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Module Lwt_unix

module Lwt_unix : sig..end

Cooperative system calls



This modules redefine system calls, as in the Unix module of the standard library, but mapped into cooperative ones, which will not block the program, letting other threads run.

The semantic of all operations is the following: if the action (for example reading from a file descriptor) can be performed immediatly, it is done and returns immediatly, otherwise it returns a sleeping threads which is waked up when the operation completes.

Moreover all sleeping threads returned by function of this modules are cancelable, this means that you can cancel them with Lwt.cancel. For example if you want to read something from a file descriptor with a timeout, you can cancel the action after the timeout and the reading will not be performed if not already done.

More precisely, assuming that you have two file descriptor fd1 and fd2 and you want to read something from fd1 or exclusively from fd2, and fail with an exception if a timeout of 1 second expires, without reading anything from fd1 and fd2, even if they become readable in the future.

Then you can do:

Lwt.pick [Lwt_unix.timeout 1.0; read fd1 buf1 ofs1 len1; read fd2 buf2 ofs2 len2]


In this case it is guaranteed that exactly one of the three operations will completes, and other will just be cancelled.

val handle_unix_error : ('a -> 'b Lwt.t) -> 'a -> 'b Lwt.t

Same as Unix.handle_unix_error but catches lwt-level exceptions


Configuration


type async_method =  | Async_none(* System calls are made synchronously, and may block the
entire program. *) | Async_detach(* System calls are made in another system thread, thus without
blocking other Lwt threads. The drawback is that it may
degrade performances in some cases.
This is the default.
 *)
 | Async_switch(* System calls are made in the main thread, and if one blocks the execution continue in another system thread. This method is the most efficint, also you will get better performances if you force all threads to run on the same cpu. On linux this can be done by using the command taskset.
Note that this method is still experimental.
 *)

For system calls that cannot be made asynchronously, Lwt uses one of the following method:

val default_async_method : unit -> async_method

Returns the default async method.

This can be initialized using the environment variable "LWT_ASYNC_METHOD" with possible values "none", "detach" and "switch".

val set_default_async_method : async_method -> unit

Sets the default async method.

val async_method : unit -> async_method

async_method () returns the async method used in the current thread.

val async_method_key : async_method Lwt.key

The key for storing the local async method.

val with_async_none : (unit -> 'a) -> 'a

with_async_none f is a shorthand for:

Lwt.with_value async_method_key (Some Async_none) f


val with_async_detach : (unit -> 'a) -> 'a

with_async_none f is a shorthand for:

Lwt.with_value async_method_key (Some Async_detach) f


val with_async_switch : (unit -> 'a) -> 'a

with_async_none f is a shorthand for:

Lwt.with_value async_method_key (Some Async_switch) f



Sleeping


val sleep : float -> unit Lwt.t

sleep d is a threads which remain suspended for d seconds and then terminates.

val yield : unit -> unit Lwt.t

yield () is a threads which suspends itself and then resumes as soon as possible and terminates.

val auto_yield : float -> unit -> unit Lwt.t

auto_yield timeout returns a function f which will yield every timeout seconds.

exception Timeout

Exception raised by timeout operations

val timeout : float -> 'a Lwt.t

timeout d is a threads which remain suspended for d seconds then fail with Lwt_unix.Timeout

val with_timeout : float -> (unit -> 'a Lwt.t) -> 'a Lwt.t

with_timeout d f is a short-hand for:

Lwt.pick [Lwt_unix.timeout d; f ()]



Operation on file-descriptors


type file_descr

The abstract type for file descriptors. A Lwt file descriptor is a pair of a unix file descriptor (of type Unix.file_descr) and a state.

