path: root/erts/doc/src/erlang.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE erlref SYSTEM "erlref.dtd">

<erlref>
  <header>
    <copyright>
      <year>1996</year><year>2013</year>
      <holder>Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</holder>
    </copyright>
    <legalnotice>
      Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
      you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
      You may obtain a copy of the License at
 
          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

      Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
      distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
      WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
      See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
      limitations under the License.

    </legalnotice>

    <title>erlang</title>
    <prepared></prepared>
    <docno></docno>
    <date></date>
    <rev></rev>
    <file>erlang.xml</file>
  </header>
  <module>erlang</module>
  <modulesummary>The Erlang BIFs.</modulesummary>
  <description>
    <p>By convention, most Built-In Functions (BIFs) are seen as being
      in this module. Some of the BIFs are viewed more
      or less as part of the Erlang programming language and are
      <em>auto-imported</em>. Thus, it is not necessary to specify the
      module name. For example, the calls <c>atom_to_list(Erlang)</c>
      and <c>erlang:atom_to_list(Erlang)</c> are identical.</p>
    <p>Auto-imported BIFs are listed without module prefix.
      BIFs listed with module prefix are not auto-imported.</p>
    <p>BIFs can fail for various reasons. All BIFs fail with
      reason <c>badarg</c> if they are called with arguments of an
      incorrect type. The other reasons are described in the
      description of each individual BIF.</p>
    <p>Some BIFs can be used in guard tests and are marked with
      "Allowed in guard tests".</p>
  </description>

  <datatypes>
    <datatype>
      <name>ext_binary()</name>
      <desc>
      <marker id="type-ext_binary"></marker>
        <p>A binary data object, structured according to
           the Erlang external term format.</p>
      </desc>
    </datatype>

    <datatype>
      <name name="timestamp"></name>
      <desc><p>See <seealso marker="#timestamp/0">erlang:timestamp/0</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </datatype>
    <marker id="type_time_unit"/>
    <datatype>
      <name name="time_unit"></name>
      <desc><p>Supported time unit representations:</p>
        <taglist>
	  <tag><c>PartsPerSecond :: integer() >= 1</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Time unit expressed in parts per second. That is,
	  the time unit equals <c>1/PartsPerSecond</c> second.</p></item>

	  <tag><c>seconds</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Symbolic representation of the time unit
	  represented by the integer <c>1</c>.</p></item>

	  <tag><c>milli_seconds</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Symbolic representation of the time unit
	  represented by the integer <c>1000</c>.</p></item>

	  <tag><c>micro_seconds</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Symbolic representation of the time unit
	  represented by the integer <c>1000000</c>.</p></item>

	  <tag><c>nano_seconds</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Symbolic representation of the time unit
	  represented by the integer <c>1000000000</c>.</p></item>

	  <tag><c>native</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Symbolic representation of the native time unit
	  used by the Erlang runtime system.</p>

	  <p>The <c>native</c> time unit is determined at
	  runtime system start, and remains the same until
	  the runtime system terminates. If a runtime system
	  is stopped and then started again (even on the same
	  machine), the <c>native</c> time unit of the new
	  runtime system instance can differ from the
	  <c>native</c> time unit of the old runtime system
	  instance.</p>

	  <p>One can get an approximation of the <c>native</c>
	  time unit by calling <c>erlang:convert_time_unit(1,
	  seconds, native)</c>. The result equals the number
	  of whole <c>native</c> time units per second. In case
	  the number of <c>native</c> time units per second does
	  not add up to a whole number, the result is rounded downwards.</p>

	  <note>
	    <p>The value of the <c>native</c> time unit gives
	    you more or less no information at all about the
	    quality of time values. It sets a limit for
	    the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Resolution">resolution</seealso>
	    as well as for the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Precision">precision</seealso>
	    of time values,
	    but it gives absolutely no information at all about the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Accuracy">accuracy</seealso>
	    of time values. The resolution of the <c>native</c> time
	    unit and the resolution of time values can differ
	    significantly.</p>
	  </note>
	  </item>

	</taglist>

	<p>The <c>time_unit/0</c> type may be extended. Use
	<seealso marker="#convert_time_unit/3"><c>erlang:convert_time_unit/3</c></seealso>
	in order to convert time values between time units.</p>

      </desc>
    </datatype>
  </datatypes>

  <funcs>
    <func>
      <name name="abs" arity="1" clause_i="1"/>
      <name name="abs" arity="1" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Arithmetical absolute value.</fsummary>
      <type>
        <v>Float = float()</v>
        <v>Int = integer()</v>
      </type>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer or float that is the arithmetical
          absolute value of <c><anno>Float</anno></c> or
          <c><anno>Int</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>abs(-3.33).</input>
3.33
> <input>abs(-3).</input>
3</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="adler32" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Computes adler32 checksum.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Computes and returns the adler32 checksum for
        <c><anno>Data</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="adler32" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Computes adler32 checksum.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Continues computing the adler32 checksum by combining 
        the previous checksum, <c><anno>OldAdler</anno></c>, with
	the checksum of <c><anno>Data</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The following code:</p>
        <code>
        X = erlang:adler32(Data1),
        Y = erlang:adler32(X,Data2).</code>
	<p>assigns the same value to <c>Y</c> as this:</p>
        <code>
        Y = erlang:adler32([Data1,Data2]).</code>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="adler32_combine" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Combines two adler32 checksums.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Combines two previously computed adler32 checksums.
        This computation requires the size of the data object for
        the second checksum to be known.</p>
        <p>The following code:</p>
        <code>
        Y = erlang:adler32(Data1),
        Z = erlang:adler32(Y,Data2).</code>
        <p>assigns the same value to <c>Z</c> as this:</p>
        <code>
        X = erlang:adler32(Data1),
        Y = erlang:adler32(Data2),
        Z = erlang:adler32_combine(X,Y,iolist_size(Data2)).</code>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="append_element" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Appends an extra element to a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a new tuple that has one element more than
          <c><anno>Tuple1</anno></c>, and contains the elements in
	  <c><anno>Tuple1</anno></c>
          followed by <c><anno>Term</anno></c> as the last element.
	  Semantically equivalent to
          <c>list_to_tuple(tuple_to_list(<anno>Tuple1</anno>) ++
	  [<anno>Term</anno>])</c>, but much faster.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:append_element({one, two}, three).</input>
{one,two,three}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="apply" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Applies a function to an argument list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Calls a fun, passing the elements in <c><anno>Args</anno></c>
	  as arguments.</p>
        <p>If the number of elements in the arguments are known at
          compile time, the call is better written as
          <c><anno>Fun</anno>(Arg1, Arg2, ... ArgN)</c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>Earlier, <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> could also be given as
            <c>{Module, Function}</c>, equivalent to
            <c>apply(Module, Function, Args)</c>. This use is
            deprecated and will stop working in a future release.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="apply" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Applies a function to an argument list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the result of applying <c>Function</c> in
          <c><anno>Module</anno></c> to <c><anno>Args</anno></c>.
	  The applied function must
          be exported from <c>Module</c>. The arity of the function is
          the length of <c>Args</c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>apply(lists, reverse, [[a, b, c]]).</input>
[c,b,a]
> <input>apply(erlang, atom_to_list, ['Erlang']).</input>
"Erlang"</pre>
        <p>If the number of arguments are known at compile time,
          the call is better written as
          <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno>(Arg1, Arg2, ..., ArgN)</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>error_handler:undefined_function/3</c> is called
          if the applied function is not exported. The error handler
          can be redefined (see
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>).
          If <c>error_handler</c> is undefined, or if the user has
          redefined the default <c>error_handler</c> so the replacement
          module is undefined, an error with the reason <c>undef</c>
          is generated.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="atom_to_binary" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the binary representation of an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Atom</anno></c>.
          If <c><anno>Encoding</anno></c>
          is <c>latin1</c>, there is one byte for each character
          in the text representation. If <c><anno>Encoding</anno></c> is
          <c>utf8</c> or
          <c>unicode</c>, the characters are encoded using UTF-8
          (that is, characters from 128 through 255 are
          encoded in two bytes).</p>
	<note><p><c>atom_to_binary(<anno>Atom</anno>, latin1)</c> never
        fails because the text representation of an atom can only
        contain characters from 0 through 255. In a future release,
        the text representation
        of atoms can be allowed to contain any Unicode character and
        <c>atom_to_binary(<anno>Atom</anno>, latin1)</c> will then fail if the
        text representation for <c><anno>Atom</anno></c> contains a Unicode
        character greater than 255.</p></note>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>atom_to_binary('Erlang', latin1).</input>
&lt;&lt;"Erlang"&gt;&gt;</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="atom_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Atom</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>atom_to_list('Erlang').</input>
"Erlang"</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_part" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Extracts a part of a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
      <p>Extracts the part of the binary described by
        <c><anno>PosLen</anno></c>.</p>
      <p>Negative length can be used to extract bytes at the end
      of a binary, for example:</p>
<code>
1> Bin = &lt;&lt;1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10&gt;&gt;.
2> binary_part(Bin,{byte_size(Bin), -5}).
&lt;&lt;6,7,8,9,10&gt;&gt;</code>
      <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>PosLen</anno></c> in any way
        references outside the binary.</p>
      <p><c><anno>Start</anno></c> is zero-based, that is:</p>
<code>
1> Bin = &lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;
2> binary_part(Bin,{0,2}).
&lt;&lt;1,2&gt;&gt;</code>
      <p>For details about the <c><anno>PosLen</anno></c> semantics, see the
        <seealso marker="stdlib:binary">binary</seealso>
        manual page in <c>STDLIB</c>.</p>
      <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_part" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Extracts a part of a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
      <p>The same as <c>binary_part(<anno>Subject</anno>,
      {<anno>Start</anno>, <anno>Length</anno>})</c>.</p>
      <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_atom" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the atom whose text representation is
        <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>.
        If <c><anno>Encoding</anno></c> is <c>latin1</c>, no
        translation of bytes in the binary is done.
        If <c><anno>Encoding</anno></c>
        is <c>utf8</c> or <c>unicode</c>, the binary must contain
        valid UTF-8 sequences. Only Unicode characters up
        to 255 are allowed.</p>
        <note><p><c>binary_to_atom(<anno>Binary</anno>, utf8)</c> fails if
        the binary contains Unicode characters greater than 255.
        In a future release, such Unicode characters can be allowed
        and <c>binary_to_atom(<anno>Binary</anno>, utf8)</c> does then not fail.
        For more information on Unicode support in atoms, see the
        <seealso marker="erl_ext_dist#utf8_atoms">note on UTF-8
        encoded atoms</seealso>
        in Section "External Term Format" in the User's Guide.</p></note>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>binary_to_atom(&lt;&lt;"Erlang"&gt;&gt;, latin1).</input>
'Erlang'
> <input>binary_to_atom(&lt;&lt;1024/utf8&gt;&gt;, utf8).</input>
** exception error: bad argument
     in function  binary_to_atom/2
        called as binary_to_atom(&lt;&lt;208,128&gt;&gt;,utf8)</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_existing_atom" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>As
          <seealso marker="#binary_to_atom/2">binary_to_atom/2</seealso>,
          but the atom must exist.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if the atom does not exist.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_float" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the float whose text representation is
          <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>binary_to_float(&lt;&lt;"2.2017764e+0">>).</input>
2.2017764</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Binary</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of a float.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_integer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer whose text representation is
          <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>binary_to_integer(&lt;&lt;"123"&gt;&gt;).</input>
123</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Binary</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of an integer.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_integer" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer whose text representation in base
          <c><anno>Base</anno></c> is <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>binary_to_integer(&lt;&lt;"3FF"&gt;&gt;, 16).</input>
1023</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Binary</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of an integer.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a binary to a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of integers corresponding to the bytes of
          <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_list" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Converts part of a binary to a list.</fsummary>
      <type_desc variable="Start">1..byte_size(<anno>Binary</anno>)</type_desc>
      <desc>
        <p>As <c>binary_to_list/1</c>, but returns a list of integers
          corresponding to the bytes from position <c><anno>Start</anno></c> to
          position <c><anno>Stop</anno></c> in <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>.
	  The positions in the
          binary are numbered starting from 1.</p>
          <note><p>The one-based indexing for binaries used by
	  this function is deprecated. New code is to use
          <seealso marker="stdlib:binary#bin_to_list/3">binary:bin_to_list/3</seealso>
	  in <c>STDLIB</c> instead. All functions in module
	  <c>binary</c> consistently use zero-based indexing.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="bitstring_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a bitstring to a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of integers corresponding to the bytes of
          <c><anno>Bitstring</anno></c>. If the number of bits in the binary
          is not divisible by 8, the last element of the list is a bitstring
          containing the remaining 1-7 bits.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_term" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Decodes an Erlang external term format binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an Erlang term that is the result of decoding
          binary object <c><anno>Binary</anno></c>, which must be encoded
          according to the Erlang external term format.</p>
        <warning><p>When decoding binaries from untrusted sources,
        consider using <c>binary_to_term/2</c> to prevent Denial
        of Service attacks.</p></warning>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#term_to_binary/1">term_to_binary/1</seealso>
          and
          <seealso marker="#binary_to_term/2">binary_to_term/2</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="binary_to_term" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Decodes an Erlang external term format binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>As <c>binary_to_term/1</c>, but takes options that affect decoding
           of the binary.</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>safe</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Use this option when receiving binaries from an untrusted
               source.</p>
            <p>When enabled, it prevents decoding data that can be used to
               attack the Erlang system. In the event of receiving unsafe
               data, decoding fails with a <c>badarg</c> error.</p>
            <p>This prevents creation of new atoms directly,
               creation of new atoms indirectly (as they are embedded in
               certain structures, such as process identifiers,
               refs, and funs), and
               creation of new external function references.
               None of those resources are garbage collected, so unchecked
               creation of them can exhaust available memory.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c>safe</c> is specified and unsafe
           data is decoded.</p>
        <p>See also
           <seealso marker="#term_to_binary/1">term_to_binary/1</seealso>,
           <seealso marker="#binary_to_term/1">binary_to_term/1</seealso>,
           and
           <seealso marker="#list_to_existing_atom/1">list_to_existing_atom/1</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="bit_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the size of a bitstring.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer that is the size in bits of
          <c><anno>Bitstring</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>bit_size(&lt;&lt;433:16,3:3&gt;&gt;).</input>
19
> <input>bit_size(&lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;).</input>
24</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="bump_reductions" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Increments the reduction counter.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>This implementation-dependent function increments
          the reduction counter for the calling process. In the Beam
          emulator, the reduction counter is normally incremented by
          one for each function and BIF call. A context switch is
          forced when the counter reaches the maximum number of
          reductions for a process (2000 reductions in OTP R12B).</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF can be removed in a future version of the Beam
            machine without prior warning. It is unlikely to be
            implemented in other Erlang implementations.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="byte_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the size of a bitstring (or binary).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer that is the number of bytes needed to
          contain <c><anno>Bitstring</anno></c>. That is, if the number of bits
          in <c><anno>Bitstring</anno></c> is not divisible by 8, the resulting
          number of bytes is rounded <em>up</em>.</p>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>byte_size(&lt;&lt;433:16,3:3&gt;&gt;).</input>
3
> <input>byte_size(&lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;).</input>
3</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="cancel_timer" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Cancels a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>
	  Cancels a timer that has been created by
	  <seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer()</c></seealso>,
	  or <seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after()</c></seealso>.
	  <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c> identifies the timer, and
	  was returned by the BIF that created the timer.
	</p>
	<p>Available <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{async, Async}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>
	      Asynchronous request for cancellation. <c>Async</c>
	      defaults to <c>false</c> which will cause the
	      cancellation to be performed synchronously. When
	      <c>Async</c> is set to <c>true</c>, the cancel
	      operation is performed asynchronously. That is,
	      <c>erlang:cancel_timer()</c> will send an asynchronous
	      request for cancellation to the timer service that
	      manages the timer, and then return <c>ok</c>.
	  </p>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>{info, Info}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>
	      Request information about the <c><anno>Result</anno></c>
	      of the cancellation. <c>Info</c> defaults to <c>true</c>
	      which means the <c><anno>Result</anno></c> is
	      given. When <c>Info</c> is set to <c>false</c>, no
	      information about the result of the cancellation
	      is given. When the operation is performed</p>
              <taglist>
		<tag>synchronously</tag>
		<item>
		  <p>
		    If <c>Info</c> is <c>true</c>, the <c>Result</c> is
		    returned by <c>erlang:cancel_timer()</c>; otherwise,
		    <c>ok</c> is returned.
		  </p>
		</item>
		<tag>asynchronously</tag>
		<item>
		  <p>
		    If <c>Info</c> is <c>true</c>, a message on the form
		    <c>{cancel_timer, <anno>TimerRef</anno>,
		    <anno>Result</anno>}</c> is sent to the
		    caller of <c>erlang:cancel_timer()</c> when the
		    cancellation operation has been performed; otherwise,
		    no message is sent.
		  </p>
		</item>
            </taglist>
	  </item>
        </taglist>
	<p>
	  More <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s may be added in the future.
	</p>
	<p>If <c><anno>Result</anno></c> is an integer, it represents
	  the time in milli-seconds left until the canceled timer would
	  have expired.</p>
	<p>
	  If <c><anno>Result</anno></c> is <c>false</c>, a
	  timer corresponding to <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c> could not
	  be found. This can be either because the timer had expired,
	  already had been canceled, or because <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c>
	  never corresponded to a timer. Even if the timer had expired,
	  it does not tell you whether or not the timeout message has
	  arrived at its destination yet.
	</p>
	<note>
	  <p>
	    The timer service that manages the timer may be co-located
	    with another scheduler than the scheduler that the calling
	    process is executing on. If this is the case, communication
	    with the timer service takes much longer time than if it
	    is located locally. If the calling process is in critical
	    path, and can do other things while waiting for the result
	    of this operation, or is not interested in the result of
	    the operation, you want to use option <c>{async, true}</c>.
	    If using option <c>{async, false}</c>, the calling
	    process blocks until the operation has been performed.
	  </p>
	</note>
        <p>See also 
          <seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after/4</c></seealso>,
          <seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer/4</c></seealso>,
          and
          <seealso marker="#read_timer/2"><c>erlang:read_timer/2</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="cancel_timer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Cancels a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Cancels a timer. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#cancel_timer/2"><c>erlang:cancel_timer(TimerRef,
	[])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="check_old_code" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a module has old code.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Module</anno></c> has old code,
	  otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>See also <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="check_process_code" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a process executes old code for a module.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
        <seealso marker="#check_process_code/3"><c>erlang:check_process_code(<anno>Pid</anno>, <anno>Module</anno>, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="check_process_code" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a process executes old code for a module.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Checks if the node local process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
        executes old code for <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The available <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{allow_gc, boolean()}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Determines if garbage collection is allowed when performing
            the operation. If <c>{allow_gc, false}</c> is passed, and
            a garbage collection is needed to determine the
            result of the operation, the operation is aborted (see
            information on <c><anno>CheckResult</anno></c> in the following).
            The default is to allow garbage collection, that is,
            <c>{allow_gc, true}</c>.</p>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>{async, RequestId}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The function <c>check_process_code/3</c> returns
            the value <c>async</c> immediately after the request
            has been sent. When the request has been processed, the
            process that called this function is passed a
            message on the form
            <c>{check_process_code, <anno>RequestId</anno>, <anno>CheckResult</anno>}</c>.</p>
	  </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> equals <c>self()</c>, and
        no <c>async</c> option has been passed, the operation
        is performed at once. Otherwise a request for
        the operation is sent to the process identified by
        <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>, and is handled when
        appropriate. If no <c>async</c> option has been passed,
        the caller blocks until <c><anno>CheckResult</anno></c>
        is available and can be returned.</p>
        <p><c><anno>CheckResult</anno></c> informs about the result of
        the request as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>true</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
            executes old code for <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.
            That is, the current call of the process executes old
            code for this module, or the process has references
            to old code for this module, or the process contains
            funs that references old code for this module.</p>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>false</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> does
            not execute old code for <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.</p>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>aborted</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The operation was aborted, as the process needed to
            be garbage collected to determine the operation result,
            and the operation was requested
            by passing option <c>{allow_gc, false}</c>.</p></item>
        </taglist>
        <p>See also <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not a node local process identifier.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>Module</anno></c> is not an atom.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>OptionList</anno></c> is an invalid list of options.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="convert_time_unit" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Converts time unit of a time value.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Converts the <c><anno>Time</anno></c> value of time unit
	<c><anno>FromUnit</anno></c> to the corresponding
	<c><anno>ConvertedTime</anno></c> value of time unit
	<c><anno>ToUnit</anno></c>. The result is rounded
	using the floor function.</p>

