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diff third_party/libuv/docs/src/guide/utilities.rst @ 160:948de3f54cea
[ThirdParty] Added libuv
| author | June Park <parkjune1995@gmail.com> |
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| date | Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:39:52 -0800 |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/third_party/libuv/docs/src/guide/utilities.rst Wed Jan 14 19:39:52 2026 -0800 @@ -0,0 +1,450 @@ +Utilities +========= + +This chapter catalogues tools and techniques which are useful for common tasks. +The `libev man page`_ already covers some patterns which can be adopted to +libuv through simple API changes. It also covers parts of the libuv API that +don't require entire chapters dedicated to them. + +Timers +------ + +Timers invoke the callback after a certain time has elapsed since the timer was +started. libuv timers can also be set to invoke at regular intervals instead of +just once. + +Simple use is to init a watcher and start it with a ``timeout``, and optional ``repeat``. +Timers can be stopped at any time. + +.. code-block:: c + + uv_timer_t timer_req; + + uv_timer_init(loop, &timer_req); + uv_timer_start(&timer_req, callback, 5000, 2000); + +will start a repeating timer, which first starts 5 seconds (the ``timeout``) after the execution +of ``uv_timer_start``, then repeats every 2 seconds (the ``repeat``). Use: + +.. code-block:: c + + uv_timer_stop(&timer_req); + +to stop the timer. This can be used safely from within the callback as well. + +The repeat interval can be modified at any time with:: + + uv_timer_set_repeat(uv_timer_t *timer, int64_t repeat); + +which will take effect **when possible**. If this function is called from +a timer callback, it means: + +* If the timer was non-repeating, the timer has already been stopped. Use + ``uv_timer_start`` again. +* If the timer is repeating, the next timeout has already been scheduled, so + the old repeat interval will be used once more before the timer switches to + the new interval. + +The utility function:: + + int uv_timer_again(uv_timer_t *) + +applies **only to repeating timers** and is equivalent to stopping the timer +and then starting it with both initial ``timeout`` and ``repeat`` set to the +old ``repeat`` value. If the timer hasn't been started it fails (error code +``UV_EINVAL``) and returns -1. + +An actual timer example is in the :ref:`reference count section +<reference-count>`. + +.. _reference-count: + +Event loop reference count +-------------------------- + +The event loop only runs as long as there are active handles. This system +works by having every handle increase the reference count of the event loop +when it is started and decreasing the reference count when stopped. It is also +possible to manually change the reference count of handles using:: + + void uv_ref(uv_handle_t*); + void uv_unref(uv_handle_t*); + +These functions can be used to allow a loop to exit even when a watcher is +active or to use custom objects to keep the loop alive. + +The latter can be used with interval timers. You might have a garbage collector +which runs every X seconds, or your network service might send a heartbeat to +others periodically, but you don't want to have to stop them along all clean +exit paths or error scenarios. Or you want the program to exit when all your +other watchers are done. In that case just unref the timer immediately after +creation so that if it is the only watcher running then ``uv_run`` will still +exit. + +This is also used in node.js where some libuv methods are being bubbled up to +the JS API. A ``uv_handle_t`` (the superclass of all watchers) is created per +JS object and can be ref/unrefed. + +.. rubric:: ref-timer/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/ref-timer/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 5-8, 17- + :emphasize-lines: 9 + +We initialize the garbage collector timer, then immediately ``unref`` it. +Observe how after 9 seconds, when the fake job is done, the program +automatically exits, even though the garbage collector is still running. + +Idler pattern +------------- + +The callbacks of idle handles are invoked once per event loop. The idle +callback can be used to perform some very low priority activity. For example, +you could dispatch a summary of the daily application performance to the +developers for analysis during periods of idleness, or use the application's +CPU time to perform SETI calculations :) An idle watcher is also useful in +a GUI application. Say you are using an event loop for a file download. If the +TCP socket is still being established and no other events are present your +event loop will pause (**block**), which means your progress bar will freeze +and the user will face an unresponsive application. In such a case queue up and +idle watcher to keep the UI operational. + +.. rubric:: idle-compute/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/idle-compute/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 5-9, 34- + :emphasize-lines: 13 + +Here we initialize the idle watcher and queue it up along with the actual +events we are interested in. ``crunch_away`` will now be called repeatedly +until the user types something and presses Return. Then it will be interrupted +for a brief amount as the loop deals with the input data, after which it will +keep calling the idle callback again. + +.. rubric:: idle-compute/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/idle-compute/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 10-19 + +.. _baton: + +Passing data to worker thread +----------------------------- + +When using ``uv_queue_work`` you'll usually need to pass complex data through +to the worker thread. The solution is to use a ``struct`` and set +``uv_work_t.data`` to point to it. A slight variation is to have the +``uv_work_t`` itself as the first member of this struct (called a baton [#]_). +This allows cleaning up the work request and all