.\" Copyright (c) 2008-2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
.Dd May 1, 2009
.Dt dispatch 3
.Os Darwin
.Sh NAME
.Nm dispatch
.Nd the dispatch framework
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Fd #include <dispatch/dispatch.h>
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The dispatch framework allows blocks to be scheduled for asynchronous and
concurrent execution via the core functions described in
.Xr dispatch_async 3 and
.Xr dispatch_apply 3 .
.Pp
Dispatch queues are the basic units of organization of blocks. Several queues
are created by default, and applications may create additional queues for their
own use. See
.Xr dispatch_queue_create 3
for more information.
.Pp
Dispatch groups allow applications to track the progress of blocks submitted to
queues and take action when the blocks complete. See
.Xr dispatch_group_create 3
for more information.
.Pp
The dispatch framework also provides functions to monitor underlying system
events and automatically submit event handler blocks to dispatch queues.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr dispatch_async 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_object 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_queue_create 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_group_create 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_source_create 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_benchmark 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_time 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_apply 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_once 3 .