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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
22 45
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 47
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 50
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 51Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 52policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 53
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 54First 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 55interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 56pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 57the 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 58only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 59cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
60loops.
37 61
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 62The 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 63programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 64religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 66model you use.
43 67
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 68For 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 69actually 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 70like 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 71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 74
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 76fine. 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 77with 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, 78your 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 79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 83
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 84In 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 85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have to 86modules, 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 87follow. 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 88offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 89technically possible.
66 90
91Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
92of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
93non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
94such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
95platform bugs and differences.
96
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 97Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 98useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 99model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 100
71=head1 DESCRIPTION 101=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 102
78The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 108The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
79module. 109module.
80 110
81During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 111During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
82to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 112to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
83following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 113following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
84L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 114L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
85L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 115L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
86to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 116to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
87adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 117adaptor 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 118be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 132starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 133use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
104 134
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 135The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 136C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
107explicitly. 137explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
108 138
109=head1 WATCHERS 139=head1 WATCHERS
110 140
111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 141AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
112stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 142stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
113the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 143the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
114 144
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 145These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 146creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 148is in control).
119 149
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops.
155
120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 156To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
121variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 157variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
122to it). 158to it).
123 159
124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 160All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 164
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 165An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 166
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
134 }); 170 });
135 171
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 172Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 174declared.
139 175
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 176=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 177
142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 178You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 180
145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 181C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch
182for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
186or block devices.
187
146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 188C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 189watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
190
148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 191C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
149becomes ready.
150 192
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 193Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 194presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 195callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 196
158 200
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 203handles.
162 204
163Example:
164
165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 205Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
206watcher.
207
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 208 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 209 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 210 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 211 undef $w;
170 }); 212 });
180 222
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 226
185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
187and Glib). 229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
188 232
189Example: 233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
235only approximate.
190 236
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 240 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 241 });
195 242
196 # to cancel the timer: 243 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 244 undef $w;
198 245
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 246Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 247
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 248 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
249 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 250 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 251
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 252=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 253
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 254There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 255in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
227timers. 267timers.
228 268
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 269AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 270AnyEvent API.
231 271
272AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
273
274=over 4
275
276=item AnyEvent->time
277
278This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
279seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
280return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
281
282It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
283will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
284
285=item AnyEvent->now
286
287This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
288this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
289the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
290time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
291
292I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
293function to call when you want to know the current time.>
294
295This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
296thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
297L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
298
299The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
300with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
301
302For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
303and L<EV> and the following set-up:
304
305The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
306time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
307you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
308second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
309after three seconds.
310
311With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
312both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
313be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
314
315With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
316time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
317last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
318to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
319
320In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
321regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
322callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
323higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
324
325In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
326the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
327
328In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
329can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
330difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
331account.
332
333=item AnyEvent->now_update
334
335Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
336the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
337AnyEvent->now >>, above).
338
339When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
340this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
341might affect timers and time-outs.
342
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time".
345
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347
348=back
349
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 351
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 352You 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 353I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 355
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 356Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 357presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 358callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 359
242Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 360Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 361invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
244that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 362that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
245but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 363but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
246 364
247The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 365The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
248between multiple watchers. 366between multiple watchers.
249 367
250This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 368This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 375=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 376
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 377You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260 378
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 379The 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 380watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 381the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 382any trace events (stopped/continued).
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 383
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 384The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
385waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
386callback arguments.
387
388This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
389and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
390random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
391C<system>, is just fine).
267 392
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 393There 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 394I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 395have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 396
272Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 397Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
398see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
273event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 399that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
274loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 400the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
401pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
402start the watcher.
275 403
276This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 404This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 405thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 406watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
407C<AnyEvent::detect>).
279 408
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 409Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 410
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 411 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 412
284 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
285
286 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 413 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
287 414
288 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 415 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
289 pid => $pid, 416 pid => $pid,
290 cb => sub { 417 cb => sub {
291 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 418 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
292 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 419 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
293 $done->broadcast; 420 $done->send;
294 }, 421 },
295 ); 422 );
296 423
297 # do something else, then wait for process exit 424 # do something else, then wait for process exit
298 $done->wait; 425 $done->recv;
426
427=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
428
429Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
430to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
431"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
432attention by the event loop".
433
434Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
435better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
436events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
437
438Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
439EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
440will simply call the callback "from time to time".
441
442Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
443program is otherwise idle:
444
445 my @lines; # read data
446 my $idle_w;
447 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
448 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
449
450 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
451 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
452 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
453 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
454 print "handled when idle: $line";
455 } else {
456 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
457 undef $idle_w;
458 }
459 });
460 });
299 461
300=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 462=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
301 463
464If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
465require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
466will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
467
468AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and
469will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
470
471The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
472because they represent a condition that must become true.