	<warning><p>You may lose accuracy and precision when converting
	between	time units. In order to minimize such loss, collect all
	data at <c>native</c> time unit and do the conversion on the end
	result.</p></warning>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="crc32" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Computes crc32 (IEEE 802.3) checksum.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Computes and returns the crc32 (IEEE 802.3 style) checksum
          for <c><anno>Data</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="crc32" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Computes crc32 (IEEE 802.3) checksum.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Continues computing the crc32 checksum by combining
        the previous checksum, <c><anno>OldCrc</anno></c>, with the checksum of
        <c><anno>Data</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The following code:</p>
        <code>
        X = erlang:crc32(Data1),
        Y = erlang:crc32(X,Data2).</code>
        <p>assigns the same value to <c>Y</c> as this:</p>
        <code>
        Y = erlang:crc32([Data1,Data2]).</code>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="crc32_combine" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Combines two crc32 (IEEE 802.3) checksums.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Combines two previously computed crc32 checksums.
        This computation requires the size of the data object for
        the second checksum to be known.</p>
        <p>The following code:</p>
        <code>
        Y = erlang:crc32(Data1),
        Z = erlang:crc32(Y,Data2).</code>
        <p>assigns the same value to <c>Z</c> as this:</p>
	<code>
        X = erlang:crc32(Data1),
        Y = erlang:crc32(Data2),
        Z = erlang:crc32_combine(X,Y,iolist_size(Data2)).</code>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="date" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current date.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current date as <c>{Year, Month, Day}</c>.</p>
        <p>The time zone and Daylight Saving Time correction depend on
          the underlying OS.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>date().</input>
{1995,2,19}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="decode_packet" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Extracts a protocol packet from a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Decodes the binary <c><anno>Bin</anno></c> according to the packet
        protocol specified by <c><anno>Type</anno></c>. Similar to the packet
        handling done by sockets with option {packet,<anno>Type</anno>}.</p>
        <p>If an entire packet is contained in <c><anno>Bin</anno></c>, it is
        returned together with the remainder of the binary as
        <c>{ok,<anno>Packet</anno>,<anno>Rest</anno>}</c>.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>Bin</anno></c> does not contain the entire packet,
        <c>{more,<anno>Length</anno>}</c> is returned.
        <c><anno>Length</anno></c> is either the
        expected <em>total size</em> of the packet, or <c>undefined</c>
        if the expected packet size is unknown. <c>decode_packet</c>
        can then be called again with more data added.</p>
        <p>If the packet does not conform to the protocol format,
        <c>{error,<anno>Reason</anno>}</c> is returned.</p>
        <p>The following <c>Type</c>s are valid:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>raw | 0</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>No packet handling is done. The entire binary is
            returned unless it is empty.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>1 | 2 | 4</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Packets consist of a header specifying the number of
              bytes in the packet, followed by that number of bytes.
              The length of the header can be one, two, or four bytes;
              the order of the bytes is big-endian. The header
              is stripped off when the packet is returned.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>line</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>A packet is a line terminated with newline. The
              newline character is included in the returned packet
              unless the line was truncated according to option
              <c>line_length</c>.</p> 
          </item>
          <tag><c>asn1 | cdr | sunrm | fcgi | tpkt</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The header is <em>not</em> stripped off.</p>
            <p>The meanings of the packet types are as follows:</p>
            <taglist>     
              <tag><c>asn1</c> - ASN.1 BER</tag><item></item>
              <tag><c>sunrm</c> - Sun's RPC encoding</tag><item></item>
              <tag><c>cdr</c> - CORBA (GIOP 1.1)</tag><item></item>
              <tag><c>fcgi</c> - Fast CGI</tag><item></item>
              <tag><c>tpkt</c> - TPKT format [RFC1006]</tag><item></item>
            </taglist>
          </item>
          <tag><c>http | httph | http_bin | httph_bin</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The packets
               are returned with the format according to
               <c><anno>HttpPacket</anno></c> described earlier.
               A packet is either a
               request, a response, a header, or an end of header
               mark. Invalid lines are returned as
               <c><anno>HttpError</anno></c>.</p>
            <p>Recognized request methods and header fields are returned
               as atoms. Others are returned as strings. Strings of
               unrecognized header fields are formatted with only
               capital letters first and after hyphen characters, for
               example, <c>"Sec-Websocket-Key"</c>.</p>
            <p>The protocol type <c>http</c> is only to be used for
               the first line when an <c><anno>HttpRequest</anno></c> or an
               <c><anno>HttpResponse</anno></c> is expected.
               The following calls are to use <c>httph</c> to get
               <c><anno>HttpHeader</anno></c>s until
               <c>http_eoh</c> is returned, which marks the end of the
               headers and the beginning of any following message body.</p> 
            <p>The variants <c>http_bin</c> and <c>httph_bin</c> return
               strings (<c>HttpString</c>) as binaries instead of lists.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The following options are available:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>{packet_size, integer() >= 0}</c></tag>
              <item><p>Sets the maximum allowed size of the packet body.
                If the packet header indicates that the length of the
                packet is longer than the maximum allowed length, the
                packet is considered invalid. Default is 0, which means
                no size limit.</p>
              </item>
              <tag><c>{line_length, integer() >= 0}</c></tag>
              <item><p>For packet type <c>line</c>, lines longer than
              the indicated length are truncated.</p>
              <p>Option <c>line_length</c> also applies to <c>http*</c>
                packet types as an alias for option <c>packet_size</c>
                if <c>packet_size</c> itself is not set. This use is
                only intended for backward compatibility.</p>
              </item>
            </taglist>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:decode_packet(1,&lt;&lt;3,"abcd"&gt;&gt;,[]).</input>
{ok,&lt;&lt;"abc"&gt;&gt;,&lt;&lt;"d"&gt;&gt;}
> <input>erlang:decode_packet(1,&lt;&lt;5,"abcd"&gt;&gt;,[]).</input>
{more,6}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="delete_element" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Deletes element at index in a tuple.</fsummary>
      <type_desc variable="Index">1..tuple_size(<anno>Tuple1</anno>)</type_desc>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a new tuple with element at <c><anno>Index</anno></c>
          removed from tuple <c><anno>Tuple1</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:delete_element(2, {one, two, three}).</input>
{one,three}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="delete_module" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Makes the current code for a module old.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Makes the current code for <c><anno>Module</anno></c> become old code,
          and deletes all references for this module from the export table.
          Returns <c>undefined</c> if the module does not exist,
          otherwise <c>true</c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for the code server (see
            <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>) and is not
            to be used elsewhere.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if there already is an old version of
          <c>Module</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="demonitor" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Stops monitoring.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>If <c><anno>MonitorRef</anno></c> is a reference that the
          calling process obtained by calling
          <seealso marker="#monitor/2">monitor/2</seealso>,
          this monitoring is turned off. If the monitoring is already
          turned off, nothing happens.</p>
        <p>Once <c>demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>)</c> has returned, it is
          guaranteed that no <c>{'DOWN',
          <anno>MonitorRef</anno>, _, _, _}</c> message,
          because of the monitor, will be placed in the caller message queue
          in the future. A <c>{'DOWN',
          <anno>MonitorRef</anno>, _, _, _}</c> message
          can have been placed in the caller message queue before
          the call, though. It is therefore usually advisable
          to remove such a <c>'DOWN'</c> message from the message queue
          after monitoring has been stopped.
          <seealso marker="#demonitor/2">demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>, [flush])</seealso>
          can be used instead of
          <c>demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>)</c> if this cleanup is wanted.</p>
        <note>
          <p>Before OTP R11B (<c>ERTS</c> 5.5), <c>demonitor/1</c>
            behaved asynchronous, that is, the monitor was active
            until the "demonitor signal" reached the monitored entity.
            This had an undesirable effect, as you could never know when
            you were guaranteed <em>not</em> to receive a <c>DOWN</c>
            message because of the monitor.</p>
          <p>The current behavior can be viewed as two combined operations:
            asynchronously send a "demonitor signal" to the monitored
            entity and ignore any future results of the monitor.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Failure: It is an error if <c><anno>MonitorRef</anno></c> refers to a
          monitoring started by another process. Not all such cases are
          cheap to check. If checking is cheap, the call fails with
          <c>badarg</c> for example, if <c><anno>MonitorRef</anno></c> is a
          remote reference.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="demonitor" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Stops monitoring.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The returned value is <c>true</c> unless <c>info</c> is part
          of <c><anno>OptionList</anno></c>.</p>
        <p><c>demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>, [])</c> is equivalent to
          <seealso marker="#demonitor/1">demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>)</seealso>.</p>
        <p>The available <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>flush</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Removes (one) <c>{_,
              <anno>MonitorRef</anno>, _, _, _}</c> message,
              if there is one, from the caller message queue after
              monitoring has been stopped.</p>
            <p>Calling <c>demonitor(<anno>MonitorRef</anno>, [flush])</c>
              is equivalent to the following, but more efficient:</p>
            <code type="none">
    demonitor(MonitorRef),
    receive
        {_, MonitorRef, _, _, _} ->
            true
    after 0 ->
            true
    end</code>
          </item>
          <tag><c>info</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The returned value is one of the following:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>true</c></tag>
              <item>The monitor was found and removed. In this case,
                no <c>'DOWN'</c> message corresponding to this
                monitor has been delivered and will not be delivered.
              </item>
              <tag><c>false</c></tag>
              <item>The monitor was not found and could not be removed.
                This probably because someone already has placed a
                <c>'DOWN'</c> message corresponding to this monitor
                in the caller message queue.
              </item>
            </taglist>
            <p>If option <c>info</c> is combined with option <c>flush</c>,
              <c>false</c> is returned if a flush was needed,
              otherwise <c>true</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <note>
          <p>More options can be added in a future release.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>OptionList</anno></c> is not a list.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>Option</anno></c> is an invalid option.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>The same failure as for
            <seealso marker="#demonitor/1">demonitor/1</seealso>.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="disconnect_node" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Forces the disconnection of a node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Forces the disconnection of a node. This appears to
          the node <c><anno>Node</anno></c> as if the local node has crashed.
          This BIF is mainly used in the Erlang network authentication
          protocols.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if disconnection succeeds,
          otherwise <c>false</c>. If the local node is not alive,
          <c>ignored</c> is returned.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="display" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Prints a term on standard output.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Prints a text representation of <c><anno>Term</anno></c> on the
          standard output. On OSE, the term is printed to the ramlog.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging only.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="element" arity="2"/>
      <type_desc variable="N">1..tuple_size(<anno>Tuple</anno>)</type_desc>
      <fsummary>Returns the Nth element of a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the <c><anno>N</anno></c>th element (numbering from 1) of
          <c><anno>Tuple</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>element(2, {a, b, c}).</input>
b</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="erase" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Returns and deletes the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process dictionary and deletes it, for
          example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(key1, {1, 2, 3}),</input>
<input>put(key2, [a, b, c]),</input>
<input>erase().</input>
[{key1,{1,2,3}},{key2,[a,b,c]}]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="erase" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns and deletes a value from the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the value <c><anno>Val</anno></c> associated with
          <c><anno>Key</anno></c> and deletes it from the process dictionary.
          Returns <c>undefined</c> if no value is associated with
          <c><anno>Key</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(key1, {merry, lambs, are, playing}),</input>
<input>X = erase(key1),</input>
<input>{X, erase(key1)}.</input>
{{merry,lambs,are,playing},undefined}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="error" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with a given reason.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Stops the execution of the calling process with the reason
          <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>, where <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>
          is any term. The exit reason is
          <c>{<anno>Reason</anno>, Where}</c>, where <c>Where</c>
          is a list of the functions most recently called (the current
          function first). Since evaluating this function causes
          the process to terminate, it has no return value.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>catch error(foobar).</input>
{'EXIT',{foobar,[{erl_eval,do_apply,5},
                 {erl_eval,expr,5},
                 {shell,exprs,6},
                 {shell,eval_exprs,6},
                 {shell,eval_loop,3}]}}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="error" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with a given reason.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Stops the execution of the calling process with the reason
          <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>, where <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>
          is any term. The exit reason is
          <c>{<anno>Reason</anno>, Where}</c>, where <c>Where</c>
          is a list of the functions most recently called (the current
          function first). <c><anno>Args</anno></c> is expected to be the
          list of arguments for the current function; in Beam it is used
          to provide the arguments for the current function in
          the term <c>Where</c>. Since evaluating this function causes
          the process to terminate, it has no return value.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="exit" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with a given reason.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Stops the execution of the calling process with exit reason
          <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>, where <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>
          is any term. Since
          evaluating this function causes the process to terminate, it
          has no return value.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>exit(foobar).</input>
** exception exit: foobar
> <input>catch exit(foobar).</input>
{'EXIT',foobar}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="exit" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sends an exit signal to a process or a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sends an exit signal with exit reason <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> to
          the process or port identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The following behavior applies if <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>
          is any term, except <c>normal</c> or <c>kill</c>:</p>
          <list type="bulleted">
            <item>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not trapping exits,
              <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
              itself exits with exit reason <c><anno>Reason</anno></c>.
            </item>
            <item>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is trapping exits, the exit
              signal is transformed into a message
              <c>{'EXIT', From, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c>
              and delivered to the message queue of <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.
            </item>
            <item><c>From</c> is the process identifier of the process
              that sent the exit signal. See also
              <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>.
            </item>
          </list>
          <p>If <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> is the atom <c>normal</c>,
            <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
            does not exit. If it is trapping exits, the exit signal is
            transformed into a message <c>{'EXIT', From, normal}</c>
            and delivered to its message queue.</p>
          <p>If <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> is the atom <c>kill</c>,
            that is, if <c>exit(<anno>Pid</anno>, kill)</c> is called,
            an untrappable exit signal is sent to <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>,
            which unconditionally exits with exit reason <c>killed</c>.
          </p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="external_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Calculates the maximum size for a term encoded in the Erlang external term format.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Calculates, without doing the encoding, the maximum byte size for
          a term encoded in the Erlang external term format. The following
          condition applies always:</p>
          <pre>
> <input>Size1 = byte_size(term_to_binary(<anno>Term</anno>)),</input>
> <input>Size2 = erlang:external_size(<anno>Term</anno>),</input>
> <input>true = Size1 =&lt; Size2.</input>
true</pre>
        <p>This is equivalent to a call to:</p>
<code>erlang:external_size(<anno>Term</anno>, [])</code>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="external_size" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Calculates the maximum size for a term encoded in the Erlang external term format.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Calculates, without doing the encoding, the maximum byte size for
          a term encoded in the Erlang external term format. The following
          condition applies always:</p>
          <pre>
> <input>Size1 = byte_size(term_to_binary(<anno>Term</anno>, <anno>Options</anno>)),</input>
> <input>Size2 = erlang:external_size(<anno>Term</anno>, <anno>Options</anno>),</input>
> <input>true = Size1 =&lt; Size2.</input>
true</pre>
        <p>Option <c>{minor_version, <anno>Version</anno>}</c> specifies how
          floats are encoded. For a detailed description, see
          <seealso marker="#term_to_binary/2">term_to_binary/2</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="float" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a number to a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a float by converting <c><anno>Number</anno></c> to a float,
          for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>float(55).</input>
55.0</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
        <note>
          <p>If used on the top level in a guard, it tests whether the
            argument is a floating point number; for clarity, use
            <seealso marker="#is_float/1">is_float/1</seealso> instead.</p>
          <p>When <c>float/1</c> is used in an expression in a guard,
            such as '<c>float(A) == 4.0</c>', it converts a number as
            described earlier.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="float_to_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
          <c>float_to_binary(<anno>Float</anno>,[{scientific,20}])</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="float_to_binary" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a float formatted using given options.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Float</anno></c> using fixed decimal 
          point formatting. <c><anno>Options</anno></c> behaves in the same
          way as <seealso marker="#float_to_list/2">float_to_list/2</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>float_to_binary(7.12, [{decimals, 4}]).</input>
&lt;&lt;"7.1200">>
> <input>float_to_binary(7.12, [{decimals, 4}, compact]).</input>
&lt;&lt;"7.12">></pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="float_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
          <c>float_to_list(<anno>Float</anno>,[{scientific,20}])</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="float_to_list" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a float formatted using given options.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text representation
          of <c>Float</c> using fixed decimal point formatting. The
          options are as follows:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>If option <c>decimals</c> is specified, the returned value
            contains at most <c>Decimals</c> number of digits past the
            decimal point.  If the number does not fit in the internal
            static buffer of 256 bytes, the function throws <c>badarg</c>.
          </item>
          <item>If option <c>compact</c> is provided, the trailing zeros
            at the end of the list are truncated. This option is only
            meaningful together with option <c>decimals</c>.
          </item>
          <item>If option <c>scientific</c> is provided, the float is
            formatted using scientific notation with <c>Decimals</c>
            digits of precision.
          </item>
          <item>If <c>Options</c> is <c>[]</c>, the function behaves as
            <seealso marker="#float_to_list/1">float_to_list/1</seealso>.
          </item>
        </list>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>float_to_list(7.12, [{decimals, 4}]).</input>
"7.1200"
> <input>float_to_list(7.12, [{decimals, 4}, compact]).</input>
"7.12"</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="fun_info" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Information about a fun.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list with information about the fun
          <c><anno>Fun</anno></c>. Each list element is a tuple. The order
          of the tuples is undefined, and more tuples can be added in a
          future release.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is mainly intended for debugging, but it can
            sometimes be useful in library functions that need
            to verify, for example, the arity of a fun.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Two types of funs have slightly different semantics:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>A fun created by <c>fun M:F/A</c> is called an
            <em>external</em> fun. Calling it will always call the
            function <c>F</c> with arity <c>A</c> in the latest code for
            module <c>M</c>. Notice that module <c>M</c> does not even
            need to be loaded when the fun <c>fun M:F/A</c> is created.
          </item>
          <item>All other funs are called <em>local</em>. When a local fun
            is called, the same version of the code that created the fun
            is called (even if a newer version of the module has been
            loaded).
          </item>
        </list>
        <p>The following elements are always present in the list
          for both local and external funs:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{type, Type}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Type</c> is <c>local</c> or <c>external</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{module, Module}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Module</c> (an atom) is the module name.</p>
            <p>If <c>Fun</c> is a local fun, <c>Module</c> is the module
              in which the fun is defined.</p>
            <p>If <c>Fun</c> is an external fun, <c>Module</c> is the
              module that the fun refers to.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{name, Name}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Name</c> (an atom) is a function name.</p>
            <p>If <c>Fun</c> is a local fun, <c>Name</c> is the name
              of the local function that implements the fun.
              (This name was generated by the compiler, and is
              only of informational use. As it is a local function, it
              cannot be called directly.)
              If no code is currently loaded for the fun, <c>[]</c>
              is returned instead of an atom.</p>
            <p>If <c>Fun</c> is an external fun, <c>Name</c> is the name
              of the exported function that the fun refers to.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{arity, Arity}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Arity</c> is the number of arguments that the fun
              is to be called with.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{env, Env}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Env</c> (a list) is the environment or free variables
              for the fun. For external funs, the returned list is
              always empty.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The following elements are only present in the list if
          <c>Fun</c> is local:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{pid, Pid}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Pid</c> is the process identifier of the process
              that originally created the fun.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{index, Index}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Index</c> (an integer) is an index into the module
              fun table.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{new_index, Index}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Index</c> (an integer) is an index into the module
              fun table.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{new_uniq, Uniq}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Uniq</c> (a binary) is a unique value for this fun. It
            is calculated from the compiled code for the entire module.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{uniq, Uniq}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c>Uniq</c> (an integer) is a unique value for this fun.
            As from OTP R15, this integer is calculated from the
            compiled code for the entire module. Before OTP R15, this
            integer was based on only the body of the fun.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="fun_info" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Information about a fun.</fsummary>
      <type name="fun_info_item"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns information about <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> as specified by
          <c><anno>Item</anno></c>, in the form
          <c>{<anno>Item</anno>,<anno>Info</anno>}</c>.</p>
        <p>For any fun, <c><anno>Item</anno></c> can be any of the atoms
          <c>module</c>, <c>name</c>, <c>arity</c>, <c>env</c>, or
          <c>type</c>.</p>
        <p>For a local fun, <c><anno>Item</anno></c> can also be any of the
          atoms <c>index</c>, <c>new_index</c>, <c>new_uniq</c>,
          <c>uniq</c>, and <c>pid</c>. For an external fun, the value
          of any of these items is always the atom <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>See
          <seealso marker="#fun_info/1">erlang:fun_info/1</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="fun_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a fun.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="function_exported" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a function is exported and loaded.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the module <c><anno>Module</anno></c> is loaded
          and contains an exported function <c><anno>Function</anno>/<anno>Arity</anno></c>,
	  or if there is a BIF (a built-in function implemented in C)
	  with the given name, otherwise returns <c>false</c>.</p>
	  <note><p>This function used to return false for built-in
	  functions before the 18.0 release.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="garbage_collect" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Forces an immediate garbage collection of the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Forces an immediate garbage collection of the
          executing process. The function is not to be used unless
          it has been noticed (or there are good reasons to suspect)
          that the spontaneous garbage collection will occur too late
          or not at all.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>Improper use can seriously degrade system performance.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="garbage_collect" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Garbage collects a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
	<seealso marker="#garbage_collect/2"><c>garbage_collect(<anno>Pid</anno>, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="garbage_collect" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Garbage collects a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Garbage collects the node local process identified by
        <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The available <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{async, RequestId}</c></tag>
          <item>The function <c>garbage_collect/2</c> returns
	    the value <c>async</c> immediately after the request
	    has been sent. When the request has been processed, the
	    process that called this function is passed a message on
            the form <c>{garbage_collect,
            <anno>RequestId</anno>, <anno>GCResult</anno>}</c>.
          </item>
        </taglist>
	<p>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> equals <c>self()</c>, and
	no <c>async</c> option has been passed, the garbage
	collection is performed at once, that is, the same as calling
	<seealso marker="#garbage_collect/0">garbage_collect/0</seealso>.
	Otherwise a request for garbage collection
	is sent to the process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>,
	and will be handled when appropriate. If no <c>async</c>
	option has been passed, the caller blocks until
	<c><anno>GCResult</anno></c> is available and can be returned.</p>
	<p><c><anno>GCResult</anno></c> informs about the result of
	the garbage collection request as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>true</c></tag>
          <item>
	    The process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> has
	    been garbage collected.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>false</c></tag>
          <item>
	    No garbage collection was performed, as
	    the process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
	    terminated before the request could be satisfied.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Notice that the same caveats apply as for
	<seealso marker="#garbage_collect/0">garbage_collect/0</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not a node local process identifier.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If <c><anno>OptionList</anno></c> is an invalid list of options.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="get" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process dictionary as a list of
          <c>{<anno>Key</anno>, <anno>Val</anno>}</c> tuples, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(key1, merry),</input>
<input>put(key2, lambs),</input>
<input>put(key3, {are, playing}),</input>
<input>get().</input>
[{key1,merry},{key2,lambs},{key3,{are,playing}}]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="get" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns a value from the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the value <c><anno>Val</anno></c> associated with <c><anno>Key</anno></c> in
          the process dictionary, or <c>undefined</c> if <c><anno>Key</anno></c>
          does not exist.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(key1, merry),</input>
<input>put(key2, lambs),</input>
<input>put({any, [valid, term]}, {are, playing}),</input>
<input>get({any, [valid, term]}).</input>
{are,playing}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="get_cookie" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Gets the magic cookie of the local node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the magic cookie of the local node if the node is
          alive, otherwise the atom <c>nocookie</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="get_keys" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Return a list of all keys from the process dictionary</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of keys all keys present in the process dictionary.</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(dog, {animal,1}),</input>
<input>put(cow, {animal,2}),</input>
<input>put(lamb, {animal,3}),</input>
<input>get_keys().</input>
[dog,cow,lamb]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="get_keys" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns a list of keys from the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of keys that are associated with the value
          <c><anno>Val</anno></c> in the process dictionary, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>put(mary, {1, 2}),</input>
<input>put(had, {1, 2}),</input>
<input>put(a, {1, 2}),</input>
<input>put(little, {1, 2}),</input>
<input>put(dog, {1, 3}),</input>
<input>put(lamb, {1, 2}),</input>
<input>get_keys({1, 2}).</input>
[mary,had,a,little,lamb]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="get_stacktrace" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Gets the call stack back-trace of the last exception.</fsummary>
      <type name="stack_item"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Gets the call stack back-trace (<em>stacktrace</em>) of the
          last exception in the calling process as a list of
          <c>{<anno>Module</anno>,<anno>Function</anno>,<anno>Arity</anno>,<anno>Location</anno>}</c> tuples.
          Field <c><anno>Arity</anno></c> in the first tuple can be the
          argument list of that function call instead of an arity integer,
          depending on the exception.</p>
        <p>If there has not been any exceptions in a process, the
          stacktrace is <c>[]</c>. After a code change for the process,
          the stacktrace can also be reset to <c>[]</c>.</p>
        <p>The stacktrace is the same data as the <c>catch</c> operator
          returns, for example:</p>
        <p><c>{'EXIT',{badarg,Stacktrace}} = catch abs(x)</c></p>
	<p><c><anno>Location</anno></c> is a (possibly empty) list
          of two-tuples that
	  can indicate the location in the source code of the function.
	  The first element is an atom describing the type of
	  information in the second element. The following
	  items can occur:</p>
	<taglist>
	  <tag><c>file</c></tag>
	  <item>The second element of the tuple is a string (list of
	      characters) representing the filename of the source file
	      of the function.
	  </item>
	  <tag><c>line</c></tag>
	  <item>The second element of the tuple is the line number
	      (an integer greater than zero) in the source file
	      where the exception occurred or the function was called.
	  </item>
	</taglist>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#error/1">erlang:error/1</seealso> and
          <seealso marker="#error/2">erlang:error/2</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="group_leader" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Gets the group leader for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of the group leader for the
          process evaluating the function.</p>
        <p>Every process is a member of some process group and all
          groups have a <em>group leader</em>. All I/O from the group
          is channeled to the group leader. When a new process is
          spawned, it gets the same group leader as the spawning
          process. Initially, at system startup, <c>init</c> is both
          its own group leader and the group leader of all processes.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="group_leader" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets the group leader for a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the group leader of <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>GroupLeader</anno></c>.
          Typically, this is used when a process started from a
          certain shell is to have another group leader than
          <c>init</c>.</p>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#group_leader/0">group_leader/0</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="halt" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Halts the Erlang runtime system and indicates normal exit to the calling environment.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>The same as
	  <seealso marker="#halt/2"><c>halt(0, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>halt().</input>
os_prompt% </pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="halt" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Halts the Erlang runtime system.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>The same as
	  <seealso marker="#halt/2"><c>halt(<anno>Status</anno>, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>halt(17).</input>
os_prompt% <input>echo $?</input>
17
os_prompt% </pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="halt" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Halts the Erlang runtime system.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><c><anno>Status</anno></c> must be a non-negative integer, a string,
	  or the atom <c>abort</c>.
	  Halts the Erlang runtime system. Has no return value.
	  Depending on <c><anno>Status</anno></c>, the following occurs:</p>
	<taglist>
	  <tag>integer()</tag>
	  <item>The runtime system exits with integer value
          <c><anno>Status</anno></c>
	  as status code to the calling environment (OS).
	  </item>
	  <tag>string()</tag>
	  <item>An Erlang crash dump is produced with <c><anno>Status</anno></c>
	  as slogan. Then the runtime system exits with status code <c>1</c>.
	  </item>
	  <tag><c>abort</c></tag>
	  <item>
	    The runtime system aborts producing a core dump, if that is
	    enabled in the OS.
	  </item>
	</taglist>
        <note><p>On many platforms, the OS supports only status
        codes 0-255.</p></note>
	<p>For integer <c><anno>Status</anno></c>, the Erlang runtime system
          closes all ports and allows async threads to finish their
          operations before exiting. To exit without such flushing, use
	  <c><anno>Option</anno></c> as <c>{flush,false}</c>.</p>
	<p>For statuses <c>string()</c> and <c>abort</c>, option
          <c>flush</c> is ignored and flushing is <em>not</em> done.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="hash" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Hash function (deprecated).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a hash value for <c><anno>Term</anno></c> within the range
          <c>1..<anno>Range</anno></c>. The maximum range is 1..2^27-1.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is deprecated, as the hash value can differ on
            different architectures. The hash values for integer
            terms higher than 2^27 and large binaries are
            poor. The BIF is retained for backward compatibility
            reasons (it can have been used to hash records into a file),
            but all new code is to use one of the BIFs
            <c>erlang:phash/2</c> or <c>erlang:phash2/1,2</c> instead.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="hd" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Head of a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the head of <c><anno>List</anno></c>, that is,
          the first element, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>hd([1,2,3,4,5]).</input>
1</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>List</anno></c> is the empty
          list <c>[]</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="hibernate" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Hibernates a process until a message is sent to it.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Puts the calling process into a wait state where its memory
          allocation has been reduced as much as possible. This is
          useful if the process does not expect to receive any messages
          soon.</p>
        <p>The process is awaken when a message is sent to it, and control
          resumes in <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c> with
          the arguments given by <c><anno>Args</anno></c> with the call
          stack emptied, meaning that the process terminates when that
          function returns. Thus <c>erlang:hibernate/3</c> never
          returns to its caller.</p>
        <p>If the process has any message in its message queue,
          the process is awakened immediately in the same way as
          described earlier.</p>
        <p>In more technical terms, what <c>erlang:hibernate/3</c> does
          is the following. It discards the call stack for the process,
          and then garbage collects the process. After this,
          all live data is in one continuous heap. The heap
          is then shrunken to the exact same size as the live data
          that it holds (even if that size is less than the minimum
          heap size for the process).</p>
        <p>If the size of the live data in the process is less than
          the minimum heap size, the first garbage collection occurring
          after the process is awakened ensures that the heap
          size is changed to a size not smaller than the minimum heap
          size.</p>
        <p>Notice that emptying the call stack means that any surrounding
          <c>catch</c> is removed and must be reinserted after
          hibernation. One effect of this is that processes started
          using <c>proc_lib</c> (also indirectly, such as
          <c>gen_server</c> processes), are to use
          <seealso marker="stdlib:proc_lib#hibernate/3">proc_lib:hibernate/3</seealso>
          instead, to ensure that the exception handler continues to work
          when the process wakes up.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="insert_element" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Inserts an element at index in a tuple.</fsummary>
      <type_desc variable="Index">1..tuple_size(<anno>Tuple1</anno>) + 1</type_desc>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a new tuple with element <c><anno>Term</anno></c>
        inserted at position
        <c><anno>Index</anno></c> in tuple <c><anno>Tuple1</anno></c>.
        All elements from position <c><anno>Index</anno></c> and upwards are
        pushed one step higher in the new tuple <c><anno>Tuple2</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:insert_element(2, {one, two, three}, new).</input>
{one,new,two,three}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="integer_to_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Integer</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>integer_to_binary(77).</input>
&lt;&lt;"77">></pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="integer_to_binary" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary corresponding to the text
        representation of <c><anno>Integer</anno></c> in base
        <c><anno>Base</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>integer_to_binary(1023, 16).</input>
&lt;&lt;"3FF">></pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="integer_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Integer</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>integer_to_list(77).</input>
"77"</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="integer_to_list" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Integer</anno></c> in base
          <c><anno>Base</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>integer_to_list(1023, 16).</input>
"3FF"</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="iolist_to_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts an iolist to a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary that is made from the integers and
          binaries in <c><anno>IoListOrBinary</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>Bin1 = &lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin2 = &lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin3 = &lt;&lt;6&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;6&gt;&gt;
> <input>iolist_to_binary([Bin1,1,[2,3,Bin2],4|Bin3]).</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,4,6&gt;&gt;</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="iolist_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Size of an iolist.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer that is the size in bytes
          of the binary that would be the result of
          <c>iolist_to_binary(<anno>Item</anno>)</c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>iolist_size([1,2|&lt;&lt;3,4>>]).</input>
4</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_alive" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether the local node is alive.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the local node is alive (that is, if
          the node can be part of a distributed system), otherwise
          <c>false</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_atom" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is an atom,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a binary,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
	<p>A binary always contains a complete number of bytes.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_bitstring" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a bitstring.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a
          bitstring (including a binary), otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_boolean" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a boolean.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is the
          atom <c>true</c> or the atom <c>false</c> (that is, a boolean).
          Otherwise returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_builtin" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a function is a BIF implemented in C.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>This BIF is useful for builders of cross-reference tools.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if
          <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno>/<anno>Arity</anno></c>
          is a BIF implemented in C, otherwise  <c>false</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_float" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a floating point
          number, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_function" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a fun.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a fun, otherwise
          <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_function" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a fun with a given arity.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a fun that can be
          applied with <c><anno>Arity</anno></c> number of arguments, otherwise
          <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_integer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is an integer,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a list with
          zero or more elements, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_map" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a map.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a map,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_number" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a number.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is an integer or a
          floating point number. Otherwise returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_pid" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a process identifier.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a process
          identifier, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_port" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a port identifier,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_process_alive" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a process is alive.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><c><anno>Pid</anno></c> must refer to a process at the local node.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the process exists and is alive, that
          is, is not exiting and has not exited. Otherwise returns
	  <c>false</c>.
	</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_record" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term appears to be a record.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a tuple and its
          first element is <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c>.
          Otherwise returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <note>
          <p>Normally the compiler treats calls to <c>is_record/2</c>
            specially. It emits code to verify that <c><anno>Term</anno></c>
            is a tuple, that its first element is
            <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c>, and that the
            size is correct. However, if <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c> is
            not a literal atom, the BIF <c>is_record/2</c> is called
            instead and the size of the tuple is not verified.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests, if <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c> is
          a literal atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_record" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term appears to be a record.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c> must be an atom.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if
          <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a tuple,
          its first element is <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c>,
          and its size is <c><anno>Size</anno></c>.
          Otherwise returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests if <c><anno>RecordTag</anno></c> is
          a literal atom and <c>Size</c> is a literal integer.</p>
        <note>
          <p>This BIF is documented for completeness. Usually
            <c>is_record/2</c> is to be used.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_reference" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a reference.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a reference,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="is_tuple" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks whether a term is a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if <c><anno>Term</anno></c> is a tuple,
          otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="length" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Length of a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the length of <c><anno>List</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>length([1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]).</input>
9</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="link" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a link to another process (or port).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Creates a link between the calling process and another
          process (or port) <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c>, if there is
          not such a link
          already. If a process attempts to create a link to itself,
          nothing is done. Returns <c>true</c>.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c> does not exist, the behavior
          of the BIF
          depends on if the calling process is trapping exits or not (see
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>):</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>If the calling process is not trapping exits, and
           checking <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c> is cheap
          (that is, if <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c>
           is local), <c>link/1</c> fails with reason <c>noproc</c>.</item>
          <item>Otherwise, if the calling process is trapping exits,
           and/or <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c> is remote, <c>link/1</c>
           returns <c>true</c>, but an exit signal with reason <c>noproc</c>
           is sent to the calling process.</item>
        </list>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_atom" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the atom whose text representation is
          <c><anno>String</anno></c>.</p>
	<p><c><anno>String</anno></c> can only contain ISO-latin-1
          characters (that is,
          numbers less than 256) as the implementation does not
          allow unicode characters equal to or above 256 in atoms.
	  For more information on Unicode support in atoms, see
	  <seealso marker="erl_ext_dist#utf8_atoms">note on UTF-8
          encoded atoms</seealso>
	  in Section "External Term Format" in the User's Guide.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_atom("Erlang").</input>
'Erlang'</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a list to a binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary that is made from the integers and
          binaries in <c><anno>IoList</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>Bin1 = &lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin2 = &lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin3 = &lt;&lt;6&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;6&gt;&gt;
> <input>list_to_binary([Bin1,1,[2,3,Bin2],4|Bin3]).</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,4,6&gt;&gt;</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_bitstring" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a list to a bitstring.</fsummary>
      <type name="bitstring_list"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a bitstring that is made from the integers and
          bitstrings in <c><anno>BitstringList</anno></c>. (The last tail in
          <c><anno>BitstringList</anno></c> is allowed to be a bitstring.)</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>Bin1 = &lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin2 = &lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;4,5&gt;&gt;
> <input>Bin3 = &lt;&lt;6,7:4,&gt;&gt;.</input>
&lt;&lt;6&gt;&gt;
> <input>list_to_bitstring([Bin1,1,[2,3,Bin2],4|Bin3]).</input>
&lt;&lt;1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,4,6,7:46&gt;&gt;</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_existing_atom" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an atom.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the atom whose text representation is
          <c><anno>String</anno></c>,
          but only if there already exists such atom.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if there does not already exist an atom
          whose text representation is <c><anno>String</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_float" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to a float.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the float whose text representation is
          <c><anno>String</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_float("2.2017764e+0").</input>
2.2017764</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>String</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of a float.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_integer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer whose text representation is
          <c><anno>String</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_integer("123").</input>
123</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>String</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of an integer.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_integer" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to an integer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer whose text representation in base
          <c><anno>Base</anno></c> is <c><anno>String</anno></c>,
          for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_integer("3FF", 16).</input>
1023</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>String</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of an integer.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_pid" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from text representation to a pid.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a process identifier whose text representation is a 
          <c><anno>String</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_pid("&lt;0.4.1>").</input>
&lt;0.4.1></pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>String</anno></c> contains a bad
          representation of a process identifier.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging and is not to be used
	  in application programs.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="list_to_tuple" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a list to a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a tuple corresponding to <c><anno>List</anno></c>,
          for example</p>
        <pre>
> <input>list_to_tuple([share, ['Ericsson_B', 163]]).</input>
{share, ['Ericsson_B', 163]}</pre>
        <p><c><anno>List</anno></c> can contain any Erlang terms.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="load_module" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Loads object code for a module.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>If <c><anno>Binary</anno></c> contains the object code for module
          <c><anno>Module</anno></c>, this BIF loads that object code. If
          the code for module <c><anno>Module</anno></c> already exists, all
          export references are replaced so they point to the newly
          loaded code. The previously loaded code is kept in the system
          as old code, as there can still be processes executing
          that code.</p>
        <p>Returns either <c>{module, <anno>Module</anno>}</c>, or
          <c>{error, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c> if loading fails.
          <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> is any of the following:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badfile</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The object code in <c><anno>Binary</anno></c> has an
              incorrect format <em>or</em> the object code contains code
              for another module than <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>not_purged</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Binary</anno></c> contains a module that cannot be
              loaded because old code for this module already exists.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for the code server (see
            <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>)
            and is not to be used elsewhere.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="load_nif" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Loads NIF library.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <note>
          <p>Before OTP R14B, NIFs were an
          experimental feature. Versions before OTP R14B can
          have different and possibly incompatible NIF semantics and
          interfaces. For example, in OTP R13B03 the return value on
          failure was <c>{error,Reason,Text}</c>.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Loads and links a dynamic library containing native
        implemented functions (NIFs) for a module. <c><anno>Path</anno></c>
        is a file path to the sharable object/dynamic library file minus
        the OS-dependent file extension (<c>.so</c> for Unix and
        <c>.dll</c> for Windows. For information on how to
        implement a NIF library, see
        <seealso marker="erl_nif">erl_nif</seealso>.</p> 
        <p><c><anno>LoadInfo</anno></c> can be any term. It is passed on to
        the library as part of the initialization. A good practice is
        to include a module version number to support future code
        upgrade scenarios.</p>
        <p>The call to <c>load_nif/2</c> must be made
        <em>directly</em> from the Erlang code of the module that the
        NIF library belongs to. It returns either <c>ok</c>, or
        <c>{error,{<anno>Reason</anno>,Text}}</c> if loading fails.
        <c><anno>Reason</anno></c> is one of the following atoms
        while <c><anno>Text</anno></c> is a human readable string that
        can give more information about the failure:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>load_failed</c></tag>
          <item>The OS failed to load the NIF library.
          </item>
          <tag><c>bad_lib</c></tag>
          <item>The library did not fulfill the requirements as a NIF
            library of the calling module.
          </item>
          <tag><c>load | reload | upgrade</c></tag>
          <item>The corresponding library callback was unsuccessful.
          </item>
          <tag><c>old_code</c></tag>
          <item>The call to <c>load_nif/2</c> was made from the old
            code of a module that has been upgraded; this is not
            allowed.
          </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="loaded" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Lists all loaded modules.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of all loaded Erlang modules (current and
          old code), including preloaded modules.</p>
        <p>See also <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="localtime" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current local date and time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current local date and time,
          <c>{{Year, Month, Day}, {Hour, Minute, Second}}</c>,
          for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:localtime().</input>
{{1996,11,6},{14,45,17}}</pre>
        <p>The time zone and Daylight Saving Time correction depend
          on the underlying OS.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="localtime_to_universaltime" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from local to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) date and time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Converts local date and time to Universal Time Coordinated
          (UTC), if supported by the underlying OS. Otherwise
          no conversion is done and <c><anno>Localtime</anno></c>
          is returned.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime({{1996,11,6},{14,45,17}}).</input>
{{1996,11,6},{13,45,17}}</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Localtime</anno></c> denotes an
          invalid date and time.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="localtime_to_universaltime" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from local to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) date and time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Converts local date and time to Universal Time Coordinated
          (UTC) as <c>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime/1</c>,
          but the caller decides if Daylight Saving Time is active.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>IsDst</anno> == true</c>, <c><anno>Localtime</anno></c> is
          during Daylight Saving Time, if <c><anno>IsDst</anno> == false</c> it is
          not. If <c><anno>IsDst</anno> == undefined</c>, the underlying OS can
          guess, which is the same as calling
          <c>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime(<anno>Localtime</anno>)</c>.</p>
        <p>Examples:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime({{1996,11,6},{14,45,17}}, true).</input>
{{1996,11,6},{12,45,17}}
> <input>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime({{1996,11,6},{14,45,17}}, false).</input>
{{1996,11,6},{13,45,17}}
> <input>erlang:localtime_to_universaltime({{1996,11,6},{14,45,17}}, undefined).</input>
{{1996,11,6},{13,45,17}}</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Localtime</anno></c> denotes an
          invalid date and time.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="make_ref" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Returns a unique reference.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns a <seealso marker="doc/efficiency_guide:advanced#unique_references">unique
	reference</seealso>. The reference is unique among
	connected nodes.</p>
	<warning><p>Known issue: When a node is restarted multiple
	times with the same node name, references created
	on a newer node can be mistaken for a reference
	created on an older node with the same node name.</p></warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="make_tuple" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new tuple of a given arity.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Creates a new tuple of the given <c><anno>Arity</anno></c>, where all
          elements are <c><anno>InitialValue</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:make_tuple(4, []).</input>
{[],[],[],[]}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="make_tuple" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new tuple with given arity and contents.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Creates a tuple of size <c><anno>Arity</anno></c>, where each element
          has value <c><anno>DefaultValue</anno></c>, and then fills in
	  values from <c><anno>InitList</anno></c>.
          Each list element in <c><anno>InitList</anno></c>
	  must be a two-tuple, where the first element is a position in the
	  newly created tuple and the second element is any term. If a
	  position occurs more than once in the list, the term corresponding
	  to the last occurrence is used.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:make_tuple(5, [], [{2,ignored},{5,zz},{2,aa}]).</input>
{{[],aa,[],[],zz}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="map_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the size of a map.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer, which is the number of key-value pairs
          in <c><anno>Map</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>map_size(#{a=>1, b=>2, c=>3}).</input>
3</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="max" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the largest of two terms.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the largest of <c><anno>Term1</anno></c> and
          <c><anno>Term2</anno></c>.
	  If the terms are equal, <c><anno>Term1</anno></c> is returned.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="md5" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Computes an MD5 message digest.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Computes an MD5 message digest from <c><anno>Data</anno></c>, where
          the length of the digest is 128 bits (16 bytes).
          <c><anno>Data</anno></c>
          is a binary or a list of small integers and binaries.</p>
        <p>For more information about MD5, see RFC 1321 - The
          MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm.</p>
	<warning><p>The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is <em>not</em> considered
	safe for code-signing or software-integrity purposes.</p></warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="md5_final" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Finishes the update of an MD5 context and returns the computed MD5 message digest.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Finishes the update of an MD5 <c><anno>Context</anno></c> and returns
          the computed <c>MD5</c> message digest.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="md5_init" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Creates an MD5 context.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Creates an MD5 context, to be used in subsequent calls to
          <c>md5_update/2</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="md5_update" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Updates an MD5 context with data and returns a new context.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Updates an MD5 <c><anno>Context</anno></c> with
          <c><anno>Data</anno></c> and returns a
          <c><anno>NewContext</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="memory" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Information about dynamically allocated memory.</fsummary>
      <type name="memory_type"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list with information about memory
          dynamically allocated by the Erlang emulator. Each list
          element is a tuple <c>{Type, Size}</c>. The first element
          <c><anno>Type</anno></c> is an atom describing memory type. The second
          element <c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the memory size in bytes.</p>
        <p>The memory types are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>total</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated. This is
              the same as the sum of the memory size for <c>processes</c>
              and <c>system</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>processes</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for
              the Erlang processes.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>processes_used</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently used by the Erlang
              processes. This is part of the memory presented as
              <c>processes</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>system</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for
              the emulator that is not directly related to any Erlang
              process. Memory presented as <c>processes</c> is not
              included in this memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>atom</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for atoms.
              This memory is part of the memory presented as
              <c>system</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>atom_used</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently used for atoms.
              This memory is part of the memory presented as
              <c>atom</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>binary</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for
              binaries. This memory is part of the memory presented
              as <c>system</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>code</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for
              Erlang code. This memory is part of the memory presented
              as <c>system</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>ets</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The total amount of memory currently allocated for ets
              tables. This memory is part of the memory presented as
              <c>system</c> memory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>low</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Only on 64-bit halfword emulator.
              The total amount of memory allocated in low memory areas
	      that are restricted to less than 4 GB, although
	      the system can have more memory.</p>
	    <p>Can be removed in a future release of the halfword
              emulator.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>maximum</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The maximum total amount of memory allocated since
              the emulator was started. This tuple is only present
              when the emulator is run with instrumentation.</p>
            <p>For information on how to run the emulator with
              instrumentation, see
              <seealso marker="tools:instrument">instrument(3)</seealso>
              and/or <seealso marker="erts:erl">erl(1)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <note>
          <p>The <c>system</c> value is not complete. Some allocated
            memory that is to be part of this value is not.</p>
          <p>When the emulator is run with instrumentation,
            the <c>system</c> value is more accurate, but memory
            directly allocated for <c>malloc</c> (and friends) is still
            not part of the <c>system</c> value. Direct calls to
            <c>malloc</c> are only done from OS-specific runtime
            libraries and perhaps from user-implemented Erlang drivers
            that do not use the memory allocation functions in
            the driver interface.</p>
          <p>As the <c>total</c> value is the sum of <c>processes</c>
            and <c>system</c>, the error in <c>system</c> propagates
            to the <c>total</c> value.</p>
	  <p>The different amounts of memory that are summed are
	    <em>not</em> gathered atomically, which introduces
	    an error in the result.</p>
        </note>
        <p>The different values have the following relation to each
          other. Values beginning with an uppercase letter is not part
          of the result.</p>
        <code type="none">
        total = processes + system
        processes = processes_used + ProcessesNotUsed
        system = atom + binary + code + ets + OtherSystem
        atom = atom_used + AtomNotUsed
        RealTotal = processes + RealSystem
        RealSystem = system + MissedSystem</code>
        <p>More tuples in the returned list can be added in a
          future release.</p>
        <note>
          <p>The <c>total</c> value is supposed to be the total amount
            of memory dynamically allocated by the emulator. Shared
            libraries, the code of the emulator itself, and
            the emulator stacks are not supposed to be included. That
            is, the <c>total</c> value is <em>not</em> supposed to be
            equal to the total size of all pages mapped to the emulator.</p>
          <p>Furthermore, because of fragmentation and prereservation of
            memory areas, the size of the memory segments containing
            the dynamically allocated memory blocks can be much
            larger than the total size of the dynamically allocated
            memory blocks.</p>
        </note>
	<note>
	  <p>As from <c>ERTS</c> 5.6.4, <c>erlang:memory/0</c> requires that
	    all <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>
	    allocators are enabled (default behavior).</p>
	</note>
        <p>Failure: <c>notsup</c> if an
          <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>
	  allocator has been disabled.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="memory" arity="1" clause_i="1"/>
      <name name="memory" arity="1" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Information about dynamically allocated memory.</fsummary>
      <type name="memory_type"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the memory size in bytes allocated for memory of
          type <c><anno>Type</anno></c>. The argument can also be given as a list
          of <c>memory_type()</c> atoms, in which case a corresponding list of
          <c>{memory_type(), Size :: integer >= 0}</c> tuples is returned.</p>
	<note>
	  <p>As from <c>ERTS</c> version 5.6.4,
            <c>erlang:memory/1</c> requires that
	    all <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>
	    allocators are enabled (default behavior).</p>
	</note>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If <c><anno>Type</anno></c> is not one of the memory types
            listed in the decription of
	    <seealso marker="#memory/0">erlang:memory/0</seealso>.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If <c>maximum</c> is passed as <c><anno>Type</anno></c> and
            the emulator is not run in instrumented mode.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>notsup</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If an <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>
	    allocator has been disabled.
	  </item>
	</taglist>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#memory/0">erlang:memory/0</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="min" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the smallest of two terms.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the smallest of <c><anno>Term1</anno></c> and
          <c><anno>Term2</anno></c>.
	  If the terms are equal, <c><anno>Term1</anno></c> is returned.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="module_loaded" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Checks if a module is loaded.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the module <c><anno>Module</anno></c>
          is loaded, otherwise <c>false</c>. It does not attempt to load
          the module.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for the code server (see
            <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>) and is not to be
            used elsewhere.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="monitor" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <name name="monitor" arity="2" clause_i="2"/>
      <type name="registered_name"/>
      <type name="registered_process_identifier"/>
      <type name="monitor_process_identifier"/>
      <fsummary>Starts monitoring.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Send a monitor request of type <c><anno>Type</anno></c> to the
	entity identified by <c><anno>Item</anno></c>. The caller of
	<c>monitor/2</c> will later be notified by a monitor message on the
	following format if the monitored state is changed:</p>
        <code type="none">{Tag, <anno>MonitorRef</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>, Object, Info}</code>
	<note><p>The monitor request is an asynchronous signal. That is, it
	takes time before the signal reaches its destination.</p></note>
	<p>Valid <c><anno>Type</anno></c>s:</p>
	<taglist>
	  <tag><marker id="monitor_process"/><c>process</c></tag>
	  <item>
	    <p>Monitor the existence of the process identified by
	    <c><anno>Item</anno></c>. Valid
	    <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s in combination with the
	    <c>process <anno>Type</anno></c> can be any of the following:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>pid()</c></tag>
              <item>
		<p>The process identifier of the process to monitor.</p>
              </item>
              <tag><c>{RegisteredName, Node}</c></tag>
              <item>
		<p>A tuple consisting of a registered name of a process and
		a node name. The process residing on the node <c>Node</c>
		with the registered name <c>{RegisteredName, Node}</c> will
		be monitored.</p>
              </item>
              <tag><c>RegisteredName</c></tag>
              <item>
		<p>The process locally registered as <c>RegisteredName</c>
		will become monitored.</p>
              </item>
            </taglist>
            <note><p>When a registered name is used, the
	    process that has the registered name when the
            monitor request reach its destination will be monitored.
            The monitor is not effected if the registered name is
            unregistered, or unregistered and later registered on another
	    process.</p></note>
	    <p>The monitor is triggered either when the monitored process
	    terminates, is non existing, or if the connection to it is
	    lost. In the case the connection to it is lost, we do not know
	    if it still exist or not. After this type of monitor has been
	    triggered, the monitor is automatically removed.</p>
            <p>When the monitor is triggered a <c>'DOWN'</c> message is
	    sent to the monitoring process. A <c>'DOWN'</c> message has
	    the following pattern:</p>
            <code type="none">{'DOWN', MonitorRef, Type, Object, Info}</code>
            <p>Here <c>MonitorRef</c> and <c>Type</c> are the same as
            described earlier, and:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>Object</c></tag>
              <item>
		<p>equals:</p>
		<taglist>
		  <tag><c><anno>Item</anno></c></tag>
		  <item>If <c><anno>Item</anno></c> is specified by a
		  process identifier.</item>
		  <tag><c>{RegisteredName, Node}</c></tag>
		  <item>If <c><anno>Item</anno></c> is specified as
		  <c>RegisteredName</c>, or <c>{RegisteredName, Node}</c>
		  where <c>Node</c> corresponds to the node that the
		  monitored process resides on.</item>
		</taglist>
              </item>
              <tag><c>Info</c></tag>
              <item>
		<p>Either the exit reason of the process, <c>noproc</c>
		(non-existing process), or <c>noconnection</c> (no
		connection to the node where the monitored process
		resides).</p></item>
	    </taglist>
	    <p>The monitoring is turned off when the <c>'DOWN'</c>
	    message is sent or when
	    <seealso marker="#demonitor/1">demonitor/1</seealso>
	    is called.</p>
	    <p>If an attempt is made to monitor a process on an older node
	    (where remote process monitoring is not implemented or
	    where remote process monitoring by registered name is not
	    implemented), the call fails with <c>badarg</c>.</p>
	    <note>
	      <p>The format of the <c>'DOWN'</c> message changed in ERTS
	      version 5.2 (OTP R9B) for monitoring
	      <em>by registered name</em>. Element <c>Object</c> of
	      the <c>'DOWN'</c> message could in earlier versions
	      sometimes be the process identifier of the monitored process and sometimes
	      be the registered name. Now element <c>Object</c> is
	      always a tuple consisting of the registered name and
	      the node name. Processes on new nodes (ERTS version 5.2
	      or higher) always get <c>'DOWN'</c> messages on
	      the new format even if they are monitoring processes on old
	      nodes. Processes on old nodes always get <c>'DOWN'</c>
	      messages on the old format.</p>
	    </note>
	  </item>
	  <tag><marker id="monitor_time_offset"/><c>time_offset</c></tag>
	  <item>
	    <p>Monitor changes in
	    <seealso marker="#time_offset/0">time offset</seealso>
	    between
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang
	    monotonic time</seealso> and
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang
	    system time</seealso>. There is only one valid
	    <c><anno>Item</anno></c> in combination with the
	    <c>time_offset <anno>Type</anno></c>, namely the atom
	    <c>clock_service</c>. Note that the atom <c>clock_service</c> is
	    <em>not</em> the registered name of a process. In this specific
	    case it serves as an identifier of the runtime system internal
	    clock service at current runtime system instance.</p>

