Added link to other library.

[cl-inotify.git] / README

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-CL-NOTIFY
+CL-INOTIFY - Interface to the Linux inotify API.
 
-Interface to the linux inotify API.  Working, but unfinished.
+Copyright (C) 2011 Olof-Joachim Frahm
+Released under a Simplified BSD license.
 
-Implementations currently supported: SBCL
+Working, but unfinished.
+Implementations currently running on: SBCL.
 
-Uses the binary-types library (ASDF enhanced from
-http://github.com/Ferada/cl-notify or see http://www.cliki.net/Binary-types).
+Uses CFFI, binary-types (from [my Github][1] or see [CLiki][2]) and
+trivial-utf-8.  Doesn't use iolib, because we don't need most of the
+functionality, although it might gain us some implementation
+independence (patches which can be conditionally compiled are welcome).
 
-Copyright (C) 2009 Olof-Joachim Frahm
-Released under the GPL3 (or any later version).
+A similar package is at [stassats Github][3].
+
+
+# HOWTO
+
+After loading the library use `MAKE-INOTIFY` to create a new event
+queue.  The `NONBLOCKING` argument currently determines if we use the
+standard `CL:LISTEN` function or `SB-UNIX:UNIX-READ` to check for
+available events.
+
+The result of `MAKE-INOTIFY` is used with `WATCH` and `UNWATCH`, the first
+being used to watch a file or directory, the second to stop watching
+it.  The `FLAGS` parameter of `WATCH` is described in the notify(7)
+manpage; you can use a combination of the flags (as keywords) to create
+a suitable bitmask.  The types `INOTIFY-ADD/READ-FLAG`,
+`INOTIFY-READ-FLAG` and `INOTIFY-ADD-FLAG` are also defined and can be
+examined.
+
+For example, to watch for modified or closed files in a directory, call
+`(WATCH inotify "foo/" '(:modify :close))`.
+
+The result of `WATCH` is a handle (currently a `FIXNUM`, but I wouldn't
+rely on that) which can be fed to `UNWATCH` and can be translated from
+events with `EVENT-PATHNAME/FLAGS`.
+
+To finally get the events from the queue, use `READ-EVENT` (which
+blocks) or `NEXT-EVENT` (which doesn't block).  `EVENT-AVAILABLEP` does
+what it should do, `NEXT-EVENTS` retrieves all currently available
+events as a list and `DO-EVENTS` (nonblocking) iterates over available
+events.
+
+The enhanced API registers all watched paths in a hashtable, so you can
+use `PATHNAME-HANDLE/FLAGS` to check if a pathname (exact match) is
+being watched and `LIST-WATCHED` to return all watched paths as a list.
+`EVENT-PATHNAME/FLAGS` may be used to get the pathname and flags for a
+read event.
+
+`UNWATCH` has to be called with the path or the handle of the watched
+file or directory (a path will be looked up in the same table as with
+`PATHNAME-HANDLE/FLAGS`). 
+
+
+The raw API, which doesn't register watched paths, consists of
+`READ-RAW-EVENT-FROM-STREAM`, `READ-EVENT-FROM-STREAM`, `WATCH-RAW` and
+`UNWATCH-RAW`.  They are just a thin wrapper around the C functions, but
+they're exported in case someone doesn't like the upper layers.
+
+
+In case you want to use `epoll` or `select` on the event queue you can
+access the file descriptor yourself and then use the normal functions
+afterwards.  Currently no such functionality is integrated here.
+
+
+# EXAMPLE
+
+    > (use-package '#:cl-inotify)
+    > (defvar *tmp*)
+    > (setf *tmp* (make-notify))
+    > (watch *tmp* "/var/tmp/" :all-events)
+    > (next-events *tmp*)
+    > (close-inotify *tmp*)
+
+
+# TODO
+
+- more functionality to examine read events
+- extend to other APIs?
+- make things more implementation independent
+- (maybe) don't use the libc for this, direct syscall
+- (maybe) add iolib replacement for io functions
+- easier interface for (e)poll/select maybe using iolib (done, using
+  CL:LISTEN and/or SB-UNIX:UNIX-READ)
+
+
+LINKS
+
+[1]: https://github.com/Ferada/binary-types
+[2]: http://www.cliki.net/Binary-types
+[3]: https://github.com/stassats/inotify
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