473
302Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 474Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
303method without any arguments. 475>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
304 476
305A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 477C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
306->broadcast >> method has been called. 478becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
479the results).
307 480
308They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 481After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
482by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
483were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
484->send >> method).
485
486Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
487optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
488in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
489another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
490used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
491a result.
492
493Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
309example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 494for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
310then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 495then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
311availability of results. 496availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
497called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
312 498
313You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 499You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
314an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 500you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
315program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 501could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
316->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 502button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
317 503
318Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 504Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
319two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 505two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
320lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 506lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
321you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 507you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
322as this asks for trouble. 508as this asks for trouble.
323 509
324This object has two methods: 510Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
511used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
512easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
513AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
514it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
515
516There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
517eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
518for the send to occur.
519
520Example: wait for a timer.
521
522 # wait till the result is ready
523 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
524
525 # do something such as adding a timer
526 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
527 # when the "result" is ready.
528 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
529 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
530 after => 1,
531 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
532 );
533
534 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
535 # calls send
536 $result_ready->recv;
537
538Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that
539condition variables are also code references.
540
541 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
542 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
543 $done->recv;
544
545Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
546callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
547the main program:
548
549 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
550
551 ...
552
553 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
554
555And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the
556results are available:
557
558 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
559 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
560 });
561
562=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
563
564These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
565code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
566the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
567uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
325 568
326=over 4 569=over 4
327 570
571=item $cv->send (...)
572
573Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
574calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
575called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
576
577If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
578immediately from within send.
579
580Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
581future C<< ->recv >> calls.
582
583Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly
584(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
585C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle
586overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
587instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
588support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
589invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
590example).
591
592=item $cv->croak ($error)
593
594Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
595C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
596
597This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
598user/consumer.
599
600=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
601
328=item $cv->wait 602=item $cv->end
329 603
330Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 604These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
605
606These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
607one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
608to use a condition variable for the whole process.
609
610Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
611C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
612>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
613is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
614callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
615
616Let's clarify this with the ping example:
617
618 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
619
620 my %result;
621 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
622
623 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
624 $cv->begin;
625 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
626 $result{$host} = ...;
627 $cv->end;
628 };
629 }
630
631 $cv->end;
632
633This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
634C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
635order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
636each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
637it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
638results arrive is not relevant.
639
640There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
641loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
642to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
643C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
644doesn't execute once).
645
646This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
647use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
648is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
649C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
650
651=back
652
653=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
654
655These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
656code awaits the condition.
657
658=over 4
659
660=item $cv->recv
661
662Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
331called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 663>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
664normally.
332 665
333You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 666You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
334immediately. 667will return immediately.
668
669If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
670function will call C<croak>.
671
672In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
673in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
335 674
336Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 675Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
337(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 676(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
338using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 677using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
339caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 678caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
340condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 679condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
341callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 680callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
342while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 681while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
343 682
344Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 683Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
345sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 684sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
346multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 685multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
347can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 686can supply.
348L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
349from different coroutines, however).
350 687
351=item $cv->broadcast 688The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
689fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
690versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
691C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
692coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
352 693
353Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 694You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
354calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 695only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
355called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 696time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
697waits otherwise.
698
699=item $bool = $cv->ready
700
701Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
702C<croak> have been called.
703
704=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
705
706This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
707replaces it before doing so.
708
709The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
710C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
711variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
712is guaranteed not to block.
356 713
357=back 714=back
358
359Example:
360
361 # wait till the result is ready
362 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
363
364 # do something such as adding a timer
365 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
366 # when the "result" is ready.
367 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
368 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
369 after => 1,
370 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
371 );
372
373 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher
374 # calls broadcast
375 $result_ready->wait;
376 715
377=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 716=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
378 717
379=over 4 718=over 4
380 719
386C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 725C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
387AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 726AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
388 727
389The known classes so far are: 728The known classes so far are:
390 729
391 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
392 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
393 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice). 730 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
394 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice. 731 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
732 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
395 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice. 733 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
396 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
397 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice. 734 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
398 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs). 735 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
399 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse. 736 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
400 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support. 737 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
738
739 # warning, support for IO::Async is only partial, as it is too broken
740 # and limited toe ven support the AnyEvent API. See AnyEvent::Impl::Async.
741 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
401 742
402There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for 743There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
403watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the 744watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
404POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per 745POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
405second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for 746second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
414Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 755Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
415if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 756if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
416have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 757have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
417runtime. 758runtime.
418 759
760=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
761
762Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
763autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
764
765If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
766that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
767L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
768
769=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
770
771If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
772before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
773the event loop has been chosen.
