Read operations include ACCEPT, READ, READV, RECV, RECVFROM, or RECVMSG calls. A socket is ready to be read when data has been received for it or when a connection request has occurred.

To test whether any of several sockets is ready for reading, set the appropriate bits in RSNDMSK to one before issuing the SELECTEX call. When the SELECTEX call returns, the corresponding bits in the RRETMSK indicate sockets are ready for reading.