SLEEP(3C-SVR4)      RISC/os Reference Manual       SLEEP(3C-SVR4)



NAME
     sleep - suspend execution for interval

SYNOPSIS
     #include <unistd.h>

     unsigned sleep (unsigned seconds);

DESCRIPTION
     The current process is suspended from execution for the
     number of seconds specified by the argument.  The actual
     suspension time may be less than that requested because any
     caught signal will terminate the sleep following execution
     of that signal's catching routine.  Also, the suspension
     time may be longer than requested by an arbitrary amount
     because of the scheduling of other activity in the system.
     The value returned by sleep will be the unslept amount (the
     requested time minus the time actually slept) in case the
     caller had an alarm set to go off earlier than the end of
     the requested sleep time, or premature arousal because of
     another caught signal.

     The routine is implemented by setting an alarm signal and
     pausing until it (or some other signal) occurs.  The previ-
     ous state of the alarm signal is saved and restored.  The
     calling program may have set up an alarm signal before cal-
     ling sleep.  If the sleep time exceeds the time until such
     alarm signal, the process sleeps only until the alarm signal
     would have occurred.  The caller's alarm catch routine is
     executed just before the sleep routine returns.  But if the
     sleep time is less than the time till such alarm, the prior
     alarm time is reset to go off at the same time it would have
     without the intervening sleep.

SEE ALSO
     alarm(2), pause(2), signal(2), wait(2).



















                        Printed 11/19/92                   Page 1