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Comparing AnyEvent/README (file contents):
Revision 1.37 by root, Mon Apr 20 14:34:18 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.58 by root, Sun Dec 20 22:49:52 2009 UTC

…		…
1	NAME	1	NAME
2	AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops	2	AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
3		3
4	EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event	4	EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async,
5	loops	5	Qt and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6		6
7	SYNOPSIS	7	SYNOPSIS
8	use AnyEvent;	8	use AnyEvent;
9		9
		10	# file descriptor readable
10	my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r\|w", cb => sub { ... });	11	my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
11		12
		13	# one-shot or repeating timers
12	my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });	14	my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
13	my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...	15	my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
14		16
15	print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time	17	print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
16	print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.	18	print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
17		19
		20	# POSIX signal
18	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });	21	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
19		22
		23	# child process exit
20	my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {	24	my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
21	my ($pid, $status) = @_;	25	my ($pid, $status) = @_;
22	...	26	...
23	});	27	});
		28
		29	# called when event loop idle (if applicable)
		30	my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
24		31
25	my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged	32	my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
26	$w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's	33	$w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
27	$w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send	34	$w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
28	# use a condvar in callback mode:	35	# use a condvar in callback mode:
30		37
31	INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL	38	INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
32	This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested in a	39	This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested in a
33	tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the AnyEvent::Intro	40	tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the AnyEvent::Intro
34	manpage.	41	manpage.
		42
		43	SUPPORT
		44	There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
		45	channel, too.
		46
		47	See the AnyEvent project page at the Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
		48	Repository, at <http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
35		49
36	WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)	50	WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
37	Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen	51	Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
38	nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?	52	nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
39		53
…		…
159	Note that "my $w; $w =" combination. This is necessary because in Perl,	173	Note that "my $w; $w =" combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
160	my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are	174	my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
161	declared.	175	declared.
162		176
163	I/O WATCHERS	177	I/O WATCHERS
		178	$w = AnyEvent->io (
		179	fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
		180	poll => <"r" or "w">,
		181	cb => <callback>,
		182	);
		183
164	You can create an I/O watcher by calling the "AnyEvent->io" method with	184	You can create an I/O watcher by calling the "AnyEvent->io" method with
165	the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:	185	the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
166		186
167	"fh" is the Perl file handle (not file descriptor) to watch for	187	"fh" is the Perl file handle (or a naked file descriptor) to watch for
168	events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file	188	events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
169	handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which	189	handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
170	non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,	190	non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
171	most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example	191	most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example
172	files or block devices.	192	files or block devices.
…		…
196	warn "read: $input\n";	216	warn "read: $input\n";
197	undef $w;	217	undef $w;
198	});	218	});
199		219
200	TIME WATCHERS	220	TIME WATCHERS
		221	$w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
		222
		223	$w = AnyEvent->timer (
		224	after => <fractional_seconds>,
		225	interval => <fractional_seconds>,
		226	cb => <callback>,
		227	);
		228
201	You can create a time watcher by calling the "AnyEvent->timer" method	229	You can create a time watcher by calling the "AnyEvent->timer" method
202	with the following mandatory arguments:	230	with the following mandatory arguments:
203		231
204	"after" specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are	232	"after" specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
205	supported) the callback should be invoked. "cb" is the callback to	233	supported) the callback should be invoked. "cb" is the callback to
…		…
326	time, which might affect timers and time-outs.	354	time, which might affect timers and time-outs.
327		355
328	When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update	356	When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update
329	the event loop's idea of "current time".	357	the event loop's idea of "current time".
330		358
		359	A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g.
		360	"mod_perl") - when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop
		361	will have the wrong idea about the "current time" (being potentially
		362	far in the past, when the script ran the last time). In that case
		363	you should arrange a call to "AnyEvent->now_update" each time the
		364	web server process wakes up again (e.g. at the start of your script,
		365	or in a handler).
		366
331	Note that updating the time might cause some events to be handled.	367	Note that updating the time might cause some events to be handled.
332		368
333	SIGNAL WATCHERS	369	SIGNAL WATCHERS
		370	$w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
		371
334	You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, "signal" is the signal	372	You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, "signal" is the signal
335	name in uppercase and without any "SIG" prefix, "cb" is the Perl	373	name in uppercase and without any "SIG" prefix, "cb" is the Perl
336	callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.	374	callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
337		375
338	Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and	376	Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
…		…
343	invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous	381	invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous
344	means that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the	382	means that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the
345	process, but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.	383	process, but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
346		384
347	The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a	385	The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a
348	signal between multiple watchers.	386	signal between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals
		387	will not interrupt your program at bad times.
349		388
350	This watcher might use %SIG, so programs overwriting those signals	389	This watcher might use %SIG (depending on the event loop used), so
351	directly will likely not work correctly.	390	programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
		391	correctly.
352		392
353	Example: exit on SIGINT	393	Example: exit on SIGINT
354		394
355	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });	395	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
356		396
		397	Restart Behaviour
		398	While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most
		399	will not restart syscalls (that includes Async::Interrupt and AnyEvent's
		400	pure perl implementation).
		401
		402	Safe/Unsafe Signals
		403	Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
		404	"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
		405	latter might corrupt your memory.
		406
		407	AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event
		408	loop, i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will
		409	only be called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer,
		410	I/O etc. callbacks, too).
		411
		412	Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
		413	Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
		414	callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot do
		415	race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for this.
