Add open source documentation files

This commit is contained in:
T. R. Bernstein
2026-03-12 15:31:10 +01:00
parent 76f91f67a6
commit 39fe5c9237
5 changed files with 563 additions and 0 deletions

View File

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
# Watching Directory Trees
Monitor an entire directory hierarchy for filesystem events.
## Overview
The Linux inotify API watches individual directories — it does not descend into subdirectories automatically. The ``Inotify/Inotify`` actor offers two convenience methods that handle the recursion for you.
### Recursive Watch
Call ``Inotify/Inotify/addRecursiveWatch(forDirectory:mask:)`` to walk the directory tree once and install a watch on every subdirectory that exists at the time of the call:
```swift
let inotify = try Inotify()
let descriptors = try await inotify.addRecursiveWatch(
forDirectory: "/home/user/project",
mask: [.create, .modify, .delete]
)
```
The returned array contains one watch descriptor per directory. Subdirectories created **after** this call are not covered.
### Automatic Subtree Watching
When you also want future subdirectories to be picked up, use ``Inotify/Inotify/addWatchWithAutomaticSubtreeWatching(forDirectory:mask:)`` instead:
```swift
let descriptors = try await inotify.addWatchWithAutomaticSubtreeWatching(
forDirectory: "/home/user/project",
mask: [.create, .modify, .delete]
)
```
Internally this listens for `CREATE` events carrying the ``InotifyEventMask/isDir`` flag and installs a new watch with the same mask whenever a subdirectory appears.
### Choosing the Right Method
| Method | Covers existing subdirectories | Covers new subdirectories |
|--------|:----:|:----:|
| ``Inotify/Inotify/addWatch(path:mask:)`` | No | No |
| ``Inotify/Inotify/addRecursiveWatch(forDirectory:mask:)`` | Yes | No |
| ``Inotify/Inotify/addWatchWithAutomaticSubtreeWatching(forDirectory:mask:)`` | Yes | Yes |