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Revision 1.47 by root, Mon Apr 14 16:09:33 2008 UTC vs.
Revision 1.125 by root, Fri May 23 23:37:13 2008 UTC

1	=head1 NAME	1	=head1 => NAME
2		2
3	AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops	3	AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4		4
5	Event, Coro, Glib, Tk, Perl - various supported event loops	5	EV, 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		22
23	=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)	23	=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24		24
25	Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen	25	Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26	nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?	26	nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
…		…
29	policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.	29	policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30		30
31	First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only	31	First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32	interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a	32	interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a
33	pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,	33	pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34	the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality, and AnyEvent	34	the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35	helps hiding the differences.	35	only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
		36	helps hiding the differences between those event loops.
36		37
37	The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event	38	The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
38	programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a	39	programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
39	religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your	40	religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
40	module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event	41	module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
41	model you use.	42	model you use.
42		43
43	For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is actually doing all I/O	44	For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
44	I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is like joining a	45	actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
45	cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you cannot use	46	like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
46	anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that isn't	47	cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that
47	itself.	48	isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are
		49	I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
48		50
49	AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works fine. AnyEvent + Tk	51	AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
50	works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together with the rest: POE	52	fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
51	+ IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. If your module uses one of	53	with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if
52	those, every user of your module has to use it, too. If your module	54	your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
53	uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all event models it supports	55	too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
54	(including stuff like POE and IO::Async).	56	event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long
		57	as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new
		58	event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
55		59
56	In addition of being free of having to use I<the one and only true event	60	In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
57	model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar	61	model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
58	modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have	62	modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have to
59	to follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and to the point by only	63	follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
60	offering the functionality that is useful, in as thin as a wrapper as	64	offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
61	technically possible.	65	technically possible.
62		66
63	Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat	67	Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
64	useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event	68	useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
65	model, you should I<not> use this module.	69	model, you should I<not> use this module.
66
67		70
68	=head1 DESCRIPTION	71	=head1 DESCRIPTION
69		72
70	L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This	73	L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
71	allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module	74	allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
72	users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist	75	users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist
73	peacefully at any one time).	76	peacefully at any one time).
74		77
75	The interface itself is vaguely similar but not identical to the Event	78	The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
76	module.	79	module.
77		80
78	On the first call of any method, the module tries to detect the currently	81	During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
79	loaded event loop by probing wether any of the following modules is	82	to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
80	loaded: L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>. The first one found is	83	following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
81	used. If none is found, the module tries to load these modules in the	84	L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
82	order given. The first one that could be successfully loaded will be	85	L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
83	used. If still none could be found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl	86	to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
84	event loop, which is also not very efficient.	87	adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
		88	be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
		89	found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
		90	very efficient, but should work everywhere.
85		91
86	Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading	92	Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
87	an Event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make	93	an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
88	that model the default. For example:	94	that model the default. For example:
89		95
90	use Tk;	96	use Tk;
91	use AnyEvent;	97	use AnyEvent;
92		98
93	# .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk	99	# .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
		100
		101	The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and
		102	starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
		103	use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
94		104
95	The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called	105	The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
96	C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it	106	C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
97	explicitly.	107	explicitly.
98		108
…		…
101	AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that	111	AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
102	stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as	112	stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
103	the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc.	113	the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc.
104		114
105	These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After	115	These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
106	creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke	116	creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
		117	callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
		118	is in control).
		119
107	the callback. To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by	120	To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
108	setting the variable that stores it to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all	121	variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
109	references to it).	122	to it).
110		123
111	All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.	124	All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
112		125
		126	Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
		127	example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
		128
		129	An 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
		136	Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
		137	my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
		138	declared.
		139
113	=head2 IO WATCHERS	140	=head2 I/O WATCHERS
114		141
115	You can create I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method with	142	You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
116	the following mandatory arguments:	143	with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
117		144
118	C<fh> the Perl I<filehandle> (not filedescriptor) to watch for	145	C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch
119	events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, that creates	146	for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>,
120	a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events. C<cb> the callback	147	which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events,
121	to invoke everytime the filehandle becomes ready.	148	respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle
		149	becomes ready.