		416	AnyEvent will try to do it's best, which means in some cases, signals
		417	will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is specified
		418	in $AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY (default: 10 seconds). This variable
		419	can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created, and
		420	should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
		421	AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
		422	will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
		423	saving.
		424
		425	All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
		426	Async::Interrupt module, which works with most event loops. It will not
		427	work with inherently broken event loops such as Event or Event::Lib (and
		428	not with POE currently, as POE does it's own workaround with one-second
		429	latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
		430
357	CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS	431	CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
		432	$w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
		433
358	You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.	434	You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
359		435
360	The child process is specified by the "pid" argument (if set to 0, it	436	The child process is specified by the "pid" argument (one some backends,
361	watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only	437	using 0 watches for any child process exit, on others this will croak).
362	when the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not	438	The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has finished
363	on any trace events (stopped/continued).	439	and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
		440	(stopped/continued).
364		441
365	The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by	442	The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
366	waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you can rely on child watcher	443	waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you can rely on child watcher
367	callback arguments.	444	callback arguments.
368		445
…		…
373		450
374	There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start	451	There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start
375	them after the child process was created, and this means the process	452	them after the child process was created, and this means the process
376	could have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).	453	could have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
377		454
378	Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for	455	Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async
		456	do, see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event
379	event models that do handle this correctly, they usually need to be	457	models that do handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded
380	loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first	458	before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place).
381	place).	459	AnyEvent's pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless
		460	of when you start the watcher.
382		461
383	This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in	462	This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in
384	an AnyEvent program, you have to create at least one watcher before	463	an AnyEvent program, you have to create at least one watcher before
385	you "fork" the child (alternatively, you can call "AnyEvent::detect").	464	you "fork" the child (alternatively, you can call "AnyEvent::detect").
386		465
		466	As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will
		467	be emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race
		468	problems mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
		469
387	Example: fork a process and wait for it	470	Example: fork a process and wait for it
388		471
389	my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;	472	my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
390		473
391	my $pid = fork or exit 5;	474	my $pid = fork or exit 5;
392		475
393	my $w = AnyEvent->child (	476	my $w = AnyEvent->child (
394	pid => $pid,	477	pid => $pid,
395	cb => sub {	478	cb => sub {
396	my ($pid, $status) = @_;	479	my ($pid, $status) = @_;
397	warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";	480	warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
398	$done->send;	481	$done->send;
399	},	482	},
400	);	483	);
401		484
402	# do something else, then wait for process exit	485	# do something else, then wait for process exit
403	$done->recv;	486	$done->recv;
404		487
		488	IDLE WATCHERS
		489	$w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
		490
		491	Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important to
		492	do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
		493	"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
		494	attention by the event loop".
		495
		496	Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing better
		497	to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new events.
		498	Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
		499
		500	Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
		501	EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
		502	will simply call the callback "from time to time".
		503
		504	Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the program
		505	is otherwise idle:
		506
		507	my @lines; # read data
		508	my $idle_w;
		509	my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
		510	push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
		511
		512	# start an idle watcher, if not already done
		513	$idle_w \|\|= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
		514	# handle only one line, when there are lines left
		515	if (my $line = shift @lines) {
		516	print "handled when idle: $line";
		517	} else {
		518	# otherwise disable the idle watcher again
		519	undef $idle_w;
		520	}
		521	});
		522	});
		523
405	CONDITION VARIABLES	524	CONDITION VARIABLES
		525	$cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
		526
		527	$cv->send (<list>);
		528	my @res = $cv->recv;
		529
406	If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them	530	If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
407	require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that	531	require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
408	will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.	532	will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
409		533
410	AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop	534	AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the
411	and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).	535	event loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the
		536	user).
412		537
413	The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called	538	The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
414	because they represent a condition that must become true.	539	because they represent a condition that must become true.
415		540
		541	Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
		542
416	Condition variables can be created by calling the "AnyEvent->condvar"	543	Condition variables can be created by calling the "AnyEvent->condvar"
417	method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is	544	method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
418
419	"cb", which specifies a callback to be called when the condition	545	"cb", which specifies a callback to be called when the condition
420	variable becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument	546	variable becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument
421	(but not the results).	547	(but not the results).
422		548
423	After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes	549	After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes
…		…
428	Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can	554	Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
429	optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points	555	optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
430	in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet	556	in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
431	another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can	557	another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can
432	be used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and	558	be used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and
433	delivers a result.	559	delivers a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a
		560	promise to compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
434		561
435	Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has	562	Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has
436	finished, for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http	563	finished, for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http
437	requests, then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to	564	requests, then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to
438	signal the availability of results. The user can either act when the	565	signal the availability of results. The user can either act when the
…		…
472	after => 1,	599	after => 1,
473	cb => sub { $result_ready->send },	600	cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
474	);	601	);
475		602
476	# this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback	603	# this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
477	# calls send	604	# calls ->send
478	$result_ready->recv;	605	$result_ready->recv;
479		606
480	Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition	607	Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
481	variables are also code references.	608	variables are also callable directly.
482		609
483	my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;	610	my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
484	my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);	611	my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
485	$done->recv;	612	$done->recv;
486		613
…		…
492		619
493	...	620	...