	    <p>The monitor is triggered when the time offset is changed.
	    This either if the time offset value is changed, or if the
	    offset is changed from preliminary to final during
	    <seealso marker="#system_flag_time_offset">finalization
	    of the time offset</seealso> when the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Single_Time_Warp_Mode">single
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used. When a change from preliminary
	    to final time offset is made, the monitor will be triggered once
	    regardless of whether the time offset value was actually changed
	    or not.</p>

	    <p>If the runtime system is in
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Multi_Time_Warp_Mode">multi
	    time warp mode</seealso>, the time offset will be changed when
	    the runtime system detects that the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#OS_System_Time">OS system
	    time</seealso> has changed. The runtime system will, however,
	    not detect this immediately when it happens. A task checking
	    the time offset is scheduled to execute at least once a minute,
	    so under normal operation this should be detected within a
	    minute, but during heavy load it might take longer time.</p>

	    <p>The monitor will <em>not</em> be automatically removed
	    after it has been triggered. That is, repeated changes of
	    the time offset will trigger the monitor repeatedly.</p>

            <p>When the monitor is triggered a <c>'CHANGE'</c> message will
	    be sent to the monitoring process. A <c>'CHANGE'</c> message has
	    the following pattern:</p>
            <code type="none">{'CHANGE', MonitorRef, Type, Item, NewTimeOffset}</code>
            <p>where <c>MonitorRef</c>, <c><anno>Type</anno></c>, and 
	    <c><anno>Item</anno></c> are the same as described above, and
	    <c>NewTimeOffset</c> is the new time offset.</p>

	    <p>When the <c>'CHANGE'</c> message has been received you are
	    guaranteed not to retrieve the old time offset when calling
	    <seealso marker="#time_offset/0"><c>erlang:time_offset()</c></seealso>.
	    Note that you can observe the change of the time offset
	    when calling <c>erlang:time_offset()</c> before you
	    get the <c>'CHANGE'</c> message.</p>

	  </item>
	</taglist>
	<p>Making several calls to <c>monitor/2</c> for the same
	<c><anno>Item</anno></c> and/or <c><anno>Type</anno></c> is not
	an error; it results in as many independent monitorings.</p>
	<p>The monitor functionality is expected to be extended. That is,
	other <c><anno>Type</anno></c>s and <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s
	are expected to be supported in	a future release.</p>
        <note>
          <p>If or when <c>monitor/2</c> is extended, other
            possible values for <c>Tag</c>, <c>Object</c> and
	    <c>Info</c> in the monitor message will be introduced.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="monitor_node" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Monitors the status of a node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Monitors the status of the node <c><anno>Node</anno></c>.
          If <c><anno>Flag</anno></c>
          is <c>true</c>, monitoring is turned on. If <c><anno>Flag</anno></c>
          is <c>false</c>, monitoring is turned off.</p>
        <p>Making several calls to <c>monitor_node(Node, true)</c> for
          the same <c><anno>Node</anno></c> is not an error; it results
          in as many independent monitorings.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>Node</anno></c> fails or does not exist, the message
          <c>{nodedown, Node}</c> is delivered to the process. If a
          process has made two calls to <c>monitor_node(Node, true)</c>
          and <c><anno>Node</anno></c> terminates, two <c>nodedown</c> messages
          are delivered to the process. If there is no connection to
          <c><anno>Node</anno></c>, an attempt is made to create one.
          If this fails, a <c>nodedown</c> message is delivered.</p>
        <p>Nodes connected through hidden connections can be monitored
          as any other nodes.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if the local node is not alive.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="monitor_node" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Monitors the status of a node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Behaves as
          <seealso marker="#monitor_node/2">monitor_node/2</seealso>
          except that it allows an
          extra option to be given, namely <c>allow_passive_connect</c>.
          This option allows the BIF to wait the normal network connection
          time-out for the <em>monitored node</em> to connect itself,
          even if it cannot be actively connected from this node
          (that is, it is blocked). The state where this can be useful
          can only be achieved by using the <c>Kernel</c> option
          <c>dist_auto_connect once</c>. If that option is not
          used, option <c>allow_passive_connect</c> has no effect.</p>
        <note>
          <p>Option <c>allow_passive_connect</c> is used
            internally and is seldom needed in applications where the
            network topology and the <c>Kernel</c> options in effect
            are known in advance.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if the local node is not alive or the
          option list is malformed.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="monotonic_time" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current Erlang monotonic time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns the current
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang
	monotonic time</seealso> in <c>native</c>
	<seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso>. This
	is a monotonically increasing time since some unspecified point in
	time.</p>

	<note><p>This is a
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Monotonically_Increasing">monotonically increasing</seealso> time, but <em>not</em> a
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Strictly_Monotonically_Increasing">strictly monotonically increasing</seealso>
	time. That is, consecutive calls to
	<c>erlang:monotonic_time/0</c> can produce the same result.</p>

	<p>Different runtime system instances will use different
	unspecified points in time as base for their Erlang monotonic clocks.
	That is, it is <em>pointless</em> comparing monotonic times from
	different runtime system instances. Different runtime system instances
	may also place this unspecified point in time different relative
	runtime system start. It may be placed in the future (time at start
	is a negative value), the past (time at start is a
	positive value), or the runtime system start (time at start is
	zero). The monotonic time at runtime system start can be
	retrieved by calling
	<seealso marker="#system_info_start_time"><c>erlang:system_info(start_time)</c></seealso>.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="monotonic_time" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Current Erlang monotonic time</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns the current
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang
	monotonic time</seealso> converted
	into the <c><anno>Unit</anno></c> passed as argument.</p>

