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Revision 1.136 by root, Sun May 25 23:52:02 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 {
89 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
90 warn "read: $input\n"; 168 warn "read: $input\n";
91 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
92 }); 170 });
93 171
94=head2 TIMER WATCHERS 172=head2 TIME WATCHERS
95 173
96You can create a timer 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
470=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
471
472These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
473code awaits the condition.
474
475=over 4
476
477=item $cv->recv
478
479Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
480>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
481normally.
482
483You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
484will return immediately.
485
486If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
487function will call C<croak>.
488
489In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
490in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
491
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).
499
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
533
534=over 4
535
536=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
537
538Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it
539contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the
540Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the
541C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
542AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
543
544The known classes so far are:
545
546 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
547 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
548 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
549 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
550 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
551 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
552 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
553 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
554
555There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
556watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
557POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
558second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
559AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
560it's adaptor.
561
562AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
563autodetecting them.
564
565=item AnyEvent::detect
566
567Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
568if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
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.
592
593=back
594
162=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 595=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
163 596
164As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods 597As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
165freely, 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.
166 599
167Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - Anyevent will 600Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
168decide 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
169by 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
170to load the event module first. 603to load the event module first.
171 604
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
172=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 615=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
173 616
174There 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
175dictate which event model to use. 618dictate which event model to use.
176 619
177If 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
178do 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.
179 623
180If 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
181programs 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
182it before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it, generally, as early 626event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
183as possible. The reason is that modules might create watchers when they 627speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
184are 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
185it 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
186correct one yourself. 630might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
187 631
188You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 632You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
189loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, but letting AnyEvent chose is 633C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
190generally 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
191 726
192=cut 727=cut
193 728
194package AnyEvent; 729package AnyEvent;
195 730
196no warnings; 731no warnings;
197use strict 'vars'; 732use strict;
733
198use Carp; 734use Carp;
199 735
200our $VERSION = '2.0'; 736our $VERSION = '4.03';
201our $MODEL; 737our $MODEL;
202 738
203our $AUTOLOAD; 739our $AUTOLOAD;
204our @ISA; 740our @ISA;
205 741
742our @REGISTRY;
743
206our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 744our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
207 745
208our @REGISTRY; 746our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
747
748{
749 my $idx;
750 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
751 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
752 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
753}
209 754
210my @models = ( 755my @models = (
211 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Coro::], 756 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
212 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 757 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
213 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
214 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
215 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 758 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
759 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
760 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
761 # and is usually faster
762 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
763 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
764 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
765 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
766 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
767 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
768 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
216); 769);
217 770
218our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait DESTROY); 771our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
219 772
220sub AUTOLOAD { 773our @post_detect;
221 $AUTOLOAD =~ s/.*://;
222 774
223 $method{$AUTOLOAD} 775sub post_detect(&) {
224 or croak "$AUTOLOAD: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 776 my ($cb) = @_;
225 777
778 if ($MODEL) {
779 $cb->();
780
781 1
782 } else {
783 push @post_detect, $cb;
784
785 defined wantarray
786 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
787 : ()
788 }
789}
790
791sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY {
792 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
793}
794
795sub detect() {
226 unless ($MODEL) { 796 unless ($MODEL) {
797 no strict 'refs';
798
799 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
800 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
801 if (eval "require $model") {
802 $MODEL = $model;
803 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
804 } else {
805 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
806 }
807 }
808
227 # check for already loaded models 809 # check for already loaded models
810 unless ($MODEL) {
228 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 811 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
229 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 812 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
230 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 813 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
231 if (eval "require $model") { 814 if (eval "require $model") {
232 $MODEL = $model; 815 $MODEL = $model;
233 warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 816 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
234 last; 817 last;
818 }
235 } 819 }