122		150
123	Only one io watcher per C<fh> and C<poll> combination is allowed (i.e. on	151	Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
124	a socket you can have one r + one w, not any more (limitation comes from	152	presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
125	Tk - if you are sure you are not using Tk this limitation is gone).	153	callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
126		154
127	Filehandles will be kept alive, so as long as the watcher exists, the	155	The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
128	filehandle exists, too.	156	You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
		157	underlying file descriptor.
		158
		159	Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
		160	always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
		161	handles.
129		162
130	Example:	163	Example:
131		164
132	# 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
133	my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {	166	my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
…		…
139	=head2 TIME WATCHERS	172	=head2 TIME WATCHERS
140		173
141	You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>	174	You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
142	method with the following mandatory arguments:	175	method with the following mandatory arguments:
143		176
144	C<after> after how many seconds (fractions are supported) should the timer	177	C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
145	activate. C<cb> the callback to invoke.	178	supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
		179	in that case.
		180
		181	Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
		182	presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
		183	callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
146		184
147	The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating	185	The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating
148	timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk	186	timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk
149	and Glib).	187	and Glib).
150		188
…		…
156	});	194	});
157		195
158	# to cancel the timer:	196	# to cancel the timer:
159	undef $w;	197	undef $w;
160		198
		199	Example 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
		214	There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
		215	in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
		216	o'clock").
		217
		218	While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
		219	use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
		220	"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
		221	the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
		222	fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire.
		223
		224	AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
		225	about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
		226	on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
		227	timers.
		228
		229	AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
		230	AnyEvent API.
		231
		232	=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
		233
		234	You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
		235	I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to
		236	be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
		237
		238	Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
		239	presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
		240	callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
		241
		242	Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback
		243	invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means
		244	that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
		245	but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
		246
		247	The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
		248	between multiple watchers.
		249
		250	This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
		251	directly will likely not work correctly.
		252
		253	Example: exit on SIGINT
		254
		255	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
		256
		257	=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
		258
		259	You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
		260
		261	The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
		262	watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often
		263	as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a
		264	signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid
		265	and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types,
		266	you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments.
		267
		268	There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
		269	I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
		270	have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
		271
		272	Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for
		273	event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be
		274	loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place).
		275
		276	This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an
		277	AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you
		278	C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>).
		279
		280	Example: 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
161	=head2 CONDITION WATCHERS	298	=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
162		299
		300	If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
		301	require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
		302	will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
		303
		304	AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and
		305	will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
		306
		307	The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
		308	because they represent a condition that must become true.
		309
163	Condition watchers can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >>	310	Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
164	method without any arguments.	311	>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
		312	C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
		313	becomes true.
165		314
166	A condition watcher watches for a condition - precisely that the C<<	315	After creation, the conditon variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
167	->broadcast >> method has been called.	316	by calling the C<send> method.
168		317
		318	Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
		319	optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
		320	in time where multiple outstandign events have been processed. And yet
		321	another way to call them is transations - each condition variable can be
		322	used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
		323	a result.
		324
		325	Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
		326	for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
		327	then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
		328	availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
		329	called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
		330
		331	You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
		332	you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
		333	could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
		334	button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
		335
169	Note that condition watchers recurse into the event loop - if you have	336	Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
170	two watchers that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you	337	two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robbin fashion, you
171	lose. Therefore, condition watchers are good to export to your caller, but	338	lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
172	you should avoid making a blocking wait, at least in callbacks, as this	339	you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
173	usually asks for trouble.	340	as this asks for trouble.
174		341
175	The watcher has only two methods:	342	Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
		343	used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
		344	easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
		345	AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
		346	it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
		347
		348	There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
		349	eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
		350	for the send to occur.
		351
		352	Example:
		353
		354	# wait till the result is ready
		355	my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
		356
		357	# do something such as adding a timer
		358	# or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
		359	# when the "result" is ready.