	<p>Same as calling
	<seealso marker="#convert_time_unit/3"><c>erlang:convert_time_unit</c></seealso><c>(</c><seealso marker="#monotonic_time/0"><c>erlang:monotonic_time()</c></seealso><c>,
	native, <anno>Unit</anno>)</c>
	however optimized for commonly used <c><anno>Unit</anno></c>s.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="nif_error" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with a given reason.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Works exactly like
	 <seealso marker="#error/1">erlang:error/1</seealso>, but
	 <c>Dialyzer</c> thinks that this BIF will return an arbitrary
	 term. When used in a stub function for a NIF to generate an
	 exception when the NIF library is not loaded, <c>Dialyzer</c>
	 does not generate false warnings.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="nif_error" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with a given reason.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Works exactly like
	 <seealso marker="#error/2">erlang:error/2</seealso>, but
	 <c>Dialyzer</c> thinks that this BIF will return an arbitrary
	 term. When used in a stub function for a NIF to generate an
	 exception when the NIF library is not loaded, <c>Dialyzer</c>
	 does not generate false warnings.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="node" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Name of the local node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the name of the local node. If the node is not alive,
          <c>nonode@nohost</c> is returned instead.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="node" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>At which node a pid, port, or reference originates.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the node where <c><anno>Arg</anno></c> originates.
          <c><anno>Arg</anno></c> can
          be a process identifier, a reference, or a port.
          If the local node is not
          alive, <c>nonode@nohost</c> is returned.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="nodes" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>All visible nodes in the system.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of all visible nodes in the system, except
          the local node. Same as <c>nodes(visible)</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="nodes" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>All nodes of a certain type in the system.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of nodes according to the argument given.
          The returned result when the argument is a list, is the list
          of nodes satisfying the disjunction(s) of the list elements.</p>
        <p><c><anno>NodeType</anno></c> can be any of the following:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>visible</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Nodes connected to this node through normal connections.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>hidden</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Nodes connected to this node through hidden connections.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>connected</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All nodes connected to this node.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>this</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>This node.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>known</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Nodes that are known to this node. That is, connected
	    nodes and nodes referred to by process identifiers, port
	    identifiers and references located on this node.
	    The set of known nodes is garbage collected. Notice that
	    this garbage collection can be delayed. For more
	    information, see
	    <seealso marker="erlang#system_info_delayed_node_table_gc">delayed_node_table_gc</seealso>.
	    </p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Some equalities: <c>[node()] = nodes(this)</c>,
          <c>nodes(connected) = nodes([visible, hidden])</c>, and
          <c>nodes() = nodes(visible)</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="now" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Elapsed time since 00:00 GMT.</fsummary>
      <type name="timestamp"/>
      <desc>
	<warning><p><em>This function is deprecated! Do not use it!</em>
	See the users guide chapter
	<seealso marker="time_correction">Time and Time Correction</seealso>
	for more information. Specifically the 
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Dos_and_Donts">Dos and Dont's</seealso>
	section for information on what to use instead of <c>erlang:now/0</c>.
	</p></warning>
        <p>Returns the tuple <c>{MegaSecs, Secs, MicroSecs}</c> which is
          the elapsed time since 00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970 (zero hour),
          on the assumption that the underlying OS supports this.
          Otherwise some other point in time is chosen. It is also
          guaranteed that subsequent calls to this BIF return
          continuously increasing values. Hence, the return value from
          <c>now()</c> can be used to generate unique time-stamps.
          If it is called in a tight loop on a fast machine,
          the time of the node can become skewed.</p>
        <p>Can only be used to check the local time of day if
          the time-zone information of the underlying OS is
          properly configured.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="open_port" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Opens a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a port identifier as the result of opening a
          new Erlang port. A port can be seen as an external Erlang
          process.</p>
	<p>The name of the executable as well as the arguments
	given in <c>cd</c>, <c>env</c>, <c>args</c>, and <c>arg0</c> are
        subject to Unicode filename translation if the system is running
	in Unicode filename mode. To avoid
	translation or to force, for example UTF-8, supply the executable
	and/or arguments as a binary in the correct
	encoding. For details, see the module
        <seealso marker="kernel:file">file</seealso>, the function
	<seealso marker="kernel:file#native_name_encoding/0">file:native_name_encoding/0</seealso>, and the
	<seealso marker="stdlib:unicode_usage">STDLIB </seealso>
        User's Guide.</p>
	<note><p>The characters in the name (if given as a list) can
	only be higher than 255 if the Erlang Virtual Machine is started
	in Unicode filename translation mode. Otherwise the name
	of the executable is limited to the ISO-latin-1
	character set.</p></note>
	<p><c><anno>PortName</anno></c> can be any of the following:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Starts an external program. <c><anno>Command</anno></c>
              is the name of the external program to be run.
              <c><anno>Command</anno></c>
              runs outside the Erlang work space unless an Erlang
              driver with the name <c><anno>Command</anno></c> is found.
              If found, that driver is started. A driver runs in the Erlang
              workspace, which means that it is linked with the Erlang
              runtime system.</p>
            <p>When starting external programs on Solaris, the system
              call <c>vfork</c> is used in preference to <c>fork</c>
              for performance reasons, although it has a history of
              being less robust. If there are problems using
              <c>vfork</c>, setting environment variable
              <c>ERL_NO_VFORK</c> to any value causes <c>fork</c>
              to be used instead.</p>
	      <p>For external programs, <c>PATH</c> is searched
	      (or an equivalent method is used to find programs,
	      depending on OS). This is done by invoking
	      the shell on certain platforms. The first space-separated
	      token of the command is considered as the
	      name of the executable (or driver). This (among other
	      things) makes this option unsuitable for running
	      programs having spaces in filenames or directory names.
              If spaces in executable filenames are desired, use
	      <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>Command</anno>}</c> instead.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{spawn_driver, <anno>Command</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>Works like <c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c>, but demands the
	      first (space-separated) token of the command to be the name of a
	      loaded driver. If no driver with that name is loaded, a
	      <c>badarg</c> error is raised.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>Works like <c>{spawn, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>, but only runs
	      external executables. <c><anno>FileName</anno></c> in its whole
	      is used as the name of the executable, including any spaces.
	      If arguments are to be passed, the <c><anno>PortSettings</anno></c>
	      <c>args</c> and <c>arg0</c> can be used.</p>
	      <p>The shell is usually not invoked to start the
	      program, it is executed directly. <c>PATH</c> (or
              equivalent) is not searched. To find a program
	      in <c>PATH</c> to execute, use
              <seealso marker="kernel:os#find_executable/1">os:find_executable/1</seealso>.</p>
	      <p>Only if a shell script or <c>.bat</c> file is
	      executed, the appropriate command interpreter is
	      invoked implicitly, but there is still no
	      command argument expansion or implicit <c>PATH</c> search.</p>
	      <p>If <c><anno>FileName</anno></c> cannot be run, an error
	      exception is raised, with the POSIX error code as the reason.
	      The error reason can differ between OSs.
	      Typically the error <c>enoent</c> is raised when an
	      attempt is made to run a program that is not found and
	      <c>eacces</c> is raised when the given file is not
	      executable.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{fd, <anno>In</anno>, <anno>Out</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Allows an Erlang process to access any currently opened
              file descriptors used by Erlang. The file descriptor
              <c><anno>In</anno></c> can be used for standard input, and the file
              descriptor <c><anno>Out</anno></c> for standard output. It is only
              used for various servers in the Erlang OS (<c>shell</c>
              and <c>user</c>). Hence, its use is limited.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p><c><anno>PortSettings</anno></c> is a list of settings for the port.
          The valid settings are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{packet, <anno>N</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Messages are preceded by their length, sent in <c><anno>N</anno></c>
              bytes, with the most significant byte first. The valid values
              for <c>N</c> are 1, 2, and 4.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>stream</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Output messages are sent without packet lengths. A
              user-defined protocol must be used between the Erlang
              process and the external object.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{line, <anno>L</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Messages are delivered on a per line basis. Each line
              (delimited by the OS-dependent new line sequence) is
              delivered in a single message. The message data format
              is <c>{Flag, Line}</c>, where <c>Flag</c> is
              <c>eol</c> or <c>noeol</c>, and <c>Line</c> is the
              data delivered (without the new line sequence).</p>
            <p><c><anno>L</anno></c> specifies the maximum line length in bytes.
              Lines longer than this are delivered in more than one
              message, with <c>Flag</c> set to <c>noeol</c> for all
              but the last message. If end of file is encountered
              anywhere else than immediately following a new line
              sequence, the last line is also delivered with
              <c>Flag</c> set to <c>noeol</c>. Otherwise
              lines are delivered with <c>Flag</c> set to <c>eol</c>.</p>
            <p>The <c>{packet, <anno>N</anno>}</c> and <c>{line,
              <anno>L</anno>}</c> settings are mutually exclusive.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{cd, <anno>Dir</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c> and
	      <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>.
              The external program starts using <c><anno>Dir</anno></c> as its
              working directory. <c><anno>Dir</anno></c> must be a string.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{env, <anno>Env</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c> and
	    <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>.
              The environment of the started process is extended using
              the environment specifications in <c><anno>Env</anno></c>.</p>
            <p><c><anno>Env</anno></c> is to be a list of tuples
              <c>{<anno>Name</anno>, <anno>Val</anno>}</c>,
              where <c><anno>Name</anno></c> is the name of an
              environment variable, and <c><anno>Val</anno></c> is the
              value it is to have in the spawned
              port process. Both <c><anno>Name</anno></c> and
              <c><anno>Val</anno></c> must be strings. The one
              exception is <c><anno>Val</anno></c> being the atom
              <c>false</c> (in analogy with <c>os:getenv/1</c>), which
              removes the environment variable.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>{args, [ string() | binary() ]}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>
	    and specifies arguments to the executable. Each argument
	    is given as a separate string and (on Unix) eventually
	    ends up as one element each in the argument vector. On
	    other platforms, a similar behavior is mimicked.</p>
	    <p>The arguments are not expanded by the shell before
	      being supplied to the executable. Most notably this
	      means that file wildcard expansion does not happen.
              To expand wildcards for the arguments, use
	      <seealso marker="stdlib:filelib#wildcard/1">filelib:wildcard/1</seealso>.
	      Notice that even if
	      the program is a Unix shell script, meaning that the
	      shell ultimately is invoked, wildcard expansion
	      does not happen, and the script is provided with the
	      untouched arguments. On Windows, wildcard expansion
	      is always up to the program itself, therefore this is
	      not an issue issue.</p>
	    <p>The executable name (also known as <c>argv[0]</c>)
	      is not to be given in this list. The proper executable name
	      is automatically used as argv[0], where applicable.</p>
	    <p>If you explicitly want to set the
	      program name in the argument vector, option <c>arg0</c>
	      can be used.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>{arg0, string() | binary()}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>
	    and explicitly specifies the program name argument when
	    running an executable. This can in some circumstances,
	    on some OSs, be desirable. How the program
	    responds to this is highly system-dependent and no specific
	    effect is guaranteed.</p>
	  </item> 
          <tag><c>exit_status</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c>, where
              <c><anno>Command</anno></c> refers to an external program, and
	      for <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>.</p>
            <p>When the external process connected to the port exits, a
              message of the form <c>{Port,{exit_status,Status}}</c> is
              sent to the connected process, where <c>Status</c> is the
              exit status of the external process. If the program
              aborts on Unix, the same convention is used as the shells
              do (that is, 128+signal).</p>
            <p>If option <c>eof</c> is also given, the messages <c>eof</c>
              and <c>exit_status</c> appear in an unspecified order.</p>
            <p>If the port program closes its <c>stdout</c> without exiting,
              option <c>exit_status</c> does not work.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>use_stdio</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Only valid for <c>{spawn, <anno>Command</anno>}</c> and
	    <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>. It
              allows the standard input and output (file descriptors 0
              and 1) of the spawned (Unix) process for communication
              with Erlang.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>nouse_stdio</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The opposite of <c>use_stdio</c>. It uses file descriptors
              3 and 4 for communication with Erlang.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>stderr_to_stdout</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Affects ports to external programs. The executed program
              gets its standard error file redirected to its standard
              output file. <c>stderr_to_stdout</c> and
              <c>nouse_stdio</c> are mutually exclusive.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>overlapped_io</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Affects ports to external programs on Windows only. The
	    standard input and standard output handles of the port program
	    are, if this option is supplied, opened with flag
	    <c>FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED</c>, so that the port program can
            (and must) do
	    overlapped I/O on its standard handles. This is not normally
	    the case for simple port programs, but an option of value for the
	    experienced Windows programmer. <em>On all other platforms, this
	    option is silently discarded.</em></p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>in</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The port can only be used for input.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>out</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The port can only be used for output.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>binary</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All I/O from the port is binary data objects as opposed
              to lists of bytes.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>eof</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The port is not closed at the end of the file and does not
              produce an exit signal. Instead, it remains open and
              a <c>{Port, eof}</c> message is sent to the process
              holding the port.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>hide</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When running on Windows, suppresses creation of a new
	      console window when spawning the port program.
	      (This option has no effect on other platforms.)</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{parallelism, Boolean}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="open_port_parallelism"></marker>
            <p>Sets scheduler hint for port parallelism. If set to
            <c>true</c>, the Virtual Machine schedules port tasks;
            when doing so, it improves parallelism in the system. If set
            to <c>false</c>, the Virtual Machine tries to
	    perform port tasks immediately, improving latency at the
            expense of parallelism. The default can be set at system startup
            by passing command-line argument
	    <seealso marker="erl#+spp">+spp</seealso> to <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Default is <c>stream</c> for all port types and
          <c>use_stdio</c> for spawned ports.</p>
        <p>Failure: If the port cannot be opened, the exit reason is
	  <c>badarg</c>, <c>system_limit</c>, or the POSIX error code that
	  most closely describes the error, or <c>einval</c> if no POSIX
          code is appropriate:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>Bad input arguments to <c>open_port</c>.
          </item>
          <tag><c>system_limit</c></tag>
          <item>All available ports in the Erlang emulator are in use.
          </item>
          <tag><c>enomem</c></tag>
          <item>Not enough memory to create the port.
          </item>
          <tag><c>eagain</c></tag>
          <item>No more available OS processes.
          </item>
          <tag><c>enametoolong</c></tag>
          <item>Too long external command.
          </item>
          <tag><c>emfile</c></tag>
          <item>No more available file descriptors (for the
            OS process that the Erlang emulator runs in).
          </item>
          <tag><c>enfile</c></tag>
          <item>Full file table (for the entire OS).
          </item>
          <tag><c>eacces</c></tag>
          <item><c>Command</c> given in <c>{spawn_executable, Command}</c>
            does not point out an executable file.
          </item>
          <tag><c>enoent</c></tag>
          <item><c><anno>FileName</anno></c> given in
            <c>{spawn_executable, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c>
            does not point out an existing file.
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>During use of a port opened using <c>{spawn, Name}</c>,
          <c>{spawn_driver, Name}</c>, or <c>{spawn_executable, Name}</c>,
          errors arising when sending messages to it are reported to
          the owning process using signals of the form
          <c>{'EXIT', Port, PosixCode}</c>. For the possible values of
          <c>PosixCode</c>, see the
          <seealso marker="kernel:file">file(3)</seealso>
          manual page in <c>Kernel</c>.</p>
	  <p>The maximum number of ports that can be open at the same
          time can be configured by passing command-line flag
	  <seealso marker="erl#max_ports"><c>+Q</c></seealso> to
	  <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="phash" arity="2"/>
      <type_desc variable="Range">Range = 1..2^32, Hash = 1..Range</type_desc>
      <fsummary>Portable hash function.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Portable hash function that gives the same hash for
          the same Erlang term regardless of machine architecture and
          <c>ERTS</c> version (the BIF was introduced in <c>ERTS</c> 4.9.1.1).
          The function returns a hash value for
          <c><anno>Term</anno></c> within the range
          <c>1..<anno>Range</anno></c>. The maximum value for
	  <c><anno>Range</anno></c> is 2^32.</p>
        <p>This BIF can be used instead of the old deprecated BIF
          <c>erlang:hash/2</c>, as it calculates better hashes for
          all data types, but consider using <c>phash2/1,2</c> instead.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="phash2" arity="1"/>
      <name name="phash2" arity="2"/>
      <type_desc variable="Range">1..2^32</type_desc>
      <type_desc variable="Hash">0..Range-1</type_desc>
      <fsummary>Portable hash function.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Portable hash function that gives the same hash for
          the same Erlang term regardless of machine architecture and
          <c>ERTS</c> version (the BIF was introduced in <c>ERTS</c> 5.2).
          The function returns a hash value for
	  <c><anno>Term</anno></c> within the range
	  <c>0..<anno>Range</anno>-1</c>. The maximum value for
	  <c><anno>Range</anno></c> is 2^32. When without argument
          <c><anno>Range</anno></c>, a value in the range
          0..2^27-1 is returned.</p>
        <p>This BIF is always to be used for hashing terms. It
          distributes small integers better than <c>phash/2</c>, and
          it is faster for bignums and binaries.</p>
        <p>Notice that the range <c>0..<anno>Range</anno>-1</c> is
          different from the range of <c>phash/2</c>, which is
          <c>1..<anno>Range</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="pid_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a pid.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging and is not to be used
	  in application programs.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_close" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Closes an open port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Closes an open port. Roughly the same as
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {self(), close}</c> except for the error behavior
          (see the following), being synchronous, and that the port does
	  <em>not</em> reply with <c>{Port, closed}</c>. Any process can
	  close a port with <c>port_close/1</c>, not only the port owner
	  (the connected process). If the calling process is linked to
          the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit
	  signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	  <c>port_close/1</c> returns.</p> 
        <p>For comparison: <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {self(), close}</c>
	  only fails with <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> does
	  not refer to a port or a process. If <c><anno>Port</anno></c>
	  is a closed port, nothing happens. If <c><anno>Port</anno></c>
          is an open port and the calling process is the port owner,
	  the port replies with <c>{Port, closed}</c> when all buffers
	  have been flushed and the port really closes. If the calling
	  process is not the port owner, the <em>port owner</em> fails
	  with <c>badsig</c>.</p> 
        <p>Notice that any process can close a port using
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, close}</c> as if it itself was
          the port owner, but the reply always goes to the port owner.</p>
	<p>As from OTP R16, <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, close}</c> is truly
	   asynchronous. Notice that this operation has always been
	   documented as an asynchronous operation, while the underlying
	   implementation has been synchronous. <c>port_close/1</c> is
	   however still fully synchronous. This because of its error
	   behavior.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an identifier
           of an open port, or the registered name of an open port.
	   If the calling process was previously linked to the closed
	   port, identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit
	   signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	   this <c>badarg</c> exception occurs.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_command" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sends data to a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sends data to a port. Same as
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {command, Data}}</c> except
          for the error
          behavior and being synchronous (see the following). Any process
	  can send data to a port with <c>port_command/2</c>, not only the
	  port owner (the connected process).</p>
        <p>For comparison: <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {command, Data}}</c>
          only fails with <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c>
	  does not refer to a port or a process. If
	  <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is a closed port, the data message
	  disappears 
          without a sound. If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is open and the calling
          process is not the port owner, the <em>port owner</em> fails
          with <c>badsig</c>. The port owner fails with <c>badsig</c>
          also if <c><anno>Data</anno></c> is an invalid I/O list.</p>
        <p>Notice that any process can send to a port using
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {command, <anno>Data</anno>}}</c>
          as if it itself was the port owner.</p>
	<p>If the port is busy, the calling process is suspended
	   until the port is not busy any more.</p>
	<p>As from OTP-R16, <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {command, Data}}</c>
	   is truly asynchronous. Notice that this operation has always been
	   documented as an asynchronous operation, while the underlying
	   implementation has been synchronous. <c>port_command/2</c> is
	   however still fully synchronous. This because of its error
	   behavior.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an identifier of an open
	     port, or the registered name of an open port. If the
	     calling process was previously linked to the closed port,
	     identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit signal
	     from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before this
	     <c>badarg</c> exception occurs.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Data</anno></c> is an invalid I/O list.
	  </item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_command" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sends data to a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sends data to a port. <c>port_command(Port, Data, [])</c>
	  equals <c>port_command(Port, Data)</c>.</p>
	<p>If the port command is aborted, <c>false</c> is returned,
	   otherwise <c>true</c>.</p>
	<p>If the port is busy, the calling process is suspended
	   until the port is not busy any more.</p>
        <p>The following <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s are valid:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>force</c></tag>
          <item>The calling process is not suspended if the port is
	        busy, instead the port command is forced through. The
		call fails with a <c>notsup</c> exception if the
		driver of the port does not support this. For more
		information, see driver flag
		<seealso marker="driver_entry#driver_flags"><![CDATA[ERL_DRV_FLAG_SOFT_BUSY]]></seealso>.
          </item>
          <tag><c>nosuspend</c></tag>
          <item>The calling process is not suspended if the port is
	        busy, instead the port command is aborted and
		<c>false</c> is returned. 
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <note>
          <p>More options can be added in a future release.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an identifier of an open
	     port, or the registered name of an open port. If the
	     calling process was previously linked to the closed port,
	     identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit signal
	     from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before this
	     <c>badarg</c> exception occurs.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Data</anno></c> is an invalid I/O list.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If <c><anno>OptionList</anno></c> is an invalid option list.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>notsup</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If option <c>force</c> has been passed, but the
	    driver of the port does not allow forcing through
	    a busy port.
	  </item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_connect" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets the owner of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the port owner (the connected port) to <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.
          Roughly the same as
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {Owner, {connect, <anno>Pid</anno>}}</c>
          except for the following:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>
            <p>The error behavior differs, see the following.</p>
          </item>
          <item>
            <p>The port does <em>not</em> reply with
              <c>{Port,connected}</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <item>
            <p><c>port_connect/1</c> is synchronous, see the following.</p>
          </item>
          <item>
            <p>The new port owner gets linked to the port.</p>
          </item>
        </list>
        <p>The old port owner stays linked to the port and must call
          <c>unlink(Port)</c> if this is not desired. Any process can
          set the port owner to be any process with
          <c>port_connect/2</c>.</p>
        <p>For comparison:
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {self(), {connect, <anno>Pid</anno>}}</c>
	  only fails with <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c>
          does not refer to a port or a process. If
          <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is a closed port, nothing happens.
          If <c><anno>Port</anno></c>
          is an open port and the calling process is the port owner,
          the port replies with <c>{Port, connected}</c> to the old
          port owner. Notice that the old port owner is still linked to
          the port, while the new is not. If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is an open
          port and the calling process is not the port owner,
          the <em>port owner</em> fails with <c>badsig</c>. The port
          owner fails with <c>badsig</c> also if <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not an
          existing local process identifier.</p>
        <p>Notice that any process can set the port owner using
          <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {connect, <anno>Pid</anno>}}</c>
          as if it itself was the port owner, but the reply always goes to
          the port owner.</p>
	<p>As from OTP-R16,
           <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {PortOwner, {connect, <anno>Pid</anno>}}</c> is
	   truly asynchronous. Notice that this operation has always been
	   documented as an asynchronous operation, while the underlying
	   implementation has been synchronous. <c>port_connect/2</c> is
	   however still fully synchronous. This because of its error
	   behavior.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an identifier of an open port, or
	     the registered name of an open port. If the calling
	     process was previously linked to the closed port,
	     identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit signal
	     from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before this
	     <c>badarg</c> exception occurs.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>If process identified by <c>Pid</c> is not an existing
	  local process.</item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_control" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Performs a synchronous control operation on a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Performs a synchronous control operation on a port.
          The meaning of <c><anno>Operation</anno></c> and
          <c><anno>Data</anno></c> depends on
          the port, that is, on the port driver. Not all port drivers
          support this control feature.</p>
        <p>Returns a list of integers in the range 0..255, or a
          binary, depending on the port driver. The meaning of
          the returned data also depends on the port driver.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an open port or the registered
             name of an open port.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Operation</anno></c> cannot fit in a 32-bit integer.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If the port driver does not support synchronous control
            operations.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	    If the port driver so decides for any reason (probably
            something wrong with <c><anno>Operation</anno></c> or
            <c><anno>Data</anno></c>).
	  </item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_call" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Performs a synchronous call to a port with term data.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Performs a synchronous call to a port. The meaning of
          <c><anno>Operation</anno></c> and <c><anno>Data</anno></c>
          depends on the port, that is,
          on the port driver. Not all port drivers support this feature.</p>
        <p><c><anno>Port</anno></c> is a port identifier,
          referring to a driver.</p>
        <p><c><anno>Operation</anno></c> is an integer, which is passed on to
          the driver.</p>
        <p><c><anno>Data</anno></c> is any Erlang term. This data is converted
          to binary term format and sent to the port.</p>
        <p>Returns a term from the driver. The meaning of the returned
          data also depends on the port driver.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	     If <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not an identifier of an open port,
	     or the registered name of an open port. If the calling
	     process was previously linked to the closed port,
	     identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, the exit signal
	     from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before this
	     <c>badarg</c> exception occurs.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>
	     If <c><anno>Operation</anno></c> does not fit in a 32-bit integer.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>
	     If the port driver does not support synchronous control
	     operations.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>
	     If the port driver so decides for any reason (probably
	     something wrong with <c><anno>Operation</anno></c>
             or <c><anno>Data</anno></c>).
	  </item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Information about a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list containing tuples with information about
          <c><anno>Port</anno></c>, or <c>undefined</c> if the port is not open.
          The order of the tuples is undefined, and all the
          tuples are not mandatory.
	  If the port is closed and the calling process
	  was previously linked to the port, the exit signal from the
	  port is guaranteed to be delivered before <c>port_info/1</c>
	  returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
	<p>The result contains information about the following
          <c>Item</c>s:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item><c>registered_name</c> (if the port has a registered
            name)</item>
          <item><c>id</c></item>
          <item><c>connected</c></item>
          <item><c>links</c></item>
          <item><c>name</c></item>
          <item><c>input</c></item>
          <item><c>output</c></item>
        </list>
        <p>For more information about the different <c>Item</c>s, see
	<seealso marker="#port_info/2">port_info/2</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c>Port</c> is not a local port
	identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the connected process of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is the process identifier of the process
	connected to the port.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the internal index of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Index</anno></c> is the internal index of the port. This
	index can be used to separate ports.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="3"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the input of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Bytes</anno></c> is the total number of bytes
	read from the port.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="4"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the links of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Pids</anno></c> is a list of the process identifiers
	of the processes that the port is linked to.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="5"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the locking of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Locking</anno></c> is one of the following:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item><c>false</c> (emulator without SMP support)</item>
          <item><c>port_level</c> (port-specific locking)</item>
          <item><c>driver_level</c> (driver-specific locking)</item>
        </list>
        <p>Notice that these results are highly implementation-specific
          and can change in a future release.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="6"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the memory size of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Bytes</anno></c> is the total number of
	bytes allocated for this port by the runtime system. The
	port itself can have allocated memory that is not
	included in <c><anno>Bytes</anno></c>.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="7"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the monitors of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Monitors</anno></c> represent processes that this port
	monitors.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="8"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the name of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Name</anno></c> is the command name set by
	<seealso marker="#open_port/2">open_port/2</seealso>.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="9"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the OS pid of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>OsPid</anno></c> is the process identifier (or equivalent)
	of an OS process created with
	<seealso marker="#open_port/2">open_port({spawn | spawn_executable,
	Command}, Options)</seealso>. If the port is not the result of spawning
	an OS process, the value is <c>undefined</c>.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="10"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the output of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Bytes</anno></c> is the total number of bytes written
	to the port from Erlang processes using
	<seealso marker="#port_command/2">port_command/2</seealso>,
	<seealso marker="#port_command/3">port_command/3</seealso>,
	or <c><anno>Port</anno> ! {Owner, {command, Data}</c>.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="11"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the parallelism hint of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Boolean</anno></c> corresponds to the port parallelism
	hint being used by this port. For more information, see option
	<seealso marker="#open_port_parallelism">parallelism</seealso>
	of <seealso marker="#open_port/2">open_port/2</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="12"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the queue size of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>Bytes</anno></c> is the total number
	of bytes queued by the port using the <c>ERTS</c> driver queue
	implementation.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_info" arity="2" clause_i="13"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the registered name of a port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p><c><anno>RegisteredName</anno></c> is the registered name of
	the port. If the port has no registered name, <c>[]</c> is returned.</p>
	<p>If the port identified by <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not open,
	<c>undefined</c> is returned. If the port is closed and the
	calling process was previously linked to the port, the exit
	signal from the port is guaranteed to be delivered before
	<c>port_info/2</c> returns <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Port</anno></c> is not a local
	port identifier, or an atom.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="port_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a port identifier.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of the port identifier <c><anno>Port</anno></c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging. It is not to be used
	  in application programs.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="ports" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Lists all existing ports.</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns a list of port identifiers corresponding to all the
	ports existing on the local node.</p>
	<p>Notice that an exiting port exists, but is not open.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="pre_loaded" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Lists all pre-loaded modules.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of Erlang modules that are preloaded in
          the system. As all loading of code is done through the file
          system, the file system must have been loaded previously.
          Hence, at least the module <c>init</c> must be preloaded.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_display" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Writes information about a local process on standard error.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Writes information about the local process <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> on
          standard error. The only allowed value for the atom
          <c><anno>Type</anno></c> is <c>backtrace</c>, which shows the contents of
          the call stack, including information about the call chain, with
          the current function printed first. The format of the output
          is not further defined.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>trap_exit</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>When <c>trap_exit</c> is set to <c>true</c>, exit signals
          arriving to a process are converted to <c>{'EXIT', From, Reason}</c>
          messages, which can be received as ordinary
          messages. If <c>trap_exit</c> is set to <c>false</c>, the
          process exits if it receives an exit signal other than
          <c>normal</c> and the exit signal is propagated to its
          linked processes. Application processes are normally
          not to trap exits.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
        <p>See also <seealso marker="#exit/2">exit/2</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>error_handler</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Used by a process to redefine the error handler
          for undefined function calls and undefined registered
          processes. Inexperienced users are not to use this flag,
          as code auto-loading depends on the correct
          operation of the error handling module.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>min_heap_size</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Changes the minimum heap size for the calling process.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="4"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>min_bin_vheap_size</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Changes the minimum binary virtual heap size for the calling
          process.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="5"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>priority</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p><marker id="process_flag_priority"></marker>
          Sets the process priority. <c><anno>Level</anno></c> is an atom.
          There are four priority levels: <c>low</c>,
          <c>normal</c>, <c>high</c>, and <c>max</c>. Default
          is <c>normal</c>.</p>
        <note>
          <p>Priority level <c>max</c> is reserved for internal use in
          the Erlang runtime system, and is <em>not</em> to be used
          by others.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Internally in each priority level, processes are scheduled
          in a round robin fashion.</p>
        <p>Execution of processes on priority <c>normal</c> and
          <c>low</c> are interleaved. Processes on priority
          <c>low</c> are selected for execution less
          frequently than processes on priority <c>normal</c>.</p>
        <p>When there are runnable processes on priority <c>high</c>,
          no processes on priority <c>low</c> or <c>normal</c> are
          selected for execution. Notice however, that this does
          <em>not</em> mean that no processes on priority <c>low</c>
          or <c>normal</c> can run when there are processes
          running on priority <c>high</c>. On the runtime
          system with SMP support, more processes can be running
          in parallel than processes on priority <c>high</c>, that is,
          a <c>low</c> and a <c>high</c> priority process can
          execute at the same time.</p>
        <p>When there are runnable processes on priority <c>max</c>,
          no processes on priority <c>low</c>, <c>normal</c>, or
          <c>high</c> are selected for execution. As with priority
          <c>high</c>, processes on lower priorities can
          execute in parallel with processes on priority <c>max</c>.</p>
        <p>Scheduling is pre-emptive. Regardless of priority, a process
          is pre-empted when it has consumed more than a certain number
          of reductions since the last time it was selected for
          execution.</p>
        <note>
          <p>Do not depend on the scheduling
          to remain exactly as it is today. Scheduling, at least on
          the runtime system with SMP support, is likely to be
          changed in a future release to use available
          processor cores better.</p>
        </note>
        <p>There is <em>no</em> automatic mechanism for
          avoiding priority inversion, such as priority inheritance
          or priority ceilings. When using priorities,
          take this into account and handle such scenarios by
          yourself.</p>
        <p>Making calls from a <c>high</c> priority process into code
          that you have no control over can cause the <c>high</c>
          priority process to wait for a process with lower
          priority. That is, effectively decreasing the priority of the
          <c>high</c> priority process during the call. Even if this
          is not the case with one version of the code that you have no
          control over, it can be the case in a future
          version of it. This can, for example, occur if a
          <c>high</c> priority process triggers code loading, as
          the code server runs on priority <c>normal</c>.</p>
        <p>Other priorities than <c>normal</c> are normally not needed.
          When other priorities are used, use them with care,
          <em>especially</em> priority <c>high</c>. A
          process on priority <c>high</c> is only
          to perform work for short periods. Busy looping for
          long periods in a <c>high</c> priority process does
          most likely cause problems, as important OTP servers
          run on priority <c>normal</c>.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="6"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>save_calls</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><c><anno>N</anno></c> must be an integer in the interval 0..10000.
          If <c><anno>N</anno></c> is greater than 0, call saving is made
          active for the
          process. This means that information about the <c><anno>N</anno></c>
          most recent global function calls, BIF calls, sends, and
          receives made by the process are saved in a list, which
          can be retrieved with
          <c>process_info(Pid, last_calls)</c>. A global function
          call is one in which the module of the function is
          explicitly mentioned. Only a fixed amount of information
          is saved, as follows:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>A tuple <c>{Module, Function, Arity}</c> for
            function calls</item>
          <item> The atoms <c>send</c>, <c>'receive'</c>, and
            <c>timeout</c> for sends and receives (<c>'receive'</c>
            when a message is received and <c>timeout</c> when a
            receive times out)</item>
        </list>
        <p>If <c>N</c> = 0,
          call saving is disabled for the process, which is the
          default. Whenever the size of the call saving list is set,
          its contents are reset.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="2" clause_i="7"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flag <c>sensitive</c> for the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets or clears flag <c>sensitive</c> for the current process.
          When a process has been marked as sensitive by calling
          <c>process_flag(sensitive, true)</c>, features in the runtime
          system that can be used for examining the data or inner working
          of the process are silently disabled.</p>
        <p>Features that are disabled include (but are not limited to)
          the following:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>Tracing: Trace flags can still be set for the process,
            but no trace messages of any kind are generated. (If flag
            <c>sensitive</c> is turned off, trace messages are again
            generated if any trace flags are set.)</item>
          <item>Sequential tracing: The sequential trace token is
            propagated as usual, but no sequential trace messages are
            generated.</item>
        </list>
        <p><c>process_info/1,2</c> cannot be used to read out the
          message queue or the process dictionary (both are returned
          as empty lists).</p>
        <p>Stack back-traces cannot be displayed for the process.</p>
        <p>In crash dumps, the stack, messages, and the process dictionary
          are omitted.</p>
        <p>If <c>{save_calls,N}</c> has been set for the process, no
          function calls are saved to the call saving list.
          (The call saving list is not cleared. Furthermore, send, receive,
          and timeout events are still added to the list.)</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_flag" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sets process flags for a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets certain flags for the process <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>,
          in the same manner as
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>.
          Returns the old value of the flag. The valid values for
          <c><anno>Flag</anno></c> are only a subset of those allowed in
          <c>process_flag/2</c>, namely <c>save_calls</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
          is not a local process.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_info" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Information about a process.</fsummary>
      <type name="process_info_result_item"/>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <type name="stack_item"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list containing <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s with
	  miscellaneous information about the process identified by
	  <c>Pid</c>, or <c>undefined</c> if the process is not alive.</p>
	<p>The order of the <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s is undefined and
	  all <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s are not mandatory.
          The <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s
	  part of the result can be changed without prior notice.</p>
	<p>The <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s with the following items
	  are part of the result:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item><c>current_function</c></item>
          <item><c>initial_call</c></item>
          <item><c>status</c></item>
	  <item><c>message_queue_len</c></item>
          <item><c>messages</c></item>
          <item><c>links</c></item>
	  <item><c>dictionary</c></item>
          <item><c>trap_exit</c></item>
          <item><c>error_handler</c></item>
	  <item><c>priority</c></item>
          <item><c>group_leader</c></item>
          <item><c>total_heap_size</c></item>
	  <item><c>heap_size</c></item>
          <item><c>stack_size</c></item>
          <item><c>reductions</c></item>
	  <item><c>garbage_collection</c></item>
        </list>
        <p>If the process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> has a
          registered name,
	  also an <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c> with item <c>registered_name</c>
	  appears.</p>
	<p>For information about specific <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s, see
          <seealso marker="#process_info/2">process_info/2</seealso>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for <em>debugging only</em>. For
            all other purposes, use
	    <seealso marker="#process_info/2">process_info/2</seealso>.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not a
          local process.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="process_info" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <name name="process_info" arity="2" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Information about a process.</fsummary>
      <type name="process_info_item"/>
      <type name="process_info_result_item"/>
      <type name="stack_item"/>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns information about the process identified by
           <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>, as specified by
           <c><anno>Item</anno></c> or <c><anno>ItemList</anno></c>.
           Returns <c>undefined</c> if the process is not alive.</p>
	<p>If the process is alive and a single <c><anno>Item</anno></c>
           is given, the returned value is the corresponding
	   <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>, unless <c>Item =:= registered_name</c>
	   and the process has no registered name. In this case,
	   <c>[]</c> is returned. This strange behavior is because of
	   historical reasons, and is kept for backward compatibility.</p>
	<p>If <c><anno>ItemList</anno></c> is given, the result is
	   <c><anno>InfoTupleList</anno></c>.
           The <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s in
	   <c><anno>InfoTupleList</anno></c> appear with the corresponding
	   <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s in the same order as the
           <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s appeared
	   in <c><anno>ItemList</anno></c>. Valid <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s can
           appear multiple times in <c><anno>ItemList</anno></c>.</p>
	<note><p>If <c>registered_name</c> is part of <c><anno>ItemList</anno></c>
	          and the process has no name registered a
		  <c>{registered_name, []}</c>, <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>
                  <em>will</em> appear in the resulting
                  <c><anno>InfoTupleList</anno></c>. This
		  behavior is different when a single
		  <c>Item =:= registered_name</c> is given, and when
		  <c>process_info/1</c> is used.</p>
	</note>
	<p>The following <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>s with corresponding
	   <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s are valid:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{backtrace, <anno>Bin</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Binary <c><anno>Bin</anno></c> contains the same information
              as the output from
              <c>erlang:process_display(<anno>Pid</anno>, backtrace)</c>. Use
              <c>binary_to_list/1</c> to obtain the string of characters
              from the binary.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{binary, <anno>BinInfo</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>BinInfo</anno></c> is a list containing miscellaneous
              information about binaries currently being referred to by this
              process. This <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c> can be changed or
              removed without prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{catchlevel, <anno>CatchLevel</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>CatchLevel</anno></c> is the number of currently active
	    catches in this process. This <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c> can be
	    changed or removed without prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{current_function, {<anno>Module</anno>,
            <anno>Function</anno>, Arity}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Module</anno></c>, <c><anno>Function</anno></c>,
              <c><anno>Arity</anno></c> is
              the current function call of the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{current_location, {<anno>Module</anno>,
            <anno>Function</anno>, <anno>Arity</anno>,
            <anno>Location</anno>}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Module</anno></c>, <c><anno>Function</anno></c>,
              <c><anno>Arity</anno></c> is
              the current function call of the process.
	      <c><anno>Location</anno></c> is a list of two-tuples describing the
	      location in the source code.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{current_stacktrace, <anno>Stack</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the current call stack back-trace (<em>stacktrace</em>)
              of the process. The stack has the same format as returned by
	      <seealso marker="#get_stacktrace/0">erlang:get_stacktrace/0</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{dictionary, <anno>Dictionary</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Dictionary</anno></c> is the process dictionary.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{error_handler, <anno>Module</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Module</anno></c> is the error handler module used by
              the process (for undefined function calls, for example).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{garbage_collection, <anno>GCInfo</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>GCInfo</anno></c> is a list containing miscellaneous
	       information about garbage collection for this process.
	       The content of <c><anno>GCInfo</anno></c> can be changed without
	       prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{group_leader, <anno>GroupLeader</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>GroupLeader</anno></c> is group leader for the I/O of
              the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{heap_size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the size in words of the youngest heap
              generation of the process. This generation includes
	      the process stack. This information is highly
              implementation-dependent, and can change if the
              implementation changes.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{initial_call, {<anno>Module</anno>, <anno>Function</anno>,
            <anno>Arity</anno>}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Module</anno></c>, <c><anno>Function</anno></c>,
              <c><anno>Arity</anno></c> is
              the initial function call with which the process was
              spawned.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{links, <anno>PidsAndPorts</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>PidsAndPorts</anno></c> is a list of process identifiers 
	    and port identifiers, with processes or ports to which the process
	    has a link.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{last_calls, false|Calls}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>The value is <c>false</c> if call saving is not active
              for the process (see
              <seealso marker="#process_flag/3">process_flag/3</seealso>).
              If call saving is active, a list is returned, in which
              the last element is the most recent called.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{memory, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the size in bytes of the process. This
              includes call stack, heap, and internal structures.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{message_queue_len, <anno>MessageQueueLen</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>MessageQueueLen</anno></c> is the number of messages
              currently in the message queue of the process. This is
              the length of the list <c><anno>MessageQueue</anno></c> returned as
              the information item <c>messages</c> (see the following).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{messages, <anno>MessageQueue</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>MessageQueue</anno></c> is a list of the messages to
              the process, which have not yet been processed.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{min_heap_size, <anno>MinHeapSize</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>MinHeapSize</anno></c> is the minimum heap size
              for the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{min_bin_vheap_size, <anno>MinBinVHeapSize</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>MinBinVHeapSize</anno></c> is the minimum binary virtual
              heap size for the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{monitored_by, <anno>Pids</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>A list of process identifiers monitoring the process (with
              <c>monitor/2</c>).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{monitors, <anno>Monitors</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>A list of monitors (started by <c>monitor/2</c>)
              that are active for the process. For a local process
              monitor or a remote process monitor by a process
              identifier, the list item is <c>{process, <anno>Pid</anno>}</c>.
              For a remote process
              monitor by name, the list item is
              <c>{process, {<anno>RegName</anno>, <anno>Node</anno>}}</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{priority, <anno>Level</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Level</anno></c> is the current priority level for
	      the process. For more information on priorities, see
              <seealso marker="#process_flag_priority">process_flag(priority,
              Level)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{reductions, <anno>Number</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Number</anno></c> is the number of reductions executed by
              the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{registered_name, <anno>Atom</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Atom</anno></c> is the registered name of the process. If
              the process has no registered name, this tuple is not
              present in the list.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{sequential_trace_token, [] | <anno>SequentialTraceToken</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>SequentialTraceToken</anno></c> is the sequential trace
            token for the process. This <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c> can be
            changed or removed without prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{stack_size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the stack size, in words,
              of the process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{status, <anno>Status</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Status</anno></c> is the status of the process and is one
              of the following:</p>
	    <list type="bulleted">
              <item><c>exiting</c></item>
              <item><c>garbage_collecting</c></item>
              <item><c>waiting</c> (for a message)</item>
              <item><c>running</c></item>
              <item><c>runnable</c> (ready to run, but another process is
                running)</item>
              <item><c>suspended</c> (suspended on a "busy" port
                or by the BIF <c>erlang:suspend_process/[1,2]</c>)</item>
            </list>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{suspending, <anno>SuspendeeList</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>SuspendeeList</anno></c> is a list of
            <c>{<anno>Suspendee</anno>, <anno>ActiveSuspendCount</anno>,
            <anno>OutstandingSuspendCount</anno>}</c> tuples.
	    <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is the process identifier of a
            process that has been, or is to be,