236 } 820 }
821
822 unless ($MODEL) {
823 # try to load a model
824
825 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
826 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
827 if (eval "require $package"
828 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
829 and eval "require $model") {
830 $MODEL = $model;
831 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
832 last;
833 }
834 }
835
836 $MODEL
837 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
838 }
237 } 839 }
238 840
239 unless ($MODEL) { 841 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
240 # try to load a model 842 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
241 843
242 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 844 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
243 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
244 if (eval "require $model") {
245 $MODEL = $model;
246 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
247 last;
248 }
249 }
250
251 $MODEL
252 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: Coro, Event, Glib or Tk.";
253 }
254 } 845 }
255 846
256 @ISA = $MODEL; 847 $MODEL
848}
849
850sub AUTOLOAD {
851 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
852
853 $method{$func}
854 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
855
856 detect unless $MODEL;
257 857
258 my $class = shift; 858 my $class = shift;
259 $class->$AUTOLOAD (@_); 859 $class->$func (@_);
260} 860}
861
862package AnyEvent::Base;
863
864# default implementation for ->condvar
865
866sub condvar {
867 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
868}
869
870# default implementation for ->signal
871
872our %SIG_CB;
873
874sub signal {
875 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
876
877 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
878 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
879
880 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
881 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
882 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} };
883 };
884
885 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal"
886}
887
888sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
889 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
890
891 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
892
893 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
894}
895
896# default implementation for ->child
897
898our %PID_CB;
899our $CHLD_W;
900our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
901our $PID_IDLE;
902our $WNOHANG;
903
904sub _child_wait {
905 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
906 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
907 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
908 }
909
910 undef $PID_IDLE;
911}
912
913sub _sigchld {
914 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
915 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
916 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
917 &_child_wait;
918 });
919}
920
921sub child {
922 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
923
924 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
925 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
926
927 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
928
929 unless ($WNOHANG) {
930 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
931 }
932
933 unless ($CHLD_W) {
934 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
935 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
936 &_sigchld;
937 }
938
939 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child"
940}
941
942sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY {
943 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
944
945 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
946 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
947
948 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
949}
950
951package AnyEvent::CondVar;
952
953our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
954
955package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
956
957use overload
958 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
959 fallback => 1;
960
961sub _send {
962 # nop
963}
964
965sub send {
966 my $cv = shift;
967 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
968 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
969 $cv->_send;
970}
971
972sub croak {
973 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
974 $_[0]->send;
975}
976
977sub ready {
978 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
979}
980
981sub _wait {
982 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
983}
984
985sub recv {
986 $_[0]->_wait;
987
988 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
989 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
990}
991
992sub cb {
993 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
994 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
995}
996
997sub begin {
998 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
999 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1000}
1001
1002sub end {
1003 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1004 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1005}
1006
1007# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1008*broadcast = \&send;
1009*wait = \&_wait;
261 1010
262=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1011=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1012
1013This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1014a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1015provide AnyEvent compatibility.
263 1016
264If you need to support another event library which isn't directly 1017If you need to support another event library which isn't directly
265supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by 1018supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by
266pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of 1019pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of
267the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto 1020the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto
268C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading 1021C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading
269AnyEvent. 1022AnyEvent, so it is reasonably cheap.
270 1023
271Example: 1024Example:
272 1025
273 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::]; 1026 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];
274 1027
275This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::> 1028This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>
276package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is loaded. When 1029package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is already loaded.
1030
277AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it will 1031When AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it
278first check for the presence of urxvt. 1032will first check for the presence of urxvt by trying to C<use> the
1033C<urxvt::anyevent> module.
279 1034
280The class should prove implementations for all watcher types (see 1035The class should provide implementations for all watcher types. See
281L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> 1036L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> (Source code)
282(Source code) and so on for actual examples, use C<perldoc -m 1037and so on for actual examples. Use C<perldoc -m AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to
283AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to see the sources). 1038see the sources.
284 1039
1040If you don't provide C<signal> and C<child> watchers than AnyEvent will
1041provide suitable (hopefully) replacements.
1042
285The above isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt) 1043The above example isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)
286uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included in AnyEvent 1044terminal emulator uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included
287because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter inside 1045in AnyEvent because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter
288I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the 1046inside I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the
289I<rxvt-unicode> distribution. 1047I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.
