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PSELECT(3P) POSIX Programmer's Manual PSELECT(3P)
PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (con-
sult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on
Linux.
NAME
pselect, select - synchronous I/O multiplexing
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/select.h>
int pselect(int nfds, fd_set *restrict readfds,
fd_set *restrict writefds, fd_set *restrict errorfds,
const struct timespec *restrict timeout,
const sigset_t *restrict sigmask);
int select(int nfds, fd_set *restrict readfds,
fd_set *restrict writefds, fd_set *restrict errorfds,
struct timeval *restrict timeout);
void FD_CLR(int fd, fd_set *fdset);
int FD_ISSET(int fd, fd_set *fdset);
void FD_SET(int fd, fd_set *fdset);
void FD_ZERO(fd_set *fdset);
DESCRIPTION
The pselect() function shall examine the file descriptor sets whose addresses are passed in the readfds, writefds, and
errorfds parameters to see whether some of their descriptors are ready for reading, are ready for writing, or have an
exceptional condition pending, respectively.
The select() function shall be equivalent to the pselect() function, except as follows:
* For the select() function, the timeout period is given in seconds and microseconds in an argument of type struct
timeval, whereas for the pselect() function the timeout period is given in seconds and nanoseconds in an argument of
type struct timespec.
* The select() function has no sigmask argument; it shall behave as pselect() does when sigmask is a null pointer.
* Upon successful completion, the select() function may modify the object pointed to by the timeout argument.
The pselect() and select() functions shall support regular files, terminal and pseudo-terminal devices, STREAMS-based
files, FIFOs, pipes, and sockets. The behavior of pselect() and select() on file descriptors that refer to other types
of file is unspecified.
The nfds argument specifies the range of descriptors to be tested. The first nfds descriptors shall be checked in each
set; that is, the descriptors from zero through nfds-1 in the descriptor sets shall be examined.
If the readfds argument is not a null pointer, it points to an object of type fd_set that on input specifies the file
descriptors to be checked for being ready to read, and on output indicates which file descriptors are ready to read.
If the writefds argument is not a null pointer, it points to an object of type fd_set that on input specifies the file
descriptors to be checked for being ready to write, and on output indicates which file descriptors are ready to write.
If the errorfds argument is not a null pointer, it points to an object of type fd_set that on input specifies the file
descriptors to be checked for error conditions pending, and on output indicates which file descriptors have error condi-
tions pending.
Upon successful completion, the pselect() or select() function shall modify the objects pointed to by the readfds,
writefds, and errorfds arguments to indicate which file descriptors are ready for reading, ready for writing, or have an
error condition pending, respectively, and shall return the total number of ready descriptors in all the output sets. For
each file descriptor less than nfds, the corresponding bit shall be set on successful completion if it was set on input
and the associated condition is true for that file descriptor.
If none of the selected descriptors are ready for the requested operation, the pselect() or select() function shall block
until at least one of the requested operations becomes ready, until the timeout occurs, or until interrupted by a signal.
The timeout parameter controls how long the pselect() or select() function shall take before timing out. If the timeout
parameter is not a null pointer, it specifies a maximum interval to wait for the selection to complete. If the specified
time interval expires without any requested operation becoming ready, the function shall return. If the timeout parameter
is a null pointer, then the call to pselect() or select() shall block indefinitely until at least one descriptor meets
the specified criteria. To effect a poll, the timeout parameter should not be a null pointer, and should point to a zero-
valued timespec structure.
The use of a timeout does not affect any pending timers set up by alarm(), ualarm(), or setitimer().
Implementations may place limitations on the maximum timeout interval supported. All implementations shall support a max-
imum timeout interval of at least 31 days. If the timeout argument specifies a timeout interval greater than the imple-
mentation-defined maximum value, the maximum value shall be used as the actual timeout value. Implementations may also
place limitations on the granularity of timeout intervals. If the requested timeout interval requires a finer granularity
than the implementation supports, the actual timeout interval shall be rounded up to the next supported value.
If sigmask is not a null pointer, then the pselect() function shall replace the signal mask of the process by the set of
signals pointed to by sigmask before examining the descriptors, and shall restore the signal mask of the process before
returning.
A descriptor shall be considered ready for reading when a call to an input function with O_NONBLOCK clear would not
block, whether or not the function would transfer data successfully. (The function might return data, an end-of-file
indication, or an error other than one indicating that it is blocked, and in each of these cases the descriptor shall be
considered ready for reading.)
A descriptor shall be considered ready for writing when a call to an output function with O_NONBLOCK clear would not
block, whether or not the function would transfer data successfully.
If a socket has a pending error, it shall be considered to have an exceptional condition pending. Otherwise, what consti-
tutes an exceptional condition is file type-specific. For a file descriptor for use with a socket, it is protocol-spe-
cific except as noted below. For other file types it is implementation-defined. If the operation is meaningless for a
particular file type, pselect() or select() shall indicate that the descriptor is ready for read or write operations, and
shall indicate that the descriptor has no exceptional condition pending.
