libuv is a multi-platform C library that provides support for asynchronous I/O based on event loops. It supports epoll(4), kqueue(2), Windows IOCP, Solaris event ports and Linux io_uring. It is primarily designed for use in Node.js but it is also used by other software projects. It was originally an abstraction around libev or Microsoft IOCP, as libev does not support IOCP on Windows. In node-v0.9.0's version of libuv, the dependency on libev was removed.
Features
From:3
- Full-featured event loop backed by epoll, kqueue, IOCP, event ports
- Asynchronous TCP and UDP sockets
- Asynchronous DNS resolution
- Asynchronous file and file system operations
- File system events
- ANSI escape code controlled TTY
- IPC with socket sharing, using Unix domain sockets or named pipes (Windows)
- Child processes
- Thread pool
- Signal handling
- High resolution clock
- Threading and synchronization primitives
Origin of the name
According to libuv developer Ben Noordhuis, the name libuv originally had no specific meaning, but as people kept asking about it, so they made something up. They came up with Unicorn Velociraptor, which became the logo of the library.4
See also
- Free and open-source software portal
External links
- Official website
- libuv on GitHub
- An Introduction to libuv
- libuv API documentation
- libuv design overview
References
"Projects that use libuv". libuv GitHub project page. Retrieved 13 January 2025. https://github.com/libuv/libuv/blob/v1.x/LINKS.md ↩
An introduction to libuv https://nikhilm.github.io/uvbook/introduction.html#background ↩
"The libuv project page and source code". GitHub. Retrieved 30 June 2016. https://github.com/libuv/libuv ↩
"What does UV stand for in libuv?". groups.google.com. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://groups.google.com/g/libuv/c/jGpqKLXAVBE ↩