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STREAMS allows modules and drivers to cause a signal to be sent to user process(es) through an M_SIG or M_PCSIG message. The first byte of the message specifies the signal for the Stream head to generate. If the signal is not ``SIGPOLL'' (see signal(2)), the signal is sent to the process group associated with the Stream. If the signal is ``SIGPOLL'', the signal is only sent to processes that have registered for the signal by using the I_SETSIG ioctl.
An M_SIG message can be used by modules or drivers that want to insert an explicit inband signal into a message Stream. For example, this message can be sent to the user process immediately before a particular service interface message to gain the immediate attention of the user process. When the M_SIG message reaches the head of the Stream head read queue, a signal is generated and the M_SIG message is removed. This leaves the service interface message as the next message to be processed by the user. Use of the M_SIG message is typically defined as part of the service interface of the driver or module.