV_DEFAULT>.
+
+The constructor calls C<ev_init> for you, which means you have to call the
+C<set> method before starting it.
+
+It will not set a callback, however: You have to call the templated C<set>
+method to set a callback before you can start the watcher.
+
+(The reason why you have to use a method is a limitation in C++ which does
+not allow explicit template arguments for constructors).
 
 The destructor automatically stops the watcher if it is active.
 
+=item w->set<class, &class::method> (object *)
+
+This method sets the callback method to call. The method has to have a
+signature of C<void (*)(ev_TYPE &, int)>, it receives the watcher as
+first argument and the C<revents> as second. The object must be given as
+parameter and is stored in the C<data> member of the watcher.
+
+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 C<set> 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.
+
+Example: simple class declaration and watcher initialisation
+
+  struct myclass
+  {
+    void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
+  }
+
+  myclass obj;
+  ev::io iow;
+  iow.set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb> (&obj);
+
+=item w->set<function> (void *data = 0)
+
+Also sets a callback, but uses a static method or plain function as
+callback. The optional C<data> argument will be stored in the watcher's
+C<data> member and is free for you to use.
+
+The prototype of the C<function> must be C<void (*)(ev::TYPE &w, int)>.
+
+See the method-C<set> above for more details.
+
+Example:
+
+  static void io_cb (ev::io &w, int revents) { }
+  iow.set <io_cb> ();
+
 =item w->set (struct ev_loop *)
 
 Associates a different C<struct ev_loop> with this watcher. You can only
@@ -1373,27 +2068,32 @@ do this when the watcher is inactive (and not pending either).
 =item w->set ([args])
 
 Basically the same as C<ev_TYPE_set>, with the same args. Must be
-called at least once.  Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
-automatically stopped and restarted.
+called at least once. Unlike the C counterpart, an active watcher gets
+automatically stopped and restarted when reconfiguring it with this
+method.
 
 =item w->start ()
 
-Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument as the
-constructor already takes the loop.
+Starts the watcher. Note that there is no C<loop> argument, as the
+constructor already stores the event loop.
 
 =item w->stop ()
 
 Stops the watcher if it is active. Again, no C<loop> argument.
 
-=item w->again ()       C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only
+=item w->again () (C<ev::timer>, C<ev::periodic> only)
 
 For C<ev::timer> and C<ev::periodic>, this invokes the corresponding
 C<ev_TYPE_again> function.
 
-=item w->sweep ()       C<ev::embed> only
+=item w->sweep () (C<ev::embed> only)
 
 Invokes C<ev_embed_sweep>.
 
+=item w->update () (C<ev::stat> only)
+
+Invokes C<ev_stat_stat>.
+
 =back
 
 =back
@@ -1410,12 +2110,75 @@ the constructor.
   }
 
   myclass::myclass (int fd)
-  : io   (this, &myclass::io_cb),
-    idle (this, &myclass::idle_cb)
   {
+    io  .set <myclass, &myclass::io_cb  > (this);
+    idle.set <myclass, &myclass::idle_cb> (this);
+
     io.start (fd, ev::READ);
   }
 
+
+=head1 MACRO MAGIC
+
+Libev can be compiled with a variety of options, the most fundamantal
+of which is C<EV_MULTIPLICITY>. This option determines whether (most)
+functions and callbacks have an initial C<struct ev_loop *> argument.
+
+To make it easier to write programs that cope with either variant, the
+following macros are defined:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item C<EV_A>, C<EV_A_>
+
+This provides the loop I<argument> for functions, if one is required ("ev
+loop argument"). The C<EV_A> form is used when this is the sole argument,
+C<EV_A_> is used when other arguments are following. Example:
+
+  ev_unref (EV_A);
+  ev_timer_add (EV_A_ watcher);
+  ev_loop (EV_A_ 0);
+
+It assumes the variable C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *> is in scope,
+which is often provided by the following macro.
+
+=item C<EV_P>, C<EV_P_>
+
+This provides the loop I<parameter> for functions, if one is required ("ev
+loop parameter"). The C<EV_P> form is used when this is the sole parameter,
+C<EV_P_> is used when other parameters are following. Example:
+
+  // 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)
+
+It declares a parameter C<loop> of type C<struct ev_loop *>, quite
+suitable for use with C<EV_A>.
+
+=item C<EV_DEFAULT>, C<EV_DEFAULT_>
+
+Similar to the other two macros, this gives you the value of the default
+loop, if multiple loops are supported ("ev loop default").
+
+=back
+
+Example: Declare and initialise a check watcher, utilising the above
+macros so it will work regardless of whether multiple loops are supported
+or not.
+
+  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_loop (EV_DEFAULT_ 0);
+
 =head1 EMBEDDING
 
 Libev can (and often is) directly embedded into host
@@ -1423,7 +2186,7 @@ applications. Examples of applications that embed it include the Deliantra
 Game Server, the EV perl module, the GNU Virtual Private Ethernet (gvpe)
 and rxvt-unicode.
 
