FSEvents

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The FSEvents API in Mac OS X allows applications to register for notifications of changes to a given directory tree.[1] Whenever the filesystem is changed, the kernel passes notifications via the special device file /dev/fsevents to a userspace process called fseventsd. This process combines multiple changes to a single directory tree that occur within a short period of time, then notifies applications that have registered for changes to the affected directory.[2]

Unlike other methods for "watching" the filesystem, such as Linux's inotify, the FSEvents API provides no notifications for changes to individual files. An application may register to receive changes to a given directory, and must then determine for itself which file or files were changed. If it registers to receive changes to a directory tree, then it is told which directory or directories contain changed files, but not which files were changed within those directories.[3]

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References [edit]

  1. ^ "Leopard Technology Series for Developers: OS Foundations". 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
  2. ^ "File System Events Programming Guide: Using the File System Events API". 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  3. ^ "FSEvents.h -- FSEventStreamCallback". 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 

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