the data in one free call. + +.. code-block:: c + :linenos: + :emphasize-lines: 2 + + struct ftp_baton { + uv_work_t req; + char *host; + int port; + char *username; + char *password; + } + +.. code-block:: c + :linenos: + :emphasize-lines: 2 + + ftp_baton *baton = (ftp_baton*) malloc(sizeof(ftp_baton)); + baton->req.data = (void*) baton; + baton->host = strdup("my.webhost.com"); + baton->port = 21; + // ... + + uv_queue_work(loop, &baton->req, ftp_session, ftp_cleanup); + +Here we create the baton and queue the task. + +Now the task function can extract the data it needs: + +.. code-block:: c + :linenos: + :emphasize-lines: 2, 12 + + void ftp_session(uv_work_t *req) { + ftp_baton *baton = (ftp_baton*) req->data; + + fprintf(stderr, "Connecting to %s\n", baton->host); + } + + void ftp_cleanup(uv_work_t *req) { + ftp_baton *baton = (ftp_baton*) req->data; + + free(baton->host); + // ... + free(baton); + } + +We then free the baton which also frees the watcher. + +External I/O with polling +------------------------- + +Usually third-party libraries will handle their own I/O, and keep track of +their sockets and other files internally. In this case it isn't possible to use +the standard stream I/O operations, but the library can still be integrated +into the libuv event loop. All that is required is that the library allow you +to access the underlying file descriptors and provide functions that process +tasks in small increments as decided by your application. Some libraries though +will not allow such access, providing only a standard blocking function which +will perform the entire I/O transaction and only then return. It is unwise to +use these in the event loop thread, use the :ref:`threadpool` instead. Of +course, this will also mean losing granular control on the library. + +The ``uv_poll`` section of libuv simply watches file descriptors using the +operating system notification mechanism. In some sense, all the I/O operations +that libuv implements itself are also backed by ``uv_poll`` like code. Whenever +the OS notices a change of state in file descriptors being polled, libuv will +invoke the associated callback. + +Here we will walk through a simple download manager that will use libcurl_ to +download files. Rather than give all control to libcurl, we'll instead be +using the libuv event loop, and use the non-blocking, async multi_ interface to +progress with the download whenever libuv notifies of I/O readiness. + +.. _libcurl: https://curl.haxx.se/libcurl/ +.. _multi: https://curl.haxx.se/libcurl/c/libcurl-multi.html + +.. rubric:: uvwget/main.c - The setup +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/uvwget/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 1-9,142- + :emphasize-lines: 7,21,24-25 + +The way each library is integrated with libuv will vary. In the case of +libcurl, we can register two callbacks. The socket callback ``handle_socket`` +is invoked whenever the state of a socket changes and we have to start polling +it. ``start_timeout`` is called by libcurl to notify us of the next timeout +interval, after which we should drive libcurl forward regardless of I/O status. +This is so that libcurl can handle errors or do whatever else is required to +get the download moving. + +Our downloader is to be invoked as:: + + $ ./uvwget [url1] [url2] ... + +So we add each argument as a URL + +.. rubric:: uvwget/main.c - Adding urls +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/uvwget/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 39-56 + :emphasize-lines: 13-14 + +We let libcurl directly write the data to a file, but much more is possible if +you so desire. + +``start_timeout`` will be called immediately the first time by libcurl, so +things are set in motion. This simply starts a libuv `timer <#timers>`_ which +drives ``curl_multi_socket_action`` with ``CURL_SOCKET_TIMEOUT`` whenever it +times out. ``curl_multi_socket_action`` is what drives libcurl, and what we +call whenever sockets change state. But before we go into that, we need to poll +on sockets whenever ``handle_socket`` is called. + +.. rubric:: uvwget/main.c - Setting up polling +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/uvwget/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 102-140 + :emphasize-lines: 9,11,15,21,24 + +We are interested in the socket fd ``s``, and the ``action``. For every socket +we create a ``uv_poll_t`` handle if it doesn't exist, and associate it with the +socket using ``curl_multi_assign``. This way ``socketp`` points to it whenever +the callback is invoked. + +In the case that the download is done or fails, libcurl requests removal of the +poll. So we stop and free the poll handle. + +Depending on what events libcurl wishes to watch for, we start polling with +``UV_READABLE`` or ``UV_WRITABLE``. Now libuv will invoke the poll callback +whenever the socket is ready for reading or writing. Calling ``uv_poll_start`` +multiple times on the same handle is acceptable, it will just update the events +mask with the new value. ``curl_perform`` is the crux of this program. + +.. rubric:: uvwget/main.c - Driving libcurl. +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/uvwget/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 81-95 + :emphasize-lines: 2,6-7,12 + +The first thing we do is to stop the timer, since there has been some progress +in the interval. Then depending on what event triggered the callback, we set +the correct flags. Then we call ``curl_multi_socket_action`` with the socket +that progressed and the flags informing about what events happened. At this +point libcurl does all of its internal tasks in small increments, and will +attempt to return as fast as possible, which is exactly what an evented program +wants in its main thread. libcurl keeps queueing messages into its own queue +about transfer progress. In our case we are only interested in transfers that +are completed. So we extract these messages, and clean up handles whose +transfers are