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From: marks@AIVAX.RADC.AF.MIL (David Marks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re:  How to keep background processes from slowing down my program
Message-ID: <9103011412.AA21486@AIVAX.RADC.AF.MIL>
Date: 1 Mar 91 14:12:44 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 17


   Two ideas:
1.  Check out the TIMER0 and TIMER1 pseudodevices in gl.  In browsing through
some code we have, I have seen those used to generate events at regular
intervals to update the screen of a flight simulator.  They are used in
conjuction with the noise() routine, to control how often the timers generate
events.

2.  UNIX provides the set_interval_timer [setitimer(2)] routine which you can
use to trigger a SIGALRM signal after a specified interval.

Idea #1 is probably the way to go, due to its functional simplicity and its 
direct availability through gl.

Dave Marks
Rome Laboratory
marks@aivax.radc.af.mil