            suspended by the process identified by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>
            through one of the following BIFs:</p>
            <list type="bulleted">
              <item>
	      <seealso marker="#suspend_process/2">erlang:suspend_process/2</seealso>
              </item>
	      <item>
	      <seealso marker="#suspend_process/1">erlang:suspend_process/1</seealso>
              </item>
            </list>
	    <p><c><anno>ActiveSuspendCount</anno></c> is the number of
            times <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> has been suspended by
            <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.
	    <c><anno>OutstandingSuspendCount</anno></c> is the number of not yet
	    completed suspend requests sent by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>, that is:</p>
            <list type="bulleted">
              <item>If <c><anno>ActiveSuspendCount</anno> =/= 0</c>,
                <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is
	        currently in the suspended state.
              </item>
              <item>If <c><anno>OutstandingSuspendCount</anno> =/= 0</c>, option
                <c>asynchronous</c> of <c>erlang:suspend_process/2</c>
                has been used and the suspendee has not yet been
                suspended by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.
              </item>
            </list>
	    <p>Notice that <c><anno>ActiveSuspendCount</anno></c> and
	    <c><anno>OutstandingSuspendCount</anno></c> are not the
            total suspend count on <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>,
            only the parts contributed by <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{total_heap_size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the total size, in words, of all heap
	    fragments of the process. This includes the process stack.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, <anno>InternalTraceFlags</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>InternalTraceFlags</anno></c> is an integer
            representing the internal trace flag for this process.
            This <c><anno>InfoTuple</anno></c>
	    can be changed or removed without prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trap_exit, <anno>Boolean</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p><c><anno>Boolean</anno></c> is <c>true</c> if the process
            is trapping exits, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Notice that not all implementations support all
          these <c><anno>Item</anno></c>s.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is not a local process.</item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If <c><anno>Item</anno></c> is an invalid item.</item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="processes" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>All processes.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of process identifiers corresponding to
	   all the processes currently existing on the local node.</p>
	<p>Notice that an exiting process exists, but is not alive.
           That is, <c>is_process_alive/1</c> returns <c>false</c>
           for an exiting process, but its process identifier is part
	   of the result returned from <c>processes/0</c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>processes().</input>
[&lt;0.0.0&gt;,&lt;0.2.0&gt;,&lt;0.4.0&gt;,&lt;0.5.0&gt;,&lt;0.7.0&gt;,&lt;0.8.0&gt;]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="purge_module" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Removes old code for a module.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Removes old code for <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.
          Before this BIF is used,
          <c>erlang:check_process_code/2</c> is to be called to check
          that no processes execute old code in the module.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for the code server (see
            <seealso marker="kernel:code">code(3)</seealso>)
            and is not to be used elsewhere.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if there is no old code for
          <c><anno>Module</anno></c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="put" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Adds a new value to the process dictionary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Adds a new <c><anno>Key</anno></c> to the process dictionary,
          associated with the value <c><anno>Val</anno></c>, and returns
          <c>undefined</c>. If <c><anno>Key</anno></c> exists, the old
          value is deleted and replaced by <c><anno>Val</anno></c>, and
          the function returns the old value.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>X = put(name, walrus), Y = put(name, carpenter),</input>
<input>Z = get(name),</input>
<input>{X, Y, Z}.</input>
{undefined,walrus,carpenter}</pre>
        <note>
          <p>The values stored when <c>put</c> is evaluated within
            the scope of a <c>catch</c> are not retracted if a
            <c>throw</c> is evaluated, or if an error occurs.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="raise" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Stops execution with an exception of given class, reason, and call stack backtrace.</fsummary>
      <type name="raise_stacktrace"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Stops the execution of the calling process with an
          exception of given class, reason, and call stack backtrace
          (<em>stacktrace</em>).</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging. Avoid to use it in applications,
            unless you really know what you are doing.</p>
        </warning>
        <p><c><anno>Class</anno></c> is <c>error</c>, <c>exit</c>, or
          <c>throw</c>. So, if it were not for the stacktrace,
          <c>erlang:raise(<anno>Class</anno>, <anno>Reason</anno>,
          <anno>Stacktrace</anno>)</c> is
          equivalent to <c>erlang:<anno>Class</anno>(<anno>Reason</anno>)</c>.</p>
        <p><c><anno>Reason</anno></c> is any term.
          <c><anno>Stacktrace</anno></c> is a list as
          returned from <c>get_stacktrace()</c>, that is, a list of
          four-tuples <c>{Module, Function, Arity | Args,
          Location}</c>, where <c>Module</c> and <c>Function</c>
          are atoms, and the third element is an integer arity or an
          argument list. The stacktrace can also contain <c>{Fun,
          Args, Location}</c> tuples, where <c>Fun</c> is a local
          fun and <c>Args</c> is an argument list.</p>
	<p>Element <c>Location</c> at the end is optional.
	  Omitting it is equivalent to specifying an empty list.</p>
        <p>The stacktrace is used as the exception stacktrace for the
          calling process; it is truncated to the current
          maximum stacktrace depth.</p>
        <p>Since evaluating this function causes the process to
          terminate, it has no return value unless the arguments are
          invalid, in which case the function <em>returns the error
          reason</em> <c>badarg</c>. If you want to be
          sure not to return, you can call
          <c>error(erlang:raise(<anno>Class</anno>, <anno>Reason</anno>,
          <anno>Stacktrace</anno>))</c>
          and hope to distinguish exceptions later.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="read_timer" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Reads the state of a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>
	  Read the state of a timer that has been created by either
	  <seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer()</c></seealso>,
	  or <seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after()</c></seealso>.
	  <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c> identifies the timer, and
	  was returned by the BIF that created the timer.
	</p>
	<p>Available <c><anno>Option</anno>s</c>:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{async, Async}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>
	      Asynchronous request for state information. <c>Async</c>
	      defaults to <c>false</c> which will cause the operation
	      to be performed synchronously. In this case, the <c>Result</c>
	      is returned by <c>erlang:read_timer()</c>. When
	      <c>Async</c> is <c>true</c>, <c>erlang:read_timer()</c>
	      sends an asynchronous request for the state information
	      to the timer service that manages the timer, and then returns
	      <c>ok</c>. A message on the format <c>{read_timer,
	      <anno>TimerRef</anno>, <anno>Result</anno>}</c> is
	      sent to the caller of <c>erlang:read_timer()</c> when the
	      operation has been processed.
	    </p>
	  </item>
        </taglist>
	<p>
	  More <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s may be added in the future.
	</p>
	<p>
	  If <c><anno>Result</anno></c> is an integer, it represents the
	  time in milli-seconds left until the timer expires.</p>
	<p>
	  If <c><anno>Result</anno></c> is <c>false</c>, a
	  timer corresponding to <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c> could not
	  be found. This can be because the timer had expired,
	  it had been canceled, or because <c><anno>TimerRef</anno></c>
	  never has corresponded to a timer. Even if the timer has expired,
	  it does not tell you whether or not the timeout message has
	  arrived at its destination yet.
	</p>
	<note>
	  <p>
	    The timer service that manages the timer may be co-located
	    with another scheduler than the scheduler that the calling
	    process is executing on. If this is the case, communication
	    with the timer service takes much longer time than if it
	    is located locally. If the calling process is in critical
	    path, and can do other things while waiting for the result
	    of this operation, you want to use option <c>{async, true}</c>.
	    If using option <c>{async, false}</c>, the calling
	    process will be blocked until the operation has been
	    performed.
	  </p>
	</note>
        <p>See also 
          <seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after/4</c></seealso>,
          <seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer/4</c></seealso>,
          and
          <seealso marker="#cancel_timer/2"><c>erlang:cancel_timer/2</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="read_timer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Reads the state of a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Read the state of a timer. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#read_timer/2"><c>erlang:read_timer(TimerRef,
	[])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="ref_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Text representation of a reference.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a string corresponding to the text
          representation of <c><anno>Ref</anno></c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging and is not to be used
	  in application programs.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="register" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Registers a name for a pid (or port).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Associates the name <c><anno>RegName</anno></c> with a process
          identifier (pid) or a port identifier.
          <c><anno>RegName</anno></c>, which must be an atom, can be used
          instead of the pid or port identifier in send operator
          (<c><anno>RegName</anno> ! Message</c>).</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>register(db, Pid).</input>
true</pre>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If <c><anno>PidOrPort</anno></c> is not an existing local
              process or port.</item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If <c><anno>RegName</anno></c> is already in use.</item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If the process or port is already registered
              (already has a name).</item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
            <item>If <c><anno>RegName</anno></c> is the atom
              <c>undefined</c>.</item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="registered" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>All registered names.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list of names that have been registered using
          <seealso marker="#register/2">register/2</seealso>, for
          example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>registered().</input>
[code_server, file_server, init, user, my_db]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="resume_process" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Resumes a suspended process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Decreases the suspend count on the process identified by
	<c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>. <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
        is previously to have been suspended through
	<seealso marker="#suspend_process/2">erlang:suspend_process/2</seealso>
	or
	<seealso marker="#suspend_process/1">erlang:suspend_process/1</seealso>
	by the process calling
        <c>erlang:resume_process(<anno>Suspendee</anno>)</c>. When the
        suspend count on <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> reaches zero,
        <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is resumed, that is, its state
        is changed from suspended into the state it had before it was
        suspended.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging only.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is not a process identifier.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process calling <c>erlang:resume_process/1</c> had
	  not previously increased the suspend count on the process
	  identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
           is not alive.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="round" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns an integer by rounding a number.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer by rounding <c><anno>Number</anno></c>,
        for example:</p>
        <pre>
<input>round(5.5).</input>
6</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="self" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Returns pid of the calling process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of the calling process, for
          example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>self().</input>
&lt;0.26.0></pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="send" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sends a message.</fsummary>
      <type name="dst"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Sends a message and returns <c><anno>Msg</anno></c>. This
          is the same as <c><anno>Dest</anno> ! <anno>Msg</anno></c>.</p>
        <p><c><anno>Dest</anno></c> can be a remote or local process identifier,
          a (local) port, a locally registered name, or a tuple
          <c>{<anno>RegName</anno>, <anno>Node</anno>}</c>
          for a registered name at another node.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="send" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sends a message conditionally.</fsummary>
      <type name="dst"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Either sends a message and returns <c>ok</c>, or does not send
          the message but returns something else (see the following).
          Otherwise the same as
          <seealso marker="#send/2">erlang:send/2</seealso>.
          For more detailed explanation and warnings, see
          <seealso marker="#send_nosuspend/2">erlang:send_nosuspend/2,3</seealso>.</p>
        <p>The options are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>nosuspend</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If the sender would have to be suspended to do the send,
              <c>nosuspend</c> is returned instead.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>noconnect</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If the destination node would have to be auto-connected
              to do the send, <c>noconnect</c> is returned
              instead.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <warning>
          <p>As with <c>erlang:send_nosuspend/2,3</c>: use with extreme
            care.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="send_after" arity="4"/>
      <fsummary>Start a timer</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>
	  Starts a timer. When the timer expires, the message
          <c><anno>Msg</anno></c> is sent to the process
	  identified by <c><anno>Dest</anno></c>. Appart from
	  the format of the timeout message,
	  <c>erlang:send_after/4</c> works exactly as
	  <seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer/4</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="send_after" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Starts a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Starts a timer. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after(<anno>Time</anno>,
	<anno>Dest</anno>, <anno>Msg</anno>, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="send_nosuspend" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Tries to send a message without ever blocking.</fsummary>
      <type name="dst"/>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
          <seealso marker="#send/3">erlang:send(<anno>Dest</anno>,
          <anno>Msg</anno>, [nosuspend])</seealso>,
          but returns <c>true</c> if
          the message was sent and <c>false</c> if the message was not
          sent because the sender would have had to be suspended.</p>
        <p>This function is intended for send operations to an
          unreliable remote node without ever blocking the sending
          (Erlang) process. If the connection to the remote node
          (usually not a real Erlang node, but a node written in C or
          Java) is overloaded, this function <em>does not send the message</em>
          and returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>The same occurs if <c><anno>Dest</anno></c> refers to a local port
          that is busy. For all other destinations (allowed for the ordinary
          send operator <c>'!'</c>), this function sends the message and
          returns <c>true</c>.</p>
        <p>This function is only to be used in rare circumstances
          where a process communicates with Erlang nodes that can
          disappear without any trace, causing the TCP buffers and
          the drivers queue to be over-full before the node is
          shut down (because of tick time-outs) by <c>net_kernel</c>.
          The normal reaction to take when this occurs is some kind of
          premature shutdown of the other node.</p>
        <p>Notice that ignoring the return value from this function would
          result in an <em>unreliable</em> message passing, which is
          contradictory to the Erlang programming model. The message is
          <em>not</em> sent if this function returns <c>false</c>.</p>
        <p>In many systems, transient states of
          overloaded queues are normal. The fact that this function
          returns <c>false</c> does not mean that the other
          node is guaranteed to be non-responsive, it could be a
          temporary overload. Also, a return value of <c>true</c> does
          only mean that the message can be sent on the (TCP) channel
          without blocking, the message is not guaranteed to
          arrive at the remote node. For a disconnected
          non-responsive node, the return value is <c>true</c> (mimics
          the behavior of operator <c>!</c>). The expected
          behavior and the actions to take when the function
          returns <c>false</c> are application- and hardware-specific.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>Use with extreme care.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="send_nosuspend" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Tries to send a message without ever blocking.</fsummary>
      <type name="dst"/>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
          <seealso marker="#send/3">erlang:send(<anno>Dest</anno>,
          <anno>Msg</anno>, [nosuspend | <anno>Options</anno>])</seealso>,
          but with a Boolean return value.</p>
        <p>This function behaves like
          <seealso marker="#send_nosuspend/2">erlang:send_nosuspend/2</seealso>,
          but takes a third parameter, a list of options.
          The only option is <c>noconnect</c>, which
          makes the function return <c>false</c> if
          the remote node is not currently reachable by the local
          node. The normal behavior is to try to connect to the node,
          which can stall the process during a short period. The use of
          option <c>noconnect</c> makes it possible to be
          sure not to get the slightest delay when
          sending to a remote process. This is especially useful when
          communicating with nodes that expect to always be
          the connecting part (that is, nodes written in C or Java).</p>
        <p>Whenever the function returns <c>false</c> (either when a
          suspend would occur or when <c>noconnect</c> was specified and
          the node was not already connected), the message is guaranteed
          <em>not</em> to have been sent.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>Use with extreme care.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="set_cookie" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets the magic cookie of a node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the magic cookie of <c><anno>Node</anno></c> to the atom
          <c><anno>Cookie</anno></c>. If <c><anno>Node</anno></c> is the
          local node, the function
          also sets the cookie of all other unknown nodes to
          <c><anno>Cookie</anno></c> (see Section
          <seealso marker="doc/reference_manual:distributed">Distributed Erlang</seealso>
          in the Erlang Reference Manual in System Documentation).</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>function_clause</c> if the local node is not
          alive.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="setelement" arity="3"/>
      <type_desc variable="Index">1..tuple_size(<anno>Tuple1</anno></type_desc>
      <fsummary>Sets the Nth element of a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a tuple that is a copy of argument
          <c><anno>Tuple1</anno></c>
          with the element given by integer argument
          <c><anno>Index</anno></c>
          (the first element is the element with index 1) replaced by
          argument <c><anno>Value</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>setelement(2, {10, green, bottles}, red).</input>
{10,red,bottles}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Size of a tuple or binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the number of elements in a tuple or the number of
	bytes in a binary or bitstring, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>size({morni, mulle, bwange}).</input>
3
> <input>size(&lt;&lt;11, 22, 33&gt;&gt;).</input>
3
</pre>
        <p>For bitstrings the number of whole bytes is returned. That is, if the number of bits
          in the bitstring is not divisible by 8, the resulting
          number of bytes is rounded <em>down</em>.</p>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#tuple_size/1"><c>tuple_size/1</c></seealso>,
          <seealso marker="#byte_size/1"><c>byte_size/1</c></seealso>
	  and
          <seealso marker="#bit_size/1"><c>bit_size/1</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a fun as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process started by the
          application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the empty list
          <c>[]</c>. Otherwise
          works like <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a fun as entry point on a given node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process started
          by the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the
          empty list <c>[]</c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. If
          <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does not exist, a useless pid is
          returned. Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a function as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process started by
          the application of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>Args</anno></c>.</p>
        <p><c>error_handler:undefined_function(<anno>Module</anno>,
          <anno>Function</anno>, <anno>Args</anno>)</c>
          is evaluated by the new process if
          <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno>/Arity</c>
          does not exist (where <c>Arity</c> is the length of
          <c><anno>Args</anno></c>). The error handler
          can be redefined (see
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>).
          If <c>error_handler</c> is undefined, or the user has
          redefined the default <c>error_handler</c> and its replacement is
          undefined, a failure with reason <c>undef</c> occurs.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>spawn(speed, regulator, [high_speed, thin_cut]).</input>
&lt;0.13.1></pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn" arity="4"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a function as entry point on a given node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process started
          by the application
          of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>Args</anno></c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. If
          <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does not exist, a useless pid is returned.
          Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_link" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and links to a new process with a fun as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process started by
          the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the empty list
          <c>[]</c>. A link is created between
          the calling process and the new process, atomically.
          Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_link" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and links to a new process with a fun as entry point on a specified node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process started
          by the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the empty
          list <c>[]</c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. A link is
          created between the calling process and the new process,
          atomically. If <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does not exist,
          a useless pid is returned and an exit signal with
          reason <c>noconnection</c> is sent to the calling
	  process. Otherwise works like <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_link" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and links to a new process with a function as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process started by
          the application of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>Args</anno></c>. A link is created
          between the calling process and the new process, atomically.
          Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_link" arity="4"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and links to a new process with a function as entry point on a given node.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process
          started by the application
          of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>Args</anno></c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. A
          link is created between the calling process and the new
          process, atomically. If <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does
          not exist, a useless pid is returned and an exit signal with
          reason <c>noconnection</c> is sent to the calling
	  process. Otherwise works like <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_monitor" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and monitors a new process with a fun as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier of a new process, started by
          the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the empty list
          <c>[]</c>,
          and a reference for a monitor created to the new process.
          Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_monitor" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Creates and monitors a new process with a function as entry point.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>A new process is started by the application
          of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c>
          to <c><anno>Args</anno></c>. The process is
          monitored at the same time. Returns the process identifier
          and a reference for the monitor. Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_opt" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a fun as entry point.</fsummary>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process
          started by the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c>
          to the empty list <c>[]</c>. Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/4</seealso>.</p>
        <p>If option <c>monitor</c> is given, the newly created
          process is monitored, and both the pid and reference for
          the monitor is returned.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_opt" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a fun as entry point on a given node.</fsummary>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process started
          by the application of <c><anno>Fun</anno></c> to the
          empty list <c>[]</c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. If
          <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does not exist, a useless pid is
          returned. Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/4</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_opt" arity="4"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a function as entry point.</fsummary>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Works as
          <seealso marker="#spawn/3">spawn/3</seealso>, except that an
          extra option list is given when creating the process.</p>
        <p>If option <c>monitor</c> is given, the newly created
          process is monitored, and both the pid and reference for
          the monitor is returned.</p>
        <p>The options are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>link</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Sets a link to the parent process (like
              <c>spawn_link/3</c> does).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>monitor</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Monitors the new process (like
              <seealso marker="#monitor/2">monitor/2</seealso> does).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{priority, <anno>Level</anno></c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Sets the priority of the new process. Equivalent to
              executing
              <seealso marker="#process_flag_priority">process_flag(priority,
              <anno>Level</anno>)</seealso>
              in the start function of the new process,
              except that the priority is set before the process is
              selected for execution for the first time. For more
              information on priorities, see
              <seealso marker="#process_flag_priority">process_flag(priority,
              <anno>Level</anno>)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{fullsweep_after, <anno>Number</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Useful only for performance tuning. Do not use this
              option unless you
              know that there is problem with execution times or
              memory consumption, and ensure
              that the option improves matters.</p>
            <p>The Erlang runtime system uses a generational garbage
              collection scheme, using an "old heap" for data that has
              survived at least one garbage collection. When there is
              no more room on the old heap, a fullsweep garbage
              collection is done.</p>
            <p>Option <c>fullsweep_after</c> makes it possible to
              specify the maximum number of generational collections
              before forcing a fullsweep, even if there is room on
              the old heap. Setting the number to zero
              disables the general collection algorithm, that is,
              all live data is copied at every garbage collection.</p>
            <p>A few cases when it can be useful to change
              <c>fullsweep_after</c>:</p>
            <list type="bulleted">
              <item>If binaries that are no longer used are to be
                thrown away as soon as possible. (Set
                <c><anno>Number</anno></c> to zero.)
              </item>
              <item>A process that mostly have short-lived data is
                fullsweeped seldom or never, that is, the old heap
                contains mostly garbage. To ensure a fullsweep
                occasionally, set <c><anno>Number</anno></c> to a
                suitable value, such as 10 or 20.
              </item>
              <item>In embedded systems with a limited amount of RAM
              and no virtual memory, you might want to preserve memory
              by setting <c><anno>Number</anno></c> to zero.
              (The value can be set globally, see
              <seealso marker="#system_flag/2">erlang:system_flag/2</seealso>.)
              </item>
            </list>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{min_heap_size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Useful only for performance tuning. Do not use this
              option unless you know that there is problem with
              execution times or memory consumption, and
              ensure that the option improves matters.</p>
            <p>Gives a minimum heap size, in words. Setting this value
              higher than the system default can speed up some
              processes because less garbage collection is done.
              However, setting a too high value can waste memory and
              slow down the system because of worse data locality.
              Therefore, use this option only for
              fine-tuning an application and to measure the execution
              time with various <c><anno>Size</anno></c> values.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{min_bin_vheap_size, <anno>VSize</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Useful only for performance tuning. Do not use this
              option unless you know that there is problem with
              execution times or memory consumption, and
              ensure that the option improves matters.</p>
	      <p>Gives a minimum binary virtual heap size, in words.
              Setting this value
              higher than the system default can speed up some
              processes because less garbage collection is done.
              However, setting a too high value can waste memory.
              Therefore, use this option only for
              fine-tuning an application and to measure the execution
              time with various <c><anno>VSize</anno></c> values.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="spawn_opt" arity="5"/>
      <fsummary>Creates a new process with a function as entry point on a given node.</fsummary>
      <type name="priority_level"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier (pid) of a new process started
          by the application
          of <c><anno>Module</anno>:<anno>Function</anno></c> to
          <c><anno>Args</anno></c> on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>. If
          <c><anno>Node</anno></c> does not exist, a useless pid is returned.
          Otherwise works like
          <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/4</seealso>.</p>
	  <note><p>Option <c>monitor</c> is not supported by
	  <c>spawn_opt/5</c>.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="split_binary" arity="2"/>
      <type_desc variable="Pos">0..byte_size(Bin)</type_desc>
      <fsummary>Splits a binary into two.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a tuple containing the binaries that are the result
          of splitting <c><anno>Bin</anno></c> into two parts at
          position <c><anno>Pos</anno></c>.
          This is not a destructive operation. After the operation,
          there are three binaries altogether.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>B = list_to_binary("0123456789").</input>
&lt;&lt;"0123456789">>
> <input>byte_size(B).</input>
10
> <input>{B1, B2} = split_binary(B,3).</input>
{&lt;&lt;"012">>,&lt;&lt;"3456789">>}
> <input>byte_size(B1).</input>
3
> <input>byte_size(B2).</input>
7</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="start_timer" arity="4"/>
      <fsummary>Starts a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>
	  Starts a timer. When the timer expires, the message
          <c>{timeout, <anno>TimerRef</anno>, <anno>Msg</anno>}</c>
	  is sent to the process identified by
	  <c><anno>Dest</anno></c>.
	</p>
	<p>Available <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{abs, false}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>
	      This is the default. It means the
	      <c><anno>Time</anno></c> value is interpreted
	      as a time in milli-seconds <em>relative</em> current
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang
	      monotonic time</seealso>.
	    </p>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>{abs, true}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>
	      Absolute <c><anno>Time</anno></c> value. The
	      <c><anno>Time</anno></c> value is interpreted as an
	      absolute Erlang monotonic time in milli-seconds.
	    </p>
	  </item>
        </taglist>
	<p>
	  More <c><anno>Option</anno></c>s may be added in the future.
	</p>
	<p>
	  The absolute point in time, the timer is set to expire on,
	  has to be in the interval
	  <c>[</c><seealso marker="#system_info_start_time"><c>erlang:system_info(start_time)</c></seealso><c>,
	  </c><seealso marker="#system_info_end_time"><c>erlang:system_info(end_time)</c></seealso><c>]</c>.
	  Further, if a relative time is specified, the <c><anno>Time</anno></c> value
	  is not allowed to be negative.
	</p>
	<p>
	  If <c><anno>Dest</anno></c> is a <c>pid()</c>, it must
	  be a <c>pid()</c> of a process created on the current
	  runtime system instance. This process may or may not
	  have terminated. If <c><anno>Dest</anno></c> is an
	  <c>atom()</c>, it is interpreted as the name of a
	  locally registered process. The process referred to by the
	  name is looked up at the time of timer expiration. No error
	  is given if the name does not refer to a process.
	</p>
        <p>
	  If <c><anno>Dest</anno></c> is a <c>pid()</c>, the timer is
	  automatically canceled if the process referred to by the
	  <c>pid()</c> is not alive, or if the process exits. This
	  feature was introduced in ERTS version 5.4.11. Notice that
	  timers are not automatically canceled when
	  <c><anno>Dest</anno></c> is an <c>atom()</c>.
	</p>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#send_after/4"><c>erlang:send_after/4</c></seealso>,
          <seealso marker="#cancel_timer/2"><c>erlang:cancel_timer/2</c></seealso>,
          and
          <seealso marker="#read_timer/2"><c>erlang:read_timer/2</c></seealso>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if the arguments do not satisfy
          the requirements specified here.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="start_timer" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Starts a timer.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Starts a timer. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#start_timer/4"><c>erlang:start_timer(<anno>Time</anno>,
	<anno>Dest</anno>, <anno>Msg</anno>, [])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="1"/>
      <fsummary>Information about context switches.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the total number of context switches since the
          system started.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Information about exact reductions.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <marker id="statistics_exact_reductions"></marker>
        <p>Returns the number of exact reductions.</p>
      <note><p><c>statistics(exact_reductions)</c> is
        a more expensive operation than
        <seealso marker="#statistics_reductions">statistics(reductions)</seealso>,
        especially on an Erlang machine with SMP support.</p>
      </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="3"/>
      <fsummary>Information about garbage collection.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns information about garbage collection, for example:</p>
	  <pre>
> <input>statistics(garbage_collection).</input>
{85,23961,0}</pre>
        <p>This information can be invalid for some implementations.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="4"/>
      <fsummary>Information about I/O.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns <c><anno>Input</anno></c>,
           which is the total number of bytes
           received through ports, and <c><anno>Output</anno></c>,
           which is the total number of bytes output to ports.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="5"/>
      <fsummary>Information about reductions.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <marker id="statistics_reductions"></marker>
        <p>Returns information about reductions, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>statistics(reductions).</input>
{2046,11}</pre>
        <note><p>As from <c>ERTS</c> 5.5 (OTP R11B),
          this value does not include reductions performed in current
          time slices of currently scheduled processes. If an
          exact value is wanted, use
          <seealso marker="#statistics_exact_reductions">statistics(exact_reductions)</seealso>.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="6"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the run-queue.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the total length of run-queues, that is, the number
          of processes that are ready to run on all available run-queues.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="7"/>
      <fsummary>Information about runtime.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns information about runtime, in milliseconds.</p>
        <p>This is the sum of the runtime for all threads
        in the Erlang runtime system and can therefore be greater
        than the wall clock time.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>statistics(runtime).</input>
{1690,1620}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="8"/>
      <fsummary>Information about each schedulers work time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
      <marker id="statistics_scheduler_wall_time"></marker>
        <p>Returns a list of tuples with
          <c>{<anno>SchedulerId</anno>, <anno>ActiveTime</anno>,
          <anno>TotalTime</anno>}</c>, where
          <c><anno>SchedulerId</anno></c> is an integer ID of the scheduler,
          <c><anno>ActiveTime</anno></c> is
          the duration the scheduler has been busy, and
          <c><anno>TotalTime</anno></c> is the total time duration since
          <seealso marker="#system_flag_scheduler_wall_time">scheduler_wall_time</seealso>
          activation. The time unit is undefined and can be subject
          to change between releases, OSs, and system restarts.
          <c>scheduler_wall_time</c> is only to be used to
          calculate relative values for scheduler-utilization.
          <c><anno>ActiveTime</anno></c> can never exceed
          <c><anno>TotalTime</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>The definition of a busy scheduler is when it is not idle
          and is not scheduling (selecting) a process or port,
          that is:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item>Executing process code</item>
          <item>Executing linked-in-driver or NIF code</item>
          <item>Executing built-in-functions, or any other runtime
            handling</item>
          <item>Garbage collecting</item>
          <item>Handling any other memory management</item>
        </list>
          <p>Notice that a scheduler can also be busy even if the
            OS has scheduled out the scheduler thread.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>undefined</c> if system flag
          <seealso marker="#system_flag_scheduler_wall_time">scheduler_wall_time</seealso>
          is turned off.</p>
        <p>The list of scheduler information is unsorted and can
          appear in different order between calls.</p>
        <p>Using <c>scheduler_wall_time</c> to calculate scheduler-utilization:</p>
<pre>
> <input>erlang:system_flag(scheduler_wall_time, true).</input>
false
> <input>Ts0 = lists:sort(erlang:statistics(scheduler_wall_time)), ok.</input>
ok</pre>
        <p>Some time later the user takes another snapshot and calculates
          scheduler-utilization per scheduler, for example:</p>
<pre>
> <input>Ts1 = lists:sort(erlang:statistics(scheduler_wall_time)), ok.</input>
ok
> <input>lists:map(fun({{I, A0, T0}, {I, A1, T1}}) ->
	{I, (A1 - A0)/(T1 - T0)} end, lists:zip(Ts0,Ts1)).</input>
[{1,0.9743474730177548},
 {2,0.9744843782751444},
 {3,0.9995902361669045},
 {4,0.9738012596572161},
 {5,0.9717956667018103},
 {6,0.9739235846420741},
 {7,0.973237033077876},
 {8,0.9741297293248656}]</pre>
		<p>Using the same snapshots to calculate a total scheduler-utilization:</p>
<pre>
> <input>{A, T} = lists:foldl(fun({{_, A0, T0}, {_, A1, T1}}, {Ai,Ti}) ->
	{Ai + (A1 - A0), Ti + (T1 - T0)} end, {0, 0}, lists:zip(Ts0,Ts1)), A/T.</input>
0.9769136803764825</pre>
        <note>
          <p><c>scheduler_wall_time</c> is by default disabled. To
            enable it, use
            <c>erlang:system_flag(scheduler_wall_time, true)</c>.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="statistics" arity="1" clause_i="9"/>
      <fsummary>Information about wall clock.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns information about wall clock. <c>wall_clock</c> can
          be used in the same manner as
          <c>runtime</c>, except that real time is measured as
          opposed to runtime or CPU time.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="suspend_process" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Suspends a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Increases the suspend count on the process identified by
	<c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> and puts it in the suspended
        state if it is not
	already in that state. A suspended process will not be
	scheduled for execution until the process has been resumed.</p>
	<p>A process can be suspended by multiple processes and can
	be suspended multiple times by a single process. A suspended
	process does not leave the suspended state until its suspend 
	count reaches zero. The suspend count of
        <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is decreased when
	<seealso marker="#resume_process/1">erlang:resume_process(<anno>Suspendee</anno>)</seealso>
	is called by the same process that called
	<c>erlang:suspend_process(<anno>Suspendee</anno>)</c>.
        All increased suspend
	counts on other processes acquired by a process are automatically
	decreased when the process terminates.</p>
	<p>The options (<c><anno>Opt</anno></c>s) are as follows:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>asynchronous</c></tag>
          <item>
	  A suspend request is sent to the process identified by
	  <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>. <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
          eventually suspends
	  unless it is resumed before it could suspend. The caller
	  of <c>erlang:suspend_process/2</c> returns immediately,
	  regardless of whether <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> has
          suspended yet or not. The point in time when
          <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> suspends cannot be deduced
          from other events in the system. It is only guaranteed that
          <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> <em>eventually</em> suspends
          (unless it
	  is resumed). If option <c>asynchronous</c> has <em>not</em>
	  been passed, the caller of <c>erlang:suspend_process/2</c> is
	  blocked until <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> has suspended.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>unless_suspending</c></tag>
          <item>
	  The process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is
          suspended unless the calling process already is suspending
	  <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>.
          If <c>unless_suspending</c> is combined
	  with option <c>asynchronous</c>, a suspend request is
	  sent unless the calling process already is suspending
	  <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> or if a suspend request
          already has been sent and is in transit. If the calling
          process already is suspending <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>,
          or if combined with option <c>asynchronous</c>
	  and a send request already is in transit,
	  <c>false</c> is returned and the suspend count on
          <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> remains unchanged.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
	<p>If the suspend count on the process identified by
	<c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is increased, <c>true</c>
        is returned, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging only.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c> is not a process identifier.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
          is the same process
	  as the process calling <c>erlang:suspend_process/2</c>.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
          is not alive.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
          resides on another node.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If <c><anno>OptList</anno></c> is not a proper list of valid
          <c><anno>Opt</anno></c>s.
	  </item>
          <tag><c>system_limit</c></tag>
          <item>
	  If the process identified by <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>
          has been suspended
	  more times by the calling process than can be represented by the
	  currently used internal data structures. The system limit is
	  higher than 2,000,000,000 suspends and will never be lower.
	  </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="suspend_process" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Suspends a process.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Suspends the process identified by
        <c><anno>Suspendee</anno></c>. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#suspend_process/2">erlang:suspend_process(<anno>Suspendee</anno>,
        [])</seealso>.</p>
        <warning>
          <p>This BIF is intended for debugging only.</p>
        </warning>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>backtrace_depth</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the maximum depth of call stack back-traces in the
          exit reason element of <c>'EXIT'</c> tuples.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>cpu_topology</c>.</fsummary>
      <type name="cpu_topology"/>
      <type name="level_entry"/>
      <type name="level_tag"/>
      <type name="sub_level"/>
      <type name="info_list"/>
      <desc>
        <warning>
          <p><marker id="system_flag_cpu_topology"></marker>
          This argument is <em>deprecated</em> and scheduled for
          removal in <c>ERTS</c> 5.10/OTP R16. Instead of using this
          argument, use command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso> in
          <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
          <p>When this argument is removed, a final CPU topology
          to use is determined at emulator boot time.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Sets the user-defined <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c>.
           The user-defined
           CPU topology overrides any automatically detected
           CPU topology. By passing <c>undefined</c> as
           <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c>,
           the system reverts to the CPU topology automatically
           detected. The returned value equals the value returned
           from <c>erlang:system_info(cpu_topology)</c> before the
           change was made.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
        <p>The CPU topology is used when binding schedulers to logical
           processors. If schedulers are already bound when the CPU
           topology is changed, the schedulers are sent a request
           to rebind according to the new CPU topology.</p>
        <p>The user-defined CPU topology can also be set by passing
           command-line argument
           <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso> to
           <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
        <p>For information on type <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c>
           and more, see
           <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology">erlang:system_info(cpu_topology)</seealso>
           as well as the command-line flags
           <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso> and
           <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso> in
           <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sets <c>system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><marker id="system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online"></marker>
        Sets the number of dirty CPU schedulers online. Range is
        <![CDATA[1 <= DirtyCPUSchedulersOnline <= N]]>, where <c>N</c>
        is the smallest of the return values of
        <c>erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers)</c> and
        <c>erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</c>.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
        <p>The number of dirty CPU schedulers online can change if the
          number of schedulers online changes. For example, if 12
          schedulers and 6 dirty CPU schedulers are online, and
          <c>system_flag/2</c> is used to set the number of
          schedulers online to 6, then the number of dirty CPU
          schedulers online is automatically decreased by half as well,
          down to 3. Similarly, the number of dirty CPU schedulers
          online increases proportionally to increases in the number of
          schedulers online.</p>
        <note><p>The dirty schedulers functionality is experimental.
          Enable support for dirty schedulers when building OTP to
          try out the functionality.</p>
        </note>
        <p>For more information, see
        <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers)</seealso>
        and
        <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="4"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>fullsweep_after</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets system flag <c>fullsweep_after</c>.
          <c><anno>Number</anno></c> is a non-negative integer indicating
          how many times generational garbage collections can be
          done without forcing a fullsweep collection. The value
          applies to new processes, while processes already running are
          not affected.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
        <p>In low-memory systems (especially without virtual
          memory), setting the value to <c>0</c> can help to conserve
          memory.</p>
        <p>This value can also be set through (OS)
          environment variable <c>ERL_FULLSWEEP_AFTER</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="5"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>min_heap_size</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the default minimum heap size for processes. The size
          is given in words. The new <c>min_heap_size</c> effects
          only processes spawned after the change of
          <c>min_heap_size</c> has been made. <c>min_heap_size</c>
          can be set for individual processes by using
          <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/N</seealso> or
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="6"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>min_bin_vheap_size</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the default minimum binary virtual heap size for
          processes. The size is given in words.
          The new <c>min_bin_vhheap_size</c> effects only
          processes spawned after the change of
          <c>min_bin_vhheap_size</c> has been made.
          <c>min_bin_vheap_size</c> can be set for individual
          processes by using
          <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/N</seealso> or
          <seealso marker="#process_flag/2">process_flag/2</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="7"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>multi_scheduling</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><marker id="system_flag_multi_scheduling"></marker>
          If multi-scheduling is enabled, more than one scheduler
          thread is used by the emulator. Multi-scheduling can be
          blocked. When multi-scheduling is blocked, only
          one scheduler thread schedules Erlang processes.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>BlockState</anno> =:= block</c>, multi-scheduling is
          blocked. If <c><anno>BlockState</anno> =:= unblock</c> and no one
          else blocks multi-scheduling, and this process has
          blocked only once, multi-scheduling is unblocked.</p>
        <p>One process can block multi-scheduling multiple times.
          If a process has blocked multiple times, it must
          unblock exactly as many times as it has blocked before it
          has released its multi-scheduling block. If a process that
          has blocked multi-scheduling exits, it releases its
          blocking of multi-scheduling.</p>
        <p>The return values are <c>disabled</c>, <c>blocked</c>,
          or <c>enabled</c>. The returned value describes the
          state just after the call to
          <c>erlang:system_flag(multi_scheduling, <anno>BlockState</anno>)</c>
          has been made. For information about the return values, see
          <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling)</seealso>.</p>
        <note><p>Blocking of multi-scheduling is normally not needed.
          If you feel that you need to block multi-scheduling,
          consider it a few more times again. Blocking multi-scheduling
          is only to be used as a last resort, as it is most likely
          a <em>very inefficient</em> way to solve the problem.</p>
        </note>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling)</seealso>,
          <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling_blockers">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling_blockers)</seealso>, and
          <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="8"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>scheduler_bind_type</c>.</fsummary>
      <type name="scheduler_bind_type"/>
      <desc>
        <warning>
          <p><marker id="system_flag_scheduler_bind_type"></marker>
          This argument is <em>deprecated</em> and scheduled for
          removal in <c>ERTS</c> 5.10/OTP R16. Instead of using this
          argument, use command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          When this argument is removed, a final scheduler bind
          type to use is determined at emulator boot time.</p>
        </warning>
        <p>Controls if and how schedulers are bound to logical
           processors.</p>
        <p>When <c>erlang:system_flag(scheduler_bind_type, <anno>How</anno>)</c>
           is called, an asynchronous signal is sent to all schedulers
           online, causing them to try to bind or unbind as requested.</p>
        <note><p>If a scheduler fails to bind, this is often silently
           ignored, as it is not always possible to verify valid
           logical processor identifiers. If an error is reported,
           it is reported to <c>error_logger</c>. To verify that the
           schedulers have bound as requested, call
           <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_bindings">erlang:system_info(scheduler_bindings)</seealso>.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Schedulers can be bound on newer Linux,
           Solaris, FreeBSD, and Windows systems, but more systems will be
           supported in future releases.</p>
        <p>In order for the runtime system to be able to bind schedulers,
           the CPU topology must be known. If the runtime system fails
           to detect the CPU topology automatically, it can be defined.
           For more information on how to define the CPU topology, see
           command-line flag <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso>
           in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
        <p>The runtime system does by default <em>not</em> bind schedulers
           to logical processors.</p>
        <note><p>If the Erlang runtime system is the only OS
           process binding threads to logical processors, this
           improves the performance of the runtime system. However,
           if other OS processes (for example, another Erlang
           runtime system) also bind threads to logical processors,
           there can be a performance penalty instead. Sometimes this
           performance penalty can be severe. If so, it is recommended
           to not bind the schedulers.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Schedulers can be bound in different ways. Argument
           <c><anno>How</anno></c> determines how schedulers are
           bound and can be any of the following:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>unbound</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt u</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>no_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt ns</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>thread_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt ts</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>processor_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt ps</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt s</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>no_node_thread_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt nnts</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>no_node_processor_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt nnps</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>thread_no_node_processor_spread</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt tnnps</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
          <tag><c>default_bind</c></tag>
          <item><p>Same as command-line argument
          <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt db</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.
          </p></item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The returned value equals <c><anno>How</anno></c> before flag
           <c>scheduler_bind_type</c> was changed.</p>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>notsup</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If binding of schedulers is not supported.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If <c><anno>How</anno></c> is not one of the documented
            alternatives.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If CPU topology information is unavailable.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The scheduler bind type can also be set by passing
           command-line argument
           <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso> to <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
        <p>For more information, see
           <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_bind_type">erlang:system_info(scheduler_bind_type)</seealso>,
           <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_bindings">erlang:system_info(scheduler_bindings)</seealso>,
           as well as command-line flags
           <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso>
           and <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso>
           in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="9"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>scheduler_wall_time</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc><p><marker id="system_flag_scheduler_wall_time"></marker>
      Turns on or off scheduler wall time measurements.</p>
      <p>For more information, see
      <seealso marker="#statistics_scheduler_wall_time">erlang:statistics(scheduler_wall_time)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="10"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>schedulers_online</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><marker id="system_flag_schedulers_online"></marker>
        Sets the number of schedulers online. Range is
        <![CDATA[1 <= SchedulersOnline <= erlang:system_info(schedulers)]]>.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
        <p>If the emulator was built with support for
        <seealso marker="#system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">dirty schedulers</seealso>,
        changing the number of schedulers online can also change the
        number of dirty CPU schedulers online. For example, if 12
        schedulers and 6 dirty CPU schedulers are online, and
        <c>system_flag/2</c> is used to set the number of schedulers
        online to 6, then the number of dirty CPU schedulers online
        is automatically decreased by half as well, down to 3.
        Similarly, the number of dirty CPU schedulers online increases
        proportionally to increases in the number of schedulers online.</p>
        <p>For more information, see
        <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>
        and
        <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="11"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system flag <c>trace_control_word</c>.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the value of the node trace control word to
          <c><anno>TCW</anno></c>, which is to be an unsigned integer.
          For more information, see the function
          <seealso marker="erts:match_spec#set_tcw">set_tcw</seealso>
          in Section "Match Specifications in Erlang" in the
          User's Guide.</p>
        <p>Returns the old value of the flag.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_flag" arity="2" clause_i="12"/>
      <fsummary>Finalize the Time Offset</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p><marker id="system_flag_time_offset"></marker>
	Finalizes the <seealso marker="#time_offset/0">time offset</seealso>
	when <seealso marker="time_correction#Single_Time_Warp_Mode">single
	time warp mode</seealso> is used. If another time warp mode
	is used, the time offset state is left unchanged.</p>
        <p>Returns the old state identifier. That is:</p>
	<list>
	  <item><p>If <c>preliminary</c> is returned, finalization was
	  performed and the time offset is now final.</p></item>

