This manual page is for Mac OS X version 10.6

If you are running a different version of Mac OS X, view the documentation locally:

  • In Terminal, using the man(1) command

Reading manual pages

Manual pages are intended as a quick reference for people who already understand a technology.

  • For more information about the manual page format, see the manual page for manpages(5).

  • For more information about this technology, look for other documentation in the Apple Reference Library.

  • For general information about writing shell scripts, read Shell Scripting Primer.



dispatch_source_create(3)               BSD Library Functions Manual               dispatch_source_create(3)

NAME
     dispatch_source_create -- dispatch event sources

SYNOPSIS
     #include <dispatch/dispatch.h>

     dispatch_source_t
     dispatch_source_create(dispatch_source_type_t type, uintptr_t handle, unsigned long mask,
         dispatch_queue_t queue);

     void
     dispatch_source_set_event_handler(dispatch_source_t source, void (^block)(void));

     void
     dispatch_source_set_event_handler_f(dispatch_source_t source, void (*function)(void *));

     void
     dispatch_source_set_cancel_handler(dispatch_source_t source, void (^block)(void));

     void
     dispatch_source_set_cancel_handler_f(dispatch_source_t source, void (*function)(void *));

     void
     dispatch_source_cancel(dispatch_source_t source);

     void
     dispatch_source_testcancel(dispatch_source_t source);

     uintptr_t
     dispatch_source_get_handle(dispatch_source_t source);

     unsigned long
     dispatch_source_get_mask(dispatch_source_t source);

     unsigned long
     dispatch_source_get_data(dispatch_source_t source);

     void
     dispatch_source_merge_data(dispatch_source_t source, unsigned long data);

     void
     dispatch_source_set_timer(dispatch_source_t source, dispatch_time_t start, uint64_t interval,
         uint64_t leeway);

DESCRIPTION
     Dispatch event sources may be used to monitor a variety of system objects and events including file
     descriptors, mach ports, processes, virtual filesystem nodes, signal delivery and timers.

     When a state change occurs, the dispatch source will submit its event handler block to its target
     queue.

     The dispatch_source_create() function creates a new dispatch source object that may be retained and
     released with calls to dispatch_retain() and dispatch_release() respectively. Newly created sources are
     created in a suspended state. After the source has been configured by setting an event handler, cancel-lation cancellation
     lation handler, context, etc., the source must be activated by a call to dispatch_resume() before any
     events will be delivered.

     Dispatch sources may be one of the following types:
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_ADD
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_OR
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_MACH_SEND
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_MACH_RECV
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_PROC
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_READ
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_SIGNAL
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_TIMER
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_VNODE
           •   DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_WRITE

     The handle and mask arguments to dispatch_source_create() and the return values of the
     dispatch_source_get_handle(), dispatch_source_get_mask(), and dispatch_source_get_data() functions
     should be interpreted according to the type of the dispatch source.

     The dispatch_source_get_handle() function returns the underlying handle to the dispatch source (i.e.
     file descriptor, mach port, process identifer, etc.). The result of this function may be cast directly
     to the underlying type.

     The dispatch_source_get_mask() function returns the set of flags that were specified at source creation
     time via the mask argument.

     The dispatch_source_get_data() function returns the currently pending data for the dispatch source.
     This function should only be called from within the source's event handler.  The result of calling this
     function from any other context is undefined.

     The dispatch_source_merge_data() function is intended for use with the DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_ADD
     and DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_OR source types. The result of using this function with any other source
     type is undefined. Calling this function will atomically add or logical OR the data into the source's
     data, and trigger the delivery of the source's event handler.

SOURCE EVENT HANDLERS
     In order to receive events from the dispatch source, an event handler should be specified via
     dispatch_source_set_event_handler().  The event handler block is submitted to the source's target queue
     when the state of the underlying system handle changes, or when an event occurs.

     Dispatch sources may be suspended or resumed independently of their target queues using
     dispatch_suspend() and dispatch_resume() on the dispatch source directly. The data describing events
     which occur while a source is suspended are coalesced and delivered once the source is resumed.

     The handler block need not be reentrant safe, as it is not resubmitted to the target queue until any
     prior invocation for that dispatch source has completed.  When the hander is set, the dispatch source
     will perform a Block_copy() on the handler block.

CANCELLATION
     The dispatch_source_cancel() function asynchronously cancels the dispatch source, preventing any fur-ther further
     ther invocation of its event handler block. Cancellation does not interrupt a currently executing han-dler handler
     dler block (non-preemptive).

     The dispatch_source_testcancel() function may be used to determine whether the specified source has
     been canceled. A non-zero value will be returned if the source is canceled.

     When a dispatch source is canceled its optional cancellation handler will be submitted to its target
     queue. The cancellation handler may be specified via dispatch_source_set_cancel_handler().  This can-cellation cancellation
     cellation handler is invoked only once, and only as a direct consequence of calling
     dispatch_source_cancel().

     Important: a cancellation handler is required for file descriptor and mach port based sources in order
     to safely close the descriptor or destroy the port. Closing the descriptor or port before the cancella-tion cancellation
     tion handler has run may result in a race condition: if a new descriptor is allocated with the same
     value as the recently cosed descriptor while the source's event handler is still running, the event
     handler may read/write data to the wrong descriptor.