A file descriptor may be:

  • opened, in which case it is fully usable
  • closed or aborted, in which case it is no longer usable


type state =  | Opened(* The file descriptor is opened *) | Closed(* The file descriptor has been closed by Lwt_unix.close. It must
not be used for any operation. *) | Aborted of exn(* The file descriptor has been aborted, the only operation
possible is Lwt_unix.close, all others will fail. *)

State of a file descriptor

val state : file_descr -> state

state fd returns the state of fd

val unix_file_descr : file_descr -> Unix.file_descr

Returns the underlying unix file descriptor. It always succeed, even if the file descriptor's state is not Open.

val of_unix_file_descr : 
  ?blocking:bool ->
  ?set_flags:bool -> Unix.file_descr -> file_descr

Creates a lwt file descriptor from a unix one.

blocking is the blocking mode of the file-descriptor, it describe how Lwt will use it. In non-blocking mode, read/write on this file descriptor are made using non-blocking IO; in blocking mode they are made using the current async method. If blocking is not specified it is guessed according to the file kind: socket and pipes are in non-blocking mode and others are in blocking mode.

If set_flags is true (the default) then the file flags are modified according to the blocking argument, otherwise they are left unchanged.

Note that the blocking mode is less efficient than the non-blocking one, so it should be used only for file descriptors that does not support asynchronous operations, such as regular files, or for shared descriptors such as Lwt_unix.stdout, Lwt_unix.stderr or Lwt_unix.stdin.

val blocking : file_descr -> bool Lwt.t

blocking fd returns whether fd is used in blocking or non-blocking mode.

val set_blocking : ?set_flags:bool -> file_descr -> bool -> unit

set_blocking fd b puts fd in blocking or non-blocking mode. If set_flags is true (the default) then the file flags are modified, otherwise the modification is only done at the application level.

val abort : file_descr -> exn -> unit

abort fd exn makes all current and further uses of the file descriptor fail with the given exception. This put the file descriptor into the Aborted state.

If the file descrptor is closed, this does nothing, if it is aborted, this replace the abort exception by exn.

Note that this only works for reading and writing operations on file descriptors supporting non-blocking mode.


Process handling


val fork : unit -> int

fork () does the same as Unix.fork. You must use this function instead of Unix.fork when you want to use Lwt in the child process.

type process_status = Unix.process_status  =  | WEXITED of int | WSIGNALED of int | WSTOPPED of int
type wait_flag = Unix.wait_flag  =  | WNOHANG | WUNTRACED
val wait : unit -> (int * process_status) Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.wait

val waitpid : 
  wait_flag list ->
  int -> (int * process_status) Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.waitpid

type resource_usage = {
  ru_utime: float;(* User time used *)  ru_stime: float;(* System time used *)}

Resource usages

val wait4 : 
  wait_flag list ->
  int -> (int * process_status * resource_usage) Lwt.t

wait4 flags pid returns (pid, status, rusage) where (pid, status) is the same result as Unix.waitpid flags pid, and rusage contains accounting information about the child.

On windows it will always returns { utime = 0.0; stime = 0.0 }.

val wait_count : unit -> int

Returns the number of threads waiting for a child to terminate.

val system : string -> process_status Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.system


Basic file input/output


val stdin : file_descr

The standard file descriptor for input. This one is usually a terminal is the program is started from a terminal.

val stdout : file_descr

The standard file descriptor for output

val stderr : file_descr

The standard file descriptor for printing error messages

type file_perm = Unix.file_perm
type open_flag = Unix.open_flag  =  | O_RDONLY | O_WRONLY | O_RDWR | O_NONBLOCK | O_APPEND | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC | O_EXCL | O_NOCTTY | O_DSYNC | O_SYNC | O_RSYNC
val openfile : 
  string ->
  open_flag list ->
  file_perm -> file_descr Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.openfile.

val close : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

Close a file descriptor. This close the underlying unix file descriptor and set its state to Closed

val read : file_descr -> string -> int -> int -> int Lwt.t

read fd buf ofs len has the same semantic as Unix.read, but is cooperative

val write : file_descr -> string -> int -> int -> int Lwt.t

read fd buf ofs len has the same semantic as Unix.write, but is cooperative

val readable : file_descr -> bool

Returns whether the given file descriptor is currently readable.

val writable : file_descr -> bool

Returns whether the given file descriptor is currently writable.

val wait_read : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

waits (without blocking other threads) until there is something to read on the file descriptor

val wait_write : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

waits (without blocking other threads) until it is possible to write on the file descriptor


Seeking and truncating


type seek_command = Unix.seek_command  =  | SEEK_SET | SEEK_CUR | SEEK_END
val lseek : file_descr -> int -> seek_command -> int Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.lseek

val truncate : string -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.truncate

val ftruncate : file_descr -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.ftruncate


Syncing


val fsync : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

Synchronise all data and metadata of the file descriptor with the disk. On Windows it uses FlushFileBuffers.

val fdatasync : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

Synchronise all data (but not metadata) of the file descriptor with the disk.