774
775You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
776if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
777and the array will be ignored.
778
779Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead.
780
419=back 781=back
420 782
421=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 783=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
422 784
423As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods 785As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
426Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 788Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
427decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 789decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
428by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 790by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
429to load the event module first. 791to load the event module first.
430 792
431Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 793Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
432the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 794the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
433because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 795because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
434events is to stay interactive. 796events is to stay interactive.
435 797
436It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 798It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
437requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 799requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
438called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 800called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
439freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 801freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
440 802
441=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 803=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
442 804
443There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 805There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
445 807
446If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 808If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
447do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 809do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
448decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 810decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
449 811
450If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 812If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
451Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 813Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
452event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 814event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
453speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 815speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
454modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 816modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
455decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 817decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
456might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 818might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
457 819
458You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 820You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
459loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 821C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
460behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 822everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
823
824=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
825
826Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
827only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
828
829In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
830
831 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
832
833This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
834
835Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
836it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
837variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
838exit cleanly.
839
461 840
462=head1 OTHER MODULES 841=head1 OTHER MODULES
463 842
464The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 843The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
465AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 844AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
471=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 850=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
472 851
473Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 852Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
474functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 853functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
475 854
855=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
856
857Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
858addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
859connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
860
476=item L<AnyEvent::Handle> 861=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
477 862
478Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes. 863Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
864supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
865non-blocking SSL/TLS.
479 866
480=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 867=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
481 868
482Provides a means to do non-blocking connects, accepts etc. 869Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
870
871=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
872
873A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
874HTTP requests.
483 875
484=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 876=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
485 877
486Provides a simple web application server framework. 878Provides a simple web application server framework.
487 879
488=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
489
490Provides asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities, beyond what
491L<AnyEvent::Util> offers.
492
493=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 880=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
494 881
495The fastest ping in the west. 882The fastest ping in the west.
496 883
884=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
885
886Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
887
888=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
889
890Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
891programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
892together.
893
894=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
895
896Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
897L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
898
899=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
900
901A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
902
903=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
904
905A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
906L<App::IGS>).
907
497=item L<Net::IRC3> 908=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
498 909
499AnyEvent based IRC client module family. 910AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
500 911
501=item L<Net::XMPP2> 912=item L<Net::XMPP2>
502 913
503AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family. 914AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
504 915
511 922
512High level API for event-based execution flow control. 923High level API for event-based execution flow control.
513 924
514=item L<Coro> 925=item L<Coro>
515 926
516Has special support for AnyEvent. 927Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
517 928
518=item L<IO::Lambda> 929=item L<IO::Lambda>
519 930
520The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent. 931The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
521 932
522=item L<IO::AIO>
523
524Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
525programmer. Can be trivially made to use AnyEvent.
526
527=item L<BDB>
528
529Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. Can be trivially made to use
530AnyEvent.
531
532=back 933=back
533 934
534=cut 935=cut
535 936
536package AnyEvent; 937package AnyEvent;
537 938
538no warnings; 939no warnings;
539use strict; 940use strict qw(vars subs);
540 941
541use Carp; 942use Carp;
542 943
543our $VERSION = '3.3'; 944our $VERSION = 4.412;
544our $MODEL; 945our $MODEL;
545 946
546our $AUTOLOAD; 947our $AUTOLOAD;
547our @ISA; 948our @ISA;
548 949
950our @REGISTRY;
951
952our $WIN32;
953
954BEGIN {
955 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
956 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
957
958 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
959 if ${^TAINT};
960}
961
549our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 962our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
550 963
551our @REGISTRY; 964our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
965
966{
967 my $idx;
968 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
969 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
970 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
971}
552 972
553my @models = ( 973my @models = (
554 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
555 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
556 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 974 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
557 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 975 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
558 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
559 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
560 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
561 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
562 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 976 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
563 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 977 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
978 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
979 # and is usually faster
980 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
981 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
564 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 982 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
565 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 983 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
566 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 984 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
985 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
986 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
987 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workaorunds for its
988 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
989 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
990 # obvious default class.
