The `process` object is a global object and can be accessed from anywhere.
It is an instance of [EventEmitter][].
+## Exit Codes
+
+Node will normally exit with a `0` status code when no more async
+operations are pending. The following status codes are used in other
+cases:
+
+* `1` **Uncaught Fatal Exception** - There was an uncaught exception,
+ and it was not handled by a domain or an `uncaughtException` event
+ handler.
+* `2` - Unused (reserved by Bash for builtin misuse)
+* `3` **Internal JavaScript Parse Error** - The JavaScript source code
+ internal in Node's bootstrapping process caused a parse error. This
+ is extremely rare, and generally can only happen during development
+ of Node itself.
+* `4` **Internal JavaScript Evaluation Failure** - The JavaScript
+ source code internal in Node's bootstrapping process failed to
+ return a function value when evaluated. This is extremely rare, and
+ generally can only happen during development of Node itself.
+* `5` **Fatal Error** - There was a fatal unrecoverable error in V8.
+ Typically a message will be printed to stderr with the prefix `FATAL
+ ERROR`.
+* `6` **Non-function Internal Exception Handler** - There was an
+ uncaught exception, but the internal fatal exception handler
+ function was somehow set to a non-function, and could not be called.
+* `7` **Internal Exception Handler Run-Time Failure** - There was an
+ uncaught exception, and the internal fatal exception handler
+ function itself threw an error while attempting to handle it. This
+ can happen, for example, if a `process.on('uncaughtException')` or
+ `domain.on('error')` handler throws an error.
+* `8` - Unused. In previous versions of Node, exit code 8 sometimes
+ indicated an uncaught exception.
+* `9` - **Invalid Argument** - Either an unknown option was specified,
+ or an option requiring a value was provided without a value.
+* `10` **Internal JavaScript Run-Time Failure** - The JavaScript
+ source code internal in Node's bootstrapping process threw an error
+ when the bootstrapping function was called. This is extremely rare,
+ and generally can only happen during development of Node itself.
+* `12` **Invalid Debug Argument** - The `--debug` and/or `--debug-brk`
+ options were set, but an invalid port number was chosen.
+* `>128` **Signal Exits** - If Node receives a fatal signal such as
+ `SIGKILL` or `SIGHUP`, then its exit code will be `128` plus the
+ value of the signal code. This is a standard Unix practice, since
+ exit codes are defined to be 7-bit integers, and signal exits set
+ the high-order bit, and then contain the value of the signal code.
## Event: 'exit'
console.log('This will not run.');
Note that `uncaughtException` is a very crude mechanism for exception
-handling and may be removed in the future.
+handling.
Don't use it, use [domains](domain.html) instead. If you do use it, restart
your application after every unhandled exception!
The shell that executed node should see the exit code as 1.
+## process.exitCode
+
+A number which will be the process exit code, when the process either
+exits gracefully, or is exited via `process.exit()` without specifying
+a code.
+
+Specifying a code to `process.exit(code)` will override any previous
+setting of `process.exitCode`.
+
+
## process.getgid()
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Gets the group identity of the process. (See getgid(2).)
This is the numerical group id, not the group name.
## process.setgid(id)
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Sets the group identity of the process. (See setgid(2).) This accepts either
a numerical ID or a groupname string. If a groupname is specified, this method
## process.getuid()
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Gets the user identity of the process. (See getuid(2).)
This is the numerical userid, not the username.
## process.setuid(id)
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Sets the user identity of the process. (See setuid(2).) This accepts either
a numerical ID or a username string. If a username is specified, this method
## process.getgroups()
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Returns an array with the supplementary group IDs. POSIX leaves it unspecified
if the effective group ID is included but node.js ensures it always is.
## process.setgroups(groups)
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Sets the supplementary group IDs. This is a privileged operation, meaning you
need to be root or have the CAP_SETGID capability.
## process.initgroups(user, extra_group)
-Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows)
+Note: this function is only available on POSIX platforms (i.e. not Windows,
+Android)
Reads /etc/group and initializes the group access list, using all groups of
which the user is a member. This is a privileged operation, meaning you need
## process.nextTick(callback)
-On the next loop around the event loop call this callback.
+* `callback` {Function}
+
+Once the current event loop turn runs to completion, call the callback
+function.