Note that fdatasync is not available on all platforms.


File status


type file_kind = Unix.file_kind  =  | S_REG | S_DIR | S_CHR | S_BLK | S_LNK | S_FIFO | S_SOCK
type stats = Unix.stats  = {
  st_dev: int;  st_ino: int;  st_kind: file_kind;  st_perm: file_perm;  st_nlink: int;  st_uid: int;  st_gid: int;  st_rdev: int;  st_size: int;  st_atime: float;  st_mtime: float;  st_ctime: float;}
val stat : string -> stats Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.stat

val lstat : string -> stats Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.lstat

val fstat : file_descr -> stats Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.fstat

val isatty : file_descr -> bool Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.isatty


File operations on large files


module LargeFile : sig..end


Operations on file names


Wrapper for Unix.unlink

val rename : string -> string -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.rename

Wrapper for Unix.link


File permissions and ownership


val chmod : string -> file_perm -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.chmod

val fchmod : file_descr -> file_perm -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.fchmod

val chown : string -> int -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.chown

val fchown : file_descr -> int -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.fchown

type access_permission = Unix.access_permission  =  | R_OK | W_OK | X_OK | F_OK
val access : string -> access_permission list -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.access


Operations on file descriptors


val dup : file_descr -> file_descr

Wrapper for Unix.dup

val dup2 : file_descr -> file_descr -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.dup2

val set_close_on_exec : file_descr -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.set_close_on_exec

val clear_close_on_exec : file_descr -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.clear_close_on_exec


Directories


val mkdir : string -> file_perm -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.mkdir

val rmdir : string -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.rmdir

val chdir : string -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.chdir

val chroot : string -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.chroot

type dir_handle = Unix.dir_handle
val opendir : string -> dir_handle Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.opendir

val readdir : dir_handle -> string Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.dir

val readdir_n : dir_handle -> int -> string array Lwt.t

readdir_n handle count reads at most count entry from the given directory. It is more efficient that callling count times readdir. If the length of the returned array is smaller than count, this means that the end of the directory has been reached.

val rewinddir : dir_handle -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.rewinddir

val closedir : dir_handle -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.closedir

val files_of_directory : string -> string Lwt_stream.t

files_of_directory dir returns the stream of all files of dir.


Pipes and redirections


val pipe : unit -> file_descr * file_descr

pipe () creates pipe using Unix.pipe and returns two lwt file descriptors created from unix file_descriptor

val pipe_in : unit -> file_descr * Unix.file_descr

pipe_in () is the same as Lwt_unix.pipe but maps only the unix file descriptor for reading into a lwt one. The second is not put into non-blocking mode. You usually want to use this before forking to receive data from the child process.

val pipe_out : unit -> Unix.file_descr * file_descr

pipe_out () is the inverse of Lwt_unix.pipe_in. You usually want to use this before forking to send data to the child process

val mkfifo : string -> file_perm -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.mkfifo



Wrapper for Unix.symlink

Wrapper for Unix.readlink


Locking


type lock_command = Unix.lock_command  =  | F_ULOCK | F_LOCK | F_TLOCK | F_TEST | F_RLOCK | F_TRLOCK
val lockf : file_descr -> lock_command -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.lockf


User id, group id


type passwd_entry = Unix.passwd_entry  = {
  pw_name: string;  pw_passwd: string;  pw_uid: int;  pw_gid: int;  pw_gecos: string;  pw_dir: string;  pw_shell: string;}
type group_entry = Unix.group_entry  = {
  gr_name: string;  gr_passwd: string;  gr_gid: int;  gr_mem: string array;}
val getlogin : unit -> string Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getlogin

val getpwnam : string -> passwd_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getpwnam

val getgrnam : string -> group_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getgrnam

val getpwuid : int -> passwd_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getpwuid

val getgrgid : int -> group_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getgrgid


Signals


type signal_handler_id

Id of a signal handler, used to cancel it

val on_signal : int -> (int -> unit) -> signal_handler_id

on_signal signum f calls f each time the signal with numnber signum is received by the process. It returns a signal handler identifier which can be used to stop monitoring signum.

val disable_signal_handler : signal_handler_id -> unit

Stops receiving this signal

val signal_count : unit -> int

Returns the number of registered signal handler.


