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Revision 1.23 by root, Wed Mar 7 17:37:24 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.135 by root, Sun May 25 04:49:01 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 => NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5Event, Coro, Glib, Tk, Perl - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops
6 6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 8
9 use AnyEvent; 9 use AnyEvent;
10 10
14 14
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub {
16 ... 16 ...
17 }); 17 });
18 18
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores wether a condition was flagged 19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 21 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 22
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops.
37
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use.
43
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible.
66
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module.
22 70
23=head1 DESCRIPTION 71=head1 DESCRIPTION
24 72
25L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 73L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
26allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 74allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
27users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 75users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist
28peacefully at any one time). 76peacefully at any one time).
29 77
30The interface itself is vaguely similar but not identical to the Event 78The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
31module. 79module.
32 80
33On the first call of any method, the module tries to detect the currently 81During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
34loaded event loop by probing wether any of the following modules is 82to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
35loaded: L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>. The first one found is 83following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
36used. If none is found, the module tries to load these modules in the 84L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
37order given. The first one that could be successfully loaded will be 85L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
38used. If still none could be found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl 86to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
39event loop, which is also not very efficient. 87adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
88be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
89found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
90very efficient, but should work everywhere.
40 91
41Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 92Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
42an Event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 93an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
43that model the default. For example: 94that model the default. For example:
44 95
45 use Tk; 96 use Tk;
46 use AnyEvent; 97 use AnyEvent;
47 98
48 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 99 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
100
101The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
49 104
50The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
51C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
52explicitly. 107explicitly.
53 108
54=head1 WATCHERS 109=head1 WATCHERS
55 110
56AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
57stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 112stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
58the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 113the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
59 114
60These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
61creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke 116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control).
119
62the callback. To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by 120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
63setting the variable that stores it to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all 121variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
64references to it). 122to it).
65 123
66All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
67 125
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
130
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w;
134 });
135
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared.
139
68=head2 IO WATCHERS 140=head2 I/O WATCHERS
69 141
70You can create I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method with 142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
71the following mandatory arguments: 143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
72 144
73C<fh> the Perl I<filehandle> (not filedescriptor) to watch for 145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch
74events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, that creates 146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>,
75a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events. C<cb> teh callback 147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events,
76to invoke everytime the filehandle becomes ready. 148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle
149becomes ready.
77 150
78Only one io watcher per C<fh> and C<poll> combination is allowed (i.e. on 151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
79a socket you can have one r + one w, not any more (limitation comes from 152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
80Tk - if you are sure you are not using Tk this limitation is gone). 153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
81 154
82Filehandles will be kept alive, so as long as the watcher exists, the 155The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
83filehandle exists, too. 156You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
157underlying file descriptor.
158
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles.
84 162
85Example: 163Example:
86 164
87 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher
88 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
94=head2 TIME WATCHERS 172=head2 TIME WATCHERS
95 173
96You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 174You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
97method with the following mandatory arguments: 175method with the following mandatory arguments:
98 176
99C<after> after how many seconds (fractions are supported) should the timer 177C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
100activate. C<cb> the callback to invoke. 178supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
179in that case.
180
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
101 184
102The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating
103timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk
104and Glib). 187and Glib).
105 188
109 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
110 warn "timeout\n"; 193 warn "timeout\n";
111 }); 194 });
112 195
113 # to cancel the timer: 196 # to cancel the timer:
114 undef $w 197 undef $w;
115 198
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second
202 my $w;
203
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb);
207 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
216o'clock").
217
218While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
219use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
220"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
221the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
222fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire.
223
224AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
225about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
226on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
227timers.
228
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API.
231
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
235I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241
242Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
244that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
245but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
246
247The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
248between multiple watchers.
249
250This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
251directly will likely not work correctly.
252
253Example: exit on SIGINT
254
255 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
256
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types,
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments.
267
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
269I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271
272Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for
273event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be
274loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place).
275
276This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>).
279
280Example: fork a process and wait for it
281
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283
284 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
285
286 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
287 pid => $pid,
288 cb => sub {
289 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
290 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
291 $done->send;
292 },
293 );
294
295 # do something else, then wait for process exit
296 $done->recv;
297
116=head2 CONDITION WATCHERS 298=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
117 299
300If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
301require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
302will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
303
304AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and
305will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
306
307The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
308because they represent a condition that must become true.
309
118Condition watchers can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 310Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
119method without any arguments. 311>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
312C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
313becomes true.