494		621
495	my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;	622	my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
496		623
497	And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the	624	And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
498	results are available:	625	results are available:
499		626
500	$couchdb->info->cb (sub {	627	$couchdb->info->cb (sub {
501	my @info = $_[0]->recv;	628	my @info = $_[0]->recv;
502	});	629	});
…		…
517		644
518	Any arguments passed to the "send" call will be returned by all	645	Any arguments passed to the "send" call will be returned by all
519	future "->recv" calls.	646	future "->recv" calls.
520		647
521	Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as	648	Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as
522	a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling	649	if they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as
523	"send". Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle	650	calling "send".
524	overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition
525	variable instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and
526	EV loops support overloading, however, as well as all functions that
527	use perl to invoke a callback (as in AnyEvent::Socket and
528	AnyEvent::DNS for example).
529		651
530	$cv->croak ($error)	652	$cv->croak ($error)
531	Similar to send, but causes all call's to "->recv" to invoke	653	Similar to send, but causes all call's to "->recv" to invoke
532	"Carp::croak" with the given error message/object/scalar.	654	"Carp::croak" with the given error message/object/scalar.
533		655
534	This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable	656	This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
535	user/consumer.	657	user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling "croak" directly
		658	delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that
		659	it diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected,
		660	and not deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual
		661	code causing the problem.
536		662
537	$cv->begin ([group callback])	663	$cv->begin ([group callback])
538	$cv->end	664	$cv->end
539	These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
540
541	These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events	665	These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events
542	into one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel	666	into one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel
543	might want to use a condition variable for the whole process.	667	might want to use a condition variable for the whole process.
544		668
545	Every call to "->begin" will increment a counter, and every call to	669	Every call to "->begin" will increment a counter, and every call to
546	"->end" will decrement it. If the counter reaches 0 in "->end", the	670	"->end" will decrement it. If the counter reaches 0 in "->end", the
547	(last) callback passed to "begin" will be executed. That callback is	671	(last) callback passed to "begin" will be executed, passing the
548	supposed to call "->send", but that is not required. If no	672	condvar as first argument. That callback is supposed to call
		673	"->send", but that is not required. If no group callback was set,
549	callback was set, "send" will be called without any arguments.	674	"send" will be called without any arguments.
550		675
551	Let's clarify this with the ping example:	676	You can think of "$cv->send" giving you an OR condition (one call
		677	sends), while "$cv->begin" and "$cv->end" giving you an AND
		678	condition (all "begin" calls must be "end"'ed before the condvar
		679	sends).
		680
		681	Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for
		682	example, STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for
		683	both streams to close before activating a condvar:
552		684
553	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;	685	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
554		686
		687	$cv->begin; # first watcher
		688	my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
		689	defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
		690	or $cv->end;
		691	});
		692
		693	$cv->begin; # second watcher
		694	my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
		695	defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
		696	or $cv->end;
		697	});
		698
		699	$cv->recv;
		700
		701	This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle),
		702	there is one call to "begin", so the condvar waits for all calls to
		703	"end" before sending.
		704
		705	The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as
		706	the there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks
		707	that are begung can potentially be zero:
		708
		709	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
		710
555	my %result;	711	my %result;
556	$cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });	712	$cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
557		713
558	for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {	714	for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
559	$cv->begin;	715	$cv->begin;
560	ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {	716	ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
561	$result{$host} = ...;	717	$result{$host} = ...;
…		…
576	the loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the	732	the loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the
577	callback to be called once the counter reaches 0, and second, it	733	callback to be called once the counter reaches 0, and second, it
578	ensures that "send" is called even when "no" hosts are being pinged	734	ensures that "send" is called even when "no" hosts are being pinged
579	(the loop doesn't execute once).	735	(the loop doesn't execute once).
580		736
581	This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple	737	This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
582	subrequests: use an outer "begin"/"end" pair to set the callback and	738	potentially none) subrequests: use an outer "begin"/"end" pair to
583	ensure "end" is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest	739	set the callback and ensure "end" is called at least once, and then,
584	you start, call "begin" and for each subrequest you finish, call	740	for each subrequest you start, call "begin" and for each subrequest
585	"end".	741	you finish, call "end".
586		742
587	METHODS FOR CONSUMERS	743	METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
588	These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the code	744	These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the code
589	awaits the condition.	745	awaits the condition.
590		746
…		…
599	function will call "croak".	755	function will call "croak".
600		756
601	In list context, all parameters passed to "send" will be returned,	757	In list context, all parameters passed to "send" will be returned,
602	in scalar context only the first one will be returned.	758	in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
603		759
		760	Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by
		761	any event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking "->recv"
		762	is not allowed, and the "recv" call will "croak" if such a condition
		763	is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
		764	Coro::AnyEvent, which allows you to do a blocking "->recv" from any
		765	thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
		766
604	Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case	767	Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
605	(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so *if you are	768	(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so *if you are
606	using this from a module, never require a blocking wait*, but let	769	using this from a module, never require a blocking wait*. Instead,
607	the caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example,	770	let the caller decide whether the call will block or not (for
608	by coupling condition variables with some kind of request results	771	example, by coupling condition variables with some kind of request
609	and supporting callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result	772	results and supporting callbacks so the caller knows that getting
610	will not block, while still supporting blocking waits if the caller	773	the result will not block, while still supporting blocking waits if
611	so desires).	774	the caller so desires).
612
613	Another reason never to "->recv" in a module is that you cannot
614	sensibly have two "->recv"'s in parallel, as that would require
615	multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which
616	"AnyEvent" can supply.
