Replace inotify #29

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opened 2026-01-28 02:48:03 +00:00 by scossu · 0 comments

scossu commented

2026-01-28 02:48:03 +00:00

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The inotify interface used in pkar_watch is quite handy but has two main problems: a) it only works with Linux; and b) it doesn't seem to detect files coming from SMB clients.

The latter issue is quite annoying as it prevents Pocket Archive being used over SMB.

Alternatives can be considered:

A poll() interface, such as the one provided by LuaPosix. This is the most minimalistic cross-platform option. Slow and single-threaded, but for the job it has to do, it doesn't matter. It needs some workarounds to be able to detect new files in a given directory (if it can even work).

libev or libuv bindings. These are wrappers around several back ends that cover the full Unix spectrum. The latter is higher-level and has many more features that Pocket Archive doesn't need.

cqueues. This is also a Unix-wide wrapper, and it is very widely used. Probably much larger than necessary.

The inotify interface used in `pkar_watch` is quite handy but has two main problems: a) it only works with Linux; and b) it doesn't seem to detect files coming from SMB clients. The latter issue is quite annoying as it prevents Pocket Archive being used over SMB. Alternatives can be considered: A `poll()` interface, such as the one provided by LuaPosix. This is the most minimalistic cross-platform option. Slow and single-threaded, but for the job it has to do, it doesn't matter. It needs some workarounds to be able to detect new files in a given directory (if it can even work). libev or libuv bindings. These are wrappers around several back ends that cover the full Unix spectrum. The latter is higher-level and has many more features that Pocket Archive doesn't need. cqueues. This is also a Unix-wide wrapper, and it is very widely used. Probably much larger than necessary.