120 314
121A condition watcher watches for a condition - precisely that the C<< 315After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
122->broadcast >> method has been called. 316by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
317were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
318->send >> method).
123 319
124The watcher has only two methods: 320Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
321optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
322in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
323another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
324used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
325a result.
125 326
126=over 4 327Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
328for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
329then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
330availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
331called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
127 332
128=item $cv->wait 333You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
334you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
335could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
336button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
129 337
130Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
131called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 339two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
340lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
342as this asks for trouble.
132 343
133Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case, so 344Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
134if you are using this from a module, never require a blocking wait, but 345used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
135let the caller decide wether the call will block or not (for example, 346easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
136by coupling condition variables with some kind of request results and 347AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
137supporting callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not 348it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
138block, while still suppporting blockign waits if the caller so desires).
139 349
140You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 350There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
141immediately. 351eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
352for the send to occur.
142 353
143=item $cv->broadcast 354Example: wait for a timer.
144
145Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further
146calls to C<wait> will return after this method has been called. If nobody
147is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..
148
149Example:
150 355
151 # wait till the result is ready 356 # wait till the result is ready
152 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 357 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
153 358
154 # do something such as adding a timer 359 # do something such as adding a timer
155 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 360 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
156 # when the "result" is ready. 361 # when the "result" is ready.
362 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
363 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
364 after => 1,
365 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
366 );
157 367
368 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
369 # calls send
158 $result_ready->wait; 370 $result_ready->recv;
371
372Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that
373condition variables are also code references.
374
375 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
376 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
377 $done->recv;
378
379=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
380
381These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
382code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
383the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
384uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
385
386=over 4
387
388=item $cv->send (...)
389
390Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
391calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
392called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
393
394If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
395immediately from within send.
396
397Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
398future C<< ->recv >> calls.
399
400Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly
401(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
402C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle
403overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
404instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
405support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
406invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
407example).
408
409=item $cv->croak ($error)
410
411Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
412C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
413
414This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
415user/consumer.
416
417=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
418
419=item $cv->end
420
421These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
422
423These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
424one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
425to use a condition variable for the whole process.
426
427Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
428C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
429>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
430is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
431callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
432
433Let's clarify this with the ping example:
434
435 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
436
437 my %result;
438 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
439
440 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
441 $cv->begin;
442 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
443 $result{$host} = ...;
444 $cv->end;
445 };
446 }
447
448 $cv->end;
449
450This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
451C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
452order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
453each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
454it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
455results arrive is not relevant.
456
457There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
458loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
459to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
460C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
461doesn't execute once).
462
463This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
464use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
465is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
466C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
159 467
160=back 468=back
161 469
162=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 470=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
163 471
164You can listen for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 472These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
165I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix. Multiple signals events can be clumped 473code awaits the condition.
166together into one callback invocation, and callback invocation might or
167might not be asynchronous.
168 474
169These watchers might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 475=over 4
170directly will likely not work correctly.
171 476
172Example: exit on SIGINT 477=item $cv->recv
173 478
174 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 479Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
480>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
481normally.
175 482
176=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 483You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
484will return immediately.
177 485
178You can also listen for the status of a child process specified by the 486If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
179C<pid> argument. The watcher will only trigger once. This works by 487function will call C<croak>.
180installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>.
181 488
182Example: wait for pid 1333 489In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
490in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
183 491
184 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => 1333, cb => sub { warn "exit status $?" }); 492Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
493(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
494using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
495caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
496condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
497callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
498while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
185 499
186=head1 GLOBALS 500Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
501sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
502multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
503can supply.
504
505The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
506fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
507versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
508C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
509coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
510
511You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
512only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
513time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
514waits otherwise.
515
516=item $bool = $cv->ready
517
518Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
519C<croak> have been called.
520
521=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback])
522
523This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
524replaces it before doing so.
525
526The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
527C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback
528or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
529
530=back
531
532=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
187 533
188=over 4 534=over 4
189 535
190=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 536=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
191 537
195C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 541C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
196AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 542AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
197 543
198The known classes so far are: 544The known classes so far are:
199 545
200 AnyEvent::Impl::Coro based on Coro::Event, best choise. 546 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
201 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, also best choice :) 547 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
548 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
202 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, second-best choice. 549 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
203 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice. 550 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
204 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient. 551 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
552 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
553 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
554
555There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
556watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
557POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
558second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
559AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
560it's adaptor.