617
618	The Coro module, however, can and does supply coroutines and, in
619	fact, Coro::AnyEvent replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
620	versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making
621	blocking "->recv" calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from
622	another coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
623		775
624	You can ensure that "-recv" never blocks by setting a callback and	776	You can ensure that "-recv" never blocks by setting a callback and
625	only calling "->recv" from within that callback (or at a later	777	only calling "->recv" from within that callback (or at a later
626	time). This will work even when the event loop does not support	778	time). This will work even when the event loop does not support
627	blocking waits otherwise.	779	blocking waits otherwise.
…		…
632		784
633	$cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))	785	$cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
634	This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and	786	This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and
635	optionally replaces it before doing so.	787	optionally replaces it before doing so.
636		788
637	The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e.	789	The callback will be called when the condition becomes (or already
638	when "send" or "croak" are called, with the only argument being the	790	was) "true", i.e. when "send" or "croak" are called (or were
639	condition variable itself. Calling "recv" inside the callback or at	791	called), with the only argument being the condition variable itself.
		792	Calling "recv" inside the callback or at any later time is
640	any later time is guaranteed not to block.	793	guaranteed not to block.
		794
		795	SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
		796	The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
		797
		798	Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
		799	EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
		800	use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
		801	pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes
		802	with AnyEvent itself.
		803
		804	AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
		805	AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
		806
		807	Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
		808	These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first
		809	watcher is created, in which case it is assumed that the application
		810	is using them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the
		811	right backend when the main program loads an event module before
		812	anything starts to create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done
		813	by the main program.
		814
		815	AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
		816	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
		817	AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
		818	AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
		819	AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
		820	AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
		821
		822	Backends with special needs.
		823	Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
		824	otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
		825	instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are
		826	created, everything should just work.
		827
		828	AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
		829
		830	Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
		831	architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also is
		832	the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so it
		833	can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
		834	AnyEvent::Impl::Async for the gory details.
		835
		836	AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
		837
		838	Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
		839	Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
		840
		841	There is no direct support for WxWidgets (Wx) or Prima.
		842
		843	WxWidgets has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
		844	use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that
		845	simply polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too
		846	horrible to even consider for AnyEvent.
		847
		848	Prima is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a
		849	POE backend, so it can be supported through POE.
		850
		851	AnyEvent knows about both Prima and Wx, however, and will try to
		852	load POE when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them
		853	up, in which case everything will be automatic.
641		854
642	GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS	855	GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
		856	These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
		857	write AnyEvent extension modules.
		858
643	$AnyEvent::MODEL	859	$AnyEvent::MODEL
644	Contains "undef" until the first watcher is being created. Then it	860	Contains "undef" until the first watcher is being created, before
		861	the backend has been autodetected.
		862
645	contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of	863	Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is
646	the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of	864	the name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is
647	the "AnyEvent::Impl:xxx" modules, but can be any other class in the	865	usually one of the "AnyEvent::Impl:xxx" modules, but can be any
648	case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in rxvt-unicode).	866	other class in the case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g.
649		867	in rxvt-unicode it will be "urxvt::anyevent").
650	The known classes so far are:
651
652	AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
653	AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
654	AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
655	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
656	AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
657	AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
658	AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
659	AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
660
661	There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
662	watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
663	POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
664	second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
665	AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by
666	using it's adaptor.
667
668	AnyEvent knows about Prima and Wx and will try to use POE when
669	autodetecting them.
670		868
671	AnyEvent::detect	869	AnyEvent::detect
672	Returns $AnyEvent::MODEL, forcing autodetection of the event model	870	Returns $AnyEvent::MODEL, forcing autodetection of the event model
673	if necessary. You should only call this function right before you	871	if necessary. You should only call this function right before you
674	would have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as	872	would have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as
675	possible at runtime.	873	possible at runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
		874
		875	If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
		876	created, use "post_detect".
676		877
677	$guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }	878	$guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
678	Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event	879	Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event
679	model is autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).	880	model is autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
680		881
		882	The block will be executed after the actual backend has been
		883	detected ($AnyEvent::MODEL is set), but before any watchers have
		884	been created, so it is possible to e.g. patch @AnyEvent::ISA or do
		885	other initialisations - see the sources of AnyEvent::Strict or
		886	AnyEvent::AIO to see how this is used.
		887
		888	The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without
		889	forcing event module detection too early, for example, AnyEvent::AIO
		890	creates and installs the global IO::AIO watcher in a "post_detect"
		891	block to avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
		892
681	If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an	893	If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an
682	object that automatically removes the callback again when it is	894	object that automatically removes the callback again when it is
		895	destroyed (or "undef" when the hook was immediately executed). See
683	destroyed. See Coro::BDB for a case where this is useful.	896	AnyEvent::AIO for a case where this is useful.
		897
		898	Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
		899	$WATCHER. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
		900
		901	our WATCHER;
		902
		903	my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
		904	$WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
		905	};
		906
		907	# the \|\|= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
		908	# as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
		909	# post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
		910	# able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
		911
		912	$WATCHER \|\|= $guard;
684		913
685	@AnyEvent::post_detect	914	@AnyEvent::post_detect
686	If there are any code references in this array (you can "push" to it	915	If there are any code references in this array (you can "push" to it
687	before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly	916	before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly
688	after the event loop has been chosen.	917	after the event loop has been chosen.
