IBWAIT(3)

💤 IBWAIT(3) 💤

okay bestie, gather round, because this one is a Traditional API Function and it's literally the "just wait a sec I'm not ready" of the GPIB world 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

ibwait — as in, wait for event. And by "event" we mean either a board event or a device event, so pick your fighter 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <gpib/ib.h>

int ibwait(int ud, int status_mask);

that's it. two ints and a dream, no cap ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the whole vibe of ibwait() is: it sleeps 😴 until one of the conditions you listed in status_mask becomes true. that's the entire personality. it just chills there until one of your lil' bits goes off.

and the bits in status_mask? they mean the exact same thing as the bits in the ibsta status variable. same bits, same energy, no translation needed 💜

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🙈 when status_mask is zero

if you pass status_mask as zero, then ibwait() will return immediately — no sleeping, no waiting, it's giving "I'm literally already awake" 😭

and like... that's actually useful, fr fr. it's handy if you simply wish to get an updated ibsta. that's it, that's the whole reason. a lil' refresh button for your status variable ✨

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💅 device-specific tea (read this part, bestie)

when you call ibwait() on a device, not every bit is welcome at the party. only these condition bits in status_mask are valid:

• TIMO
• END
• CMPL
• RQS

that's the whole guest list, periodt. 👑

and here's the catch for RQS: for the RQS bit to actually get set in the returned ibsta, automatic serial polling must be enabled for the board controlling the device. this is a board-level setting, so go see ibconfig() about it 🎀

also: the RQS condition gets cleared by serial polling the device, so go look at ibrsp() if that's where your heart is at 💖

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🔥 resynchronizing async I/O (the important one)

if you wish to resynchronize and obtain the results from an asynchronous I/O operation, you must wait on CMPL by setting its bit in the status_mask parameter. non-negotiable, bestie, that's the rule 😤

then, if ibwait() returns with CMPL set, it will have updated these bad boys:

• iberr
• ibcnt
• the ERR bit of ibsta

...with the most recent asynchronous I/O results. icon behaviour, honestly. ate and left no crumbs 👑

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⏰ timeout era

if TIMO is set in the status_mask parameter, then ibwait will timeout after the time period set by ibtmo, and it'll set TIMO in ibsta.

so like, ibtmo decides how long the patience lasts, and TIMO is what you get in your ibsta when that patience runs out 💀

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

the value of ibsta is returned. that's it. that's the return value. no secret second thing, no sneaky error code — just ibsta returning to you like a main character 🫶

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🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

Copyright © 2003-2006, 2008 Frank Mori Hess

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so yeah, that's ibwait() — the sleep-until-something-happens icon of the traditional API 🌈

and if you ever forget what this page was called, just know it lives in linux-gpib 4.3.7, dated 07/06/2026, under the name IBWAIT(3) — go off, slay, and always set your CMPL bit 💖✨🧚