561
562AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
563autodetecting them.
205 564
206=item AnyEvent::detect 565=item AnyEvent::detect
207 566
208Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model if 567Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
209necessary. You should only call this function right before you would have 568if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
210created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, very late at runtime. 569have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
570runtime.
571
572=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
573
574Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
575autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
576
577If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
578that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
579L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
580
581=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
582
583If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
584before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
585the event loop has been chosen.
586
587You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
588if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
589and the array will be ignored.
590
591Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead.
211 592
212=back 593=back
213 594
214=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 595=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
215 596
216As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods 597As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
217freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it. 598freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.
218 599
219Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - Anyevent will 600Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
220decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 601decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
221by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 602by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
222to load the event module first. 603to load the event module first.
223 604
605Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
606the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
607because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
608events is to stay interactive.
609
610It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
611requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
612called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
613freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
614
224=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 615=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
225 616
226There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 617There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
227dictate which event model to use. 618dictate which event model to use.
228 619
229If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 620If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
230do anything special and let AnyEvent decide which implementation to chose. 621do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
622decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
231 623
232If the main program relies on a specific event model (for example, in Gtk2 624If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
233programs you have to rely on either Glib or Glib::Event), you should load 625Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
234it before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it, generally, as early 626event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
235as possible. The reason is that modules might create watchers when they 627speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
236are loaded, and AnyEvent will decide on the event model to use as soon as 628modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
237it creates watchers, and it might chose the wrong one unless you load the 629decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
238correct one yourself. 630might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
239 631
240You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 632You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
241loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, but letting AnyEvent chose is 633C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
242generally better. 634everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
635
636=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
637
638Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
639only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
640
641In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
642
643 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
644
645This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
646
647Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
648it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
649variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
650exit cleanly.
651
652
653=head1 OTHER MODULES
654
655The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
656AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
657in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are
658available via CPAN.
659
660=over 4
661
662=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
663
664Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
665functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
666
667=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
668
669Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
670
671=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
672
673Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
674addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
675connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
676
677=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
678
679Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
680
681=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
682
683Provides a simple web application server framework.
684
685=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
686
687The fastest ping in the west.
688
689=item L<Net::IRC3>
690
691AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
692
693=item L<Net::XMPP2>
694
695AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
696
697=item L<Net::FCP>
698
699AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
700of AnyEvent.
701
702=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
703
704High level API for event-based execution flow control.
705
706=item L<Coro>
707
708Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
709
710=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
711
712Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
713programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
714together.
715
716=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
717
718Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
719IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
720
721=item L<IO::Lambda>
722
723The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
724
725=back
243 726
244=cut 727=cut
245 728
246package AnyEvent; 729package AnyEvent;
247 730
248no warnings; 731no warnings;
249use strict; 732use strict;
733
250use Carp; 734use Carp;
251 735
252our $VERSION = '2.52'; 736our $VERSION = '4.03';
253our $MODEL; 737our $MODEL;
254 738
255our $AUTOLOAD; 739our $AUTOLOAD;
256our @ISA; 740our @ISA;
257 741
742our @REGISTRY;
743
258our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 744our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
259 745
260our @REGISTRY; 746our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2)
747
748{
749 my $idx;
750 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
751 for split /\s*,\s*/, $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
752}
261 753
262my @models = ( 754my @models = (
263 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Coro::], 755 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
264 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 756 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
265 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
266 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
267 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 757 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
758 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
759 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
760 # and is usually faster
761 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
762 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
763 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
764 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
765 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
766 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
767 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
268); 768);
269 769
270our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait signal one_event DESTROY); 770our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