done. + +.. rubric:: uvwget/main.c - Reading transfer status. +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/uvwget/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 58-79 + :emphasize-lines: 6,9-10,13-14 + +Check & Prepare watchers +------------------------ + +TODO + +Loading libraries +----------------- + +libuv provides a cross platform API to dynamically load `shared libraries`_. +This can be used to implement your own plugin/extension/module system and is +used by node.js to implement ``require()`` support for bindings. The usage is +quite simple as long as your library exports the right symbols. Be careful with +sanity and security checks when loading third party code, otherwise your +program will behave unpredictably. This example implements a very simple +plugin system which does nothing except print the name of the plugin. + +Let us first look at the interface provided to plugin authors. + +.. rubric:: plugin/plugin.h +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/plugin/plugin.h + :language: c + :linenos: + +You can similarly add more functions that plugin authors can use to do useful +things in your application [#]_. A sample plugin using this API is: + +.. rubric:: plugin/hello.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/plugin/hello.c + :language: c + :linenos: + +Our interface defines that all plugins should have an ``initialize`` function +which will be called by the application. This plugin is compiled as a shared +library and can be loaded by running our application:: + + $ ./plugin libhello.dylib + Loading libhello.dylib + Registered plugin "Hello World!" + +.. NOTE:: + + The shared library filename will be different depending on platforms. On + Linux it is ``libhello.so``. + +This is done by using ``uv_dlopen`` to first load the shared library +``libhello.dylib``. Then we get access to the ``initialize`` function using +``uv_dlsym`` and invoke it. + +.. rubric:: plugin/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/plugin/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :lines: 7- + :emphasize-lines: 15, 18, 24 + +``uv_dlopen`` expects a path to the shared library and sets the opaque +``uv_lib_t`` pointer. It returns 0 on success, -1 on error. Use ``uv_dlerror`` +to get the error message. + +``uv_dlsym`` stores a pointer to the symbol in the second argument in the third +argument. ``init_plugin_function`` is a function pointer to the sort of +function we are looking for in the application's plugins. + +.. _shared libraries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_library + +TTY +--- + +Text terminals have supported basic formatting for a long time, with a `pretty +standardised`_ command set. This formatting is often used by programs to +improve the readability of terminal output. For example ``grep --colour``. +libuv provides the ``uv_tty_t`` abstraction (a stream) and related functions to +implement the ANSI escape codes across all platforms. By this I mean that libuv +converts ANSI codes to the Windows equivalent, and provides functions to get +terminal information. + +.. _pretty standardised: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_sequences + +The first thing to do is to initialize a ``uv_tty_t`` with the file descriptor +it reads/writes from. This is achieved with:: + + int uv_tty_init(uv_loop_t*, uv_tty_t*, uv_file fd, int unused) + +The ``unused`` parameter is now auto-detected and ignored. It previously needed +to be set to use ``uv_read_start()`` on the stream. + +It is then best to use ``uv_tty_set_mode`` to set the mode to *normal* +which enables most TTY formatting, flow-control and other settings. Other_ modes +are also available. + +.. _Other: http://docs.libuv.org/en/v1.x/tty.html#c.uv_tty_mode_t + +Remember to call ``uv_tty_reset_mode`` when your program exits to restore the +state of the terminal. Just good manners. Another set of good manners is to be +aware of redirection. If the user redirects the output of your command to +a file, control sequences should not be written as they impede readability and +``grep``. To check if the file descriptor is indeed a TTY, call +``uv_guess_handle`` with the file descriptor and compare the return value with +``UV_TTY``. + +Here is a simple example which prints white text on a red background: + +.. rubric:: tty/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/tty/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :emphasize-lines: 11-12,14,17,27 + +The final TTY helper is ``uv_tty_get_winsize()`` which is used to get the +width and height of the terminal and returns ``0`` on success. Here is a small +program which does some animation using the function and character position +escape codes. + +.. rubric:: tty-gravity/main.c +.. literalinclude:: ../../code/tty-gravity/main.c + :language: c + :linenos: + :emphasize-lines: 19,25,38 + +The escape codes are: + +====== ======================= +Code Meaning +====== ======================= +*2* J Clear part of the screen, 2 is entire screen +H Moves cursor to certain position, default top-left +*n* B Moves cursor down by n lines +*n* C Moves cursor right by n columns +m Obeys string of display settings, in this case green background (40+2), white text (30+7) +====== ======================= + +As you can see this is very useful to produce nicely formatted output, or even +console based arcade games if that tickles your fancy. For fancier control you +can try `ncurses`_. + +.. _ncurses: https://www.gnu.org/software/ncurses/ncurses.html + +.. versionchanged:: 1.23.1: the `readable` parameter is now unused and ignored. + The appropriate value will now be auto-detected from the kernel. + +---- + +.. [#] I was first introduced to the term baton in this context, in Konstantin + Käfer's excellent slides on writing node.js bindings -- + https://kkaefer.com/node-cpp-modules/#baton +.. [#] mfp is My Fancy Plugin + +.. _libev man page: http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#COMMON_OR_USEFUL_IDIOMS_OR_BOTH