Using /dev/poll provides a highly scalable way of polling a large number of file descriptors. This scalability is provided through a new set of APIs and a new driver, /dev/poll. The /dev/poll API is an alternative to, not a replacement of, poll(2). Use poll(7D) to provide details and examples of the /dev/poll API. When used properly, the /dev/poll API scales much better than poll(2). This API is especially suited for applications that satisfy the following criteria:
Applications that repeatedly poll a large number of file descriptors
Polled file descriptors that are relatively stable, meaning that the descriptors are not constantly closed and reopened
The set of file descriptors that actually have polled events pending is small, comparing to the total number of file descriptors that are being polled