771
772our @post_detect;
773
774sub post_detect(&) {
775 my ($cb) = @_;
776
777 if ($MODEL) {
778 $cb->();
779
780 1
781 } else {
782 push @post_detect, $cb;
783
784 defined wantarray
785 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
786 : ()
787 }
788}
789
790sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY {
791 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
792}
271 793
272sub detect() { 794sub detect() {
273 unless ($MODEL) { 795 unless ($MODEL) {
274 no strict 'refs'; 796 no strict 'refs';
275 797
798 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
799 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
800 if (eval "require $model") {
801 $MODEL = $model;
802 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
803 } else {
804 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
805 }
806 }
807
276 # check for already loaded models 808 # check for already loaded models
809 unless ($MODEL) {
277 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 810 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
278 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 811 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
279 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 812 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
280 if (eval "require $model") { 813 if (eval "require $model") {
281 $MODEL = $model; 814 $MODEL = $model;
282 warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 815 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
283 last; 816 last;
817 }
284 } 818 }
285 } 819 }
286 }
287 820
288 unless ($MODEL) { 821 unless ($MODEL) {
289 # try to load a model 822 # try to load a model
290 823
291 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 824 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
292 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 825 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
293 if (eval "require $package" 826 if (eval "require $package"
294 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 827 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
295 and eval "require $model") { 828 and eval "require $model") {
296 $MODEL = $model; 829 $MODEL = $model;
297 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 830 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
298 last; 831 last;
832 }
299 } 833 }
834
835 $MODEL
836 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
300 } 837 }
301
302 $MODEL
303 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: Event (or Coro+Event), Glib or Tk.";
304 } 838 }
305 839
306 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 840 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
307 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 841 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
842
843 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
308 } 844 }
309 845
310 $MODEL 846 $MODEL
311} 847}
312 848
322 $class->$func (@_); 858 $class->$func (@_);
323} 859}
324 860
325package AnyEvent::Base; 861package AnyEvent::Base;
326 862
327# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 863# default implementation for ->condvar
328 864
329sub condvar { 865sub condvar {
330 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 866 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
331}
332
333sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
334 ${$_[0]}++;
335}
336
337sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
338 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
339} 867}
340 868
341# default implementation for ->signal 869# default implementation for ->signal
342 870
343our %SIG_CB; 871our %SIG_CB;
366 894
367# default implementation for ->child 895# default implementation for ->child
368 896
369our %PID_CB; 897our %PID_CB;
370our $CHLD_W; 898our $CHLD_W;
899our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
371our $PID_IDLE; 900our $PID_IDLE;
372our $WNOHANG; 901our $WNOHANG;
373 902
374sub _child_wait { 903sub _child_wait {
375 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 904 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
376 $_->() for values %{ (delete $PID_CB{$pid}) || {} }; 905 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
906 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
377 } 907 }
378 908
379 undef $PID_IDLE; 909 undef $PID_IDLE;
910}
911
912sub _sigchld {
913 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
914 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
915 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
916 &_child_wait;
917 });
380} 918}
381 919
382sub child { 920sub child {
383 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 921 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
384 922
385 my $pid = uc $arg{pid} 923 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
386 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 924 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
387 925
388 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 926 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
389 927
390 unless ($WNOHANG) { 928 unless ($WNOHANG) {
391 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 929 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
392 } 930 }
393 931
394 unless ($CHLD_W) { 932 unless ($CHLD_W) {
395 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_child_wait); 933 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
396 # child could be a zombie already 934 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
397 $PID_IDLE ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => \&_child_wait); 935 &_sigchld;
398 } 936 }
399 937
400 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 938 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child"
401} 939}
402 940
407 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 945 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
408 946
409 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 947 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
410} 948}
411 949
950package AnyEvent::CondVar;
951
952our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
953
954package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
955
956use overload
957 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
958 fallback => 1;
959
960sub _send {
961 # nop
962}
963
964sub send {
965 my $cv = shift;
966 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
967 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
968 $cv->_send;
969}
970
971sub croak {
972 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
973 $_[0]->send;
974}
975
976sub ready {
977 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
978}
979
980sub _wait {
981 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
982}
983
984sub recv {
985 $_[0]->_wait;
986
987 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
988 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
989}
990
991sub cb {
992 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
993 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
994}
995
996sub begin {
997 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
998 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
999}
1000
1001sub end {
1002 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1003 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1004}
1005
1006# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1007*broadcast = \&send;
1008*wait = \&_wait;
1009
412=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1010=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1011
1012This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1013a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1014provide AnyEvent compatibility.
413 1015
414If you need to support another event library which isn't directly 1016If you need to support another event library which isn't directly
415supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by 1017supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by
416pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of 1018pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of
417the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto 1019the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto
418C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading 1020C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading
419AnyEvent. 1021AnyEvent, so it is reasonably cheap.
420 1022
421Example: 1023Example:
422 1024
423 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::]; 1025 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];
424 1026
425This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::> 1027This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>
426package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is loaded. When 1028package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is already loaded.
1029
427AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it will 1030When AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it
428first check for the presence of urxvt. 1031will first check for the presence of urxvt by trying to C<use> the
1032C<urxvt::anyevent> module.
