Linux and UNIX Man Pages

Linux & Unix Commands - Search Man Pages

setitimer(2) [ultrix man page]

getitimer(2)							System Calls Manual						      getitimer(2)

Name
       getitimer, setitimer - get or set value of interval timer

Syntax
       #include <sys/time.h>

       #define ITIMER_REAL	0    /* real time intervals */
       #define ITIMER_VIRTUAL	1    /* virtual time intervals */
       #define ITIMER_PROF	2    /* user and system virtual time */

       getitimer(which, value)
       int which;
       struct itimerval *value;

       setitimer(which, value, ovalue)
       int which;
       struct itimerval *value, *ovalue;

Description
       The  system  provides  each  process with three interval timers, defined in <sys/time.h>.  The call returns the current value for the timer
       specified in which, while the call sets the value of a timer (optionally, returning the previous value of the timer).  The upper limit  for
       time values are as follows:

	  For VAX machines, 10millisec * 0x7fffffff  (about 256 days)
	  For RISC machines, 3.906 millsec * 0x7fffffff (about 97 days)

       A timer value is defined by the itimerval structure:
       struct itimerval {
	     struct  timeval it_interval; /* timer interval */
	     struct  timeval it_value;	  /* current value */
       };

       If  it_value is nonzero, it indicates the time to the next timer expiration.  If it_interval is nonzero, it specifies a value to be used in
       reloading it_value when the timer expires.  Setting it_value to 0 disables a timer.  Setting it_interval to 0 causes a timer to be disabled
       after its next expiration (assuming it_value is nonzero).

       Time values smaller than the resolution of the system clock are rounded up to this resolution (on MIPS, 3.906 milliseconds; on VAX, 10 mil-
       liseconds).

       The ITIMER_REAL timer decrements in real time.  A SIGALRM signal is delivered when this timer expires.

       The ITIMER_VIRTUAL timer decrements in process virtual time.  It runs only when the process is executing.  A SIGVTALRM signal is  delivered
       when it expires.

       The  ITIMER_PROF  timer decrements both in process virtual time and when the system is running on behalf of the process.  It is designed to
       be used by interpreters in statistically profiling the execution of interpreted programs.  Each time the  ITIMER_PROF  timer  expires,  the
       SIGPROF	signal	is  delivered.	 Because this signal may interrupt in-progress system calls, programs using this timer must be prepared to
       restart interrupted system calls.

       Three macros for manipulating time values are defined in <sys/time.h>.  The timerclear sets a time value to zero,  timerisset  tests  if  a
       time value is nonzero, and timercmp compares two time values (beware that >= and <= do not work with this macro).

Return Values
       If  the	calls succeed, a value of 0 is returned.  If an error occurs, the value -1 is returned, and a more precise error code is placed in
       the global variable, errno.

Diagnostics
       The possible errors are:

       [EFAULT]       The value structure specified a bad address.

       [EINVAL]       A value structure specified a time that was too large to be handled.

See Also
       gettimeofday(2), sigvec(2), pause(3)

																      getitimer(2)

Check Out this Related Man Page

GETITIMER(2)						      BSD System Calls Manual						      GETITIMER(2)

NAME
getitimer, setitimer -- get/set value of interval timer LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc) SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/time.h> #define ITIMER_REAL 0 #define ITIMER_VIRTUAL 1 #define ITIMER_PROF 2 int getitimer(int which, struct itimerval *value); int setitimer(int which, const struct itimerval *value, struct itimerval *ovalue); DESCRIPTION
The system provides each process with three interval timers, defined in <sys/time.h>. The getitimer() system call returns the current value for the timer specified in which in the structure at value. The setitimer() system call sets a timer to the specified value (returning the previous value of the timer if ovalue is not a null pointer). A timer value is defined by the itimerval structure: struct itimerval { struct timeval it_interval; /* timer interval */ struct timeval it_value; /* current value */ }; If it_value is non-zero, it indicates the time to the next timer expiration. If it_interval is non-zero, it specifies a value to be used in reloading it_value when the timer expires. Setting it_value to 0 disables a timer, regardless of the value of it_interval. Setting it_interval to 0 causes a timer to be disabled after its next expiration (assuming it_value is non-zero). Time values smaller than the resolution of the system clock are rounded up to this resolution (typically 10 milliseconds). The ITIMER_REAL timer decrements in real time. A SIGALRM signal is delivered when this timer expires. The ITIMER_VIRTUAL timer decrements in process virtual time. It runs only when the process is executing. A SIGVTALRM signal is delivered when it expires. The ITIMER_PROF timer decrements both in process virtual time and when the system is running on behalf of the process. It is designed to be used by interpreters in statistically profiling the execution of interpreted programs. Each time the ITIMER_PROF timer expires, the SIGPROF signal is delivered. Because this signal may interrupt in-progress system calls, programs using this timer must be prepared to restart interrupted system calls. The maximum number of seconds allowed for it_interval and it_value in setitimer() is 100000000. NOTES
Three macros for manipulating time values are defined in <sys/time.h>. The timerclear() macro sets a time value to zero, timerisset() tests if a time value is non-zero, and timercmp() compares two time values. RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, the value 0 is returned; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error. ERRORS
The getitimer() and setitimer() system calls will fail if: [EFAULT] The value argument specified a bad address. [EINVAL] The value argument specified a time that was too large to be handled. SEE ALSO
gettimeofday(2), select(2), sigaction(2), clocks(7) HISTORY
The getitimer() system call appeared in 4.2BSD. BSD
May 16, 1995 BSD
Man Page