+
This is *not* a simple alias to `setTimeout(fn, 0)`, it's much more
-efficient. It typically runs before any other I/O events fire, but there
-are some exceptions. See `process.maxTickDepth` below.
+efficient. It runs before any additional I/O events (including
+timers) fire in subsequent ticks of the event loop.
+ console.log('start');
process.nextTick(function() {
console.log('nextTick callback');
});
+ console.log('scheduled');
+ // Output:
+ // start
+ // scheduled
+ // nextTick callback
This is important in developing APIs where you want to give the user the
chance to assign event handlers after an object has been constructed,
fs.stat('file', cb);
}
-## process.maxTickDepth
-
-* {Number} Default = 1000
-
-Callbacks passed to `process.nextTick` will *usually* be called at the
-end of the current flow of execution, and are thus approximately as fast
-as calling a function synchronously. Left unchecked, this would starve
-the event loop, preventing any I/O from occurring.
-
-Consider this code:
-
- process.nextTick(function foo() {
- process.nextTick(foo);
- });
-
-In order to avoid the situation where Node is blocked by an infinite
-loop of recursive series of nextTick calls, it defers to allow some I/O
-to be done every so often.
-
-The `process.maxTickDepth` value is the maximum depth of
-nextTick-calling nextTick-callbacks that will be evaluated before
-allowing other forms of I/O to occur.
+Note: the nextTick queue is completely drained on each pass of the
+event loop **before** additional I/O is processed. As a result,
+recursively setting nextTick callbacks will block any I/O from
+happening, just like a `while(true);` loop.
## process.umask([mask])
// benchmark took 1000000527 nanoseconds
}, 1000);
+
+## Async Listeners
+
+<!-- type=misc -->
+
+ Stability: 1 - Experimental
+
+The `AsyncListener` API is the JavaScript interface for the `AsyncWrap`
+class which allows developers to be notified about key events in the
+lifetime of an asynchronous event. Node performs a lot of asynchronous
+events internally, and significant use of this API will have a **dramatic
+performance impact** on your application.
+
+
+## process.createAsyncListener(asyncListener[, callbacksObj[, storageValue]])
+
+* `asyncListener` {Function} callback fired when an asynchronous event is
+instantiated.
+* `callbacksObj` {Object} optional callbacks that will fire at specific
+times in the lifetime of the asynchronous event.
+* `storageValue` {Value} a value that will be passed as the first argument
+when the `asyncListener` callback is run, and to all subsequent callback.
+
+Returns a constructed `AsyncListener` object.
+
+To begin capturing asynchronous events pass the object to
+[`process.addAsyncListener()`][]. The same `AsyncListener` instance can
+only be added once to the active queue, and subsequent attempts to add the
+instance will be ignored.
+
+To stop capturing pass the object to [`process.removeAsyncListener()`][].
+This does _not_ mean the `AsyncListener` previously added will stop
+triggering callbacks. Once attached to an asynchronous event it will
+persist with the lifetime of the asynchronous call stack.
+
+Explanation of function parameters:
+
+`asyncListener(storageValue)`: A `Function` called when an asynchronous
+event is instantiated. If a `Value` is returned then it will be attached
+to the event and overwrite any value that had been passed to
+`process.createAsyncListener()`'s `storageValue` argument. If an initial
+`storageValue` was passed when created, then `asyncListener()` will
+receive that as a function argument.
+
+`callbacksObj`: An `Object` which may contain three optional fields:
+
+* `before(context, storageValue)`: A `Function` that is called immediately
+before the asynchronous callback is about to run. It will be passed both
+the `context` (i.e. `this`) of the calling function and the `storageValue`
+either returned from `asyncListener` or passed during construction (if
+either occurred).
+
+* `after(context, storageValue)`: A `Function` called immediately after
+the asynchronous event's callback has run. Note this will not be called
+if the callback throws and the error is not handled.
+
+* `error(storageValue, error)`: A `Function` called if the event's
+callback threw. If `error` returns `true` then Node will assume the error
+has been properly handled and resume execution normally. When multiple
+`error()` callbacks have been registered, only **one** of those callbacks
+needs to return `true` for `AsyncListener` to accept that the error has
+been handled.
+
+`storageValue`: A `Value` (i.e. anything) that will be, by default,
+attached to all new event instances. This will be overwritten if a `Value`
+is returned by `asyncListener()`.