Sockets


type inet_addr = Unix.inet_addr
type socket_domain = Unix.socket_domain  =  | PF_UNIX | PF_INET | PF_INET6
type socket_type = Unix.socket_type  =  | SOCK_STREAM | SOCK_DGRAM | SOCK_RAW | SOCK_SEQPACKET
type sockaddr = Unix.sockaddr  =  | ADDR_UNIX of string | ADDR_INET of inet_addr * int
val socket : 
  socket_domain ->
  socket_type -> int -> file_descr

socket domain type proto is the same as Unix.socket but maps the result into a lwt file descriptor

val socketpair : 
  socket_domain ->
  socket_type ->
  int -> file_descr * file_descr

Wrapper for Unix.socketpair

val bind : file_descr -> sockaddr -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.bind

val listen : file_descr -> int -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.listen

val accept : file_descr -> (file_descr * sockaddr) Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.accept

val accept_n : 
  file_descr ->
  int ->
  ((file_descr * sockaddr) list * exn option) Lwt.t

accept_n fd count accepts up to count connection in one time.

  • if no connection is available right now, it returns a sleeping thread
  • if more that 1 and less than count are available, it returns all of them
  • if more that count are available, it returns the next count of them
  • if an error happen, it returns the connections that have been successfully accepted so far and the error

accept_n has the advantage of improving performances. If you want a more detailed description, you can have a look at:

Acceptable strategies for improving web server performance

val connect : file_descr -> sockaddr -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.connect

type shutdown_command = Unix.shutdown_command  =  | SHUTDOWN_RECEIVE | SHUTDOWN_SEND | SHUTDOWN_ALL
val shutdown : file_descr -> shutdown_command -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.shutdown

val getsockname : file_descr -> sockaddr

Wrapper for Unix.getsockname

val getpeername : file_descr -> sockaddr

Wrapper for Unix.getpeername

type msg_flag = Unix.msg_flag  =  | MSG_OOB | MSG_DONTROUTE | MSG_PEEK
val recv : 
  file_descr ->
  string -> int -> int -> msg_flag list -> int Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.recv

val recvfrom : 
  file_descr ->
  string ->
  int ->
  int -> msg_flag list -> (int * sockaddr) Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.recvfrom

val send : 
  file_descr ->
  string -> int -> int -> msg_flag list -> int Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.send

val sendto : 
  file_descr ->
  string ->
  int -> int -> msg_flag list -> sockaddr -> int Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.sendto

type io_vector = {
  iov_buffer: string;  iov_offset: int;  iov_length: int;}

An io-vector. Used by Lwt_unix.recv_msg and Lwt_unix.send_msg.

val io_vector : buffer:string -> offset:int -> length:int -> io_vector

Creates an io-vector

val recv_msg : 
  socket:file_descr ->
  io_vectors:io_vector list ->
  (int * Unix.file_descr list) Lwt.t

recv_msg ~socket ~io_vectors receives data into a list of io-vectors, plus any file-descriptors that may accompany the message.

This call is not available on windows.

val send_msg : 
  socket:file_descr ->
  io_vectors:io_vector list ->
  fds:Unix.file_descr list -> int Lwt.t

send_msg ~socket ~io_vectors ~fds sends data from a list of io-vectors, accompanied with a list of file-descriptor. If fd-passing is not possible on the current system and fds is not empty, it raises Lwt_sys.Not_available "fd_passing".

This call is not available on windows.

type credentials = {
  cred_pid: int;  cred_uid: int;  cred_gid: int;}
val get_credentials : file_descr -> credentials

get_credentials fd returns credential informations from the given socket.