689		918
690	You should check $AnyEvent::MODEL before adding to this array,	919	You should check $AnyEvent::MODEL before adding to this array,
691	though: if it contains a true value then the event loop has already	920	though: if it is defined then the event loop has already been
692	been detected, and the array will be ignored.	921	detected, and the array will be ignored.
693		922
694	Best use "AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }" instead.	923	Best use "AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }" when your application
		924	allows it, as it takes care of these details.
		925
		926	This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something
		927	useful when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is
		928	initialised, but do not need to even load it by default. This array
		929	provides the means to hook into AnyEvent passively, without loading
		930	it.
		931
		932	Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
		933	together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used
		934	by Coro to accomplish this):
		935
		936	if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
		937	# AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
		938	require Coro::AnyEvent;
		939	} else {
		940	# AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
		941	# as soon as it is
		942	push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
		943	}
695		944
696	WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE	945	WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
697	As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods	946	As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods
698	freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.	947	freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.
699		948
…		…
750	variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program	999	variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program
751	should exit cleanly.	1000	should exit cleanly.
752		1001
753	OTHER MODULES	1002	OTHER MODULES
754	The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use	1003	The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
755	AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules	1004	AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other
756	in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are	1005	AnyEvent modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the
757	available via CPAN.	1006	modules come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
758		1007
759	AnyEvent::Util	1008	AnyEvent::Util
760	Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but	1009	Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but
761	blocking functions such as "inet_aton" by event-/callback-based	1010	blocking functions such as "inet_aton" by event-/callback-based
762	versions.	1011	versions.
…		…
768	more.	1017	more.
769		1018
770	AnyEvent::Handle	1019	AnyEvent::Handle
771	Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and	1020	Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and
772	writes, supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully	1021	writes, supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully
773	transparent and non-blocking SSL/TLS.	1022	transparent and non-blocking SSL/TLS (via AnyEvent::TLS.
774		1023
775	AnyEvent::DNS	1024	AnyEvent::DNS
776	Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.	1025	Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
777		1026
778	AnyEvent::HTTP	1027	AnyEvent::HTTP
…		…
799		1048
800	AnyEvent::GPSD	1049	AnyEvent::GPSD
801	A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS	1050	A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS
802	information.	1051	information.
803		1052
		1053	AnyEvent::IRC
		1054	AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older
		1055	Net::IRC3).
		1056
		1057	AnyEvent::XMPP
		1058	AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the
		1059	older Net::XMPP2>.
		1060
804	AnyEvent::IGS	1061	AnyEvent::IGS
805	A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by	1062	A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
806	App::IGS).	1063	App::IGS).
807		1064
808	AnyEvent::IRC
809	AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older
810	Net::IRC3).
811
812	Net::XMPP2
813	AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
814
815	Net::FCP	1065	Net::FCP
816	AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol,	1066	AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol,
817	birthplace of AnyEvent.	1067	birthplace of AnyEvent.
818		1068
819	Event::ExecFlow	1069	Event::ExecFlow
820	High level API for event-based execution flow control.	1070	High level API for event-based execution flow control.
821		1071
822	Coro	1072	Coro
823	Has special support for AnyEvent via Coro::AnyEvent.	1073	Has special support for AnyEvent via Coro::AnyEvent.
824		1074
825	IO::Lambda	1075	SIMPLIFIED AE API
826	The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use	1076	Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
827	AnyEvent.	1077	simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
		1078	overhead.
		1079
		1080	See the AE manpage for details.
828		1081
829	ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING	1082	ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
830	In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the	1083	In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
831	caller to do that if required. The AnyEvent::Strict module (see also the	1084	caller to do that if required. The AnyEvent::Strict module (see also the
832	"PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT" environment variable, below) provides strict	1085	"PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT" environment variable, below) provides strict
…		…
842	"condvar->recv"), the Event and EV modules call "$Event/EV::DIED->()",	1095	"condvar->recv"), the Event and EV modules call "$Event/EV::DIED->()",
843	Glib uses "install_exception_handler" and so on.	1096	Glib uses "install_exception_handler" and so on.
844		1097
845	ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES	1098	ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
846	The following environment variables are used by this module or its	1099	The following environment variables are used by this module or its
847	submodules:	1100	submodules.
		1101
		1102	Note that AnyEvent will remove all environment variables starting with
		1103	"PERL_ANYEVENT_" from %ENV when it is loaded while taint mode is
		1104	enabled.
848		1105
849	"PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE"	1106	"PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE"
850	By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal	1107	By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
851	conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent	1108	conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent
852	more talkative.	1109	more talkative.
…		…
855	conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified	1112	conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified
856	by "PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL".	1113	by "PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL".
857		1114
858	When set to 2 or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which	1115	When set to 2 or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which
859	event model it chooses.	1116	event model it chooses.
		1117
		1118	When set to 8 or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information
		1119	on which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain
		1120	features.
860		1121
861	"PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT"	1122	"PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT"
862	AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough	1123	AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
863	argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true	1124	argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true
864	value will cause AnyEvent to load "AnyEvent::Strict" and then to	1125	value will cause AnyEvent to load "AnyEvent::Strict" and then to
865	thoroughly check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it	1126	thoroughly check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it
866	finds any problems it will croak.	1127	finds any problems, it will croak.