429 1033
430The class should provide implementations for all watcher types (see 1034The class should provide implementations for all watcher types. See
431L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> 1035L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> (Source code)
432(Source code) and so on for actual examples, use C<perldoc -m 1036and so on for actual examples. Use C<perldoc -m AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to
433AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to see the sources). 1037see the sources.
434 1038
1039If you don't provide C<signal> and C<child> watchers than AnyEvent will
1040provide suitable (hopefully) replacements.
1041
435The above isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt) 1042The above example isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)
436uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included in AnyEvent 1043terminal emulator uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included
437because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter inside 1044in AnyEvent because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter
438I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the 1045inside I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the
439I<rxvt-unicode> distribution. 1046I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.
440 1047
441I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1048I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
442condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1049condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
443C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1050C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
444not be in an interactive appliation, so it makes sense. 1051not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
445 1052
446=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 1053=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
447 1054
448The following environment variables are used by this module: 1055The following environment variables are used by this module:
449 1056
450C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, reports which event 1057=over 4
451model gets used.
452 1058
1059=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1060
1061By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1062conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1063talkative.
1064
1065When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1066conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1067C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1068
1069When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1070model it chooses.
1071
1072=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1073
1074This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1075auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1076entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1077and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1078used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1079auto detection and -probing.
1080
1081This functionality might change in future versions.
1082
1083For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1084could start your program like this:
1085
1086 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1087
1088=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1089
1090Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1091for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1092of auto probing).
1093
1094Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1095current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1096used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1097list.
1098
1099This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1100against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1101small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1102
1103Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1104but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1105- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1106addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1107IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1108
1109=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1110
1111Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1112for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1113some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1114default.
1115
1116Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1117EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1118
1119=back
1120
453=head1 EXAMPLE 1121=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
454 1122
455The following program uses an io watcher to read data from stdin, a timer 1123The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
456to display a message once per second, and a condvar to exit the program 1124to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
457when the user enters quit: 1125program when the user enters quit:
458 1126
459 use AnyEvent; 1127 use AnyEvent;
460 1128
461 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 1129 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
462 1130
463 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 1131 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (
1132 fh => \*STDIN,
1133 poll => 'r',
1134 cb => sub {
464 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1135 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
465 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1136 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
466 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1137 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
467 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1138 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1139 },
468 }); 1140 );
469 1141
470 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1142 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
471 1143
472 sub new_timer { 1144 sub new_timer {
473 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1145 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {
476 }); 1148 });
477 } 1149 }
478 1150
479 new_timer; # create first timer 1151 new_timer; # create first timer
480 1152
481 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1153 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
482 1154
483=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1155=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
484 1156
485Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1157Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
486API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1158API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
536 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1208 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
537 or die "connection or write error"; 1209 or die "connection or write error";
538 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1210 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
539 1211
540Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1212Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
541result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1213result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
542 1214
543 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1215 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
544 1216
545 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1217 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
546 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1218 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
547 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1219 $txn->{finished}->send;
548 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1220 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
549 } 1221 }
550 1222
551The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1223The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
552request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1224request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
553data: 1225data:
554 1226
555 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1227 $txn->{finished}->recv;
556 return $txn->{result}; 1228 return $txn->{result};
557 1229
558The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1230The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
559that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1231that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
560wether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1232whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
561and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1233and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
562problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1234problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
563random callback. 1235random callback.
564 1236
565All of this enables the following usage styles: 1237All of this enables the following usage styles:
566 1238
5671. Blocking: 12391. Blocking:
568 1240
569 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url); 1241 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);
570 1242
5712. Blocking, but parallelizing: 12432. Blocking, but running in parallel:
572 1244
573 my @datas = map $_->result, 1245 my @datas = map $_->result,
574 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_), 1246 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),
575 @urls; 1247 @urls;
576 1248
577Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know 1249Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know
578anything about events. 1250anything about events.
579 1251
5803a. Event-based in a main program, using any support Event module: 12523a. Event-based in a main program, using any supported event module:
581 1253
582 use Event; 1254 use EV;
583 1255
584 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1256 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
585 my $txn = shift; 1257 my $txn = shift;
586 my $data = $txn->result; 1258 my $data = $txn->result;
587 ... 1259 ...
588 }); 1260 });
589 1261
590 Event::loop; 1262 EV::loop;
591 1263
5923b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too: 12643b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:
593 1265
594 use AnyEvent; 1266 use AnyEvent;
595 1267
596 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1268 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
597 1269
598 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1270 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
599 ... 1271 ...
