How select are used to manage multiple listening sockets?

When you need to wait for data coming in on either of two sockets, with file numbers 5 and 8, for example, you set bits 5 and 8 in $rin, and call select($rout=$rin,undef,undef). The select() will wait for data and return when either file number 5 or file number 8 has data to read. You will then need to know which one, and this is why you need $rout which select() will set for you. If bit 5 in $rout is set, then the socket with file number 5 has something to read. If bit 8 is set, then socket number 8. If both are set, then both sockets have something to read.

This allows you to only check a socket when you know it's got something you want, and select will wait without chewing up a lot of CPU cycles.

If you are writing code instead of reading it, I also second Joost's suggestion of IO::Select.