xref: /illumos-gate/usr/src/man/man3c/eventfd.3c (revision dfc11533)
1.\"
2.\" This file and its contents are supplied under the terms of the
3.\" Common Development and Distribution License ("CDDL"), version 1.0.
4.\" You may only use this file in accordance with the terms of version
5.\" 1.0 of the CDDL.
6.\"
7.\" A full copy of the text of the CDDL should have accompanied this
8.\" source.  A copy of the CDDL is also available via the Internet at
9.\" http://www.illumos.org/license/CDDL.
10.\"
11.\"
12.\" Copyright (c) 2014, Joyent, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
13.\"
14.Dd March 26, 2017
15.Dt EVENTFD 3C
16.Os
17.Sh NAME
18.Nm eventfd
19.Nd create a file descriptor for event notification
20.Sh SYNOPSIS
21.In sys/eventfd.h
22.Ft int
23.Fo eventfd
24.Fa "unsigned int initval"
25.Fa "int flags"
26.Fc
27.Sh DESCRIPTION
28The
29.Fn eventfd
30function creates an
31.Xr eventfd 5
32instance that has an associated 64-bit unsigned counter.
33It returns a file descriptor that can be operated upon via
34.Xr read 2 ,
35.Xr write 2
36and the facilities that notify of file descriptor activity (e.g.,
37.Xr poll 2 ,
38.Xr port_get 3C ,
39.Xr epoll_wait 3C Ns ).
40To dispose of the instance,
41.Xr close 2
42should be called on the file descriptor.
43.Pp
44The
45.Fa initval
46argument specifies the initial value of the 64-bit counter associated with the
47instance.
48(Note that this limits the initial value to be a 32-bit quantity despite the
49fact that the underlying counter is 64-bit.)
50.Pp
51The \fIflags\fR argument specifies additional parameters for the
52instance, and can have any of the following values:
53.Bl -hang -width Ds
54.It Sy EFD_CLOEXEC
55.Bd -filled -compact
56Instance will be closed upon an
57.Xr exec 2 ;
58see
59.Xr open 2 Ns 's
60description of
61.Sy O_CLOEXEC .
62.Ed
63.It Sy EFD_NONBLOCK
64.Bd -filled -compact
65Instance will be set to be non-blocking.
66A
67.Xr read 2
68on an
69.Sy eventfd
70instance that has been initialized with
71.Sy EFD_NONBLOCK
72will return
73.Sy EAGAIN
74in lieu of blocking if the count associated with the instance is zero.
75.Ed
76.It EFD_SEMAPHORE
77.Bd -filled -compact
78Provide counting semaphore semantics whereby a
79.Xr read 2
80will atomically decrement rather than atomically clear the count when it
81becomes non-zero.
82See below for details on
83.Xr read 2
84semantics.
85.Ed
86.El
87.Pp
88The following operations can be performed upon an
89.Sy eventfd
90instance:
91.Bl -hang -width Ds
92.It Sy read(2)
93.Bd -filled -compact
94Atomically reads and modifies the value of the 64-bit counter associated
95with the instance.
96The precise semantics of
97.Xr read 2
98depend on the disposition of
99.Sy EFD_SEMAPHORE
100with
101respect to the instance: if
102.Sy EFD_SEMAPHORE
103was set when the instance was created,
104.Xr read 2
105will
106.Em atomically decrement
107the counter if (and when) it is non-zero, copying the value 1 to the eight
108byte buffer passed to the system call; if
109.Sy EFD_SEMAPHORE
110was not set,
111.Xr read 2
112will
113.Em atomically clear
114the counter if (and when) it is non-zero, copying the former value of the
115counter to the eight byte buffer passed to the
116system call.
117In either case,
118.Xr read 2
119will block if the counter is
120zero (or return
121.Sy EAGAIN
122if the instance was created with
123.Sy EFD_NONBLOCK Ns ).
124If the buffer specified to
125.Xr read 2
126is less than
127eight bytes in length,
128.Sy EINVAL
129will be returned.
130.Ed
131.It Sy write(2)
132.Bd -filled -compact
133Atomically adds the 64-bit value pointed to by the buffer to the 64-bit
134counter associated with the instance.
135If the resulting value would overflow, the
136.Xr write 2
137will block until the value would not overflow
138(or return
139.Sy EAGAIN
140EAGAIN if the instance was created with
141.Sy EFD_NONBLOCK Ns ).
142If the buffer specified to
143.Xr write 2
144is less than eight bytes in length,
145.Sy EINVAL
146will be returned.
147.Ed
148.It Sy poll(2), port_get(3C), epoll_wait(3C)
149.Bd -filled -compact
150Provide notification when the 64-bit counter associated
151with the instance is ready for reading or writing, as specified.
152If the 64-bit value associated with the instance is non-zero,
153.Sy POLLIN
154and
155.Sy POLLRDNORM
156will be set; if the value 1 can be added the value
157without blocking,
158.Sy POLLOUT
159and
160.Sy POLLWRNORM
161will be set.
162.Ed
163.El
164.Sh RETURN VALUES
165Upon successful completion, a file descriptor associated with the instance
166is returned.
167Otherwise,
168.Sy -1
169is returned and
170.Sy errno
171is set to indicate the error.
172.Sh ERRORS
173The
174.Fn eventfd
175function will fail if:
176.Bl -tag -width Er
177.It Er EINVAL
178The
179.Fa flags
180are invalid.
181.It Er EMFILE
182There are currently
183.Pf { Sy OPEN_MAX Ns }
184file descriptors open in the calling process.
185.El
186.Sh SEE ALSO
187.Xr poll 2 ,
188.Xr epoll_wait 3C ,
189.Xr port_get 3C ,
190.Xr eventfd 5
191