sigevent

SIGEVENT(7)                Linux Programmer's Manual               SIGEVENT(7)

NAME
       sigevent - structure for notification from asynchronous routines

SYNOPSIS
       #include <signal.h>

       union sigval {          /* Data passed with notification */
           int     sival_int;         /* Integer value */
           void   *sival_ptr;         /* Pointer value */
       };

       struct sigevent {
           int          sigev_notify; /* Notification method */
           int          sigev_signo;  /* Notification signal */
           union sigval sigev_value;  /* Data passed with
                                         notification */
           void       (*sigev_notify_function) (union sigval);
                            /* Function used for thread
                               notification (SIGEV_THREAD) */
           void        *sigev_notify_attributes;
                            /* Attributes for notification thread
                               (SIGEV_THREAD) */
           pid_t        sigev_notify_thread_id;
                            /* ID of thread to signal (SIGEV_THREAD_ID) */
       };

DESCRIPTION
       The  sigevent  structure  is used by various APIs to describe the way a
       process is to be notified about an event (e.g., completion of an  asyn-
       chronous request, expiration of a timer, or the arrival of a message).

       The definition shown in the SYNOPSIS is approximate: some of the fields
       in the sigevent structure may be defined as part of a union.   Programs
       should  employ  only  those  fields  relevant to the value specified in
       sigev_notify.

       The sigev_notify field specifies how notification is to  be  performed.
       This field can have one of the following values:

       SIGEV_NONE
               A "null" notification: don't do anything when the event occurs.

       SIGEV_SIGNAL
               Notify   the   process  by  sending  the  signal  specified  in
               sigev_signo.

               If the signal is caught with a signal handler that  was  regis-
               tered  using the sigaction(2) SA_SIGINFO flag, then the follow-
               ing fields are set in the siginfo_t structure that is passed as
               the second argument of the handler:

               si_code   This  field is set to a value that depends on the API
                         delivering the notification.

               si_signo  This field is set to the  signal  number  (i.e.,  the
                         same value as in sigev_signo).

               si_value  This   field   is  set  to  the  value  specified  in
                         sigev_value.

               Depending on the API, other fields may also be set in the  sig-
               info_t structure.

               The  same  information  is  also available if the signal is ac-
               cepted using sigwaitinfo(2).

       SIGEV_THREAD
               Notify the process by invoking sigev_notify_function "as if" it
               were  the start function of a new thread.  (Among the implemen-
               tation possibilities here  are  that  each  timer  notification
               could  result in the creation of a new thread, or that a single
               thread is created to receive all notifications.)  The  function
               is invoked with sigev_value as its sole argument.  If sigev_no-
               tify_attributes  is  not   NULL,   it   should   point   to   a
               pthread_attr_t  structure  that  defines attributes for the new
               thread (see pthread_attr_init(3)).

       SIGEV_THREAD_ID (Linux-specific)
               Currently used only by POSIX timers; see timer_create(2).

SEE ALSO
       timer_create(2),  aio_fsync(3),   aio_read(3),   aio_write(3),   getad-
       drinfo_a(3), lio_listio(3), mq_notify(3), aio(7), pthreads(7)

COLOPHON
       This  page  is  part of release 5.05 of the Linux man-pages project.  A
       description of the project, information about reporting bugs,  and  the
       latest     version     of     this    page,    can    be    found    at
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.

GNU                               2017-07-13                       SIGEVENT(7)