	  <item><p>If <c>final</c> is returned, the time offset was
	  already in the final state. This either because another
	  <c>erlang:system_flag(time_offset, finalize)</c> call, or
	  because <seealso marker="time_correction#No_Time_Warp_Mode">no
	  time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>

	  <item><p>If <c>volatile</c> is returned, the time offset
	  cannot be finalized because
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#Multi_Time_Warp_Mode">multi
	  time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>
	</list>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="1"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="2"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="3"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="4"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="5"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the system allocators.</fsummary>
      <type variable="Allocator" name_i="2"/>
      <type variable="Version" name_i="2"/>
      <type variable="Features" name_i="2"/>
      <type variable="Settings" name_i="2"/>
      <type variable="Alloc" name_i="3"/>
      <desc>
      <marker id="system_info_allocator_tags"></marker>
        <p>Returns various information about the allocators of the
          current system (emulator) as specified by
          <c><anno>Item</anno></c>:</p>
        <marker id="system_info_allocated_areas"></marker>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>allocated_areas</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list of tuples with information about
              miscellaneous allocated memory areas.</p>
            <p>Each tuple contains an atom describing the type of
              memory as first element and the amount of allocated
              memory in bytes as second element. When information
              about allocated and used memory is present, also a
              third element is present, containing the amount of
              used memory in bytes.</p>
            <p><c>erlang:system_info(allocated_areas)</c> is intended
              for debugging, and the content is highly
              implementation-dependent. The content of the results
             therefore changes when needed without prior notice.</p>
            <p>Notice that the sum of these values is <em>not</em>
              the total amount of memory allocated by the emulator.
              Some values are part of other values, and some memory
              areas are not part of the result. For information about
              the total amount of memory allocated by the emulator, see
              <seealso marker="#memory/0">erlang:memory/0,1</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>allocator</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_allocator"></marker>
            <p>Returns <c>{<anno>Allocator</anno>, <anno>Version</anno>,
              <anno>Features</anno>, <anno>Settings</anno></c>, where:</p>
            <list type="bulleted">
              <item>
                <p><c><anno>Allocator</anno></c> corresponds to the
                  <c>malloc()</c> implementation used. If
                  <c><anno>Allocator</anno></c> equals
                  <c>undefined</c>, the <c>malloc()</c> implementation
                  used cannot be identified. <c>glibc</c> can be
                  identified.</p>
              </item>
              <item>
                <p><c><anno>Version</anno></c> is a list of integers
                  (but not a string) representing the version of
                  the <c>malloc()</c> implementation used.</p>
              </item>
              <item>
                <p><c><anno>Features</anno></c> is a list of atoms
                  representing the allocation features used.</p>
              </item>
              <item>
                <p><c><anno>Settings</anno></c> is a list of subsystems,
                  their configurable parameters, and used values. Settings
                  can differ between different combinations of
                  platforms, allocators, and allocation features.
                  Memory sizes are given in bytes.</p>
              </item>
            </list>
            <p>See also "System Flags Effecting erts_alloc" in
              <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc#flags">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>alloc_util_allocators</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_alloc_util_allocators"></marker>
	     <p>Returns a list of the names of all allocators using
	        the <c>ERTS</c> internal <c>alloc_util</c> framework
		as atoms. For more information, see Section
	        <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc#alloc_util">"The
		alloc_util framework" in erts_alloc(3)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{allocator, <anno>Alloc</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_allocator_tuple"></marker>
            <p>Returns information about the specified allocator.
	       As from <c>ERTS</c> 5.6.1, the return value is a list
	       of <c>{instance, InstanceNo, InstanceInfo}</c> tuples,
	       where <c>InstanceInfo</c> contains information about
	       a specific instance of the allocator. As from
               <c>ERTS</c> 5.10.4, the returned list when calling
	       <c>erlang:system_info({allocator, mseg_alloc})</c> also
	       includes an <c>{erts_mmap, _}</c> tuple as one element
	       in the list. If <c><anno>Alloc</anno></c> is not a
               recognized allocator, <c>undefined</c> is returned.
               If <c><anno>Alloc</anno></c> is disabled,
              <c>false</c> is returned.</p>
            <p>Notice that the information returned is highly
              implementation-dependent and can be changed or removed
              at any time without prior notice. It was initially
              intended as a tool when developing new allocators, but
              as it can be of interest for others it has been
              briefly documented.</p>
            <p>The recognized allocators are listed in
              <seealso marker="erts:erts_alloc">erts_alloc(3)</seealso>.
              After reading the <c>erts_alloc(3)</c> documentation,
	      the returned information
              more or less speaks for itself, but it can be worth
              explaining some things. Call counts are presented by two
              values, the first value is giga calls, and the second
              value is calls. <c>mbcs</c> and <c>sbcs</c> denote
              multi-block carriers, and single-block carriers,
              respectively. Sizes are presented in bytes. When a
              size is not presented, it is the amount of something.
              Sizes and amounts are often presented by three values:</p>
            <list type="bulleted">
              <item>The first is the current value.</item>
              <item>The second is the maximum value since the last call
                to <c>erlang:system_info({allocator, Alloc})</c>.</item>
              <item>The third is the maximum value since the emulator
                was started.</item>
            </list>
              <p>If only one value is present, it is the current value.
              <c>fix_alloc</c> memory block types are presented by two
              values. The first value is the memory pool size and
              the second value is the used memory size.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{allocator_sizes, <anno>Alloc</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_allocator_sizes"></marker>
	    <p>Returns various size information for the specified
	    allocator. The information returned is a subset of the
	    information returned by
	    <seealso marker="#system_info_allocator_tuple">erlang:system_info({allocator, <anno>Alloc</anno>})</seealso>.
	    </p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="10"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="11"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the CPU topology of the system.</fsummary>
      <type name="cpu_topology"/>
      <type name="level_entry"/>
      <type_desc name="cpu_topology">
        All <c><anno>LevelEntry</anno></c>s of a list
        must contain the same <c><anno>LevelTag</anno></c>, except
        on the top level where both <c>node</c> and
        <c>processor</c> <c><anno>LevelTag</anno></c>s can coexist.
      </type_desc>
      <type_desc name="level_entry">
        <c>{<anno>LevelTag</anno>,
        <anno>SubLevel</anno>} == {<anno>LevelTag</anno>, [],
        <anno>SubLevel</anno>}</c>
      </type_desc>
      <type name="level_tag"/>
      <type_desc name="level_tag">
        More <c><anno>LevelTag</anno></c>s can be introduced in a
        future release.
      </type_desc>
      <type name="sub_level"/>
      <type name="info_list"/>
      <type_desc name="info_list">
        The <c>info_list()</c> can be extended in a future release.
      </type_desc>
      <desc>
      <marker id="system_info_cpu_topology_tags"></marker>
      <marker id="system_info_cpu_topology"></marker>
        <p>Returns various information about the CPU topology of
          the current system (emulator) as specified by
          <c><anno>Item</anno></c>:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>cpu_topology</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>Returns the <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c> currently used by
	       the emulator. The CPU topology is used when binding schedulers
	       to logical processors. The CPU topology used is the
	       <seealso marker="erlang#system_info_cpu_topology_defined">user-defined CPU topology</seealso>,
               if such exists, otherwise the
	       <seealso marker="erlang#system_info_cpu_topology_detected">automatically detected CPU topology</seealso>,
               if such exists. If no CPU topology
	       exists, <c>undefined</c> is returned.</p>
	    <p><c>node</c> refers to Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA)
	       nodes. <c>thread</c> refers to hardware threads
	       (for example, Intel hyper-threads).</p>
            <p>A level in term <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c> can be
               omitted if only one entry exists and
               <c><anno>InfoList</anno></c> is empty.</p>
	    <p><c>thread</c> can only be a sub level to <c>core</c>.
	       <c>core</c> can be a sub level to <c>processor</c>
	       or <c>node</c>. <c>processor</c> can be on the
	       top level or a sub level to <c>node</c>. <c>node</c>
	       can be on the top level or a sub level to
	       <c>processor</c>. That is, NUMA nodes can be processor
	       internal or processor external. A CPU topology can
	       consist of a mix of processor internal and external
	       NUMA nodes, as long as each logical CPU belongs to
	       <em>one</em> NUMA node. Cache hierarchy is not part of
	       the <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c> type, but will be in a
               future release. Other things can also make it into the CPU
	       topology in a future release. In other words, expect the
	       <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c> type to change.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{cpu_topology, defined}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_cpu_topology_defined"></marker>
            <p>Returns the user-defined <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c>.
               For more information, see command-line flag
	       <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sct">+sct</seealso> in
	       <c>erl(1)</c> and argument
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology">cpu_topology</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{cpu_topology, detected}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_cpu_topology_detected"></marker>
            <p>Returns the automatically detected
               <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno>y</c>. The
	       emulator detects the CPU topology on some newer
	       Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, and Windows systems.
               On Windows system with more than 32 logical processors,
               the CPU topology is not detected.</p>
            <p>For more information, see argument
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology">cpu_topology</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{cpu_topology, used}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c><anno>CpuTopology</anno></c> used by the emulator.
              For more information, see argument
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology">cpu_topology</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="6"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="7"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="8"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="9"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="12"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="13"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="14"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="15"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="16"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="17"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="18"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="19"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="20"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="21"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="22"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="23"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="24"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="25"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="26"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="27"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="28"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="29"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="30"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="31"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="32"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="33"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="34"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="35"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="36"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="37"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="38"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="39"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="40"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="41"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="42"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="43"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="44"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="45"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="46"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="47"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="48"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="49"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="50"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="51"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="52"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="53"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="54"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="55"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="56"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="57"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="58"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="59"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="60"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="61"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="62"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="63"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="64"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="65"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="66"/>
      <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="67"/>
      <fsummary>Information about the system.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns various information about the current system
          (emulator) as specified by <c><anno>Item</anno></c>:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>allocated_areas</c>, <c>allocator</c>,
            <c>alloc_util_allocators</c>, <c>allocator_sizes</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>See <seealso marker="#system_info_allocator_tags">above</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>build_type</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns an atom describing the build type of the runtime
	       system. This is normally the atom <c>opt</c> for optimized.
               Other possible return values are <c>debug</c>, <c>purify</c>,
	       <c>quantify</c>, <c>purecov</c>, <c>gcov</c>, <c>valgrind</c>,
	       <c>gprof</c>, and <c>lcnt</c>. Possible return values
	       can be added or removed at any time without prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>c_compiler_used</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a two-tuple describing the C compiler used when
	       compiling the runtime system. The first element is an
	       atom describing the name of the compiler, or <c>undefined</c>
	       if unknown. The second element is a term describing the
	       version of the compiler, or <c>undefined</c> if unknown.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>check_io</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list containing miscellaneous information
              about the emulators internal I/O checking. Notice that
              the content of the returned list can vary between
              platforms and over time. It is only guaranteed
              that a list is returned.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>compat_rel</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the compatibility mode of the local node as
              an integer. The integer returned represents the
              Erlang/OTP release that the current emulator has been
              set to be backward compatible with. The compatibility
              mode can be configured at startup by using command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#compat_rel">+R</seealso> in
              <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>cpu_topology</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>See <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology_tags">above</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>creation</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the creation of the local node as an integer.
              The creation is changed when a node is restarted. The
              creation of a node is stored in process identifiers, port
              identifiers, and references. This makes it (to some
              extent) possible to distinguish between identifiers from
              different incarnations of a node. The valid
              creations are integers in the range 1..3, but this will
              probably change in a future release. If the node is not
              alive, <c>0</c> is returned.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>debug_compiled</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the emulator has been debug
	       compiled, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>delayed_node_table_gc</c></tag>
          <item>
            <marker id="system_info_delayed_node_table_gc"></marker>
            <p>Returns the amount of time in seconds garbage collection
	    of an entry in a node table is delayed. This limit can be set
	    on startup by passing the command line flag
	    <seealso marker="erts:erl#+zdntgc">+zdntgc</seealso>
	    to <c>erl</c>. For more information see the documentation of the
	    command line flag.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dirty_cpu_schedulers</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of dirty CPU scheduler threads used by
              the emulator. Dirty CPU schedulers execute CPU-bound
              native functions, such as NIFs, linked-in driver code,
              and BIFs that cannot be managed cleanly by the normal
              emulator schedulers.</p>
            <p>The number of dirty CPU scheduler threads is determined
              at emulator boot time and cannot be changed after that.
              However, the number of dirty CPU scheduler threads online
              can be changed at any time. The number of dirty CPU
              schedulers can be set at startup by passing
              command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#+SDcpu">+SDcpu</seealso> or
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#+SDPcpu">+SDPcpu</seealso> in
              <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
	    <p>Notice that the dirty schedulers functionality is
              experimental. Enable support for dirty schedulers when
              building OTP to try out the functionality.</p>
            <p>See also
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online, DirtyCPUSchedulersOnline)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_io_schedulers">erlang:system_info(dirty_io_schedulers)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>,
	      <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</seealso>, and
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(schedulers_online, SchedulersOnline)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dirty_cpu_schedulers_online</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of dirty CPU schedulers online.
              The return value satisfies
              <c><![CDATA[1 <= DirtyCPUSchedulersOnline <= N]]></c>,
              where <c>N</c> is the smallest of the return values of
              <c>erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers)</c> and
              <c>erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</c>.</p>
            <p>The number of dirty CPU schedulers online can be set at
              startup by passing command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#+SDcpu">+SDcpu</seealso> in
              <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
	    <p>Notice that the dirty schedulers functionality is
              experimental. Enable support for dirty schedulers when
              building OTP to try out the functionality.</p>
            <p>For more information, see
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_io_schedulers">erlang:system_info(dirty_io_schedulers)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</seealso>, and
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online, DirtyCPUSchedulersOnline)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dirty_io_schedulers</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_dirty_io_schedulers"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of dirty I/O schedulers as an integer.
              Dirty I/O schedulers execute I/O-bound native functions,
              such as NIFs and linked-in driver code, which cannot be
              managed cleanly by the normal emulator schedulers.</p>
            <p>This value can be set at startup by passing command-line
              argument <seealso marker="erts:erl#+SDio">+SDio</seealso>
              in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
	    <p>Notice that the dirty schedulers functionality is
              experimental. Enable support for dirty schedulers when
              building OTP to try out the functionality.</p>
            <p>For more information, see
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online)</seealso>, and
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_dirty_cpu_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(dirty_cpu_schedulers_online, DirtyCPUSchedulersOnline)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dist</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a binary containing a string of distribution
              information formatted as in Erlang crash dumps. For more
              information, see Section
              <seealso marker="erts:crash_dump">"How to interpret the Erlang crash dumps"</seealso>
              in the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dist_buf_busy_limit</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_dist_buf_busy_limit"></marker>
            <p>Returns the value of the distribution buffer busy limit
	    in bytes. This limit can be set at startup by passing
            command-line flag
	    <seealso marker="erts:erl#+zdbbl">+zdbbl</seealso>
            to <c>erl</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dist_ctrl</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list of tuples
              <c>{<anno>Node</anno>, <anno>ControllingEntity</anno>}</c>,
              one entry for each connected remote node.
              <c><anno>Node</anno></c> is the node name
              and <c><anno>ControllingEntity</anno></c> is the port or process
              identifier responsible for the communication to that node.
              More specifically, <c><anno>ControllingEntity</anno></c> for
              nodes connected through TCP/IP (the normal case) is the socket
              used in communication with the specific node.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>driver_version</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a string containing the Erlang driver version
              used by the runtime system. It has the form
              <seealso marker="erts:erl_driver#version_management">"&lt;major ver&gt;.&lt;minor ver&gt;"</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dynamic_trace</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns an atom describing the dynamic trace framework
            compiled into the virtual machine. It can be
            <c>dtrace</c>, <c>systemtap</c>, or <c>none</c>. For a
            commercial or standard build, it is always <c>none</c>.
            The other return values indicate a custom configuration
            (for example, <c>./configure --with-dynamic-trace=dtrace</c>).
            For more information about dynamic tracing, see the
            <seealso marker="runtime_tools:dyntrace">dyntrace</seealso>
            manual page and the
            <c>README.dtrace</c>/<c>README.systemtap</c> files in the
            Erlang source code top directory.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>dynamic_trace_probes</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a <c>boolean()</c> indicating if dynamic trace
            probes (<c>dtrace</c> or <c>systemtap</c>) are built into
            the emulator. This can only be <c>true</c> if the Virtual
            Machine was built for dynamic tracing (that is,
            <c>system_info(dynamic_trace)</c> returns
            <c>dtrace</c> or <c>systemtap</c>).</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><marker id="system_info_end_time"/><c>end_time</c></tag>
	  <item><p>The last <seealso marker="#monotonic_time/0">Erlang monotonic
	  time</seealso> in <c>native</c>
	  <seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso> that
	  can be represented internally in the current Erlang runtime system
	  instance. The time between the
	  <seealso marker="#system_info_start_time">start time</seealso> and
	  the end time is at least a quarter of a millennium.</p></item>
          <tag><c>elib_malloc</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>This option will be removed in a future release.
	      The return value will always be <c>false</c>, as the
	      <c>elib_malloc</c> allocator has been removed.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><marker id="system_info_eager_check_io"><c>eager_check_io</c></marker></tag>
          <item>
            <p>
	      Returns the value of the <c>erl</c> command line flag
	      <seealso marker="erl#+secio">+secio</seealso>
	      which is either <c>true</c> or <c>false</c>. See the
	      documentation of the command line flag for information about
	      the different values.
	    </p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>ets_limit</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the maximum number of ETS tables allowed. This
              limit can be increased at startup by passing
              command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#+e">+e</seealso> to
              <c>erl(1)</c> or by setting environment variable
              <c>ERL_MAX_ETS_TABLES</c> before starting the Erlang
              runtime system.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>fullsweep_after</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>{fullsweep_after, integer() >= 0}</c>, which is
              the <c>fullsweep_after</c> garbage collection setting used
              by default. For more information, see
              <c>garbage_collection</c> described in the following.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>garbage_collection</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list describing the default garbage collection
              settings. A process spawned on the local node by a
              <c>spawn</c> or <c>spawn_link</c> uses these
              garbage collection settings. The default settings can be
              changed by using
              <seealso marker="#system_flag/2">system_flag/2</seealso>.
              <seealso marker="#spawn_opt/4">spawn_opt/4</seealso>
              can spawn a process that does not use the default
              settings.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>heap_sizes</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list of integers representing valid heap sizes 
              in words. All Erlang heaps are sized from sizes in this
              list.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>heap_type</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the heap type used by the current emulator. One
              heap type exists:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>private</c></tag>
              <item>
                <p>Each process has a heap reserved for its use and no
                  references between heaps of different processes are
                  allowed. Messages passed between processes are copied
                  between heaps.</p>
              </item>
            </taglist>
          </item>
          <tag><c>info</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a binary containing a string of miscellaneous
              system information formatted as in Erlang crash dumps.
              For more information, see Section
              <seealso marker="erts:crash_dump">"How to interpret the Erlang crash dumps"</seealso>
              in the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>kernel_poll</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the emulator uses some kind of
              kernel-poll implementation, otherwise <c>false</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>loaded</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a binary containing a string of loaded module
              information formatted as in Erlang crash dumps. For more
              information, see Section
              <seealso marker="erts:crash_dump">"How to interpret the Erlang crash dumps"</seealso>
              in the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>logical_processors</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="logical_processors"></marker>
            <p>Returns the detected number of logical processors configured
	       in the system. The return value is either an integer, or
	       the atom <c>unknown</c> if the emulator cannot
	       detect the configured logical processors.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>logical_processors_available</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="logical_processors_available"></marker>
            <p>Returns the detected number of logical processors available
	       to the Erlang runtime system. The return value is either an
	       integer, or the atom <c>unknown</c> if the emulator
	       cannot detect the available logical processors. The number
	       of available logical processors is less than or equal to
	       the number of
               <seealso marker="#logical_processors_online">logical processors online</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>logical_processors_online</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="logical_processors_online"></marker>
            <p>Returns the detected number of logical processors online on
	       the system. The return value is either an integer,
	       or the atom <c>unknown</c> if the emulator cannot
	       detect logical processors online. The number of logical
	       processors online is less than or equal to the number of
	       <seealso marker="#logical_processors">logical processors configured</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>machine</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a string containing the Erlang machine name.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>min_heap_size</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>Returns <c>{min_heap_size, <anno>MinHeapSize</anno>}</c>,
              where <c><anno>MinHeapSize</anno></c> is the current
              system-wide minimum heap size for spawned processes.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>min_bin_vheap_size</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>Returns <c>{min_bin_vheap_size,
              <anno>MinBinVHeapSize</anno>}</c>, where
              <c><anno>MinBinVHeapSize</anno></c> is the current system-wide
	      minimum binary virtual heap size for spawned processes.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>modified_timing_level</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the modified timing-level (an integer) if
              modified timing is enabled, otherwise, <c>undefined</c>.
              For more information about modified timing, see
              command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erts:erl#+T">+T</seealso>
              in <c>erl(1)</c></p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>multi_scheduling</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_multi_scheduling"></marker>
            <p>Returns <c>disabled</c>, <c>blocked</c>, or <c>enabled</c>:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>disabled</c></tag>
              <item>
                <p>The emulator has only one scheduler thread. The
                  emulator does not have SMP support, or have been
                  started with only one scheduler thread.</p>
              </item>
              <tag><c>blocked</c></tag>
              <item>
                <p>The emulator has more than one scheduler thread,
                  but all scheduler threads except one are blocked,
                  that is, only one scheduler thread schedules
                  Erlang processes and executes Erlang code.</p>
              </item>
              <tag><c>enabled</c></tag>
              <item>
                <p>The emulator has more than one scheduler thread,
                  and no scheduler threads are blocked, that is,
                  all available scheduler threads schedule
                  Erlang processes and execute Erlang code.</p>
              </item>
            </taglist>
            <p>See also
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_flag(multi_scheduling, BlockState)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling_blockers">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling_blockers)</seealso>,
              and
              <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>multi_scheduling_blockers</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_multi_scheduling_blockers"></marker>
            <p>Returns a list of <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>s when
              multi-scheduling is blocked, otherwise the empty list is
              returned. The <c><anno>Pid</anno></c>s in the list
	      represent all the processes currently
              blocking multi-scheduling. A <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> occurs
              only once in the list, even if the corresponding
              process has blocked multiple times.</p>
            <p>See also
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_flag(multi_scheduling, BlockState)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling)</seealso>,
              and
              <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>nif_version</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a string containing the version of the Erlang NIF interface
              used by the runtime system. It is on the form
	      "&lt;major ver&gt;.&lt;minor ver&gt;".</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>otp_release</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_otp_release"></marker>
            <p>Returns a string containing the OTP release number of the
	    OTP release that the currently executing <c>ERTS</c> application is
            part of.</p>
            <p>As from OTP 17, the OTP release number corresponds to
            the major OTP version number. No
	    <c>erlang:system_info()</c> argument gives the exact OTP
	    version. This is because the exact OTP version in the general case
	    is difficult to determine. For more information, see the description
	    of versions in <seealso marker="doc/system_principles:versions">
	    System principles</seealso> in System Documentation.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><marker id="system_info_os_monotonic_time_source"><c>os_monotonic_time_source</c></marker></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list containing information about the source of
	    <seealso marker="erts:time_correction#OS_Monotonic_Time">OS
	    monotonic time</seealso> that is used by the runtime system.</p>
	    <p>If <c>[]</c> is returned, no OS monotonic time is
	    available. The list contains two-tuples with <c>Key</c>s
	    as first element, and <c>Value</c>s as second element. The
	    order of these tuples is undefined. The following
	    tuples can be part of the list, but more tuples can be
	    introduced in the future:</p>
	    <taglist>
	      <tag><c>{function, Function}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>Function</c> is the name of the funcion
	      used. This tuple always exist if OS monotonic time is
	      available to the runtime system.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{clock_id, ClockId}</c></tag>
	      <item><p>This tuple only exist if <c>Function</c>
	      can be used with different clocks. <c>ClockId</c>
	      corresponds to the clock identifer used when calling
	      <c>Function</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{resolution, OsMonotonicTimeResolution}</c></tag>
	      <item><p>Highest possible
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Resolution">resolution</seealso>
	      of current OS monotonic time source as parts per
	      second. If no resolution information can be retreived
	      from the OS, <c>OsMonotonicTimeResolution</c> is
	      set to the resolution of the time unit of
	      <c>Function</c>s return value. That is, the actual
	      resolution can be lower than
	      <c>OsMonotonicTimeResolution</c>. Also note that
	      the resolution does not say anything about the
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Accuracy">accuracy</seealso>,
	      and whether the
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Precision">precision</seealso>
	      do align with the resolution. You do,
	      however, know that the precision is not better than
	      <c>OsMonotonicTimeResolution</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{extended, Extended}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>Extended</c> equals <c>yes</c> if
	      the range of time values has been extended;
	      otherwise, <c>Extended</c> equals <c>no</c>. The
	      range needs to be extended if <c>Function</c>
	      returns values that wrap fast. This typically
	      is the case when the return value is a 32-bit
	      value.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{parallel, Parallel}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>Parallel</c> equals <c>yes</c> if
	      <c>Function</c> is called in parallel from multiple
	      threads. If it is not called in parallel, because
	      calls needs to be serialized, <c>Parallel</c> equals
	      <c>no</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{time, OsMonotonicTime}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>OsMonotonicTime</c> equals current OS
	      monotonic time in <c>native</c>
	      <seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso>.</p></item>
	    </taglist>
          </item>
          <tag><marker id="system_info_os_system_time_source"><c>os_system_time_source</c></marker></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list containing information about the source of
	    <seealso marker="erts:time_correction#OS_System_Time">OS
	    system time</seealso> that is used by the runtime system.</p>
	    <p>The list contains two-tuples with <c>Key</c>s
	    as first element, and <c>Value</c>s as second element. The
	    order if these tuples is undefined. The following
	    tuples can be part of the list, but more tuples can be
	    introduced in the future:</p>
	    <taglist>
	      <tag><c>{function, Function}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>Function</c> is the name of the funcion
	      used.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{clock_id, ClockId}</c></tag>
	      <item><p>This tuple only exist if <c>Function</c>
	      can be used with different clocks. <c>ClockId</c>
	      corresponds to the clock identifer used when calling
	      <c>Function</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{resolution, OsSystemTimeResolution}</c></tag>
	      <item><p>Highest possible
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Resolution">resolution</seealso>
	      of current OS system time source as parts per
	      second. If no resolution information can be retreived
	      from the OS, <c>OsSystemTimeResolution</c> is
	      set to the resolution of the time unit of
	      <c>Function</c>s return value. That is, the actual
	      resolution may be lower than
	      <c>OsSystemTimeResolution</c>. Also note that
	      the resolution does not say anything about the
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Accuracy">accuracy</seealso>,
	      and whether the
	      <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Precision">precision</seealso>
	      do align with the resolution. You do,
	      however, know that the precision is not better than
	      <c>OsSystemTimeResolution</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{parallel, Parallel}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>Parallel</c> equals <c>yes</c> if
	      <c>Function</c> is called in parallel from multiple
	      threads. If it is not called in parallel, because
	      calls needs to be serialized, <c>Parallel</c> equals
	      <c>no</c>.</p></item>