867		1128
868	In other words, enables "strict" mode.	1129	In other words, enables "strict" mode.
869		1130
870	Unlike "use strict", it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in	1131	Unlike "use strict" (or it's modern cousin, "use common::sense", it
871	production. Keeping "PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1" in your environment	1132	is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
		1133	"PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1" in your environment while developing
872	while developing programs can be very useful, however.	1134	programs can be very useful, however.
873		1135
874	"PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL"	1136	"PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL"
875	This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent,	1137	This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent,
876	before auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string	1138	before auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string
877	consisting entirely of ASCII letters. The string "AnyEvent::Impl::"	1139	consisting entirely of ASCII letters. The string "AnyEvent::Impl::"
…		…
918	EDNS0 in its DNS requests.	1180	EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
919		1181
920	"PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS"	1182	"PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS"
921	The maximum number of child processes that	1183	The maximum number of child processes that
922	"AnyEvent::Util::fork_call" will create in parallel.	1184	"AnyEvent::Util::fork_call" will create in parallel.
		1185
		1186	"PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS"
		1187	The default value for the "max_outstanding" parameter for the
		1188	default DNS resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS
		1189	requests that are sent to the DNS server.
		1190
		1191	"PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF"
		1192	The file to use instead of /etc/resolv.conf (or OS-specific
		1193	configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty
		1194	string, no default config will be used.
		1195
		1196	"PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE", "PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH".
		1197	When neither "ca_file" nor "ca_path" was specified during
		1198	AnyEvent::TLS context creation, and either of these environment
		1199	variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate
		1200	locations instead of a system-dependent default.
		1201
		1202	"PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD" and "PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT"
		1203	When these are set to 1, then the respective modules are not loaded.
		1204	Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
923		1205
924	SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE	1206	SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
925	This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent	1207	This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent
926	in a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want	1208	in a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want
927	to provide AnyEvent compatibility.	1209	to provide AnyEvent compatibility.
…		…
982	warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read	1264	warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
983	$cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i	1265	$cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
984	},	1266	},
985	);	1267	);
986		1268
987	my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
988
989	sub new_timer {
990	$timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {	1269	my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
991	warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second	1270	warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
992	&new_timer; # and restart the time
993	});
994	}	1271	});
995
996	new_timer; # create first timer
997		1272
998	$cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i	1273	$cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
999		1274
1000	REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE	1275	REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1001	Consider the Net::FCP module. It features (among others) the following	1276	Consider the Net::FCP module. It features (among others) the following
…		…
1128	through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero	1403	through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1129	timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,	1404	timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1130	which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.	1405	which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1131		1406
1132	Source code for this benchmark is found as eg/bench in the AnyEvent	1407	Source code for this benchmark is found as eg/bench in the AnyEvent
1133	distribution.	1408	distribution. It uses the AE interface, which makes a real difference
		1409	for the EV and Perl backends only.
1134		1410
1135	Explanation of the columns	1411	Explanation of the columns
1136	watcher is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since	1412	watcher is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1137	different event models feature vastly different performances, each event	1413	different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1138	loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is	1414	loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is
…		…
1157	destroy is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a	1433	destroy is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a
1158	single watcher.	1434	single watcher.
1159		1435
1160	Results	1436	Results
1161	name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment	1437	name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1162	EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface	1438	EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
1163	EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers	1439	EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1164	CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal	1440	Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1165	Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation	1441	Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
1166	Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface	1442	Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
1167	Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers	1443	Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
		1444	IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
		1445	IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1168	Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour	1446	Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
1169	Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers	1447	Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1170	POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event	1448	POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
1171	POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select	1449	POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1172		1450
1173	Discussion	1451	Discussion
1174	The benchmark does not measure scalability of the event loop very	1452	The benchmark does not measure scalability of the event loop very
1175	well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)	1453	well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1176	can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of	1454	can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
…		…
1187	benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with	1465	benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1188	EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000	1466	EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000
1189	CPU cycles with POE.	1467	CPU cycles with POE.
1190		1468
1191	"EV" is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both	1469	"EV" is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1192	maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses	1470	maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the AE API there is zero
		1471	overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
		1472	slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
1193	far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event	1473	any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1194	natively.
1195		1474
1196	The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the	1475	The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1197	constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the	1476	constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the
1198	perl interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that	1477	perl interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that
1199	it adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend	1478	it adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend
…		…
1201	few of them active), of course, but this was not subject of this	1480	few of them active), of course, but this was not subject of this
1202	benchmark.	1481	benchmark.
1203		1482
1204	The "Event" module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation	1483	The "Event" module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1205	cost, but overall scores in on the third place.	1484	cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
		1485
		1486	"IO::Async" performs admirably well, about on par with "Event", even
		1487	when using its pure perl backend.
1206		1488
1207	"Glib"'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a faster	1489	"Glib"'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a faster
1208	callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as "Event".	1490	callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as "Event".
1209	However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of watchers	1491	However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of watchers
1210	increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, making it	1492	increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, making it
…		…
1266	In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which	1548	In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which
1267	100 (1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with	1549	100 (1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with
1268	many connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.	1550	many connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1269		1551
1270	Source code for this benchmark is found as eg/bench2 in the AnyEvent	1552	Source code for this benchmark is found as eg/bench2 in the AnyEvent
1271	distribution.	1553	distribution. It uses the AE interface, which makes a real difference
		1554	for the EV and Perl backends only.