		360	# in this case, we simply use a timer:
		361	my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
		362	after => 1,
		363	cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
		364	);
		365
		366	# this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
		367	# calls send
		368	$result_ready->recv;
		369
		370	=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
		371
		372	These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
		373	code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
		374	the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
		375	uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
176		376
177	=over 4	377	=over 4
178		378
		379	=item $cv->send (...)
		380
		381	Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
		382	calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
		383	called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
		384
		385	If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
		386	immediately from within send.
		387
		388	Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
		389	future C<< ->recv >> calls.
		390
		391	=item $cv->croak ($error)
		392
		393	Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
		394	C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
		395
		396	This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
		397	user/consumer.
		398
		399	=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
		400
179	=item $cv->wait	401	=item $cv->end
180		402
181	Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been	403	These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
		404
		405	These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
		406	one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
		407	to use a condition variable for the whole process.
		408
		409	Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
		410	C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
		411	>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
		412	is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
		413	callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
		414
		415	Let's clarify this with the ping example:
		416
		417	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
		418
		419	my %result;
		420	$cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
		421
		422	for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
		423	$cv->begin;
		424	ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
		425	$result{$host} = ...;
		426	$cv->end;
		427	};
		428	}
		429
		430	$cv->end;
		431
		432	This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
		433	C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
		434	order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
		435	each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
		436	it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
		437	results arrive is not relevant.
		438
		439	There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
		440	loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
		441	to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
		442	C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
		443	doesn't execute once).
		444
		445	This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
		446	use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
		447	is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
		448	C<begin> and for eahc subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
		449
		450	=back
		451
		452	=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
		453
		454	These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
		455	code awaits the condition.
		456
		457	=over 4
		458
		459	=item $cv->recv
		460
		461	Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
182	called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally.	462	>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
		463	normally.
183		464
184	You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return	465	You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
185	immediately.	466	will return immediately.
		467
		468	If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
		469	function will call C<croak>.
		470
		471	In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
		472	in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
186		473
187	Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case	474	Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
188	(programs might want to do that so they stay interactive), so I<if you	475	(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
189	are using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the	476	using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
190	caller decide wether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling	477	caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
191	condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting	478	condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
192	callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,	479	callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
193	while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).	480	while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
194		481
195	Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot	482	Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
196	sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require	483	sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
197	multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>	484	multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
198	can supply (the coroutine-aware backends C<Coro::EV> and C<Coro::Event>	485	can supply.
199	explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s from different coroutines,
200	however).
201		486
202	=item $cv->broadcast	487	The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
		488	fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
		489	versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
		490	C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
		491	coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
203		492
204	Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further	493	You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
205	calls to C<wait> will return after this method has been called. If nobody	494	only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
206	is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..	495	time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
		496	waits otherwise.
207		497
208	Example:	498	=item $bool = $cv->ready
209		499
210	# wait till the result is ready	500	Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
211	my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;	501	C<croak> have been called.
212		502
213	# do something such as adding a timer	503	=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback])
214	# or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
215	# when the "result" is ready.
216		504
217	$result_ready->wait;	505	This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
		506	replaces it before doing so.
		507
		508	The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
		509	C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback
		510	or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
218		511
219	=back	512	=back
220		513
221	=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS	514	=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
222
223	You can listen for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
224	I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix. Multiple signals events can be clumped
225	together into one callback invocation, and callback invocation might or
226	might not be asynchronous.
227
228	These watchers might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
229	directly will likely not work correctly.
230
231	Example: exit on SIGINT
232
233	my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
234
235	=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
236
237	You can also listen for the status of a child process specified by the
238	C<pid> argument (or any child if the pid argument is 0). The watcher will
239	trigger as often as status change for the child are received. This works
240	by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with
241	the pid and exit status (as returned by waitpid).
242
243	Example: wait for pid 1333
244
245	my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => 1333, cb => sub { warn "exit status $?" });
246
247	=head1 GLOBALS
248		515
249	=over 4	516	=over 4
250		517
251	=item $AnyEvent::MODEL	518	=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
252		519
…		…
256	C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case	523	C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
257	AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).	524	AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
258		525
259	The known classes so far are:	526	The known classes so far are:
260		527
261	AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
262	AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, also best choice).	528	AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
263	AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
264	AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, also second best choice :)	529	AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
		530	AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
265	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, second-best choice.	531	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
266	AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.	532	AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
267	AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient.	533	AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
		534	AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
		535	AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
		536
		537	There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
		538	watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
		539	POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
		540	second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
		541	AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
		542	it's adaptor.