-The goal is to enable you to just copy the neecssary files into your
+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).
@@ -1464,14 +2227,14 @@ in your include path (e.g. in libev/ when using -Ilibev):
 
   ev_win32.c      required on win32 platforms only
 
-  ev_select.c     only when select backend is enabled (which is is by default)
+  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)
 
 F<ev.c> includes the backend files directly when enabled, so you only need
-to compile a single file.
+to compile this single file.
 
 =head3 LIBEVENT COMPATIBILITY API
 
@@ -1494,8 +2257,8 @@ You need the following additional files for this:
 
 Instead of using C<EV_STANDALONE=1> and providing your config in
 whatever way you want, you can also C<m4_include([libev.m4])> in your
-F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> off. F<ev.c> will then include
-F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
+F<configure.ac> and leave C<EV_STANDALONE> undefined. F<ev.c> will then
+include F<config.h> and configure itself accordingly.
 
 For this of course you need the m4 file:
 
@@ -1523,7 +2286,7 @@ If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
 monotonic clock option at both compiletime 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, althoguh you have
+the functionality isn't available is safe, though, although you have
 to make sure you link against any libraries where the C<clock_gettime>
 function is hiding in (often F<-lrt>).
 
@@ -1533,8 +2296,8 @@ If defined to be C<1>, libev will try to detect the availability of the
 realtime clock option at compiletime (and assume its availability at
 runtime if successful). Otherwise no use of the realtime clock option will
 be attempted. This effectively replaces C<gettimeofday> by C<clock_get
-(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See tzhe note about libraries
-in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
+(CLOCK_REALTIME, ...)> and will not normally affect correctness. See the
+note about libraries in the description of C<EV_USE_MONOTONIC>, though.
 
 =item EV_USE_SELECT
 
@@ -1599,6 +2362,12 @@ backend for Solaris 10 systems.
 
 reserved for future expansion, works like the USE symbols above.
 
+=item EV_USE_INOTIFY
+
+If defined to be C<1>, libev will compile in support for the Linux inotify
+interface to speed up C<ev_stat> watchers. Its actual availability will
+be detected at runtime.
+
 =item EV_H
 
 The name of the F<ev.h> header file used to include it. The default if
@@ -1631,10 +2400,70 @@ 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.
 
-=item EV_PERIODICS
+=item EV_MINPRI
+
+=item EV_MAXPRI
+
+The range of allowed priorities. C<EV_MINPRI> must be smaller or equal to
+C<EV_MAXPRI>, but otherwise there are no non-obvious limitations. You can
+provide for more priorities by overriding those symbols (usually defined
+to be C<-2> and C<2>, respectively).
+
+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.
+
+If your embedding app does not need any priorities, defining these both to
+C<0> will save some memory and cpu.
+
+=item EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE
+
+If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported. If
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
+code.
+
+=item EV_IDLE_ENABLE
+
+If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then idle watchers are supported. If
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not. Disabling them saves a few kB of
+code.
+
+=item EV_EMBED_ENABLE
+
+If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then embed watchers are supported. If
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
+
+=item EV_STAT_ENABLE
+
+If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then stat watchers are supported. If
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
+
+=item EV_FORK_ENABLE
 
-If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then periodic timers are supported,
-otherwise not. This saves a few kb of code.
+If undefined or defined to be C<1>, then fork watchers are supported. If
+defined to be C<0>, then they are not.
+
+=item EV_MINIMAL
+
+If you need to shave off some kilobytes of code at the expense of some
+speed, define this symbol to C<1>. Currently only used for gcc to override
+some inlining decisions, saves roughly 30% codesize of amd64.
+
+=item EV_PID_HASHSIZE
+
+C<ev_child> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
+pid. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>), usually more
+than enough. If you need to manage thousands of children you might want to
+increase this value (I<must> be a power of two).
+
+=item EV_INOTIFY_HASHSIZE
+
+C<ev_staz> watchers use a small hash table to distribute workload by
+inotify watch id. The default size is C<16> (or C<1> with C<EV_MINIMAL>),
+usually more than enough. If you need to manage thousands of C<ev_stat>
+watchers you might want to increase this value (I<must> be a power of
+two).
 