Socket options


type socket_bool_option = Unix.socket_bool_option  =  | SO_DEBUG | SO_BROADCAST | SO_REUSEADDR | SO_KEEPALIVE | SO_DONTROUTE | SO_OOBINLINE | SO_ACCEPTCONN | TCP_NODELAY | IPV6_ONLY
type socket_int_option = Unix.socket_int_option  =  | SO_SNDBUF | SO_RCVBUF | SO_ERROR | SO_TYPE | SO_RCVLOWAT | SO_SNDLOWAT
type socket_optint_option = Unix.socket_optint_option  =  | SO_LINGER
type socket_float_option = Unix.socket_float_option  =  | SO_RCVTIMEO | SO_SNDTIMEO
val getsockopt : file_descr -> socket_bool_option -> bool

Wrapper for Unix.getsockopt

val setsockopt : file_descr -> socket_bool_option -> bool -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.setsockopt

val getsockopt_int : file_descr -> socket_int_option -> int

Wrapper for Unix.getsockopt_int

val setsockopt_int : file_descr -> socket_int_option -> int -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.setsockopt_int

val getsockopt_optint : file_descr -> socket_optint_option -> int option

Wrapper for Unix.getsockopt_optint

val setsockopt_optint : 
  file_descr ->
  socket_optint_option -> int option -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.setsockopt_optint

val getsockopt_float : file_descr -> socket_float_option -> float

Wrapper for Unix.getsockopt_float

val setsockopt_float : file_descr -> socket_float_option -> float -> unit

Wrapper for Unix.setsockopt_float

val getsockopt_error : file_descr -> Unix.error option

Wrapper for Unix.getsockopt_error


Host and protocol databases


type host_entry = Unix.host_entry  = {
  h_name: string;  h_aliases: string array;  h_addrtype: socket_domain;  h_addr_list: inet_addr array;}
type protocol_entry = Unix.protocol_entry  = {
  p_name: string;  p_aliases: string array;  p_proto: int;}
type service_entry = Unix.service_entry  = {
  s_name: string;  s_aliases: string array;  s_port: int;  s_proto: string;}
val gethostname : unit -> string Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.gethostname

val gethostbyname : string -> host_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.gethostbyname

val gethostbyaddr : inet_addr -> host_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.gethostbyaddr

val getprotobyname : string -> protocol_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getprotobyname

val getprotobynumber : int -> protocol_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getprotobynumber

val getservbyname : string -> string -> service_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getservbyname

val getservbyport : int -> string -> service_entry Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getservbyport

type addr_info = Unix.addr_info  = {
  ai_family: socket_domain;  ai_socktype: socket_type;  ai_protocol: int;  ai_addr: sockaddr;  ai_canonname: string;}
type getaddrinfo_option = Unix.getaddrinfo_option  =  | AI_FAMILY of socket_domain | AI_SOCKTYPE of socket_type | AI_PROTOCOL of int | AI_NUMERICHOST | AI_CANONNAME | AI_PASSIVE
val getaddrinfo : 
  string ->
  string ->
  getaddrinfo_option list -> addr_info list Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getaddrinfo

type name_info = Unix.name_info  = {
  ni_hostname: string;  ni_service: string;}
type getnameinfo_option = Unix.getnameinfo_option  =  | NI_NOFQDN | NI_NUMERICHOST | NI_NAMEREQD | NI_NUMERICSERV | NI_DGRAM
val getnameinfo : 
  sockaddr ->
  getnameinfo_option list -> name_info Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.getnameinfo


Terminal interface


type terminal_io = Unix.terminal_io  = {
  mutable c_ignbrk: bool;  mutable c_brkint: bool;  mutable c_ignpar: bool;  mutable c_parmrk: bool;  mutable c_inpck: bool;  mutable c_istrip: bool;  mutable c_inlcr: bool;  mutable c_igncr: bool;  mutable c_icrnl: bool;  mutable c_ixon: bool;  mutable c_ixoff: bool;  mutable c_opost: bool;  mutable c_obaud: int;  mutable c_ibaud: int;  mutable c_csize: int;  mutable c_cstopb: int;  mutable c_cread: bool;  mutable c_parenb: bool;  mutable c_parodd: bool;  mutable c_hupcl: bool;  mutable c_clocal: bool;  mutable c_isig: bool;  mutable c_icanon: bool;  mutable c_noflsh: bool;  mutable c_echo: bool;  mutable c_echoe: bool;  mutable c_echok: bool;  mutable c_echonl: bool;  mutable c_vintr: char;  mutable c_vquit: char;  mutable c_verase: char;  mutable c_vkill: char;  mutable c_veof: char;  mutable c_veol: char;  mutable c_vmin: int;  mutable c_vtime: int;  mutable c_vstart: char;  mutable c_vstop: char;}
val tcgetattr : file_descr -> terminal_io Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcgetattr

type setattr_when = Unix.setattr_when  =  | TCSANOW | TCSADRAIN | TCSAFLUSH
val tcsetattr : 
  file_descr ->
  setattr_when -> terminal_io -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcsetattr

val tcsendbreak : file_descr -> int -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcsendbreak

val tcdrain : file_descr -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcdrain

type flush_queue = Unix.flush_queue  =  | TCIFLUSH | TCOFLUSH | TCIOFLUSH
val tcflush : file_descr -> flush_queue -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcflush

type flow_action = Unix.flow_action  =  | TCOOFF | TCOON | TCIOFF | TCION
val tcflow : file_descr -> flow_action -> unit Lwt.t

Wrapper for Unix.tcflow


Low-level interaction


exception Retry

If an action raises Lwt_unix.Retry, it will be requeued until the file descriptor becomes readable/writable again.

exception Retry_read

If an action raises Lwt_unix.Retry_read, it will be requeued until the file descriptor becomes readable.

exception Retry_write

If an action raises Lwt_unix.Retry_read, it will be requeued until the file descriptor becomes writables.

type io_event =  | Read | Write
val wrap_syscall : io_event -> file_descr -> (unit -> 'a) -> 'a Lwt.t

wrap_syscall set fd action wrap an action on a file descriptor. It tries to execture action, and if it can not be performed immediately without blocking, it is registered for latter.

In the latter case, if the thread is canceled, action is removed from set.

val check_descriptor : file_descr -> unit

check_descriptor fd raise an exception if fd is not in the state Open

val register_action : io_event -> file_descr -> (unit -> 'a) -> 'a Lwt.t

register_action set fd action registers action on fd. When fd becomes readable/writable action is called.

Note:

  • you must call check_descriptor fd before calling register_action


type 'a job

Type of jobs that run:

  • on another thread if the current async method is Async_thread
  • on the main thread if the current async method is Async_none.


val execute_job : 
  ?async_method:async_method ->
  job:'a job ->
  result:('a job -> 'b) ->
  free:('a job -> unit) -> 'b Lwt.t

execute_job ?async_method ~job ~get ~free starts job and wait for its termination.

async_method is how the job will be executed. It defaults to the async method of the current thread. result is used to get the result of the job, and free to free its associated resources.


Notifications



Lwt internally use a pipe to send notification to the main thread. The following functions allow to use this pipe.

val make_notification : ?once:bool -> (unit -> unit) -> int

new_notifier ?once f registers a new notifier. It returns the id of the notifier. Each time a notification with this id is received, f is called.

if once is specified, then the notification is stopped after the first time it is received. It defaults to false.

val send_notification : int -> unit

send_notification id sends a notification.

This function is thread-safe.

val stop_notification : int -> unit

Stop the given notification. Note that you should not reuse the id after the notification has been stopped, the result is unspecified if you do so.

val set_notification : int -> (unit -> unit) -> unit

set_notification id f replace the function associated to the notification by f. It raises Not_found if the given notification is not found.


System threads pool



If the program is using the async method Async_detach or Async_switch, Lwt will launch system threads to execute blocking system calls asynchronously.

val pool_size : unit -> int

Maximum number of system threads that can be started. If this limit is reached, jobs will be executed synchronously.

val set_pool_size : int -> unit

Change the size of the pool.

val thread_count : unit -> int

The number of system threads running (excluding this one).

val thread_waiting_count : unit -> int

The number threads waiting for a job.


CPUs


val get_cpu : unit -> int

get_cpu () returns the number of the CPU the current thread is running on.

val get_affinity : ?pid:int -> unit -> int list

get_affinity ?pid () returns the list of CPUs the process with pid pid is allowed to run on. If pid is not specified then the affinity of the current process is returned.

val set_affinity : ?pid:int -> int list -> unit

set_affinity ?pid cpus sets the list of CPUs the given process is allowed to run on.