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Revision 1.133 by root, Sun May 25 03:44:03 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).
123 318
124The watcher has only two methods: 319Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
320optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
321in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
322another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
323used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
324a result.
125 325
126=over 4 326Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
327for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
328then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
329availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
330called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
127 331
128=item $cv->wait 332You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
333you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
334could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
335button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
129 336
130Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 337Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
131called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 338two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
339lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
340you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
341as this asks for trouble.
132 342
133Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case, so 343Condition 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 344used 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, 345easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
136by coupling condition variables with some kind of request results and 346AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
137supporting callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not 347it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
138block, while still suppporting blockign waits if the caller so desires).
139 348
140You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 349There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
141immediately. 350eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
351for the send to occur.
142 352
143=item $cv->broadcast 353Example: 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:
150 354
151 # wait till the result is ready 355 # wait till the result is ready
152 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 356 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
153 357
154 # do something such as adding a timer 358 # do something such as adding a timer
155 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 359 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
156 # when the "result" is ready. 360 # when the "result" is ready.
361 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
362 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
363 after => 1,
364 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
365 );
157 366
367 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
368 # calls send
158 $result_ready->wait; 369 $result_ready->recv;
370
371Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that
372condition variables are also code references.
373
374 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
375 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
376 $done->recv;
377
378=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
379
380These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
381code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
382the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
383uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
384
385=over 4
386
387=item $cv->send (...)
388
389Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
390calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
391called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
392
393If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
394immediately from within send.
395
396Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
397future C<< ->recv >> calls.
398
399Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as a
400code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling C<send>.
401
402=item $cv->croak ($error)
403
404Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
405C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
406
407This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
408user/consumer.
409
410=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
411
412=item $cv->end
413
414These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
415
416These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
417one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
418to use a condition variable for the whole process.
419
420Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
421C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
422>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
423is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
424callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
425
426Let's clarify this with the ping example:
427
428 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
429
430 my %result;
431 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
432
433 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
434 $cv->begin;
435 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
436 $result{$host} = ...;
437 $cv->end;
438 };
439 }
440
441 $cv->end;
442
443This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
444C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
445order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
446each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
447it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
448results arrive is not relevant.
449
450There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
451loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
452to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
453C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
454doesn't execute once).
455
456This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
457use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
458is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
459C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
159 460
160=back 461=back
161 462
162=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 463=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
163 464
164You can listen for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 465These 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 466code awaits the condition.
166together into one callback invocation, and callback invocation might or
167might not be asynchronous.
168 467
169These watchers might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 468=over 4
170directly will likely not work correctly.
171 469
172Example: exit on SIGINT 470=item $cv->recv
173 471
174 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 472Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
473>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
474normally.
175 475
176=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 476You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
477will return immediately.
177 478
178You can also listen for the status of a child process specified by the 479If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
179C<pid> argument. The watcher will only trigger once. This works by 480function will call C<croak>.
180installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>.
181 481
182Example: wait for pid 1333 482In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
483in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
183 484
184 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => 1333, cb => sub { warn "exit status $?" }); 485Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
486(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
487using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
488caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
489condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
490callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
491while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
185 492
186=head1 GLOBALS 493Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
494sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
495multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
496can supply.
497
498The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
499fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
500versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
501C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
502coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
503
504You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
505only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
506time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
507waits otherwise.
508
509=item $bool = $cv->ready
510
511Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
512C<croak> have been called.
513
514=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback])
515
516This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
517replaces it before doing so.
518
519The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
520C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback
521or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
522
523=back
524
525=head3 MAINLOOP EMULATION
526
527Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs
528who only want to use AnyEvent), you I<do> want your program to block
529indefinitely in some event loop.
530
531In that case, you cna use a condition variable like this:
532
533 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
534
535This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
536
537Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
538it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
539variable, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should exit
540cleanly.
541
542
543=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
187 544
188=over 4 545=over 4
189 546
190=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 547=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
191 548
195C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 552C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
196AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 553AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
197 554
198The known classes so far are: 555The known classes so far are:
199 556
200 AnyEvent::Impl::Coro based on Coro::Event, best choise. 557 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
201 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, also best choice :) 558 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
559 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
202 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, second-best choice. 560 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
203 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice. 561 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
204 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient. 562 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
563 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
564 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
565
566There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
567watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
568POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
569second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
570AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
571it's adaptor.
