FSEvents
Encyclopedia
The
allows applications to register for notifications of changes to a given directory tree. Whenever the filesystem is changed, the kernel passes notifications via the special device file
Unlike other methods for "watching" the filesystem, such as Linux
's inotify
, the
FSEvents API in Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
allows applications to register for notifications of changes to a given directory tree. 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.Unlike other methods for "watching" the filesystem, such as Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
's inotify
Inotify
inotify is a Linux kernel subsystem that acts to extend filesystems to notice changes to the filesystem, and report those changes to applications. It replaces an earlier facility, dnotify, which had similar goals....
, 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.