NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

       DELAY  -  General:  Delays the calling routine a specified
       number of microseconds

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

       void DELAY(
               int Specifies n );

ARGUMENTS    [Toc]    [Back]

       Specifies the number of microseconds for the calling  process
 to spin.

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

       The  DELAY  routine delays the calling routine a specified
       number of microseconds.   DELAY  spins,  waiting  for  the
       specified number of microseconds to pass before continuing
       execution.

       For   example,   the   following   code   results   in   a
       10000-microsecond (10-millisecond) delay:

        .
        .
        .
        DELAY(10000);
        .
        .
        .

       The  range of delays is system dependent, due to its relation
 to the granularity of the system  clock.  The  system
       defines  the  number  of  clock ticks per second in the hz
       variable. Specifying any value smaller than 1  Hz  to  the
       DELAY  routine  results in an unpredictable delay. For any
       delay value, the actual delay may vary by  plus  or  minus
       one clock tick.

       Using the DELAY routine is discouraged because the processor
 will be consumed for the specified time  interval  and
       therefore  is  unavailable  to service other processes. In
       cases where kernel modules  need  timing  mechanisms,  you
       should  use  the sleep and timeout routines instead of the
       DELAY routine.  The most common usage of the DELAY routine
       is  in  the system boot path. Using DELAY in the boot path
       is often acceptable because there are no  other  processes
       in contention for the processor.

RETURN VALUES    [Toc]    [Back]

       None

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

       Routines: sleep(9r), timeout(9r)



                                                        DELAY(9r)