DISPATCH SOURCE TYPES
     The following section contains a summary of supported dispatch event types and the interpretation of
     their parameters and returned data.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_ADD, DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_DATA_OR

     Sources of this type allow applications to manually trigger the source's event handler via a call to
     dispatch_source_merge_data().  The data will be merged with the source's pending data via an atomic add
     or logic OR (based on the source's type), and the event handler block will be submitted to the source's
     target queue. The mask and data are application defined. These sources have no handle and zero should
     be used.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_MACH_SEND

     Sources of this type monitor a mach port with a send right for state changes.  The handle is the mach
     port (mach_port_t) to monitor and the mask may be:
            DISPATCH_MACH_SEND_DEAD
                                   The port's corresponding receive right has been destroyed

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() indicates which of the events in the mask were
     observed.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_MACH_RECV

     Sources of this type monitor a mach port with a receive right for state changes.  The handle is the
     mach port (mach_port_t) to monitor and the mask is unused and should be zero.  The event handler block
     will be submitted to the target queue when a message on the mach port is waiting to be received.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_PROC

     Sources of this type monitor processes for state changes.  The handle is the process identifier (pid_t)
     of the process to monitor and the mask may be one or more of the following:
            DISPATCH_PROC_EXIT    The process has exited and is available to wait(2).
            DISPATCH_PROC_FORK    The process has created one or more child processes.
            DISPATCH_PROC_EXEC    The process has become another executable image via a call to execve(2)
                                   or posix_spawn(2).
            DISPATCH_PROC_REAP    The process status has been collected by its parent process via wait(2).
            DISPATCH_PROC_SIGNAL  A signal was delivered to the process.

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() indicates which of the events in the mask were
     observed.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_READ

     Sources of this type monitor file descriptors for pending data.  The handle is the file descriptor
     (int) to monitor and the mask is unused and should be zero.

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() is an estimated number of bytes available to be read
     from the descriptor. This estimate should be treated as a suggested minimum read buffer size. There are
     no guarantees that a complete read of this size will be performed.

     Users of this source type are strongly encouraged to perform non-blocking I/O and handle any truncated
     reads or error conditions that may occur. See fnctl(2) for additional information about setting the
     O_NONBLOCK flag on a file descriptor.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_SIGNAL

     Sources of this type monitor signals delivered to the current process. The handle is the signal number
     to monitor (int) and the mask is unused and should be zero.

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() is the number of signals received since the last invo-cation invocation
     cation of the event handler block.

     Unlike signal handlers specified via sigaction(), the execution of the event handler block does not
     interrupt the current thread of execution; therefore the handler block is not limited to the use of
     signal safe interfaces defined in sigaction(2).  Furthermore, multiple observers of a given signal are
     supported; thus allowing applications and libraries to cooperate safely. However, a dispatch source
     does not install a signal handler or otherwise alter the behavior of signal delivery.  Therefore,
     applications must ignore or at least catch any signal that terminates a process by default. For exam-ple, example,
     ple, near the top of main():

          signal(SIGTERM, SIG_IGN);

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_TIMER

     Sources of this type periodically submit the event handler block to the target queue on an interval
     specified by dispatch_source_set_timer().  The handle and mask arguments are unused and should be zero.

     A best effort attempt is made to submit the event handler block to the target queue at the specified
     time; however, actual invocation may occur at a later time.

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() is the number of times the timer has fired since the
     last invocation of the event handler block.

     The function dispatch_source_set_timer() takes as an argument the start time of the timer (initial fire
     time) represented as a dispatch_time_t.  The timer dispatch source will use the same clock as the func-tion function
     tion used to create this value. (See dispatch_time(3) for more information.) The interval, in nanosec-onds, nanoseconds,
     onds, specifies the period at which the timer should repeat. All timers will repeat indefinitely until
     dispatch_source_cancel() is called. The leeway, in nanoseconds, is a hint to the system that it may
     defer the timer in order to align with other system activity for improved system performance or reduced
     power consumption. (For example, an application might perform a periodic task every 5 minutes with a
     leeway of up to 30 seconds.) Note that some latency is to be expected for all timers even when a value
     of zero is used.

     Note: Under the C language, untyped numbers default to the int type. This can lead to truncation bugs
     when arithmetic operations with other numbers are expected to generate a uint64_t sized result. When in
     doubt, use ull as a suffix. For example:

           3ull * NSEC_PER_SEC

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_VNODE

     Sources of this type monitor the virtual filesystem nodes for state changes.  The handle is a file
     descriptor (int) referencing the node to monitor, and the mask may be one or more of the following:
            DISPATCH_VNODE_DELETE  The referenced node was removed from the filesystem namespace via
                                    unlink(2).
            DISPATCH_VNODE_WRITE   A write to the referenced file occurred
            DISPATCH_VNODE_EXTEND  The referenced file was extended
            DISPATCH_VNODE_ATTRIB  The metadata attributes of the referenced node have changed
            DISPATCH_VNODE_LINK    The link count on the referenced node has changed
            DISPATCH_VNODE_RENAME  The referenced node was renamed
            DISPATCH_VNODE_REVOKE  Access to the referenced node was revoked via revoke(2) or the underly-ing underlying
                                    ing fileystem was unmounted.

     The data returned by dispatch_source_get_data() indicates which of the events in the mask were
     observed.

     DISPATCH_SOURCE_TYPE_WRITE

     Sources of this type monitor file descriptors for available write buffer space.  The handle is the file
     descriptor (int) to monitor and the mask is unused and should be zero.

     Users of this source type are strongly encouraged to perform non-blocking I/O and handle any truncated
     reads or error conditions that may occur. See fnctl(2) for additional information about setting the
     O_NONBLOCK flag on a file descriptor.

SEE ALSO
     dispatch(3), dispatch_object(3), dispatch_queue_create(3)

Darwin                                           May 1, 2009                                          Darwin

Reporting Problems

The way to report a problem with this manual page depends on the type of problem:

Content errors
Report errors in the content of this documentation with the feedback links below.
Bug reports
Report bugs in the functionality of the described tool or API through Bug Reporter.
Formatting problems
Report formatting mistakes in the online version of these pages with the feedback links below.