572
573AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
574autodetecting them.
205 575
206=item AnyEvent::detect 576=item AnyEvent::detect
207 577
208Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model if 578Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
209necessary. You should only call this function right before you would have 579if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
210created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, very late at runtime. 580have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
581runtime.
582
583=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
584
585Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
586autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
587
588If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
589that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
590L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
591
592=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
593
594If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
595before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
596the event loop has been chosen.
597
598You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
599if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
600and the array will be ignored.
601
602Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead.
211 603
212=back 604=back
213 605
214=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 606=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
215 607
216As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods 608As 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. 609freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.
218 610
219Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - Anyevent will 611Be 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 612decide 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 613by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
222to load the event module first. 614to load the event module first.
223 615
616Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
617the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
618because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
619events is to stay interactive.
620
621It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
622requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
623called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
624freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
625
224=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 626=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
225 627
226There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 628There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
227dictate which event model to use. 629dictate which event model to use.
228 630
229If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 631If 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. 632do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
633decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
231 634
232If the main program relies on a specific event model (for example, in Gtk2 635If 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 636Gtk2 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 637event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
235as possible. The reason is that modules might create watchers when they 638speaking, 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 639modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
237it creates watchers, and it might chose the wrong one unless you load the 640decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
238correct one yourself. 641might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
239 642
240You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 643You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by
241loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, but letting AnyEvent chose is 644loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar
242generally better. 645behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better.
646
647=head1 OTHER MODULES
648
649The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
650AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
651in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are
652available via CPAN.
653
654=over 4
655
656=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
657
658Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
659functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
660
661=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
662
663Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
664
665=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
666
667Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
668addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
669connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
670
671=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
672
673Provides a simple web application server framework.
674
675=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
676
677Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
678
679=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
680
681The fastest ping in the west.
682
683=item L<Net::IRC3>
684
685AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
686
687=item L<Net::XMPP2>
688
689AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
690
691=item L<Net::FCP>
692
693AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
694of AnyEvent.
695
696=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
697
698High level API for event-based execution flow control.
699
700=item L<Coro>
701
702Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
703
704=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
705
706Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
707programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
708together.
709
710=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
711
712Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
713IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
714
715=item L<IO::Lambda>
716
717The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
718
719=back
243 720
244=cut 721=cut
245 722
246package AnyEvent; 723package AnyEvent;
247 724
248no warnings; 725no warnings;
249use strict; 726use strict;
727
250use Carp; 728use Carp;
251 729
252our $VERSION = '2.51'; 730our $VERSION = '4.03';
253our $MODEL; 731our $MODEL;
254 732
255our $AUTOLOAD; 733our $AUTOLOAD;
256our @ISA; 734our @ISA;
257 735
258our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 736our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
259 737
260our @REGISTRY; 738our @REGISTRY;
261 739
740our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2)
741
742{
743 my $idx;
744 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
745 for split /\s*,\s*/, $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
746}
747
262my @models = ( 748my @models = (
263 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Coro::], 749 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
264 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 750 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
751 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
752 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
753 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
754 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
755 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
265 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 756 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
266 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 757 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
267 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 758 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
759 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
268); 760);
269 761
270our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait signal one_event DESTROY); 762our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
763
764our @post_detect;
765
766sub post_detect(&) {
767 my ($cb) = @_;
768
769 if ($MODEL) {
770 $cb->();
771
772 1
773 } else {
774 push @post_detect, $cb;
775
776 defined wantarray
777 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
778 : ()
779 }
780}
781
782sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY {
783 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
784}
271 785
272sub detect() { 786sub detect() {
273 unless ($MODEL) { 787 unless ($MODEL) {
274 no strict 'refs'; 788 no strict 'refs';
275 789
790 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
791 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
792 if (eval "require $model") {
793 $MODEL = $model;
