How do I use select()?

How do I use select()?


The interface to select() is primarily based on the concept of an
fd_set, which is a set of FDs (usually implemented as a
bit-vector). In times past, it was common to assume that FDs were
smaller than 32, and just use an int to store the set, but these days,
one usually has more FDs available, so it is important to use the
standard macros for manipulating fd_sets: 





fd_set set;


FD_ZERO(&set);      /* empties the set */


FD_SET(fd,&set);    /* adds FD to the set */


FD_CLR(fd,&set);    /* removes FD from the set */


FD_ISSET(fd,&set)   /* true if FD is in the set */




In most cases, it is the system's responsibility to ensure that fdsets
can handle the whole range of file descriptors, but in some cases you
may have to predefine the FD_SETSIZE macro.
This is system-dependent;
check your select() manpage. Also, some systems have problems
handling more than 1024 file descriptors in select().



The basic interface to select is simple: 





int select(int nfds, fd_set *readset, 


                     fd_set *writeset,


                     fd_set *exceptset, struct timeval *timeout);



where




nfds

the number of FDs to examine; this must be greater than the largest FD
in any of the fdsets, not the actual number of FDs specified

readset

the set of FDs to examine for readability

writeset

the set of FDs to examine for writability

exceptfds

the set of FDs to examine for exceptional status (note: errors are
not exceptional statuses)

timeout

NULL for infinite timeout, or points to a timeval specifying the maximum
wait time (if tv_sec and tv_usec both equal zero, then the
status of the FDs is polled, but the call never blocks)



The call returns the number of `ready' FDs found, and the three fdsets
are modified in-place, with only the ready FDs left in the sets. Use the
FD_ISSET macro to test the returned sets.



Here's a simple example of testing a single FD for readability: 





int isready(int fd)


{


    int rc;


    fd_set fds;


    struct timeval tv;





    FD_ZERO(&fds);


    FD_SET(fd,&fds);


    tv.tv_sec = tv.tv_usec = 0;





    rc = select(fd+1, &fds, NULL, NULL, &tv);


    if (rc < 0)


      return -1;





    return FD_ISSET(fd,&fds) ? 1 : 0;


}




Note that we can pass NULL for fdsets that we aren't interested
in testing.





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