+
+Here is an example of overwriting the `storageValue`:
+
+ process.createAsyncListener(function listener(value) {
+ // value === true
+ return false;
+ }, {
+ before: function before(context, value) {
+ // value === false
+ }
+ }, true);
+
+**Note:** The [EventEmitter][], while used to emit status of an asynchronous
+event, is not itself asynchronous. So `asyncListener()` will not fire when
+an event is added, and `before`/`after` will not fire when emitted
+callbacks are called.
+
+
+## process.addAsyncListener(asyncListener[, callbacksObj[, storageValue]])
+## process.addAsyncListener(asyncListener)
+
+Returns a constructed `AsyncListener` object and immediately adds it to
+the listening queue to begin capturing asynchronous events.
+
+Function parameters can either be the same as
+[`process.createAsyncListener()`][], or a constructed `AsyncListener`
+object.
+
+Example usage for capturing errors:
+
+ var cntr = 0;
+ var key = process.addAsyncListener(function() {
+ return { uid: cntr++ };
+ }, {
+ before: function onBefore(context, storage) {
+ // Need to remove the listener while logging or will end up
+ // with an infinite call loop.
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ console.log('uid: %s is about to run', storage.uid);
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+ },
+ after: function onAfter(context, storage) {
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ console.log('uid: %s is about to run', storage.uid);
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+ },
+ error: function onError(storage, err) {
+ // Handle known errors
+ if (err.message === 'really, it\'s ok') {
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ console.log('handled error just threw:');
+ console.log(err.stack);
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+ return true;
+ }
+ }
+ });
+
+ process.nextTick(function() {
+ throw new Error('really, it\'s ok');
+ });
+
+ // Output:
+ // uid: 0 is about to run
+ // handled error just threw:
+ // Error: really, it's ok
+ // at /tmp/test2.js:27:9
+ // at process._tickCallback (node.js:583:11)
+ // at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:492:11)
+ // at startup (node.js:123:16)
+ // at node.js:1012:3
+
+## process.removeAsyncListener(asyncListener)
+
+Removes the `AsyncListener` from the listening queue.
+
+Removing the `AsyncListener` from the queue does _not_ mean asynchronous
+events called during its execution scope will stop firing callbacks. Once
+attached to an event it will persist for the entire asynchronous call
+stack. For example:
+
+ var key = process.createAsyncListener(function asyncListener() {
+ // To log we must stop listening or we'll enter infinite recursion.
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ console.log('You summoned me?');
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+ });
+
+ // We want to begin capturing async events some time in the future.
+ setTimeout(function() {
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+
+ // Perform a few additional async events.
+ setTimeout(function() {
+ setImmediate(function() {
+ process.nextTick(function() { });
+ });
+ });
+
+ // Removing the listener doesn't mean to stop capturing events that
+ // have already been added.
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ }, 100);
+
+ // Output:
+ // You summoned me?
+ // You summoned me?
+ // You summoned me?
+ // You summoned me?
+
+The fact that we logged 4 asynchronous events is an implementation detail
+of Node's [Timers][].
+
+To stop capturing from a specific asynchronous event stack
+`process.removeAsyncListener()` must be called from within the call
+stack itself. For example:
+
+ var key = process.createAsyncListener(function asyncListener() {
+ // To log we must stop listening or we'll enter infinite recursion.
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+ console.log('You summoned me?');
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+ });
+
+ // We want to begin capturing async events some time in the future.
+ setTimeout(function() {
+ process.addAsyncListener(key);
+
+ // Perform a few additional async events.
+ setImmediate(function() {
+ // Stop capturing from this call stack.
+ process.removeAsyncListener(key);
+
+ process.nextTick(function() { });
+ });
+ }, 100);
+
+ // Output:
+ // You summoned me?
+
+The user must be explicit and always pass the `AsyncListener` they wish
+to remove. It is not possible to simply remove all listeners at once.
+
+
[EventEmitter]: events.html#events_class_events_eventemitter
+[Timers]: timers.html
+[`process.createAsyncListener()`]: #process_process_createasynclistener_asynclistener_callbacksobj_storagevalue
+[`process.addAsyncListener()`]: #process_process_addasynclistener_asynclistener
+[`process.removeAsyncListener()`]: #process_process_removeasynclistener_asynclistener