	      <tag><c>{time, OsSystemTime}</c></tag>
	      <item><p><c>OsSystemTime</c> equals current OS
	      system time in <c>native</c>
	      <seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso>.</p></item>
	    </taglist>
          </item>
	  <tag><c>port_parallelism</c></tag>
	  <item>
	  <marker id="system_info_port_parallelism"></marker>
	  <p>Returns the default port parallelism scheduling hint used.
	  For more information, see command-line argument
	  <seealso marker="erl#+spp">+spp</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p></item>
          <tag><marker id="system_info_port_count"/><c>port_count</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the number of ports currently existing at the
              local node. The value is given as an integer. This is
              the same value as returned by
              <c>length(erlang:ports())</c>, but more efficient.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>port_limit</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_port_limit"></marker>
            <p>Returns the maximum number of simultaneously existing
              ports at the local node as an integer. This limit can be
              configured at startup by using command-line flag
              <seealso marker="erl#+Q">+Q</seealso> in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><marker id="system_info_process_count"/><c>process_count</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the number of processes currently existing at the
              local node. The value is given as an integer. This is
              the same value as returned by
              <c>length(processes())</c>, but more efficient.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>process_limit</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_process_limit"></marker>
            <p>Returns the maximum number of simultaneously existing
              processes at the local node. The value is given as an
              integer. This limit can be configured at startup by using
              command-line flag <seealso marker="erl#+P">+P</seealso>
	      in <c>erl(1)</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>procs</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a binary containing a string of process and port
              information formatted as in Erlang crash dumps. For more
              information, see Section
              <seealso marker="erts:crash_dump">"How to interpret the Erlang crash dumps"</seealso>
              in the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>scheduler_bind_type</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_scheduler_bind_type"></marker>
	    <p>Returns information about how the user has requested
	       schedulers to be bound or not bound.</p>
	    <p>Notice that even though a user has requested
	       schedulers to be bound, they can silently have failed
	       to bind. To inspect the scheduler bindings, call
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_bindings">erlang:system_info(scheduler_bindings)</seealso>.</p>
	    <p>For more information, see command-line argument
	       <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso>
	       in <c>erl(1)</c> and
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_bindings">erlang:system_info(scheduler_bindings)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>scheduler_bindings</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_scheduler_bindings"></marker>
	    <p>Returns information about the currently used scheduler
	       bindings.</p>
	    <p>A tuple of a size equal to
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>
               is returned. The tuple elements are integers
	       or the atom <c>unbound</c>. Logical processor identifiers
	       are represented as integers. The <c>N</c>th
	       element of the tuple equals the current binding for
	       the scheduler with the scheduler identifier equal to
	       <c>N</c>. For example, if the schedulers are bound,
	       <c>element(erlang:system_info(scheduler_id),
	       erlang:system_info(scheduler_bindings))</c> returns
	       the identifier of the logical processor that the calling
	       process is executing on.</p>
	    <p>Notice that only schedulers online can be bound to logical
	       processors.</p>
	    <p>For more information, see command-line argument
	       <seealso marker="erts:erl#+sbt">+sbt</seealso>
	       in <c>erl(1)</c> and
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</seealso>.
	    </p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>scheduler_id</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_scheduler_id"></marker>
            <p>Returns the scheduler ID (<c>SchedulerId</c>) of the
              scheduler thread that the calling process is executing
              on. <c><anno>SchedulerId</anno></c> is a positive integer,
              where
              <c><![CDATA[1 <= SchedulerId <= erlang:system_info(schedulers)]]></c>.
              See also
              <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>schedulers</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_schedulers"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of scheduler threads used by
              the emulator. Scheduler threads online schedules Erlang
              processes and Erlang ports, and execute Erlang code
              and Erlang linked-in driver code.</p>
            <p>The number of scheduler threads is determined at
              emulator boot time and cannot be changed later.
              However, the number of schedulers online can
	      be changed at any time.</p>
            <p>See also
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(schedulers_online, SchedulersOnline)</seealso>,
	      <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers_online">erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)</seealso>,
	      <seealso marker="#system_info_scheduler_id">erlang:system_info(scheduler_id)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_flag_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_flag(multi_scheduling, BlockState)</seealso>,
              <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling)</seealso>,
              and
              <seealso marker="#system_info_multi_scheduling_blockers">erlang:system_info(multi_scheduling_blockers)</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>schedulers_online</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_schedulers_online"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of schedulers online. The scheduler
	    identifiers of schedulers online satisfy the relationship
	    <c><![CDATA[1 <= SchedulerId <= erlang:system_info(schedulers_online)]]></c>.</p>
	    <p>For more information, see
	    <seealso marker="#system_info_schedulers">erlang:system_info(schedulers)</seealso>
	    and
	    <seealso marker="#system_flag_schedulers_online">erlang:system_flag(schedulers_online, SchedulersOnline)</seealso>.</p>
            <name name="system_info" arity="1" clause_i="49"/>
          </item>
          <tag><c>smp_support</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the emulator has been compiled
              with SMP support, otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.</p>
          </item>
	  <tag><marker id="system_info_start_time"/><c>start_time</c></tag>
	  <item><p>The <seealso marker="#monotonic_time/0">Erlang monotonic
	  time</seealso> in <c>native</c>
	  <seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso> at the
	  time when current Erlang runtime system instance started. See also
	  <seealso marker="#system_info_end_time"><c>erlang:system_info(end_time)</c></seealso>.
	  </p></item>
          <tag><c>system_version</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a string containing version number and
	    some important properties, such as the number of schedulers.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>system_architecture</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a string containing the processor and OS
              architecture the emulator is built for.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>threads</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>true</c> if the emulator has been compiled
              with thread support, otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>thread_pool_size</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_thread_pool_size"></marker>
            <p>Returns the number of async threads in the async thread
              pool used for asynchronous driver calls
              (<seealso marker="erts:erl_driver#driver_async">driver_async()</seealso>).
              The value is given as an integer.</p>
          </item>

	  <tag><c>time_correction</c></tag>
	  <item>
	    <marker id="system_info_time_correction"></marker>
	    <p>Returns a boolean value indicating whether
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Correction">time correction</seealso>
	  is enabled or not.
	  </p></item>
	  <tag><c>time_offset</c></tag>
	  <item>
	    <marker id="system_info_time_offset"></marker>
	    <p>Returns the state of the time offset:</p>
	  <taglist>
	    <tag><c>preliminary</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The time offset is preliminary, and will be changed
	    at a later time when being finalized. The preliminary time offset
	    is used during the preliminary phase of the
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Single_Time_Warp_Mode">single
	    time warp mode</seealso>.</p></item>

	    <tag><c>final</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The time offset is final. This either because
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#No_Time_Warp_Mode">no
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used, or because the time
	    offset have been finalized when
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Single_Time_Warp_Mode">single
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>

	    <tag><c>volatile</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The time offset is volatile. That is, it can
	    change at any time. This is because
	    <seealso marker="time_correction#Multi_Time_Warp_Mode">multi
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>
	  </taglist>
	  </item>
	  <tag><marker id="system_info_time_warp_mode"/><c>time_warp_mode</c></tag>
	  <item><p>Returns a value identifying the
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Warp_Modes">time warp
	  mode</seealso> being used:</p>
	  <taglist>
	    <tag><c>no_time_warp</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The <seealso marker="time_correction#No_Time_Warp_Mode">no
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>

	    <tag><c>single_time_warp</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The <seealso marker="time_correction#Single_Time_Warp_Mode">single
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>

	    <tag><c>multi_time_warp</c></tag>
	    <item><p>The <seealso marker="time_correction#Multi_Time_Warp_Mode">multi
	    time warp mode</seealso> is used.</p></item>
	  </taglist>
	  </item>
          <tag><c>tolerant_timeofday</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_tolerant_timeofday"></marker>
            <p>Returns whether a pre erts-7.0 backwards compatible compensation
	    for sudden changes of system time is <c>enabled</c> or <c>disabled</c>.
	    Such compensation is <c>enabled</c> when the
	    <seealso marker="#system_info_time_offset">time offset</seealso> is
	    <c>final</c>, and
	    <seealso marker="#system_info_time_correction">time correction</seealso>
	    is enabled.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>trace_control_word</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the value of the node trace control word. For
              more information, see function <c>get_tcw</c> in Section
              <seealso marker="erts:match_spec#get_tcw">Match Specifications in Erlang</seealso> in the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>update_cpu_info</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="update_cpu_info"></marker>
            <p>The runtime system rereads the CPU information available
	       and updates its internally stored information about the
	       <seealso marker="#system_info_cpu_topology_detected">detected
               CPU topology</seealso> and the number of logical processors
	       <seealso marker="#logical_processors">configured</seealso>,
	       <seealso marker="#logical_processors_online">online</seealso>, and
	       <seealso marker="#logical_processors_available">available</seealso>.</p>
               <p>If the CPU information has changed since the last time
               it was read, the atom <c>changed</c> is returned, otherwise
               the atom <c>unchanged</c>. If the CPU information has changed,
	       you probably want to
	       <seealso marker="#system_flag_schedulers_online">adjust the
               number of schedulers online</seealso>. You typically want
               to have as many schedulers online as
	       <seealso marker="#logical_processors_available">logical
               processors available</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>version</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="system_info_version"></marker>
            <p>Returns a string containing the version number of the
              emulator.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>wordsize</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Same as <c>{wordsize, internal}</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{wordsize, internal}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the size of Erlang term words in bytes as an
              integer, that is, 4 is returned on a 32-bit architecture,
              and 8 is returned on a pure 64-bit architecture. On a
              halfword 64-bit emulator, 4 is returned, as the Erlang
              terms are stored using a virtual word size of half the
              system word size.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{wordsize, external}</c></tag>
          <item>
	    <p>Returns the true word size of the emulator, that is,
               the size of a pointer. The value is given in bytes
               as an integer. On a pure 32-bit architecture, 4 is
               returned. On both a half word and on a pure
	       64-bit architecture, 8 is returned.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <note>
          <p>Argument <c>scheduler</c> has changed name to
            <c>scheduler_id</c> to avoid mix up with argument
            <c>schedulers</c>. Argument <c>scheduler</c> was
            introduced in <c>ERTS</c> 5.5 and renamed in
            <c>ERTS</c> 5.5.1.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_monitor" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current system performance monitoring settings.</fsummary>
      <type name="system_monitor_option"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current system monitoring settings set by
          <seealso marker="#system_monitor/2">erlang:system_monitor/2</seealso>
          as <c>{<anno>MonitorPid</anno>, <anno>Options</anno>}</c>,
          or <c>undefined</c> if there
          are no settings. The order of the options can be different
          from the one that was set.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_monitor" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Sets or clears system performance monitoring options.</fsummary>
      <type name="system_monitor_option"/>
      <desc>
        <p>When called with argument <c>undefined</c>, all
          system performance monitoring settings are cleared.</p>
        <p>Calling the function with <c>{<anno>MonitorPid</anno>,
          <anno>Options</anno>}</c> as argument is the same as calling
          <seealso marker="#system_monitor/2">erlang:system_monitor(<anno>MonitorPid</anno>, <anno>Options</anno>)</seealso>.</p>
        <p>Returns the previous system monitor settings just like
          <seealso marker="#system_monitor/0">erlang:system_monitor/0</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_monitor" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Sets system performance monitoring options.</fsummary>
      <type name="system_monitor_option"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets the system performance monitoring options.
          <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c> is a local process identifier (pid)
          receiving system monitor messages. The
          second argument is a list of monitoring options:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{long_gc, Time}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If a garbage collection in the system takes at least
              <c>Time</c> wall clock milliseconds, a message
              <c>{monitor, GcPid, long_gc, Info}</c> is sent to
              <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c>. <c>GcPid</c> is the pid that
              was garbage collected. <c>Info</c> is a list of two-element
              tuples describing the result of the garbage collection.</p>
            <p>One of the tuples is <c>{timeout, GcTime}</c>, where
              <c>GcTime</c> is the time for the garbage
              collection in milliseconds. The other tuples are
              tagged with <c>heap_size</c>, <c>heap_block_size</c>
              <c>stack_size</c>, <c>mbuf_size</c>, <c>old_heap_size</c>,
              and <c>old_heap_block_size</c>. These tuples are
              explained in the description of trace message
              <seealso marker="#gc_start">gc_start</seealso> (see
              <seealso marker="#trace/3">erlang:trace/3</seealso>).
              New tuples can be added, and the order of the tuples in
              the <c>Info</c> list can be changed at any time without
              prior notice.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{long_schedule, Time}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If a process or port in the system runs uninterrupted
              for at least <c>Time</c> wall clock milliseconds, a
              message <c>{monitor, PidOrPort, long_schedule, Info}</c>
              is sent to <c>MonitorPid</c>. <c>PidOrPort</c> is the
              process or port that was running. <c>Info</c> is a
              list of two-element tuples describing the event.</p>
            <p>If a <c>pid()</c>, the tuples <c>{timeout, Millis}</c>,
              <c>{in, Location}</c>, and <c>{out, Location}</c> are
              present, where <c>Location</c> is either an MFA
              (<c>{Module, Function, Arity}</c>) describing the
              function where the process was scheduled in/out, or the
              atom <c>undefined</c>.</p>
            <p>If a <c>port()</c>, the
              tuples <c>{timeout, Millis}</c> and <c>{port_op,Op}</c>
              are present. <c>Op</c> is one of <c>proc_sig</c>,
              <c>timeout</c>, <c>input</c>, <c>output</c>,
              <c>event</c>, or <c>dist_cmd</c>, depending on which
              driver callback was executing.</p>
            <p><c>proc_sig</c> is an
              internal operation and is never to appear, while the
              others represent the corresponding driver callbacks
              <c>timeout</c>, <c>ready_input</c>, <c>ready_output</c>,
              <c>event</c>, and <c>outputv</c> (when the port
              is used by distribution). Value <c>Millis</c> in
              the <c>timeout</c> tuple informs about the
              uninterrupted execution time of the process or port, which
              always is equal to or higher than the <c>Time</c> value
              supplied when starting the trace. New tuples can be
              added to the <c>Info</c> list in a future release. The
              order of the tuples in the list can be changed at any
              time without prior notice.</p>
            <p>This can be used to detect problems with NIFs or
              drivers that take too long to execute. 1 ms is
              considered a good maximum time for a driver callback
              or a NIF. However, a time-sharing system is usually to
              consider everything below 100 ms as "possible" and
              fairly "normal". However, longer schedule times can
              indicate swapping or a misbehaving NIF/driver.
              Misbehaving NIFs and drivers can cause bad resource
              utilization and bad overall system performance.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{large_heap, Size}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If a garbage collection in the system results in
              the allocated size of a heap being at least <c>Size</c>
              words, a message <c>{monitor, GcPid, large_heap, Info}</c>
              is sent to <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c>.
              <c>GcPid</c> and <c>Info</c>
              are the same as for <c>long_gc</c> earlier, except that
              the tuple tagged with <c>timeout</c> is not present.</p>
            <p>As of <c>ERTS</c> 5.6, the monitor message is sent
              if the sum of the sizes of all memory blocks allocated
              for all heap generations is equal to or higher than <c>Size</c>.
              Previously the monitor message was sent if the memory block
              allocated for the youngest generation was equal to or higher
              than <c>Size</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>busy_port</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If a process in the system gets suspended because it
              sends to a busy port, a message
              <c>{monitor, SusPid, busy_port, Port}</c> is sent to
              <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c>. <c>SusPid</c> is the pid
              that got suspended when sending to <c>Port</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>busy_dist_port</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>If a process in the system gets suspended because it
              sends to a process on a remote node whose inter-node
              communication was handled by a busy port, a message
              <c>{monitor, SusPid, busy_dist_port, Port}</c> is sent to
              <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c>. <c>SusPid</c> is the pid
              that got suspended when sending through the inter-node
              communication port <c>Port</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Returns the previous system monitor settings just like
          <seealso marker="#system_monitor/0">erlang:system_monitor/0</seealso>.</p>
        <note>
          <p>If a monitoring process gets so large that it itself
            starts to cause system monitor messages when garbage
            collecting, the messages enlarge the process
            message queue and probably make the problem worse.</p>
          <p>Keep the monitoring process neat and do not set the system
            monitor limits too tight.</p>
        </note>
        <p>Failures:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c> does not exist.</item>
          <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
          <item>If <c><anno>MonitorPid</anno></c> is not a local process.</item>
        </taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_profile" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current system profiling settings.</fsummary>
      <type name="system_profile_option"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current system profiling settings set by
          <seealso marker="#system_profile/2">erlang:system_profile/2</seealso>
          as <c>{<anno>ProfilerPid</anno>, <anno>Options</anno>}</c>,
          or <c>undefined</c> if there
          are no settings. The order of the options can be different
          from the one that was set.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="system_profile" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Current system profiling settings.</fsummary>
      <type name="system_profile_option"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Sets system profiler options. <c><anno>ProfilerPid</anno></c>
          is a local process identifier (pid) or port receiving profiling
          messages. The receiver is excluded from all profiling.
          The second argument is a list of profiling options:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>exclusive</c></tag>
          <item>
          <p>If a synchronous call to a port from a process is done, the
	     calling process is considered not runnable during the call
             runtime to the port. The calling process is notified as
             <c>inactive</c>, and later <c>active</c> when the port
	     callback returns.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>runnable_procs</c></tag>
          <item>
          <p>If a process is put into or removed from the run queue, a
             message, <c>{profile, Pid, State, Mfa, Ts}</c>, is sent to
	     <c><anno>ProfilerPid</anno></c>. Running processes that
             are reinserted
             into the run queue after having been pre-emptively
             scheduled out do not trigger this message.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>runnable_ports</c></tag>
          <item>
          <p>If a port is put into or removed from the run queue, a 
             message, <c>{profile, Port, State, 0, Ts}</c>, is sent to
	     <c><anno>ProfilerPid</anno></c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>scheduler</c></tag>
          <item>
          <p>If a scheduler is put to sleep or awoken, a message,
             <c>{profile, scheduler, Id, State, NoScheds, Ts}</c>, is
             sent to <c><anno>ProfilerPid</anno></c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <note><p><c>erlang:system_profile</c> is considered experimental
          and its behavior can change in a future release.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="system_time" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current Erlang system time</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns current
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang system time</seealso>
	in <c>native</c>
	<seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso>.</p>

	<p>Calling <c>erlang:system_time()</c> is equivalent to: 
	<seealso marker="#monotonic_time/0"><c>erlang:monotonic_time()</c></seealso><c>
	+
        </c><seealso marker="#time_offset/0"><c>erlang:time_offset()</c></seealso>.</p>

	<note><p>This time is <em>not</em> a monotonically increasing time
	in the general case. For more information, see the documentation of
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Warp_Modes">time warp modes</seealso> in the
	ERTS User's Guide.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="system_time" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Current Erlang system time</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns current
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang system time</seealso>
	converted into the <c><anno>Unit</anno></c> passed as argument.</p>

	<p>Calling <c>erlang:system_time(<anno>Unit</anno>)</c> is equivalent to: 
	<seealso marker="#convert_time_unit/3"><c>erlang:convert_time_unit</c></seealso><c>(</c><seealso marker="#system_time/0"><c>erlang:system_time()</c></seealso><c>,
	native, <anno>Unit</anno>)</c>.</p>

	<note><p>This time is <em>not</em> a monotonically increasing time
	in the general case. For more information, see the documentation of
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Warp_Modes">time warp modes</seealso> in the
	ERTS User's Guide.</p></note>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="term_to_binary" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Encodes a term to an Erlang external term format binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary data object that is the result of encoding
          <c><anno>Term</anno></c> according to the Erlang external
          term format.</p>
        <p>This can be used for various purposes, for example,
          writing a term to a file in an efficient way, or sending an
          Erlang term to some type of communications channel not
          supported by distributed Erlang.</p>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#binary_to_term/1">binary_to_term/1</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="term_to_binary" arity="2"/>
      <fsummary>Encodes a term to en Erlang external term format binary.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a binary data object that is the result of encoding
          <c><anno>Term</anno></c> according to the Erlang external
          term format.</p>
        <p>If option <c>compressed</c> is provided, the external term
          format is compressed. The compressed format is automatically
          recognized by <c>binary_to_term/1</c> as from Erlang R7B.</p>
        <p>A compression level can be specified by giving option
          <c>{compressed, <anno>Level</anno>}</c>.
          <c><anno>Level</anno></c> is an integer
          with range 0..9, where:</p>
        <list type="bulleted">
          <item><c>0</c> - No compression is done (it is the same as
            giving no <c>compressed</c> option).</item>
          <item><c>1</c> - Takes least time but may not compress
            as well as the higher levels.</item>
          <item><c>6</c> - Default level when option <c>compressed</c>
	    is provided.</item>
          <item><c>9</c> - Takes most time and tries to produce a smaller
            result. Notice "tries" in the preceding sentence; depending
            on the input term, level 9 compression either does or does
            not produce a smaller result than level 1 compression.</item>
        </list>
        <p>Option <c>{minor_version, <anno>Version</anno>}</c>
          can be used to control
          some encoding details. This option was introduced in OTP R11B-4.
          The valid values for <c><anno>Version</anno></c> are
          <c>0</c> and <c>1</c>.</p>
        <p>As from OTP 17.0, <c>{minor_version, 1}</c> is the default. It
          forces any floats in the term to be encoded in a more
          space-efficient and exact way (namely in the 64-bit IEEE format,
          rather than converted to a textual representation).</p>
        <p>As from OTP R11B-4, <c>binary_to_term/1</c> can decode this
          representation.</p>
        <p><c>{minor_version, 0}</c> means that floats are encoded
          using a textual representation. This option is useful to
          ensure that releases before OTP R11B-4 can decode resulting
          binary.</p>
        <p>See also
          <seealso marker="#binary_to_term/1">binary_to_term/1</seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="throw" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Throws an exception.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>A non-local return from a function. If evaluated within a
          <c>catch</c>, <c>catch</c> returns value <c><anno>Any</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>catch throw({hello, there}).</input>
{hello,there}</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>nocatch</c> if not evaluated within a catch.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="time" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current time as <c>{Hour, Minute, Second}</c>.</p>
        <p>The time zone and Daylight Saving Time correction depend on
          the underlying OS.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>time().</input>
{9,42,44}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="time_offset" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current time offset</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns the current time offset between
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang monotonic time</seealso>
	and
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang system time</seealso> in
	<c>native</c> <seealso marker="#type_time_unit">time unit</seealso>.
	Current time offset added to an Erlang monotonic time gives
	corresponding Erlang system time.</p>

	<p>The time offset may or may not change during operation depending
	on the <seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Warp_Modes">time
	warp mode</seealso> used.</p>

	<note>
	  <p>A change in time offset may be observed at slightly
	  different points in time by different processes.</p>

	  <p>If the runtime system is in
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#Multi_Time_Warp_Mode">multi
	  time warp mode</seealso>, the time offset will be changed when
	  the runtime system detects that the
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#OS_System_Time">OS system
	  time</seealso> has changed. The runtime system will, however,
	  not detect this immediately when it happens. A task checking
	  the time offset is scheduled to execute at least once a minute,
	  so under normal operation this should be detected within a
	  minute, but during heavy load it might take longer time.</p>
	</note>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="time_offset" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Current time offset</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns the current time offset between
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_Monotonic_Time">Erlang monotonic time</seealso>
	and
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang system time</seealso>
	converted into the <c><anno>Unit</anno></c> passed as argument.</p>

	<p>Same as calling	
	<seealso marker="#convert_time_unit/3"><c>erlang:convert_time_unit</c></seealso><c>(</c><seealso marker="#time_offset/0"><c>erlang:time_offset()</c></seealso><c>, native, <anno>Unit</anno>)</c>
	however optimized for commonly used <c><anno>Unit</anno></c>s.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="timestamp" arity="0"/>
      <type name="timestamp"/>
      <fsummary>Current Erlang System time</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Returns current
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Erlang_System_Time">Erlang system time</seealso>
	on the format <c>{MegaSecs, Secs, MicroSecs}</c>. This format is 
	the same as <seealso marker="kernel:os#timestamp/0"><c>os:timestamp/0</c></seealso>
	and the deprecated <seealso marker="#now/0"><c>erlang:now/0</c></seealso>
	uses. The reason for the existence of <c>erlang:timestamp()</c> is
	purely to simplify usage for existing code that assumes this timestamp
	format. Current Erlang system time can more efficiently be retrieved in
	the time unit of your choice using
	<seealso marker="#system_time/1"><c>erlang:system_time/1</c></seealso>.</p>