		543
		544	AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
		545	autodetecting them.
268		546
269	=item AnyEvent::detect	547	=item AnyEvent::detect
270		548
271	Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model if	549	Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
272	necessary. You should only call this function right before you would have	550	if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
273	created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, very late at runtime.	551	have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
		552	runtime.
		553
		554	=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
		555
		556	Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
		557	autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
		558
		559	If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
		560	that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
		561	L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
		562
		563	=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
		564
		565	If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
		566	before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
		567	the event loop has been chosen.
		568
		569	You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
		570	if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
		571	and the array will be ignored.
		572
		573	Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead.
274		574
275	=back	575	=back
276		576
277	=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE	577	=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
278		578
279	As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods	579	As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
280	freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.	580	freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.
281		581
282	Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - Anyevent will	582	Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
283	decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so	583	decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
284	by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module	584	by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
285	to load the event module first.	585	to load the event module first.
286		586
		587	Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
		588	the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
		589	because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
		590	events is to stay interactive.
		591
		592	It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
		593	requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
		594	called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
		595	freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
		596
287	=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM	597	=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
288		598
289	There will always be a single main program - the only place that should	599	There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
290	dictate which event model to use.	600	dictate which event model to use.
291		601
292	If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not	602	If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
293	do anything special and let AnyEvent decide which implementation to chose.	603	do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
		604	decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
294		605
295	If the main program relies on a specific event model (for example, in Gtk2	606	If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in
296	programs you have to rely on either Glib or Glib::Event), you should load	607	Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the
297	it before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it, generally, as early	608	event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
298	as possible. The reason is that modules might create watchers when they	609	speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
299	are loaded, and AnyEvent will decide on the event model to use as soon as	610	modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
300	it creates watchers, and it might chose the wrong one unless you load the	611	decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
301	correct one yourself.	612	might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
302		613
303	You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by	614	You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by
304	loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, but letting AnyEvent chose is	615	loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar
305	generally better.	616	behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better.
		617
		618	=head1 OTHER MODULES
		619
		620	The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
		621	AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
		622	in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are
		623	available via CPAN.
		624
		625	=over 4
		626
		627	=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
		628
		629	Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
		630	functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
		631
		632	=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
		633
		634	Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
		635
		636	=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
		637
		638	Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
		639	addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
		640	connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
		641
		642	=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
		643
		644	Provides a simple web application server framework.
		645
		646	=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
		647
		648	Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
		649
		650	=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
		651
		652	The fastest ping in the west.
		653
		654	=item L<Net::IRC3>
		655
		656	AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
		657
		658	=item L<Net::XMPP2>
		659
		660	AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
		661
		662	=item L<Net::FCP>
		663
		664	AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
		665	of AnyEvent.
		666
		667	=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
		668
		669	High level API for event-based execution flow control.
		670
		671	=item L<Coro>
		672
		673	Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
		674
		675	=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
		676
		677	Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
		678	programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
		679	together.
