NAME

       Tcl_DoWhenIdle,  Tcl_CancelIdleCall  -  invoke a procedure
       when there are no pending events


SYNOPSIS

       #include <tcl.h>

       Tcl_DoWhenIdle(proc, clientData)

       Tcl_CancelIdleCall(proc, clientData)


ARGUMENTS

       Tcl_IdleProc   *proc        (in)      Procedure to invoke.

       ClientData     clientData   (in)      Arbitrary   one-word
                                             value  to  pass   to
                                             proc.
_________________________________________________________________


DESCRIPTION

       Tcl_DoWhenIdle  arranges  for  proc to be invoked when the
       application becomes idle.  The application  is  considered
       to  be  idle when Tcl_DoOneEvent has been called, couldn't
       find any events to handle, and is about  to  go  to  sleep
       waiting  for an event to occur.  At this point all pending
       Tcl_DoWhenIdle handlers are invoked.   For  each  call  to
       Tcl_DoWhenIdle there will be a single call to proc;  after
       proc is invoked  the  handler  is  automatically  removed.
       Tcl_DoWhenIdle   is  only  usable  in  programs  that  use
       Tcl_DoOneEvent to dispatch events.

       Proc should have arguments and result that match the  type
       Tcl_IdleProc:
              typedef void Tcl_IdleProc(ClientData clientData);
       The  clientData parameter to proc is a copy of the client­
       Data argument given to Tcl_DoWhenIdle.  Typically, client­
       Data  points  to  a data structure containing application-
       specific information about what proc should do.

       Tcl_CancelIdleCall may be used to cancel one or more  pre­
       vious   calls   to   Tcl_DoWhenIdle:    if   there   is  a
       Tcl_DoWhenIdle handler registered for proc and clientData,
       then  it is removed without invoking it.  If there is more
       than one handler on the idle list that refers to proc  and
       clientData, all of the handlers are removed.  If no exist­
       ing handlers match proc and clientData then  nothing  hap­
       pens.

       Tcl_DoWhenIdle  is  most  useful in situations where (a) a
       piece of work will have to be done but (b)  it's  possible
       that  something  will  happen in the near future that will

       to  be  done.  Tcl_DoWhenIdle allows the actual work to be
       deferred until all pending events have been processed.  At
       this  point  the  exact work to be done will presumably be
       known and it can be done exactly once.

       For example, Tcl_DoWhenIdle might be used by an editor  to
       defer display updates until all pending commands have been
       processed.  Without  this  feature,  redundant  redisplays
       might  occur in some situations, such as the processing of
       a command file.


BUGS

       At present it is not safe for an idle callback to resched­
       ule  itself  continuously.   This will interact badly with
       certain features of Tk that attempt to wait for  all  idle
       callbacks  to  complete.   If  you  would like for an idle
       callback to reschedule itself continuously, it  is  better
       to use a timer handler with a zero timeout period.


KEYWORDS

       callback, defer, idle callback


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