290 1048
291I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1049I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
292condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1050condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
293C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1051C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
294not be in an interactive appliation, so it makes sense. 1052not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
295 1053
296=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 1054=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
297 1055
298The following environment variables are used by this module: 1056The following environment variables are used by this module:
299 1057
300C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, reports which event 1058=over 4
301model gets used.
302 1059
1060=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1061
1062By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1063conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1064talkative.
1065
1066When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1067conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1068C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1069
1070When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1071model it chooses.
1072
1073=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1074
1075This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1076auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1077entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1078and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1079used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1080auto detection and -probing.
1081
1082This functionality might change in future versions.
1083
1084For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1085could start your program like this:
1086
1087 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1088
1089=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1090
1091Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1092for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1093of auto probing).
1094
1095Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1096current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1097used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1098list.
1099
1100This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1101against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1102small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1103
1104Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1105but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1106- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1107addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1108IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1109
1110=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1111
1112Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1113for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1114some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1115default.
1116
1117Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1118EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1119
1120=back
1121
303=head1 EXAMPLE 1122=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
304 1123
305The following program uses an io watcher to read data from stdin, a timer 1124The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
306to display a message once per second, and a condvar to exit the program 1125to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
307when the user enters quit: 1126program when the user enters quit:
308 1127
309 use AnyEvent; 1128 use AnyEvent;
310 1129
311 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 1130 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
312 1131
313 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 1132 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (
1133 fh => \*STDIN,
1134 poll => 'r',
1135 cb => sub {
314 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1136 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
315 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1137 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
316 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1138 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
317 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1139 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1140 },
318 }); 1141 );
319 1142
320 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1143 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
321 1144
322 sub new_timer { 1145 sub new_timer {
323 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1146 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {
326 }); 1149 });
327 } 1150 }
328 1151
329 new_timer; # create first timer 1152 new_timer; # create first timer
330 1153
331 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1154 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
332 1155
333=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1156=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
334 1157
335Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1158Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
336API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1159API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
386 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1209 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
387 or die "connection or write error"; 1210 or die "connection or write error";
388 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1211 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
389 1212
390Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1213Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
391result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1214result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
392 1215
393 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1216 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
394 1217
395 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1218 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
396 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1219 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
397 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1220 $txn->{finished}->send;
398 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1221 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
399 } 1222 }
400 1223
401The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1224The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
402request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1225request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
403data: 1226data:
404 1227
405 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1228 $txn->{finished}->recv;
406 return $txn->{result}; 1229 return $txn->{result};
407 1230
408The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1231The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
409that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1232that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
410wether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1233whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
411and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1234and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
412problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1235problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
413random callback. 1236random callback.
414 1237
415All of this enables the following usage styles: 1238All of this enables the following usage styles:
416 1239
4171. Blocking: 12401. Blocking:
418 1241
419 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url); 1242 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);
420 1243
4212. Blocking, but parallelizing: 12442. Blocking, but running in parallel:
422 1245
423 my @datas = map $_->result, 1246 my @datas = map $_->result,
424 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_), 1247 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),
425 @urls; 1248 @urls;
426 1249
427Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know 1250Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know
428anything about events. 1251anything about events.
429 1252
4303a. Event-based in a main program, using any support Event module: 12533a. Event-based in a main program, using any supported event module:
431 1254
432 use Event; 1255 use EV;
433 1256
434 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1257 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
435 my $txn = shift; 1258 my $txn = shift;
436 my $data = $txn->result; 1259 my $data = $txn->result;
437 ... 1260 ...
438 }); 1261 });
439 1262
440 Event::loop; 1263 EV::loop;
441 1264
4423b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too: 12653b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:
443 1266
444 use AnyEvent; 1267 use AnyEvent;
445 1268
446 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1269 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
447 1270
448 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1271 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
449 ... 1272 ...
450 $quit->broadcast; 1273 $quit->send;
451 }); 1274 });
452 1275
453 $quit->wait; 1276 $quit->recv;
1277
1278
1279=head1 BENCHMARKS
1280
1281To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
1282over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
1283of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
1284
1285=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1286
1287Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1288through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1289timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1290which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1291
1292Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1293distribution.