		680
		681	=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
		682
		683	Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
		684	IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
		685
		686	=item L<IO::Lambda>
		687
		688	The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
		689
		690	=back
306		691
307	=cut	692	=cut
308		693
309	package AnyEvent;	694	package AnyEvent;
310		695
311	no warnings;	696	no warnings;
312	use strict;	697	use strict;
313		698
314	use Carp;	699	use Carp;
315		700
316	our $VERSION = '3.0';	701	our $VERSION = '3.6';
317	our $MODEL;	702	our $MODEL;
318		703
319	our $AUTOLOAD;	704	our $AUTOLOAD;
320	our @ISA;	705	our @ISA;
321		706
322	our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;	707	our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
323		708
324	our @REGISTRY;	709	our @REGISTRY;
325		710
326	my @models = (	711	my @models = (
327	[Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
328	[EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],	712	[EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
329	[Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
330	[Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],	713	[Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
		714	[Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
		715	[Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
		716	[Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
		717	[AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
		718	# everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
331	[Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],	719	[Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
332	[Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],	720	[Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
333	[AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],	721	[Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
		722	[POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
334	);	723	);
335		724
336	our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait signal one_event DESTROY);	725	our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
		726
		727	our @post_detect;
		728
		729	sub post_detect(&) {
		730	my ($cb) = @_;
		731
		732	if ($MODEL) {
		733	$cb->();
		734
		735	1
		736	} else {
		737	push @post_detect, $cb;
		738
		739	defined wantarray
		740	? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
		741	: ()
		742	}
		743	}
		744
		745	sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY {
		746	@post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
		747	}
337		748
338	sub detect() {	749	sub detect() {
339	unless ($MODEL) {	750	unless ($MODEL) {
340	no strict 'refs';	751	no strict 'refs';
341		752
		753	if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
		754	my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
		755	if (eval "require $model") {
		756	$MODEL = $model;
		757	warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
		758	} else {
		759	warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
		760	}
		761	}
		762
342	# check for already loaded models	763	# check for already loaded models
		764	unless ($MODEL) {
343	for (@REGISTRY, @models) {	765	for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
344	my ($package, $model) = @$_;	766	my ($package, $model) = @$_;
345	if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {	767	if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
346	if (eval "require $model") {	768	if (eval "require $model") {
347	$MODEL = $model;	769	$MODEL = $model;
348	warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;	770	warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
349	last;	771	last;
		772	}
350	}	773	}
351	}	774	}
352	}
353		775
354	unless ($MODEL) {	776	unless ($MODEL) {
355	# try to load a model	777	# try to load a model
356		778
357	for (@REGISTRY, @models) {	779	for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
358	my ($package, $model) = @$_;	780	my ($package, $model) = @$_;
359	if (eval "require $package"	781	if (eval "require $package"
360	and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0	782	and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
361	and eval "require $model") {	783	and eval "require $model") {
362	$MODEL = $model;	784	$MODEL = $model;
363	warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;	785	warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
364	last;	786	last;
		787	}
365	}	788	}
		789
		790	$MODEL
		791	or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
366	}	792	}
367
368	$MODEL
369	or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event), Glib or Tk.";
370	}	793	}
371		794
372	unshift @ISA, $MODEL;	795	unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
373	push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";	796	push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
		797
		798	(shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
374	}	799	}
375		800
376	$MODEL	801	$MODEL
377	}	802	}
378		803
…		…
388	$class->$func (@_);	813	$class->$func (@_);
389	}	814	}
390		815
391	package AnyEvent::Base;	816	package AnyEvent::Base;
392		817
393	# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast	818	# default implementation for ->condvar
394		819
395	sub condvar {	820	sub condvar {
396	bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar"	821	bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
397	}
398
399	sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
400	${$_[0]}++;
401	}
402
403	sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
404	AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
405	}	822	}
406		823
407	# default implementation for ->signal	824	# default implementation for ->signal
408		825
409	our %SIG_CB;	826	our %SIG_CB;
…		…
483	delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };	900	delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
484		901
485	undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;	902	undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
486	}	903	}
487		904
		905	package AnyEvent::CondVar;
		906
		907	our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
		908
		909	package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
		910
		911	sub _send {
		912	# nop
		913	}
		914
		915	sub send {
		916	my $cv = shift;
		917	$cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
		918	(delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
		919	$cv->_send;
		920	}
		921
		922	sub croak {
		923	$_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
		924	$_[0]->send;
		925	}
		926
		927	sub ready {
		928	$_[0]{_ae_sent}
		929	}
		930
		931	sub _wait {
		932	AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
		933	}
		934
		935	sub recv {
		936	$_[0]->_wait;
		937
		938	Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
		939	wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
		940	}
		941
		942	sub cb {
		943	$_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
		944	$_[0]{_ae_cb}
		945	}
		946
		947	sub begin {
		948	++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
		949	$_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
		950	}
		951
		952	sub end {
		953	return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
		954	&{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
		955	}
		956
		957	# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
		958	*broadcast = \&send;
		959	*wait = \&_wait;
		960
488	=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE	961	=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
		962
		963	This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
		964	a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
		965	provide AnyEvent compatibility.