600 $quit->broadcast; 1272 $quit->send;
601 }); 1273 });
602 1274
603 $quit->wait; 1275 $quit->recv;
1276
1277
1278=head1 BENCHMARKS
1279
1280To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
1281over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
1282of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
1283
1284=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1285
1286Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1287through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1288timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1289which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1290
1291Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1292distribution.
1293
1294=head3 Explanation of the columns
1295
1296I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1297different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1298loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
1299and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
1300would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
1301of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
1302
1303I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
1304RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
1305and Perl-based overheads.
1306
1307I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
1308takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
1309all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1310and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1311
1312I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1313callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1314invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1315signal the end of this phase.
1316
1317I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1318watcher.
1319
1320=head3 Results
1321
1322 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1323 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface
1324 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1325 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1326 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation
1327 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface
1328 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1329 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour
1330 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1331 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event
1332 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select
1333
1334=head3 Discussion
1335
1336The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1337well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1338can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
1339file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
1340the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
1341boost.
1342
1343Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1344overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1345the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1346higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1347
1348To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1349benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1350EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1351cycles with POE.
1352
1353C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1354maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
1355far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
1356natively.
1357
1358The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1359constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1360interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1361adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1362performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1363them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1364
1365The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1366cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1367
1368C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1369faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1370C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1371watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1372making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
1373(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
1374inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
1375
1376The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
1377more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
1378precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
1379file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
1380employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
1381hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1382above).
1383
1384C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1385select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1386be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1387memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1388as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1389requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1390invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1391implementation.
1392
1393The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1394for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1395small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1396optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1397using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1398memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1399design).
1400
1401=head3 Summary
1402
1403=over 4
1404
1405=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
1406(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1407performance with or without AnyEvent.
1408
1409=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1410the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1411adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
1412
1413=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1414reasonable memory usage.
1415
1416=back
1417
1418=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1419
1420This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1421creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1422timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1423watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1424watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1425
1426The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1427are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1428fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1429timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1430most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1431
1432In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1433(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1434connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1435
1436Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1437distribution.
1438
1439=head3 Explanation of the columns
1440
1441I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1442each server has a read and write socket end).
1443
1444I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1445nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1446
1447I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1448single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1449it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1450a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1451
1452=head3 Results
1453
1454 name sockets create request
1455 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1456 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1457 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1458 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1459 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1460
1461=head3 Discussion
1462
1463This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1464particular event loop.
1465
1466EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1467is relatively high, though.
1468
1469Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1470loops Event and Glib.
1471
1472Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1473understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1474the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1475uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1476
1477Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
1478clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
1479
1480POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
1481as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
1482it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
1483
1484=head3 Summary
1485
1486=over 4
1487
1488=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1489
1490=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1491
1492=back
1493
1494=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
1495
1496While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
1497large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
1498I/O watchers.
1499
1500In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
1501case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
1502one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
1503well.
1504
1505The columns are identical to the previous table.
1506
1507=head3 Results
1508
1509 name sockets create request
1510 EV 16 20.00 6.54
1511 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1512 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1513 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1514 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1515
1516=head3 Discussion
1517
1518The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1519server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1520in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1521to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
1522speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1523them).
1524
1525EV is again fastest.
1526
1527Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1528loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1529matter.
1530
1531POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1532others.
1533
1534=head3 Summary
1535
1536=over 4
1537
1538=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1539watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1540
1541=back
1542
1543
1544=head1 FORK
1545
1546Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1547because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1548calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1549
1550If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1551watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1552
1553
1554=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1555
1556AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1557$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
1558execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
1559make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
1560will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
1561specified in the variable.
1562
1563You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1564before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1565
1566 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1567
1568 use AnyEvent;
1569
1570Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1571be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1572probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL).
1573
604 1574
605=head1 SEE ALSO 1575=head1 SEE ALSO
606 1576
607Event modules: L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>. 1577Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
608 1578
609Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::Coro>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>. 1579Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1580L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
610 1581
611Nontrivial usage example: L<Net::FCP>. 1582Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1583L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1584L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1585L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
612 1586
613=head1 1587Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1588servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
1589
1590Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1591
1592Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
1593
1594Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1595
1596
1597=head1 AUTHOR
1598
1599 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1600 http://home.schmorp.de/
614 1601
615=cut 1602=cut
616 1603
6171 16041
618 1605

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