alarm(2)                                                 alarm(2)



NAME
     alarm - sets a process's alarm clock

SYNOPSIS
     unsigned alarm(sec)
     unsigned sec;

DESCRIPTION
     alarm instructs the calling process's alarm clock to send
     the signal SIGALRM to the calling process after the number
     of real time seconds specified by sec have elapsed (see
     signal(3)).

     The alarm command requests are not stacked; successive calls
     reset the calling process's alarm clock.  If the argument is
     0, any alarm request is canceled.  Because the clock has a
     1-second resolution, the signal may occur up to one second
     early; because of scheduling delays, resumption of execution
     of when the signal is caught may be delayed an arbitrary
     amount.  The longest specifiable delay time is 4,294,967,295
     (2**32-1) seconds, or 136 years.

STATUS MESSAGES AND VALUES
     The alarm command returns the amount of time previously
     remaining in the calling process's alarm clock.

SEE ALSO
     pause(2), setitimer(2), signal(3)



























January 1992                                                    1