489		966
490	If you need to support another event library which isn't directly	967	If you need to support another event library which isn't directly
491	supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by	968	supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by
492	pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of	969	pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of
493	the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto	970	the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto
494	C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading	971	C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading
495	AnyEvent.	972	AnyEvent, so it is reasonably cheap.
496		973
497	Example:	974	Example:
498		975
499	push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];	976	push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];
500		977
501	This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>	978	This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>
502	package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is loaded. When	979	package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is already loaded.
		980
503	AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it will	981	When AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it
504	first check for the presence of urxvt.	982	will first check for the presence of urxvt by trying to C<use> the
		983	C<urxvt::anyevent> module.
505		984
506	The class should provide implementations for all watcher types (see	985	The class should provide implementations for all watcher types. See
507	L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>	986	L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> (Source code)
508	(Source code) and so on for actual examples, use C<perldoc -m	987	and so on for actual examples. Use C<perldoc -m AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to
509	AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to see the sources).	988	see the sources.
510		989
		990	If you don't provide C<signal> and C<child> watchers than AnyEvent will
		991	provide suitable (hopefully) replacements.
		992
511	The above isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)	993	The above example isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)
512	uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included in AnyEvent	994	terminal emulator uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included
513	because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter inside	995	in AnyEvent because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter
514	I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the	996	inside I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the
515	I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.	997	I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.
516		998
517	I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to	999	I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
518	condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will	1000	condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
519	C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must	1001	C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
520	not be in an interactive application, so it makes sense.	1002	not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
521		1003
522	=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES	1004	=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
523		1005
524	The following environment variables are used by this module:	1006	The following environment variables are used by this module:
525		1007
526	C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, reports which event	1008	=over 4
527	model gets used.
528		1009
		1010	=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
		1011
		1012	By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
		1013	conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
		1014	talkative.
		1015
		1016	When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
		1017	conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
		1018	C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
		1019
		1020	When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
		1021	model it chooses.
		1022
		1023	=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
		1024
		1025	This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
		1026	autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
		1027	entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
		1028	and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
		1029	used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
		1030	autodetection and -probing.
		1031
		1032	This functionality might change in future versions.
		1033
		1034	For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
		1035	could start your program like this:
		1036
		1037	PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
		1038
		1039	=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
		1040
		1041	Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
		1042	for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
		1043	of autoprobing).
		1044
		1045	Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
		1046	current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
		1047	used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
		1048	list.
		1049
		1050	Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
		1051	but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
		1052	- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
		1053	addressses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
		1054	IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
		1055
		1056	=back
		1057
529	=head1 EXAMPLE	1058	=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
530		1059
531	The following program uses an io watcher to read data from stdin, a timer	1060	The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
532	to display a message once per second, and a condvar to exit the program	1061	to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
533	when the user enters quit:	1062	program when the user enters quit:
534		1063
535	use AnyEvent;	1064	use AnyEvent;
536		1065
537	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;	1066	my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
538		1067
539	my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {	1068	my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (
		1069	fh => \*STDIN,
		1070	poll => 'r',
		1071	cb => sub {
540	warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>	1072	warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
541	chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line	1073	chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
542	warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read	1074	warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
543	$cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i	1075	$cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
		1076	},
544	});	1077	);
545		1078
546	my $time_watcher; # can only be used once	1079	my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
547		1080
548	sub new_timer {	1081	sub new_timer {
549	$timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {	1082	$timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {
…		…
552	});	1085	});
553	}	1086	}
554		1087
555	new_timer; # create first timer	1088	new_timer; # create first timer
556		1089
557	$cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i	1090	$cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
558		1091
559	=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE	1092	=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
560		1093
561	Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following	1094	Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
562	API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:	1095	API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
…		…
618		1151
619	sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};	1152	sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
620		1153
621	if (end-of-file or data complete) {	1154	if (end-of-file or data complete) {
622	$txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};	1155	$txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
623	$txn->{finished}->broadcast;	1156	$txn->{finished}->send;
624	$txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback	1157	$txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
625	}	1158	}
626		1159
627	The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the	1160	The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
628	request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the	1161	request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
629	data:	1162	data:
630		1163
631	$txn->{finished}->wait;	1164	$txn->{finished}->recv;
632	return $txn->{result};	1165	return $txn->{result};
633		1166
634	The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)	1167	The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
635	that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects	1168	that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects
636	wether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)	1169	whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
637	and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other	1170	and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
638	problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a	1171	problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
639	random callback.	1172	random callback.