794 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
795 } else {
796 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
797 }
798 }
799
276 # check for already loaded models 800 # check for already loaded models
801 unless ($MODEL) {
277 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 802 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
278 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 803 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
279 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 804 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
280 if (eval "require $model") { 805 if (eval "require $model") {
281 $MODEL = $model; 806 $MODEL = $model;
282 warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 807 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
283 last; 808 last;
809 }
284 } 810 }
285 } 811 }
286 }
287 812
288 unless ($MODEL) { 813 unless ($MODEL) {
289 # try to load a model 814 # try to load a model
290 815
291 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 816 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
292 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 817 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
293 if (eval "require $package" 818 if (eval "require $package"
294 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 819 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
295 and eval "require $model") { 820 and eval "require $model") {
296 $MODEL = $model; 821 $MODEL = $model;
297 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 822 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
298 last; 823 last;
824 }
299 } 825 }
826
827 $MODEL
828 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
300 } 829 }
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 } 830 }
305 831
306 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 832 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
307 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 833 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
834
835 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
308 } 836 }
309 837
310 $MODEL 838 $MODEL
311} 839}
312 840
322 $class->$func (@_); 850 $class->$func (@_);
323} 851}
324 852
325package AnyEvent::Base; 853package AnyEvent::Base;
326 854
327# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 855# default implementation for ->condvar
328 856
329sub condvar { 857sub condvar {
330 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 858 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} 859}
340 860
341# default implementation for ->signal 861# default implementation for ->signal
342 862
343our %SIG_CB; 863our %SIG_CB;
366 886
367# default implementation for ->child 887# default implementation for ->child
368 888
369our %PID_CB; 889our %PID_CB;
370our $CHLD_W; 890our $CHLD_W;
891our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
371our $PID_IDLE; 892our $PID_IDLE;
372our $WNOHANG; 893our $WNOHANG;
373 894
374sub _child_wait { 895sub _child_wait {
375 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 896 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
376 $_->() for values %{ (delete $PID_CB{$pid}) || {} }; 897 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
898 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
377 } 899 }
378 900
379 undef $PID_IDLE; 901 undef $PID_IDLE;
902}
903
904sub _sigchld {
905 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
906 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
907 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
908 &_child_wait;
909 });
380} 910}
381 911
382sub child { 912sub child {
383 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 913 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
384 914
385 my $pid = uc $arg{pid} 915 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
386 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 916 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
387 917
388 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 918 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
389 919
390 unless ($WNOHANG) { 920 unless ($WNOHANG) {
391 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_child_wait);
392 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 921 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
393 } 922 }
394 923
395 # child could be a zombie already 924 unless ($CHLD_W) {
396 $PID_IDLE ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => \&_child_wait); 925 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
926 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
927 &_sigchld;
928 }
397 929
398 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 930 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child"
399} 931}
400 932
401sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 933sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY {
405 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 937 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
406 938
407 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 939 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
408} 940}
409 941
942package AnyEvent::CondVar;
943
944our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
945
946package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
947
948use overload
949 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
950 fallback => 1;
951
952sub _send {
953 # nop
954}
955
956sub send {
957 my $cv = shift;
958 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
959 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
960 $cv->_send;
961}
962
963sub croak {
964 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
965 $_[0]->send;
966}
967
968sub ready {
969 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
970}
971
972sub _wait {
973 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
974}
975
976sub recv {
977 $_[0]->_wait;
978
979 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
980 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
981}
982
983sub cb {
984 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
985 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
986}
987
988sub begin {
989 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
990 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
991}
992
993sub end {
994 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
995 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
996}
997
998# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
999*broadcast = \&send;
1000*wait = \&_wait;
1001
410=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1002=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1003
1004This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1005a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1006provide AnyEvent compatibility.
411 1007
412If you need to support another event library which isn't directly 1008If you need to support another event library which isn't directly
413supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by 1009supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by
414pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of 1010pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of
415the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto 1011the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto
416C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading 1012C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading
417AnyEvent. 1013AnyEvent, so it is reasonably cheap.
418 1014
419Example: 1015Example:
420 1016
421 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::]; 1017 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];
422 1018
423This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::> 1019This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>
424package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is loaded. When 1020package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is already loaded.
1021
425AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it will 1022When AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it
426first check for the presence of urxvt. 1023will first check for the presence of urxvt by trying to C<use> the
1024C<urxvt::anyevent> module.
427 1025
428The class should provide implementations for all watcher types (see 1026The class should provide implementations for all watcher types. See
429L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> 1027L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> (Source code)
430(Source code) and so on for actual examples, use C<perldoc -m 1028and so on for actual examples. Use C<perldoc -m AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to
431AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to see the sources). 1029see the sources.