1272		1555
1273	Explanation of the columns	1556	Explanation of the columns
1274	sockets is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers"	1557	sockets is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers"
1275	(as each server has a read and write socket end).	1558	(as each server has a read and write socket end).
1276		1559
…		…
1281	single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and	1564	single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and
1282	forwarding it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout	1565	forwarding it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout
1283	and creating a new one that moves the timeout into the future.	1566	and creating a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1284		1567
1285	Results	1568	Results
1286	name sockets create request	1569	name sockets create request
1287	EV 20000 69.01 11.16	1570	EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1288	Perl 20000 73.32 35.87	1571	Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1289	Event 20000 212.62 257.32	1572	IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1290	Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30	1573	IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
		1574	Event 20000 202.69 242.91
		1575	Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1291	POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event	1576	POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1292		1577
1293	Discussion	1578	Discussion
1294	This benchmark does measure scalability and overall performance of the	1579	This benchmark does measure scalability and overall performance of the
1295	particular event loop.	1580	particular event loop.
1296		1581
1297	EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup	1582	EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup
1298	time is relatively high, though.	1583	time is relatively high, though.
1299		1584
1300	Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event	1585	Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1301	loops Event and Glib.	1586	loops Event and Glib.
		1587
		1588	IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still
		1589	quite good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1302		1590
1303	Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you	1591	Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you
1304	will understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead	1592	will understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead
1305	compared to the "$_->() for .."-style loop that the Perl event loop	1593	compared to the "$_->() for .."-style loop that the Perl event loop
1306	uses. Event uses select or poll in basically all documented	1594	uses. Event uses select or poll in basically all documented
…		…
1357		1645
1358	Summary	1646	Summary
1359	* C-based event loops perform very well with small number of watchers,	1647	* C-based event loops perform very well with small number of watchers,
1360	as the management overhead dominates.	1648	as the management overhead dominates.
1361		1649
		1650	THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
		1651	Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
		1652	could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the
		1653	benchmark simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks
		1654	better (which shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the
		1655	benchmark is fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from
		1656	IO::Lambda isn't very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used
		1657	without the extra baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent
		1658	benchmark for AnyEvent.
		1659
		1660	The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
		1661	connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
		1662	creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it
		1663	doesn't test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O,
		1664	but it is a benchmark nevertheless.
		1665
		1666	name runtime
		1667	Lambda/select 0.330 sec
		1668	+ optimized 0.122 sec
		1669	Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
		1670	+ optimized 0.138 sec
		1671	Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
		1672	POE/select, components 0.662 sec
		1673	POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
		1674	POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
		1675
		1676	AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
		1677	AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
		1678	+state machine 0.134 sec
		1679
		1680	The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
		1681	benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
		1682	defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
		1683	written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
		1684	AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
		1685	resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking
		1686	connects generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling
		1687	than blocking connects (which involve a single syscall only).
		1688
		1689	The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses AnyEvent::Handle, which
		1690	offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using
		1691	conventional Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the
		1692	client are 100% non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
		1693
		1694	As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
		1695	hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
		1696	backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
		1697
		1698	And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
		1699	slow :) AnyEvent::Handle abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
		1700	higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
		1701	it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
		1702
		1703	The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as eg/ae0.pl and
		1704	eg/ae2.pl in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
		1705	part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
		1706
1362	SIGNALS	1707	SIGNALS
1363	AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:	1708	AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1364		1709
1365	SIGCHLD	1710	SIGCHLD
1366	A handler for "SIGCHLD" is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher	1711	A handler for "SIGCHLD" is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1367	emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also,	1712	emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also,
1368	some event loops install a similar handler.	1713	some event loops install a similar handler.
		1714
		1715	Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE,
		1716	then AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit
		1717	statuses.
1369		1718
1370	SIGPIPE	1719	SIGPIPE
1371	A no-op handler is installed for "SIGPIPE" when $SIG{PIPE} is	1720	A no-op handler is installed for "SIGPIPE" when $SIG{PIPE} is
1372	"undef" when AnyEvent gets loaded.	1721	"undef" when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1373		1722
…		…
1381	it is that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on	1730	it is that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on
1382	exec.	1731	exec.
1383		1732
1384	Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.	1733	Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
1385		1734
		1735	RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
		1736	One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
		1737	it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
		1738
		1739	That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
		1740	modules if they are installed.
		1741
		1742	This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how
		1743	they affect AnyEvent's operation.
		1744
		1745	Async::Interrupt
		1746	This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal
		1747	handling: To my knowledge, there is no way to do completely
		1748	race-free and quick signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that
		1749	signals still get delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer
		1750	to wake up perl (and catch the signals) with some delay (default is
		1751	10 seconds, look for $AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY).
		1752
		1753	If this module is available, then it will be used to implement
		1754	signal catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and
		1755	the event loop will not be interrupted regularly, which is more
		1756	efficient (and good for battery life on laptops).
		1757
		1758	This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event
		1759	loops that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
		1760
		1761	Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers
		1762	natively, and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use
		1763	AnyEvent's workaround (using $AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY).
		1764	Installing Async::Interrupt does nothing for those backends.
		1765
		1766	EV This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the
		1767	backend event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the
		1768	best event loop available in terms of features, speed and stability:
		1769	It supports the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher
		1770	types in XS, does automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic
		1771	clock is available, can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces
		1772	such as "epoll" and "kqueue", and is the fastest backend by far.