640		1173
641	All of this enables the following usage styles:	1174	All of this enables the following usage styles:
642		1175
643	1. Blocking:	1176	1. Blocking:
644		1177
645	my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);	1178	my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);
646		1179
647	2. Blocking, but parallelizing:	1180	2. Blocking, but running in parallel:
648		1181
649	my @datas = map $_->result,	1182	my @datas = map $_->result,
650	map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),	1183	map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),
651	@urls;	1184	@urls;
652		1185
653	Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know	1186	Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know
654	anything about events.	1187	anything about events.
655		1188
656	3a. Event-based in a main program, using any support Event module:	1189	3a. Event-based in a main program, using any supported event module:
657		1190
658	use Event;	1191	use EV;
659		1192
660	$fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {	1193	$fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
661	my $txn = shift;	1194	my $txn = shift;
662	my $data = $txn->result;	1195	my $data = $txn->result;
663	...	1196	...
664	});	1197	});
665		1198
666	Event::loop;	1199	EV::loop;
667		1200
668	3b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:	1201	3b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:
669		1202
670	use AnyEvent;	1203	use AnyEvent;
671		1204
672	my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;	1205	my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
673		1206
674	$fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {	1207	$fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
675	...	1208	...
676	$quit->broadcast;	1209	$quit->send;
677	});	1210	});
678		1211
679	$quit->wait;	1212	$quit->recv;
		1213
		1214
		1215	=head1 BENCHMARKS
		1216
		1217	To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
		1218	over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
		1219	of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
		1220
		1221	=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
		1222
		1223	Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
		1224	through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
		1225	timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
		1226	which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
		1227
		1228	Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
		1229	distribution.
		1230
		1231	=head3 Explanation of the columns
		1232
		1233	I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
		1234	different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
		1235	loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
		1236	and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
		1237	would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
		1238	of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
		1239
		1240	I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
		1241	RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
		1242	and Perl-based overheads.
		1243
		1244	I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
		1245	takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
		1246	all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
		1247	and memory usage is not included in the figures.
		1248
		1249	I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
		1250	callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
		1251	invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
		1252	signal the end of this phase.
		1253
		1254	I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
		1255	watcher.
		1256
		1257	=head3 Results
		1258
		1259	name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
		1260	EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface
		1261	EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers
		1262	CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal
		1263	Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation
		1264	Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface
		1265	Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers
		1266	Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour
		1267	Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
		1268	POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event
		1269	POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select
		1270
		1271	=head3 Discussion
		1272
		1273	The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
		1274	well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
		1275	can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
		1276	file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
		1277	the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
		1278	boost.
		1279
		1280	Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
		1281	overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
		1282	the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
		1283	higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
		1284
		1285	To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
		1286	benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
		1287	EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
		1288	cycles with POE.
		1289
		1290	C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
		1291	maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
		1292	far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
		1293	natively.
		1294
		1295	The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
		1296	constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
		1297	interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
		1298	adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
		1299	performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
		1300	them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
		1301
		1302	The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
		1303	cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
		1304
		1305	C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
		1306	faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
		1307	C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
		1308	watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
		1309	making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
		1310	(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
		1311	inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
		1312
		1313	The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
		1314	more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
		1315	precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
		1316	file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
		1317	employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
		1318	hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
		1319	above).
		1320
		1321	C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
		1322	select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
		1323	be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
		1324	memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
		1325	as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
		1326	requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
		1327	invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
		1328	implementation.