432 1030
1031If you don't provide C<signal> and C<child> watchers than AnyEvent will
1032provide suitable (hopefully) replacements.
1033
433The above isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt) 1034The above example isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)
434uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included in AnyEvent 1035terminal emulator uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included
435because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter inside 1036in AnyEvent because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter
436I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the 1037inside I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the
437I<rxvt-unicode> distribution. 1038I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.
438 1039
439I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1040I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
440condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1041condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
441C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1042C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
442not be in an interactive appliation, so it makes sense. 1043not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
443 1044
444=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 1045=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
445 1046
446The following environment variables are used by this module: 1047The following environment variables are used by this module:
447 1048
448C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, reports which event 1049=over 4
449model gets used.
450 1050
1051=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1052
1053By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1054conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1055talkative.
1056
1057When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1058conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1059C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1060
1061When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1062model it chooses.
1063
1064=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1065
1066This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1067auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1068entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1069and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1070used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1071auto detection and -probing.
1072
1073This functionality might change in future versions.
1074
1075For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1076could start your program like this:
1077
1078 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1079
1080=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1081
1082Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1083for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1084of auto probing).
1085
1086Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1087current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1088used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1089list.
1090
1091This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1092against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1093small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1094
1095Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1096but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1097- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1098addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1099IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1100
1101=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1102
1103Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1104for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1105some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1106default.
1107
1108Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1109EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1110
1111=back
1112
451=head1 EXAMPLE 1113=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
452 1114
453The following program uses an io watcher to read data from stdin, a timer 1115The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
454to display a message once per second, and a condvar to exit the program 1116to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
455when the user enters quit: 1117program when the user enters quit:
456 1118
457 use AnyEvent; 1119 use AnyEvent;
458 1120
459 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 1121 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
460 1122
461 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 1123 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (
1124 fh => \*STDIN,
1125 poll => 'r',
1126 cb => sub {
462 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1127 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
463 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1128 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
464 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1129 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
465 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1130 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1131 },
466 }); 1132 );
467 1133
468 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1134 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
469 1135
470 sub new_timer { 1136 sub new_timer {
471 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1137 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {
474 }); 1140 });
475 } 1141 }
476 1142
477 new_timer; # create first timer 1143 new_timer; # create first timer
478 1144
479 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1145 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
480 1146
481=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1147=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
482 1148
483Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1149Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
484API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1150API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
534 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1200 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
535 or die "connection or write error"; 1201 or die "connection or write error";
536 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1202 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
537 1203
538Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1204Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
539result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1205result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
540 1206
541 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1207 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
542 1208
543 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1209 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
544 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1210 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
545 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1211 $txn->{finished}->send;
546 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1212 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
547 } 1213 }
548 1214
549The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1215The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
550request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1216request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
551data: 1217data:
552 1218
553 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1219 $txn->{finished}->recv;
554 return $txn->{result}; 1220 return $txn->{result};
555 1221
556The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1222The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
557that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1223that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
558wether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1224whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
559and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1225and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
560problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1226problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
561random callback. 1227random callback.
562 1228
563All of this enables the following usage styles: 1229All of this enables the following usage styles:
564 1230
5651. Blocking: 12311. Blocking:
566 1232
567 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url); 1233 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);
568 1234
5692. Blocking, but parallelizing: 12352. Blocking, but running in parallel:
570 1236
571 my @datas = map $_->result, 1237 my @datas = map $_->result,
572 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_), 1238 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),
573 @urls; 1239 @urls;
574 1240
575Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know 1241Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know
576anything about events. 1242anything about events.
577 1243
5783a. Event-based in a main program, using any support Event module: 12443a. Event-based in a main program, using any supported event module:
579 1245
580 use Event; 1246 use EV;
581 1247
582 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1248 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
583 my $txn = shift; 1249 my $txn = shift;
584 my $data = $txn->result; 1250 my $data = $txn->result;
585 ... 1251 ...
586 }); 1252 });
587 1253
588 Event::loop; 1254 EV::loop;
589 1255
5903b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too: 12563b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:
591 1257
592 use AnyEvent; 1258 use AnyEvent;
593 1259
594 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1260 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
595 1261
596 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1262 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
597 ... 1263 ...