If a descriptor refers to a socket, the implied input function is the recvmsg() function with parameters requesting nor-
mal and ancillary data, such that the presence of either type shall cause the socket to be marked as readable. The pres-
ence of out-of-band data shall be checked if the socket option SO_OOBINLINE has been enabled, as out-of-band data is
enqueued with normal data. If the socket is currently listening, then it shall be marked as readable if an incoming con-
nection request has been received, and a call to the accept() function shall complete without blocking.
If a descriptor refers to a socket, the implied output function is the sendmsg() function supplying an amount of normal
data equal to the current value of the SO_SNDLOWAT option for the socket. If a non-blocking call to the connect() func-
tion has been made for a socket, and the connection attempt has either succeeded or failed leaving a pending error, the
socket shall be marked as writable.
A socket shall be considered to have an exceptional condition pending if a receive operation with O_NONBLOCK clear for
the open file description and with the MSG_OOB flag set would return out-of-band data without blocking. (It is protocol-
specific whether the MSG_OOB flag would be used to read out-of-band data.) A socket shall also be considered to have an
exceptional condition pending if an out-of-band data mark is present in the receive queue. Other circumstances under
which a socket may be considered to have an exceptional condition pending are protocol-specific and implementation-
defined.
If the readfds, writefds, and errorfds arguments are all null pointers and the timeout argument is not a null pointer,
the pselect() or select() function shall block for the time specified, or until interrupted by a signal. If the readfds,
writefds, and errorfds arguments are all null pointers and the timeout argument is a null pointer, the pselect() or
select() function shall block until interrupted by a signal.
File descriptors associated with regular files shall always select true for ready to read, ready to write, and error con-
ditions.
On failure, the objects pointed to by the readfds, writefds, and errorfds arguments shall not be modified. If the time-
out interval expires without the specified condition being true for any of the specified file descriptors, the objects
pointed to by the readfds, writefds, and errorfds arguments shall have all bits set to 0.
File descriptor masks of type fd_set can be initialized and tested with FD_CLR(), FD_ISSET(), FD_SET(), and FD_ZERO(). It
is unspecified whether each of these is a macro or a function. If a macro definition is suppressed in order to access an
actual function, or a program defines an external identifier with any of these names, the behavior is undefined.
FD_CLR(fd, fdsetp) shall remove the file descriptor fd from the set pointed to by fdsetp. If fd is not a member of this
set, there shall be no effect on the set, nor will an error be returned.
FD_ISSET(fd, fdsetp) shall evaluate to non-zero if the file descriptor fd is a member of the set pointed to by fdsetp,
and shall evaluate to zero otherwise.
FD_SET(fd, fdsetp) shall add the file descriptor fd to the set pointed to by fdsetp. If the file descriptor fd is already
in this set, there shall be no effect on the set, nor will an error be returned.
FD_ZERO(fdsetp) shall initialize the descriptor set pointed to by fdsetp to the null set. No error is returned if the set
is not empty at the time FD_ZERO() is invoked.
The behavior of these macros is undefined if the fd argument is less than 0 or greater than or equal to FD_SETSIZE, or if
fd is not a valid file descriptor, or if any of the arguments are expressions with side effects.
RETURN VALUE
Upon successful completion, the pselect() and select() functions shall return the total number of bits set in the bit
masks. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned, and errno shall be set to indicate the error.
FD_CLR(), FD_SET(), and FD_ZERO() do not return a value. FD_ISSET() shall return a non-zero value if the bit for the file
descriptor fd is set in the file descriptor set pointed to by fdset, and 0 otherwise.
ERRORS
Under the following conditions, pselect() and select() shall fail and set errno to:
EBADF One or more of the file descriptor sets specified a file descriptor that is not a valid open file descriptor.
EINTR The function was interrupted before any of the selected events occurred and before the timeout interval expired.
If SA_RESTART has been set for the interrupting signal, it is implementation-defined whether the function restarts or
returns with [EINTR].
EINVAL An invalid timeout interval was specified.
EINVAL The nfds argument is less than 0 or greater than FD_SETSIZE.
EINVAL One of the specified file descriptors refers to a STREAM or multiplexer that is linked (directly or indirectly)
downstream from a multiplexer.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
None.
APPLICATION USAGE
None.
RATIONALE
In previous versions of the Single UNIX Specification, the select() function was defined in the <sys/time.h> header. This
is now changed to <sys/select.h>. The rationale for this change was as follows: the introduction of the pselect() func-
tion included the <sys/select.h> header and the <sys/select.h> header defines all the related definitions for the pse-
lect() and select() functions. Backwards-compatibility to existing XSI implementations is handled by allowing
<sys/time.h> to include <sys/select.h>.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.
SEE ALSO
accept(), alarm(), connect(), fcntl(), poll(), read(), recvmsg(), sendmsg(), setitimer(), ualarm(), write(), the Base
Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <sys/select.h>, <sys/time.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for
Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copy-
right (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any
discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.open-
group.org/unix/online.html .
IEEE/The Open Group 2003 PSELECT(3P)