		1329
		1330	The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
		1331	for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
		1332	small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
		1333	optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
		1334	using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
		1335	memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
		1336	design).
		1337
		1338	=head3 Summary
		1339
		1340	=over 4
		1341
		1342	=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
		1343	(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
		1344	performance with or without AnyEvent.
		1345
		1346	=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
		1347	the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
		1348	adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
		1349
		1350	=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
		1351	reasonable memory usage.
		1352
		1353	=back
		1354
		1355	=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
		1356
		1357	This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
		1358	creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a
		1359	timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
		1360	watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
		1361	watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
		1362
		1363	The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
		1364	are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
		1365	fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The
		1366	timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
		1367	most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
		1368
		1369	In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
		1370	(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
		1371	connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
		1372
		1373	Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
		1374	distribution.
		1375
		1376	=head3 Explanation of the columns
		1377
		1378	I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
		1379	each server has a read and write socket end).
		1380
		1381	I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is
		1382	nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
		1383
		1384	I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
		1385	single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
		1386	it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
		1387	a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
		1388
		1389	=head3 Results
		1390
		1391	name sockets create request
		1392	EV 20000 69.01 11.16
		1393	Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
		1394	Event 20000 212.62 257.32
		1395	Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
		1396	POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
		1397
		1398	=head3 Discussion
		1399
		1400	This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
		1401	particular event loop.
		1402
		1403	EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
		1404	is relatively high, though.
		1405
		1406	Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
		1407	loops Event and Glib.
		1408
		1409	Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
		1410	understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
		1411	the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
		1412	uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
		1413
		1414	Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
		1415	clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
		1416
		1417	POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
		1418	as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
		1419	it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
		1420
		1421	=head3 Summary
		1422
		1423	=over 4
		1424
		1425	=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
		1426
		1427	=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
		1428
		1429	=back
		1430
		1431	=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
		1432
		1433	While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
		1434	large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
		1435	I/O watchers.
		1436
		1437	In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
		1438	case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
		1439	one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
		1440	well.
		1441
		1442	The columns are identical to the previous table.
		1443
		1444	=head3 Results
		1445
		1446	name sockets create request
		1447	EV 16 20.00 6.54
		1448	Perl 16 25.75 12.62
		1449	Event 16 81.27 35.86
		1450	Glib 16 32.63 15.48
		1451	POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
		1452
		1453	=head3 Discussion
		1454
		1455	The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
		1456	server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
		1457	in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
		1458	to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
		1459	speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
		1460	them).
		1461
		1462	EV is again fastest.
		1463
		1464	Perl again comes second. It is noticably faster than the C-based event
		1465	loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
		1466	matter.
		1467
		1468	POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
		1469	others.
		1470
		1471	=head3 Summary
		1472
		1473	=over 4
		1474
		1475	=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
		1476	watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
		1477
		1478	=back
		1479
		1480
		1481	=head1 FORK
		1482
		1483	Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
		1484	because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
		1485	calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
		1486
		1487	If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
		1488	watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
		1489
		1490
		1491	=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
		1492
		1493	AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
		1494	$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
		1495	execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
		1496	make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
		1497	will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
		1498	specified in the variable.
		1499
		1500	You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
		1501	before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
		1502
		1503	BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
		1504
		1505	use AnyEvent;
		1506
		1507	Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
		1508	be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
		1509	probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL).
		1510
680		1511
681	=head1 SEE ALSO	1512	=head1 SEE ALSO
682		1513
683	Event modules: L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>.	1514	Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
684		1515
685	Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::Coro>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>.	1516	Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
		1517	L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
686		1518
687	Nontrivial usage example: L<Net::FCP>.	1519	Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
		1520	L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
		1521	L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
		1522	L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
688		1523
689	=head1	1524	Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
		1525	servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
		1526
		1527	Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
		1528
		1529	Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
		1530
		1531	Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
		1532
		1533
		1534	=head1 AUTHOR
		1535
		1536	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
		1537	http://home.schmorp.de/
690		1538
691	=cut	1539	=cut
692		1540
693	1	1541	1
694		1542

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