598 $quit->broadcast; 1264 $quit->send;
599 }); 1265 });
600 1266
601 $quit->wait; 1267 $quit->recv;
1268
1269
1270=head1 BENCHMARKS
1271
1272To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
1273over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
1274of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
1275
1276=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1277
1278Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1279through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1280timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1281which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1282
1283Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1284distribution.
1285
1286=head3 Explanation of the columns
1287
1288I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1289different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1290loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
1291and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
1292would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
1293of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
1294
1295I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
1296RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
1297and Perl-based overheads.
1298
1299I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
1300takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
1301all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1302and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1303
1304I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1305callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1306invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1307signal the end of this phase.
1308
1309I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1310watcher.
1311
1312=head3 Results
1313
1314 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1315 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface
1316 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1317 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1318 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation
1319 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface
1320 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1321 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour
1322 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1323 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event
1324 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select
1325
1326=head3 Discussion
1327
1328The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1329well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1330can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
1331file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
1332the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
1333boost.
1334
1335Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1336overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1337the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1338higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1339
1340To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1341benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1342EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1343cycles with POE.
1344
1345C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1346maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
1347far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
1348natively.
1349
1350The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1351constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1352interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1353adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1354performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1355them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1356
1357The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1358cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1359
1360C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1361faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1362C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1363watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1364making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
1365(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
1366inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
1367
1368The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
1369more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
1370precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
1371file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
1372employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
1373hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1374above).
1375
1376C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1377select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1378be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1379memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1380as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1381requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1382invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1383implementation.
1384
1385The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1386for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1387small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1388optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1389using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1390memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1391design).
1392
1393=head3 Summary
1394
1395=over 4
1396
1397=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
1398(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1399performance with or without AnyEvent.
1400
1401=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1402the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1403adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
1404
1405=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1406reasonable memory usage.
1407
1408=back
1409
1410=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1411
1412This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1413creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1414timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1415watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1416watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1417
1418The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1419are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1420fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1421timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1422most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1423
1424In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1425(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1426connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1427
1428Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1429distribution.
1430
1431=head3 Explanation of the columns
1432
1433I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1434each server has a read and write socket end).
1435
1436I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1437nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1438
1439I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1440single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1441it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1442a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1443
1444=head3 Results
1445
1446 name sockets create request
1447 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1448 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1449 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1450 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1451 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1452
1453=head3 Discussion
1454
1455This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1456particular event loop.
1457
1458EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1459is relatively high, though.
1460
1461Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1462loops Event and Glib.
1463
1464Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1465understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1466the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1467uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1468
1469Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
1470clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
1471
1472POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
1473as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
1474it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
1475
1476=head3 Summary
1477
1478=over 4
1479
1480=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1481
1482=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1483
1484=back
1485
1486=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
1487
1488While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
1489large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
1490I/O watchers.
1491
1492In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
1493case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
1494one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
1495well.
1496
1497The columns are identical to the previous table.
1498
1499=head3 Results
1500
1501 name sockets create request
1502 EV 16 20.00 6.54
1503 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1504 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1505 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1506 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1507
1508=head3 Discussion
1509
1510The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1511server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1512in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1513to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
1514speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1515them).
1516
1517EV is again fastest.
1518
1519Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1520loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1521matter.
1522
1523POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1524others.
1525
1526=head3 Summary
1527
1528=over 4
1529
1530=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1531watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1532
1533=back
1534
1535
1536=head1 FORK
1537
1538Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1539because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1540calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1541
1542If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1543watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1544
1545
1546=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1547
1548AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1549$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
1550execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
1551make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
1552will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
1553specified in the variable.
1554
1555You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1556before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1557
1558 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1559
1560 use AnyEvent;
1561
1562Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1563be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1564probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL).
1565
602 1566
603=head1 SEE ALSO 1567=head1 SEE ALSO
604 1568
605Event modules: L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>. 1569Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
606 1570
607Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::Coro>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>. 1571Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1572L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
608 1573
609Nontrivial usage example: L<Net::FCP>. 1574Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1575L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1576L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1577L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
610 1578
611=head1 1579Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1580servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
1581
1582Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1583
1584Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
1585
1586Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1587
1588
1589=head1 AUTHOR
1590
1591 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1592 http://home.schmorp.de/
612 1593
613=cut 1594=cut
614 1595
6151 15961
616 1597

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