	<p>The <c>erlang:timestamp()</c> BIF is equivalent to:</p><code type="none">
timestamp() ->
    ErlangSystemTime = erlang:system_time(micro_seconds),
    MegaSecs = ErlangSystemTime div 1000000000000,
    Secs = ErlangSystemTime div 1000000 - MegaSecs*1000000,
    MicroSecs = ErlangSystemTime rem 1000000,
    {MegaSecs, Secs, MicroSecs}.</code>
        <p>The BIF uses a native implementation which does
	not build garbage on the heap and with slightly better
	performance.</p>

	<note><p>This time is <em>not</em> a monotonically increasing time
	in the general case. For more information, see the documentation of
	<seealso marker="time_correction#Time_Warp_Modes">time warp modes</seealso> in the
	ERTS User's Guide.</p></note>
      </desc>

    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="tl" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Tail of a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the tail of <c><anno>List</anno></c>, that is,
          the list minus the first element, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>tl([geesties, guilies, beasties]).</input>
[guilies, beasties]</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>List</anno></c>
          is the empty list <c>[]</c>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trace" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sets trace flags for a process or processes.</fsummary>
      <type name="trace_flag"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Turns on (if <c><anno>How</anno> == true</c>) or off (if
          <c><anno>How</anno> == false</c>) the trace flags in
          <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> for
          the process or processes represented by
          <c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c>.</p>
        <p><c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c> is either a process identifier
          (pid) for a local process, or one of the following atoms:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>existing</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All currently existing processes.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>new</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All processes that are created in the future.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>all</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All currently existing processes and all processes that
              are created in the future.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p><c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> can contain any number of the
          following flags (the "message tags" refers to the list of
	  <seealso marker="#trace_3_trace_messages">trace messages</seealso>):</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>all</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Sets all trace flags except <c>{tracer, Tracer}</c> and
              <c>cpu_timestamp</c>, which are in their nature different
              than the others.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>send</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces sending of messages.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>send</c> and
              <c>send_to_non_existing_process</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>'receive'</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces receiving of messages.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>'receive'</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>procs</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces process-related events.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>spawn</c>, <c>exit</c>,
              <c>register</c>, <c>unregister</c>, <c>link</c>,
              <c>unlink</c>, <c>getting_linked</c>, and
              <c>getting_unlinked</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>call</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces certain function calls. Specify which function
              calls to trace by calling
              <seealso marker="#trace_pattern/3">erlang:trace_pattern/3</seealso>.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>call</c> and <c>return_from</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>silent</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Used with the <c>call</c> trace flag.
              The <c>call</c>, <c>return_from</c>, and <c>return_to</c>
              trace messages are inhibited if this flag is set, but they
              are executed as normal if there are match specifications.</p>
            <p>Silent mode is inhibited by executing
              <c>erlang:trace(_, false, [silent|_])</c>,
              or by a match specification executing the function
              <c>{silent, false}</c>.</p>
            <p>The <c>silent</c> trace flag facilitates setting up
              a trace on many or even all processes in the system.
              The trace can then be activated and deactivated using the match
              specification function <c>{silent,Bool}</c>, giving
              a high degree of control of which functions with which 
              arguments that trigger the trace.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>call</c>, <c>return_from</c>, and 
              <c>return_to</c>. Or rather, the absence of.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>return_to</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Used with the <c>call</c> trace flag.
              Traces the return from a traced function back to
              its caller. Only works for functions traced with
              option <c>local</c> to
              <seealso marker="#trace_pattern/3">erlang:trace_pattern/3</seealso>.</p>
            <p>The semantics is that a trace message is sent when a
              call traced function returns, that is, when a
              chain of tail recursive calls ends. Only one trace
              message is sent per chain of tail recursive calls,
              so the properties of tail recursiveness for
              function calls are kept while tracing with this flag.
              Using <c>call</c> and <c>return_to</c> trace together
              makes it possible to know exactly in which function a
              process executes at any time.</p>
            <p>To get trace messages containing return values from
              functions, use the <c>{return_trace}</c> match
              specification action instead.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>return_to</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>running</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces scheduling of processes.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>in</c> and <c>out</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>exiting</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces scheduling of exiting processes.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>in_exiting</c>, <c>out_exiting</c>, and
	    <c>out_exited</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>garbage_collection</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Traces garbage collections of processes.</p>
            <p>Message tags: <c>gc_start</c> and <c>gc_end</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>timestamp</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Includes a time-stamp in all trace messages. The
              time-stamp (Ts) has the same form as returned by
              <c>erlang:now()</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>cpu_timestamp</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>A global trace flag for the Erlang node that makes all
              trace time-stamps to be in CPU time, not wall clock time.
              Only allowed with <c>PidSpec==all</c>. If the host
              machine OS does not support high-resolution
              CPU time measurements, <c>trace/3</c> exits with
              <c>badarg</c>. Notice that most OS do
              not synchronize this value across cores, so be prepared
              that time might seem to go backwards when using this option.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>arity</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Used with the <c>call</c> trace flag.
              <c>{M, F, Arity}</c> is specified instead of
              <c>{M, F, Args}</c> in call trace messages.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>set_on_spawn</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Makes any process created by a traced process inherit
              its trace flags, including flag <c>set_on_spawn</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>set_on_first_spawn</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Makes the first process created by a traced process
              inherit its trace flags, excluding flag
              <c>set_on_first_spawn</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>set_on_link</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Makes any process linked by a traced process inherit its
              trace flags, including flag <c>set_on_link</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>set_on_first_link</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Makes the first process linked to by a traced process
              inherit its trace flags, excluding flag
              <c>set_on_first_link</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{tracer, Tracer}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Specifies where to send the trace messages. <c>Tracer</c>
              must be the process identifier of a local process
              or the port identifier
              of a local port. If this flag is not given, trace
              messages are sent to the process that called
              <c>erlang:trace/3</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The effect of combining <c>set_on_first_link</c> with
          <c>set_on_link</c> is the same as having
          <c>set_on_first_link</c> alone. Likewise for
          <c>set_on_spawn</c> and <c>set_on_first_spawn</c>.</p>
        <p>The tracing process receives the <em>trace messages</em> described
	in the following list. <c>Pid</c> is the process identifier of the
	traced process in which the traced event has occurred. The
	third tuple element is the message tag.</p>
        <p>If flag <c>timestamp</c> is given, the first tuple
          element is <c>trace_ts</c> instead, and the time-stamp
          is added last in the message tuple.</p>
        <marker id="trace_3_trace_messages"></marker>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, 'receive', Msg}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> receives message <c>Msg</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, send, Msg, To}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> sends message <c>Msg</c> to
              process <c>To</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, send_to_non_existing_process, Msg, To}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> sends message <c>Msg</c> to
              the non-existing process <c>To</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, call, {M, F, Args}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> calls a traced function. The return
              values of calls are never supplied, only the call and its
              arguments.</p>
            <p>Trace flag <c>arity</c> can be used to
              change the contents of this message, so that <c>Arity</c>
              is specified instead of <c>Args</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, return_to, {M, F, Arity}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> returns <em>to</em> the specified
              function. This trace message is sent if both
              the flags <c>call</c> and <c>return_to</c> are set,
              and the function is set to be traced on <em>local</em>
              function calls. The message is only sent when returning
              from a chain of tail recursive function calls, where at
              least one call generated a <c>call</c> trace message
              (that is, the functions match specification matched, and
              <c>{message, false}</c> was not an action).</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, return_from, {M, F, Arity}, ReturnValue}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> returns <em>from</em> the specified
              function. This trace message is sent if flag <c>call</c>
              is set, and the function has a match specification
              with a <c>return_trace</c> or <c>exception_trace</c> action.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, exception_from, {M, F, Arity}, {Class, Value}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> exits <em>from</em> the specified
              function because of an exception. This trace message is
              sent if flag <c>call</c> is set, and the function has 
              a match specification with an <c>exception_trace</c> action.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, spawn, Pid2, {M, F, Args}}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> spawns a new process <c>Pid2</c> with
              the specified function call as entry point.</p>
            <p><c>Args</c> is supposed to be the argument list,
              but can be any term if the spawn is erroneous.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, exit, Reason}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> exits with reason <c>Reason</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, link, Pid2}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> links to a process <c>Pid2</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, unlink, Pid2}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> removes the link from a process
              <c>Pid2</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, getting_linked, Pid2}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> gets linked to a process <c>Pid2</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, getting_unlinked, Pid2}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> gets unlinked from a process <c>Pid2</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, register, RegName}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> gets the name <c>RegName</c> registered.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, unregister, RegName}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> gets the name <c>RegName</c> unregistered.
              This is done automatically when a registered
              process exits.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, in, {M, F, Arity} | 0}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> is scheduled to run. The process
              runs in function <c>{M, F, Arity}</c>. On some rare
              occasions, the current function cannot be determined,
              then the last element <c>Arity</c> is <c>0</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, out, {M, F, Arity} | 0}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>When <c>Pid</c> is scheduled out. The process was
              running in function {M, F, Arity}. On some rare occasions,
              the current function cannot be determined, then the last
              element <c>Arity</c> is <c>0</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, gc_start, Info}</c></tag>
          <item>
          <marker id="gc_start"></marker>
            <p>Sent when garbage collection is about to be started.
              <c>Info</c> is a list of two-element tuples, where
              the first element is a key, and the second is the value.
              Do not depend on any order of the tuples.
              The following keys are defined:</p>
            <taglist>
              <tag><c>heap_size</c></tag>
              <item>The size of the used part of the heap.</item>
	      <tag><c>heap_block_size</c></tag>
	      <item>The size of the memory block used for storing
	        the heap and the stack.</item>
              <tag><c>old_heap_size</c></tag>
              <item>The size of the used part of the old heap.</item>
	      <tag><c>old_heap_block_size</c></tag>
	      <item>The size of the memory block used for storing
                the old heap.</item>
              <tag><c>stack_size</c></tag>
              <item>The size of the stack.</item>
              <tag><c>recent_size</c></tag>
              <item>The size of the data that survived the previous garbage
                collection.</item>
              <tag><c>mbuf_size</c></tag>
              <item>The combined size of message buffers associated with
                the process.</item>
              <tag><c>bin_vheap_size</c></tag>
              <item>The total size of unique off-heap binaries referenced
                from the process heap.</item>
              <tag><c>bin_vheap_block_size</c></tag>
	      <item>The total size of binaries allowed in the virtual
	        heap in the process before doing a garbage collection.</item>
              <tag><c>bin_old_vheap_size</c></tag>
              <item>The total size of unique off-heap binaries referenced
                from the process old heap.</item>
              <tag><c>bin_vheap_block_size</c></tag>
	      <item>The total size of binaries allowed in the virtual
	        old heap in the process before doing a garbage collection.</item>
            </taglist>
            <p>All sizes are in words.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{trace, Pid, gc_end, Info}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Sent when garbage collection is finished. <c>Info</c>
              contains the same kind of list as in message <c>gc_start</c>,
              but the sizes reflect the new sizes after
              garbage collection.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>If the tracing process dies, the flags are silently
          removed.</p>
        <p>Only one process can trace a particular process. Therefore,
          attempts to trace an already traced process fail.</p>
        <p>Returns: A number indicating the number of processes that
          matched <c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c>.
          If <c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c> is a process
          identifier, the return value is <c>1</c>.
          If <c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c>
          is <c>all</c> or <c>existing</c>, the return value is
          the number of processes running, excluding tracer processes.
          If <c><anno>PidSpec</anno></c> is <c>new</c>, the return value is
          <c>0</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if the specified arguments are
          not supported. For example, <c>cpu_timestamp</c> is not
          supported on all platforms.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trace_delivered" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Notification when trace has been delivered.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>The delivery of trace messages is dislocated on the time-line
          compared to other events in the system. If you know that
          <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c> has passed some specific point
          in its execution,
          and you want to know when at least all trace messages
          corresponding to events up to this point have reached the
          tracer, use <c>erlang:trace_delivered(<anno>Tracee</anno>)</c>. A
          <c>{trace_delivered, <anno>Tracee</anno>, <anno>Ref</anno>}</c> message is sent to
          the caller of <c>erlang:trace_delivered(<anno>Tracee</anno>)</c> when it
          is guaranteed that all trace messages are delivered to
          the tracer up to the point that <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c> reached
          at the time of the call to
          <c>erlang:trace_delivered(<anno>Tracee</anno>)</c>.</p>
        <p>Notice that message <c>trace_delivered</c> does <em>not</em>
          imply that trace messages have been delivered.
          Instead it implies that all trace messages that
          <em>are to be delivered</em> have been delivered.
          It is not an error if <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c> is not, and
          has not been traced by someone, but if this is the case,
          <em>no</em> trace messages have been delivered when the
          <c>trace_delivered</c> message arrives.</p>
        <p>Notice that that <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c> must refer
          to a process currently,
          or previously existing on the same node as the caller of
          <c>erlang:trace_delivered(<anno>Tracee</anno>)</c> resides on.
          The special <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c> atom <c>all</c>
          denotes all processes
          that currently are traced in the node.</p>
        <p>Example: Process <c>A</c> is <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c>,
	  port <c>B</c> is tracer, and process <c>C</c> is the port
	  owner of <c>B</c>. <c>C</c> wants to close <c>B</c> when
	  <c>A</c> exits. To ensure that the trace is not truncated,
	  <c>C</c> can call <c>erlang:trace_delivered(A)</c>, when
	  <c>A</c> exits, and wait for message <c>{trace_delivered, A,
	  <anno>Ref</anno>}</c> before closing <c>B</c>.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c><anno>Tracee</anno></c>
          does not refer to a
          process (dead or alive) on the same node as the caller of
          <c>erlang:trace_delivered(<anno>Tracee</anno>)</c> resides on.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trace_info" arity="2"/>
     <fsummary>Trace information about a process or function.</fsummary>
      <type name="trace_info_return"/>
      <type name="trace_info_item_result"/>
      <type name="trace_info_flag"/>
      <type name="trace_match_spec"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns trace information about a process or function.</p>
        <p>To get information about a process,
         <c><anno>PidOrFunc</anno></c> is to
          be a process identifier (pid) or the atom <c>new</c>.
          The atom <c>new</c> means that the default trace state for
          processes to be created is returned.</p>
        <p>The following <c>Item</c>s are valid:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>flags</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list of atoms indicating what kind of traces is
              enabled for the process. The list is empty if no
              traces are enabled, and one or more of the followings
              atoms if traces are enabled: <c>send</c>,
              <c>'receive'</c>, <c>set_on_spawn</c>, <c>call</c>,
              <c>return_to</c>, <c>procs</c>, <c>set_on_first_spawn</c>,
              <c>set_on_link</c>, <c>running</c>,
              <c>garbage_collection</c>, <c>timestamp</c>, and
              <c>arity</c>. The order is arbitrary.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>tracer</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the identifier for process or port tracing this
              process. If this process is not being traced, the return
              value is <c>[]</c>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>To get information about a function, <c>PidOrFunc</c> is to
          be the three-element tuple <c>{Module, Function, Arity}</c> or
          the atom <c>on_load</c>. No wildcards are allowed. Returns
          <c>undefined</c> if the function does not exist, or
          <c>false</c> if the function is not traced.</p>
         <p>The following <c>Item</c>s are valid::</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>traced</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns <c>global</c> if this function is traced on
              global function calls, <c>local</c> if this function is
              traced on local function calls (that is, local and global
              function calls), and <c>false</c> if local or
              global function calls are not traced.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>match_spec</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the match specification for this function, if it
              has one. If the function is locally or globally traced but
              has no match specification defined, the returned value
              is <c>[]</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>meta</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the meta-trace tracer process or port for this
              function, if it has one. If the function is not
              meta-traced, the returned value is <c>false</c>. If
              the function is meta-traced but has once detected that
              the tracer process is invalid, the returned value is [].</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>meta_match_spec</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the meta-trace match specification for this
              function, if it has one. If the function is meta-traced
              but has no match specification defined, the returned
              value is <c>[]</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>call_count</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns the call count value for this function or
              <c>true</c> for the pseudo function <c>on_load</c> if call
              count tracing is active. Otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
              See also
              <seealso marker="#trace_pattern/3">erlang:trace_pattern/3</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>call_time</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>Returns the call time values for this function or
              <c>true</c> for the pseudo function <c>on_load</c> if call
	      time tracing is active. Otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
	      The call time values returned, <c>[{Pid, Count, S, Us}]</c>,
	      is a list of each process that executed the function
              and its specific counters. See also
              <seealso marker="#trace_pattern/3">erlang:trace_pattern/3</seealso>.</p>
          </item>

          <tag><c>all</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Returns a list containing the
              <c>{<anno>Item</anno>, Value}</c> tuples
              for all other items, or returns <c>false</c> if no tracing
              is active for this function.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The return value is <c>{<anno>Item</anno>, Value}</c>, where
          <c>Value</c> is the requested information as described earlier.
          If a pid for a dead process was given, or the name of a
          non-existing function, <c>Value</c> is <c>undefined</c>.</p>
        <p>If <c><anno>PidOrFunc</anno></c> is <c>on_load</c>, the information
          returned refers to the default value for code that will be
          loaded.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trace_pattern" arity="2" clause_i="1"/>
      <fsummary>Sets trace patterns for global call tracing.</fsummary>
      <type name="trace_pattern_mfa"/>
      <type name="trace_match_spec"/>
      <desc>
        <p>The same as
          <seealso marker="#trace_pattern/3">erlang:trace_pattern(MFA, MatchSpec, [])</seealso>,
          retained for backward compatibility.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trace_pattern" arity="3"/>
      <fsummary>Sets trace patterns for tracing of function calls.</fsummary>
      <type name="trace_pattern_mfa"/>
      <type name="trace_match_spec"/>
      <type name="trace_pattern_flag"/>
      <desc>
        <p>Enables or disables call tracing for
          one or more functions. Must be combined with
          <seealso marker="#trace/3">erlang:trace/3</seealso>
          to set the <c>call</c> trace flag for one or more processes.</p>
        <p>Conceptually, call tracing works as follows. Inside
          the Erlang Virtual Machine, a set of processes and
          a set of functions are to be traced. If a traced process
          calls a traced function, the trace action is taken.
          Otherwise, nothing happens.</p>
        <p>To add or remove one or more processes to the set of traced
          processes, use
          <seealso marker="#trace/3">erlang:trace/3</seealso>.</p>
        <p>To add or remove functions to the set of traced
          functions, use <c>erlang:trace_pattern/3</c>.</p>
        <p>The BIF <c>erlang:trace_pattern/3</c> can also add match
          specifications to a function. A match specification
          comprises a pattern that the function arguments must
          match, a guard expression that must evaluate to <c>true</c>,
          and an action to be performed. The default action is to send a
          trace message. If the pattern does not match or the guard
          fails, the action is not executed.</p>
        <p>Argument <c><anno>MFA</anno></c> is to be a tuple, such as
          <c>{Module, Function, Arity}</c>, or the atom <c>on_load</c>
          (described in the following). It can be the module, function,
          and arity for a function (or a BIF in any module).
          The atom <c>'_'</c> can be used as a wildcard in any of the
	  following ways:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>{Module,Function,'_'}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All functions of any arity named <c>Function</c>
              in module <c>Module</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{Module,'_','_'}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All functions in module <c>Module</c>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>{'_','_','_'}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>All functions in all loaded modules.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Other combinations, such as <c>{Module,'_',Arity}</c>, are
          not allowed. Local functions match wildcards only if
          option <c>local</c> is in <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>If argument <c><anno>MFA</anno></c> is the atom <c>on_load</c>,
          the match specification and flag list are used on all
          modules that are newly loaded.</p>
        <p>Argument <c><anno>MatchSpec</anno></c> can take the
          following forms:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>false</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Disables tracing for the matching functions.
              Any match specification is removed.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>true</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Enables tracing for the matching functions.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c><anno>MatchSpecList</anno></c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>A list of match specifications. An empty list is
              equivalent to <c>true</c>. For a description of match
              specifications, see the User's Guide.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>restart</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>For the <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> options <c>call_count</c>
              and <c>call_time</c>: restarts
              the existing counters. The behavior is undefined
              for other <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> options.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>pause</c></tag>
          <item>
	      <p>For the <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> options
              <c>call_count</c> and <c>call_time</c>: pauses
              the existing counters. The behavior is undefined for
              other <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> options.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>Parameter <c><anno>FlagList</anno></c> is a list of options.
          The following are the valid options:</p>
        <taglist>
          <tag><c>global</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Turns on or off call tracing for global function calls
              (that is, calls specifying the module explicitly). Only
              exported functions match and only global calls
              generate trace messages. <em>This is the default</em>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>local</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Turns on or off call tracing for all types of function
              calls. Trace messages are sent whenever any of
              the specified functions are called, regardless of how they
              are called. If flag <c>return_to</c> is set for
              the process, a <c>return_to</c> message is also sent
              when this function returns to its caller.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>meta | {meta, <anno>Pid</anno>}</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Turns on or off meta-tracing for all types of function
              calls. Trace messages are sent to the tracer process
              or port <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> whenever any of the specified
              functions are called, regardless of how they are called.
              If no <c><anno>Pid</anno></c> is specified,
              <c>self()</c> is used as a default tracer process.</p>
            <p>Meta-tracing traces all processes and does not care
              about the process trace flags set by <c>trace/3</c>,
              the trace flags are instead fixed to
              <c>[call, timestamp]</c>.</p>
            <p>The match specification function <c>{return_trace}</c>
              works with meta-trace and sends its trace message to the
              same tracer process.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>call_count</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Starts (<c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == true</c>) or stops
              (<c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == false</c>)
              call count tracing for all
              types of function calls. For every function, a counter is
              incremented when the function is called, in any process.
              No process trace flags need to be activated.</p>
            <p>If call count tracing is started while already running,
              the count is restarted from zero. To pause running
              counters, use <c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == pause</c>.
              Paused and running counters can be restarted from zero with
              <c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == restart</c>.</p>
            <p>To read the counter value, use
              <seealso marker="#trace_info/2">erlang:trace_info/2</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
          <tag><c>call_time</c></tag>
          <item>
            <p>Starts (<c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == true</c>) or stops
              (<c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == false</c>) call time
              tracing for all
              types of function calls. For every function, a counter is
	      incremented when the function is called.
              Time spent in the function is accumulated in
              two other counters, seconds and microseconds.
	      The counters are stored for each call traced process.</p>
            <p>If call time tracing is started while already running,
              the count and time is restarted from zero. To pause
              running counters, use <c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == pause</c>.
              Paused and running counters can be restarted from zero with
              <c><anno>MatchSpec</anno> == restart</c>.</p>
            <p>To read the counter value, use
              <seealso marker="#trace_info/2">erlang:trace_info/2</seealso>.</p>
          </item>
        </taglist>
        <p>The options <c>global</c> and <c>local</c> are mutually
          exclusive, and <c>global</c> is the default (if no options are
          specified). The options <c>call_count</c> and <c>meta</c>
          perform a kind of local tracing, and cannot be combined
          with <c>global</c>. A function can be globally or
          locally traced. If global tracing is specified for a
          set of functions, then local, meta, call time, and call count
          tracing for the matching set of local functions is
          disabled, and conversely.</p>
        <p>When disabling trace, the option must match the type of trace
          set on the function. That is, local tracing must be
          disabled with option <c>local</c> and global tracing with
          option <c>global</c> (or no option), and so forth.</p>
        <p>Part of a match specification list cannot be changed directly.
          If a function has a match specification, it can be replaced
          with a new one. To change an existing match specification,
          use the BIF
          <seealso marker="#trace_info/2">erlang:trace_info/2</seealso>
          to retrieve the existing match specification.</p>
        <p>Returns the number of functions matching
          argument <c><anno>MFA</anno></c>. This is zero if none matched.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="trunc" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns an integer by truncating a number</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer by truncating <c><anno>Number</anno></c>,
          for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>trunc(5.5).</input>
5</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="tuple_size" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Returns the size of a tuple.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns an integer that is the number of elements in
          <c><anno>Tuple</anno></c>, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>tuple_size({morni, mulle, bwange}).</input>
3</pre>
        <p>Allowed in guard tests.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="tuple_to_list" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts a tuple to a list.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns a list corresponding to <c><anno>Tuple</anno></c>.
          <c><anno>Tuple</anno></c> can contain any Erlang terms.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>tuple_to_list({share, {'Ericsson_B', 163}}).</input>
[share,{'Ericsson_B',163}]</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="universaltime" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Current date and time according to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the current date and time according to Universal
          Time Coordinated (UTC) in the form
          <c>{{Year, Month, Day}, {Hour, Minute, Second}}</c> if
          supported by the underlying OS.
          Otherwise <c>erlang:universaltime()</c> is equivalent to
          <c>erlang:localtime()</c>.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:universaltime().</input>
{{1996,11,6},{14,18,43}}</pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="universaltime_to_localtime" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Converts from Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to local date and time.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Converts Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) date and time to
          local date and time in the form
          <c>{{Year, Month, Day}, {Hour, Minute, Second}}</c> if
          supported by the underlying OS.
          Otherwise no conversion is done, and
          <c><anno>Universaltime</anno></c> is returned.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>erlang:universaltime_to_localtime({{1996,11,6},{14,18,43}}).</input>
{{1996,11,7},{15,18,43}}</pre>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c>Universaltime</c> denotes
          an invalid date and time.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="unique_integer" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Get a unique integer value</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Generates and returns an
	<seealso marker="doc/efficiency_guide:advanced#unique_integers">integer
	unique on current runtime system instance</seealso>. The same as calling
	<seealso marker="#unique_integer/1"><c>erlang:unique_integer([])</c></seealso>.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="unique_integer" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Get a unique integer value</fsummary>
      <desc>
	<p>Generates and returns an
	<seealso marker="doc/efficiency_guide:advanced#unique_integers">integer
	unique on current runtime system
	instance</seealso>. The integer is unique in the
	sense that this BIF, using the same set of
	modifiers, will not return the same integer more
	than once on the current runtime system instance.
	Each integer value can of course be constructed
	by other means.</p>

	<p>By default, when <c>[]</c> is passed as
	<c><anno>ModifierList</anno></c>, both negative and
	positive integers can be returned. This in order
	to utilize the range of integers that do
	not need heap memory allocation as much as possible.
	By default the returned integers are also only
	guaranteed to be unique, that is, any returned integer
	can be smaller or larger than previously
	returned integers.</p>

	<p>Valid <c><anno>Modifier</anno></c>s:</p>
	<taglist>

	  <tag>positive</tag>
	  <item><p>Return only positive integers.</p>
	  <p>Note that by passing the <c>positive</c> modifier
	  you will get heap allocated integers (big-nums)
	  quicker.</p>
	  </item>

	  <tag>monotonic</tag>
	  <item><p>Return
	  <seealso marker="time_correction#Strictly_Monotonically_Increasing">strictly
	  monotonically increasing</seealso> integers
	  corresponding to creation time. That is, the integer
	  returned will always be larger than previously
	  returned integers on the current runtime system
	  instance.</p>
	  <p>These values can be used to determine order between events
	  on the runtime system instance. That is, if both
	  <c>X = erlang:unique_integer([monotonic])</c> and
	  <c>Y = erlang:unique_integer([monotonic])</c> are
	  executed by different processes (or the same
	  process) on the same runtime system instance and
	  <c>X &lt; Y</c> we know that <c>X</c> was created
	  before <c>Y</c>.</p>
	  <warning><p>Strictly monotonically increasing values
	  are inherently quite expensive to generate and scales
	  poorly. This is because the values need to be
	  synchronized between cpu cores. That is, do not pass the <c>monotonic</c>
	  modifier unless you really need strictly monotonically
	  increasing values.</p></warning>
	  </item>

	</taglist>

	<p>All valid <c><anno>Modifier</anno></c>s
	can be combined. Repeated (valid)
	<c><anno>Modifier</anno></c>s in the <c>ModifierList</c>
	are ignored.</p>

	<note><p>Note that the set of integers returned by
	<c>unique_integer/1</c> using diffrent sets of
	<c><anno>Modifier</anno></c>s <em>will overlap</em>.
	For example, by calling	<c>unique_integer([monotonic])</c>,
	and <c>unique_integer([positive, monotonic])</c>
	repeatedly, you will eventually see some integers being
	returned by both calls.</p></note>

        <p>Failures:</p>
	<taglist>
	  <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>if <c><anno>ModifierList</anno></c> is not a
	  proper list.</item>
	  <tag><c>badarg</c></tag>
	  <item>if <c><anno>Modifier</anno></c> is not a
	  valid modifier.</item>
	</taglist>
      </desc>
    </func>
    <func>
      <name name="unlink" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Removes a link to another process or port.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Removes the link, if there is one, between the calling
          process and the process or port referred to by
          <c><anno>Id</anno></c>.</p>
        <p>Returns <c>true</c> and does not fail, even if there is no
          link to <c><anno>Id</anno></c>, or if <c><anno>Id</anno></c>
          does not exist.</p>
        <p>Once <c>unlink(<anno>Id</anno>)</c> has returned,
          it is guaranteed that
          the link between the caller and the entity referred to by
          <c><anno>Id</anno></c> has no effect on the caller
          in the future (unless
          the link is setup again). If the caller is trapping exits, an
          <c>{'EXIT', <anno>Id</anno>, _}</c> message from the link
	  can have been placed in the caller's message queue before
	  the call.</p>
        <p>Notice that the <c>{'EXIT', <anno>Id</anno>, _}</c>
          message can be the
          result of the link, but can also be the result of <c>Id</c>
          calling <c>exit/2</c>. Therefore, it <em>can</em> be
          appropriate to clean up the message queue when trapping exits
          after the call to <c>unlink(<anno>Id</anno>)</c>, as follows:</p>
        <code type="none">
    unlink(Id),
    receive
        {'EXIT', Id, _} ->
            true
    after 0 ->
            true
    end</code>
        <note>
          <p>Before OTP R11B (<c>ERTS</c> 5.5) <c>unlink/1</c>
            behaved asynchronous, that is, the link was active
            until the "unlink signal" reached the linked entity. This
            had an undesirable effect, as you could never know when
            you were guaranteed <em>not</em> to be effected by the link.</p>
          <p>The current behavior can be viewed as two combined operations:
            asynchronously send an "unlink signal" to the linked entity
            and ignore any future results of the link.</p>
        </note>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="unregister" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Removes the registered name for a process (or port).</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Removes the registered name <c><anno>RegName</anno></c>
          associated with a
          process identifier or a port identifier, for example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>unregister(db).</input>
true</pre>
        <p>Users are advised not to unregister system processes.</p>
        <p>Failure: <c>badarg</c> if <c>RegName</c> is not a registered
          name.</p>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="whereis" arity="1"/>
      <fsummary>Gets the pid (or port) with a given registered name.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Returns the process identifier or port identifier with
          the registered name <c>RegName</c>. Returns <c>undefined</c>
          if the name is not registered.</p>
        <p>Example:</p>
        <pre>
> <input>whereis(db).</input>
&lt;0.43.0></pre>
      </desc>
    </func>

    <func>
      <name name="yield" arity="0"/>
      <fsummary>Lets other processes get a chance to execute.</fsummary>
      <desc>
        <p>Voluntarily lets other processes (if any) get a chance to
          execute. Using <c>erlang:yield()</c> is similar to
          <c>receive after 1 -> ok end</c>, except that <c>yield()</c>
          is faster.</p>
	<warning><p>There is seldom or never any need to use this BIF,
        especially in the SMP emulator, as other processes have a
        chance to run in another scheduler thread anyway.
        Using this BIF without a thorough grasp of how the scheduler
        works can cause performance degradation.</p></warning>
      </desc>
    </func>
  </funcs>
</erlref>