1294
1295=head3 Explanation of the columns
1296
1297I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1298different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1299loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
1300and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
1301would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
1302of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
1303
1304I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
1305RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
1306and Perl-based overheads.
1307
1308I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
1309takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
1310all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1311and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1312
1313I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1314callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1315invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1316signal the end of this phase.
1317
1318I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1319watcher.
1320
1321=head3 Results
1322
1323 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1324 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface
1325 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1326 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1327 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation
1328 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface
1329 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1330 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour
1331 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1332 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event
1333 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select
1334
1335=head3 Discussion
1336
1337The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1338well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1339can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
1340file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
1341the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
1342boost.
1343
1344Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1345overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1346the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1347higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1348
1349To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1350benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1351EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1352cycles with POE.
1353
1354C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1355maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
1356far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
1357natively.
1358
1359The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1360constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1361interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1362adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1363performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1364them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1365
1366The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1367cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1368
1369C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1370faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1371C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1372watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1373making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
1374(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
1375inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
1376
1377The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
1378more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
1379precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
1380file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
1381employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
1382hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1383above).
1384
1385C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1386select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1387be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1388memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1389as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1390requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1391invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1392implementation.
1393
1394The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1395for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1396small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1397optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1398using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1399memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1400design).
1401
1402=head3 Summary
1403
1404=over 4
1405
1406=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
1407(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1408performance with or without AnyEvent.
1409
1410=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1411the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1412adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
1413
1414=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1415reasonable memory usage.
1416
1417=back
1418
1419=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1420
1421This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1422creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1423timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1424watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1425watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1426
1427The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1428are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1429fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1430timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1431most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1432
1433In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1434(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1435connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1436
1437Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1438distribution.
1439
1440=head3 Explanation of the columns
1441
1442I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1443each server has a read and write socket end).
1444
1445I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1446nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1447
1448I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1449single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1450it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1451a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1452
1453=head3 Results
1454
1455 name sockets create request
1456 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1457 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1458 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1459 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1460 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1461
1462=head3 Discussion
1463
1464This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1465particular event loop.
1466
1467EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1468is relatively high, though.
1469
1470Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1471loops Event and Glib.
1472
1473Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1474understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1475the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1476uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1477
1478Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
1479clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
1480
1481POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
1482as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
1483it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
1484
1485=head3 Summary
1486
1487=over 4
1488
1489=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1490
1491=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1492
1493=back
1494
1495=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
1496
1497While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
1498large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
1499I/O watchers.
1500
1501In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
1502case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
1503one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
1504well.
1505
1506The columns are identical to the previous table.
1507
1508=head3 Results
1509
1510 name sockets create request
1511 EV 16 20.00 6.54
1512 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1513 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1514 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1515 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1516
1517=head3 Discussion
1518
1519The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1520server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1521in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1522to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
1523speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1524them).
1525
1526EV is again fastest.
1527
1528Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1529loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1530matter.
1531
1532POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1533others.
1534
1535=head3 Summary
1536
1537=over 4
1538
1539=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1540watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1541
1542=back
1543
1544
1545=head1 FORK
1546
1547Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1548because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1549calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1550
1551If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1552watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1553
1554
1555=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1556
1557AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1558$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
1559execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
1560make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
1561will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
1562specified in the variable.
1563
1564You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1565before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1566
1567 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1568
1569 use AnyEvent;
1570
1571Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1572be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1573probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL).
1574
454 1575
455=head1 SEE ALSO 1576=head1 SEE ALSO
456 1577
457Event modules: L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>. 1578Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
458 1579
459Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::Coro>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>. 1580Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1581L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
460 1582
461Nontrivial usage example: L<Net::FCP>. 1583Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1584L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1585L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1586L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
462 1587
463=head1 1588Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1589servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
1590
1591Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1592
1593Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
1594
1595Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1596
1597
1598=head1 AUTHOR
1599
1600 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1601 http://home.schmorp.de/
464 1602
465=cut 1603=cut
466 1604
4671 16051
468 1606

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