 =item EV_COMMON
 
@@ -1649,18 +2478,43 @@ For example, the perl EV module uses something like this:
     SV *self; /* contains this struct */  \
     SV *cb_sv, *fh /* note no trailing ";" */
 
-=item EV_CB_DECLARE(type)
+=item EV_CB_DECLARE (type)
 
-=item EV_CB_INVOKE(watcher,revents)
+=item EV_CB_INVOKE (watcher, revents)
 
-=item ev_set_cb(ev,cb)
+=item ev_set_cb (ev, cb)
 
 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 F<ev.v> header file for
+definition and a statement, respectively. See the F<ev.h> header file for
 their default definitions. One possible use for overriding these is to
-avoid the ev_loop pointer as first argument in all cases, or to use method
-calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
+avoid the C<struct ev_loop *> as first argument in all cases, or to use
+method calls instead of plain function calls in C++.
+
+=head2 EXPORTED API SYMBOLS
+
+If you need to re-export the API (e.g. via a dll) and you need a list of
+exported symbols, you can use the provided F<Symbol.*> files which list
+all public symbols, one per line:
+
+  Symbols.ev      for libev proper
+  Symbols.event   for the libevent emulation
+
+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 inconvinient to avoid this).
+
+A sed command like this will create wrapper C<#define>'s that you need to
+include before including F<ev.h>:
+
+   <Symbols.ev sed -e "s/.*/#define & myprefix_&/" >wrap.h
+
+This would create a file F<wrap.h> which essentially looks like this:
+
+   #define ev_backend     myprefix_ev_backend
+   #define ev_check_start myprefix_ev_check_start
+   #define ev_check_stop  myprefix_ev_check_stop
+   ...
 
 =head2 EXAMPLES
 
@@ -1673,12 +2527,17 @@ will be compiled. It is pretty complex because it provides its own header
 file.
 
 The usage in rxvt-unicode is simpler. It has a F<ev_cpp.h> header file
-that everybody includes and which overrides some autoconf choices:
+that everybody includes and which overrides some configure choices:
 
+  #define EV_MINIMAL 1
   #define EV_USE_POLL 0
   #define EV_MULTIPLICITY 0
-  #define EV_PERIODICS 0
+  #define EV_PERIODIC_ENABLE 0
+  #define EV_STAT_ENABLE 0
+  #define EV_FORK_ENABLE 0
   #define EV_CONFIG_H <config.h>
+  #define EV_MINPRI 0
+  #define EV_MAXPRI 0
 
   #include "ev++.h"
 
@@ -1687,6 +2546,61 @@ And a F<ev_cpp.C> implementation file that contains libev proper and is compiled
   #include "ev_cpp.h"
   #include "ev.c"
 
+
+=head1 COMPLEXITIES
+
+In this section the complexities of (many of) the algorithms used inside
+libev will be explained. For complexity discussions about backends see the
+documentation for C<ev_default_init>.
+
+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 never with higher number of elements, so O(1) might
+mean it might do a lengthy realloc operation in rare cases, but on average
+it is much faster and asymptotically approaches constant time.
+
+=over 4
+
+=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 those 100 watchers.
+
+=item Changing timer/periodic watchers (by autorepeat, again): O(log skipped_other_timers)
+
+That means that for changing a timer costs less than removing/adding them
+as only the relative motion in the event queue has to be paid for.
+
+=item Starting io/check/prepare/idle/signal/child watchers: O(1)
+
+These just add the watcher into an array or at the head of a list.
+=item Stopping check/prepare/idle watchers: O(1)
+
+=item Stopping an io/signal/child watcher: O(number_of_watchers_for_this_(fd/signal/pid % EV_PID_HASHSIZE))
+
+These watchers are stored in lists then 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).
+
+=item Finding the next timer per loop iteration: O(1)
+
+=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).
+
+=item Activating one watcher: O(1)
+
+=item Priority handling: O(number_of_priorities)
+
+Priorities are implemented by allocating some space for each
+priority. When doing priority-based operations, libev usually has to
+linearly search all the priorities.
+
+=back
+
+
 =head1 AUTHOR
 
 Marc Lehmann <libev@schmorp.de>.