		1773	You can even embed Glib/Gtk2 in it (or vice versa, see EV::Glib and
		1774	Glib::EV).
		1775
		1776	Guard
		1777	The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
		1778	"AnyEvent::Util::guard". This speeds up guards considerably (and
		1779	uses a lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard
		1780	operation much. It is purely used for performance.
		1781
		1782	JSON and JSON::XS
		1783	One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON
		1784	data via AnyEvent::Handle. It is also written in pure-perl, but can
		1785	take advantage of the ultra-high-speed JSON::XS module when it is
		1786	installed.
		1787
		1788	In fact, AnyEvent::Handle will use JSON::XS by default if it is
		1789	installed.
		1790
		1791	Net::SSLeay
		1792	Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
		1793	worthwhile: If this module is installed, then AnyEvent::Handle (with
		1794	the help of AnyEvent::TLS), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
		1795
		1796	Time::HiRes
		1797	This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used
		1798	when the chosen event library does not come with a timing source on
		1799	it's own. The pure-perl event loop (AnyEvent::Impl::Perl) will
		1800	additionally use it to try to use a monotonic clock for timing
		1801	stability.
		1802
1386	FORK	1803	FORK
1387	Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are	1804	Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1388	because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe "select" or "poll" calls.	1805	because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe "select" or "poll" calls.
1389	Only EV is fully fork-aware.	1806	Only EV is fully fork-aware.
1390		1807
		1808	This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
		1809	the child if a watcher was created before the fork (which in turn
		1810	initialises the event library).
		1811
1391	If you have to fork, you must either do so before creating your first	1812	If you have to fork, you must either do so before creating your first
1392	watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.	1813	watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
		1814	something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
		1815
		1816	The problem of doing event processing in the parent and the child is
		1817	much more complicated: even for backends that are fork-aware or
		1818	fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
		1819	watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
		1820	parent and child, which is almost never what you want.
1393		1821
1394	SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS	1822	SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1395	AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via	1823	AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1396	$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used	1824	$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used
1397	to execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used	1825	to execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used
…		…
1401		1829
1402	You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it	1830	You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1403	before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a "BEGIN" block:	1831	before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a "BEGIN" block:
1404		1832
1405	BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }	1833	BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1406		1834
1407	use AnyEvent;	1835	use AnyEvent;
1408		1836
1409	Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can	1837	Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1410	be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which	1838	be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which
1411	is probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL),	1839	is probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL),
1412	and $ENV{PERL_ANYEGENT_STRICT}.	1840	and $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
		1841
		1842	Note that AnyEvent will remove all environment variables starting with
		1843	"PERL_ANYEVENT_" from %ENV when it is loaded while taint mode is
		1844	enabled.
1413		1845
1414	BUGS	1846	BUGS
1415	Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are	1847	Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are
1416	hard to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl	1848	hard to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl
1417	5.10 and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other	1849	5.10 and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other
…		…
1424	Event modules: EV, EV::Glib, Glib::EV, Event, Glib::Event, Glib, Tk,	1856	Event modules: EV, EV::Glib, Glib::EV, Event, Glib::Event, Glib, Tk,
1425	Event::Lib, Qt, POE.	1857	Event::Lib, Qt, POE.
1426		1858
1427	Implementations: AnyEvent::Impl::EV, AnyEvent::Impl::Event,	1859	Implementations: AnyEvent::Impl::EV, AnyEvent::Impl::Event,
1428	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib, AnyEvent::Impl::Tk, AnyEvent::Impl::Perl,	1860	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib, AnyEvent::Impl::Tk, AnyEvent::Impl::Perl,
1429	AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib, AnyEvent::Impl::Qt, AnyEvent::Impl::POE.	1861	AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib, AnyEvent::Impl::Qt, AnyEvent::Impl::POE,
		1862	AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync, Anyevent::Impl::Irssi.
1430		1863
1431	Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and servers:	1864	Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and servers:
1432	AnyEvent::Handle, AnyEvent::Socket.	1865	AnyEvent::Handle, AnyEvent::Socket, AnyEvent::TLS.
1433		1866
1434	Asynchronous DNS: AnyEvent::DNS.	1867	Asynchronous DNS: AnyEvent::DNS.
1435		1868
1436	Coroutine support: Coro, Coro::AnyEvent, Coro::EV, Coro::Event,	1869	Coroutine support: Coro, Coro::AnyEvent, Coro::EV, Coro::Event,
1437		1870
1438	Nontrivial usage examples: Net::FCP, Net::XMPP2, AnyEvent::DNS.	1871	Nontrivial usage examples: AnyEvent::GPSD, AnyEvent::XMPP,
		1872	AnyEvent::HTTP.
1439		1873
1440	AUTHOR	1874	AUTHOR
1441	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>	1875	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1442	http://home.schmorp.de/	1876	http://home.schmorp.de/
1443		1877

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Comparing AnyEvent/README (file contents): Revision 1.37 by root, Mon Apr 20 14:34:18 2009 UTC vs. Revision 1.58 by root, Sun Dec 20 22:49:52 2009 UTC

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Comparing AnyEvent/README (file contents):
Revision 1.37 by root, Mon Apr 20 14:34:18 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.58 by root, Sun Dec 20 22:49:52 2009 UTC