991# [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
992# [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
993# [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
567); 994);
568 995
569our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 996our %method = map +($_ => 1),
997 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
998
999our @post_detect;
1000
1001sub post_detect(&) {
1002 my ($cb) = @_;
1003
1004 if ($MODEL) {
1005 $cb->();
1006
1007 1
1008 } else {
1009 push @post_detect, $cb;
1010
1011 defined wantarray
1012 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1013 : ()
1014 }
1015}
1016
1017sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1018 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1019}
570 1020
571sub detect() { 1021sub detect() {
572 unless ($MODEL) { 1022 unless ($MODEL) {
573 no strict 'refs'; 1023 no strict 'refs';
1024 local $SIG{__DIE__};
574 1025
575 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1026 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
576 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1027 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
577 if (eval "require $model") { 1028 if (eval "require $model") {
578 $MODEL = $model; 1029 $MODEL = $model;
608 last; 1059 last;
609 } 1060 }
610 } 1061 }
611 1062
612 $MODEL 1063 $MODEL
613 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event) or Glib."; 1064 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
614 } 1065 }
615 } 1066 }
616 1067
1068 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1069
617 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1070 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
618 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1071
1072 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1073
1074 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
619 } 1075 }
620 1076
621 $MODEL 1077 $MODEL
622} 1078}
623 1079
631 1087
632 my $class = shift; 1088 my $class = shift;
633 $class->$func (@_); 1089 $class->$func (@_);
634} 1090}
635 1091
1092# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1093# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1094# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1095sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1096 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1097
1098 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1099 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<")
1100 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1101 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1102
1103 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh
1104 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!,";
1105
1106 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1107
1108 ($fh2, $rw)
1109}
1110
636package AnyEvent::Base; 1111package AnyEvent::Base;
637 1112
1113# default implementations for many methods
1114
1115BEGIN {
1116 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1117 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1118 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1119 } else {
1120 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1121 }
1122}
1123
1124sub time { _time }
1125sub now { _time }
1126sub now_update { }
1127
638# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1128# default implementation for ->condvar
639 1129
640sub condvar { 1130sub condvar {
641 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1131 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
642}
643
644sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
645 ${$_[0]}++;
646}
647
648sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
649 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
650} 1132}
651 1133
652# default implementation for ->signal 1134# default implementation for ->signal
653 1135
654our %SIG_CB; 1136our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1137
1138sub _signal_exec {
1139 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4;
1140
1141 while (%SIG_EV) {
1142 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1143 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1144 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1145 }
1146 }
1147}
655 1148
656sub signal { 1149sub signal {
657 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1150 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
658 1151
1152 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) {
1153 require Fcntl;
1154
1155 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1156 require AnyEvent::Util;
1157
1158 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1159 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1160 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1161 } else {
1162 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1163 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1164 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1165
1166 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1167 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1168 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1169 }
1170
1171 $SIGPIPE_R
1172 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1173
1174 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1175 }
1176
659 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1177 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
660 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1178 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
661 1179
662 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1180 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
663 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1181 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
664 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1182 local $!;
1183 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1184 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
665 }; 1185 };
666 1186
667 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1187 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
668} 1188}
669 1189
670sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1190sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
671 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1191 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
672 1192
673 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1193 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
674 1194
1195 # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1196 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1197 # instead of getting the default action.
675 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1198 undef $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
676} 1199}
677 1200
678# default implementation for ->child 1201# default implementation for ->child
679 1202
680our %PID_CB; 1203our %PID_CB;
681our $CHLD_W; 1204our $CHLD_W;
682our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1205our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
683our $PID_IDLE;
684our $WNOHANG; 1206our $WNOHANG;
685 1207
686sub _child_wait { 1208sub _sigchld {
687 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1209 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
688 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1210 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
689 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1211 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
690 } 1212 }
691
692 undef $PID_IDLE;
693}
694
695sub _sigchld {
696 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
697 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
698 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
699 &_child_wait;
700 });
701} 1213}
702 1214
703sub child { 1215sub child {
704 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1216 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
705 1217
706 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1218 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
707 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1219 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
708 1220
709 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1221 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
710 1222
711 unless ($WNOHANG) {
712 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1223 $WNOHANG ||= eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
713 }
714 1224
715 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1225 unless ($CHLD_W) {
716 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1226 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
717 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1227 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
718 &_sigchld; 1228 &_sigchld;
719 } 1229 }
720 1230
721 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1231 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
722} 1232}
723 1233
724sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1234sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
725 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1235 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
726 1236
727 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1237 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
728 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1238 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
729 1239
730 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1240 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
731} 1241}
1242
1243# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1244# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1245# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1246sub idle {
1247 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1248
1249 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1250
1251 $rcb = sub {
1252 if ($cb) {
1253 $w = _time;
1254 &$cb;
1255 $w = _time - $w;
1256
1257 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1258 # within some limits
1259 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1260 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1261
1262 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1263 } else {
1264 # clean up...
1265 undef $w;
1266 undef $rcb;
1267 }
1268 };
1269
1270 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1271
1272 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1273}
1274
1275sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1276 undef $${$_[0]};
1277}
1278
1279package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1280
1281our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1282
1283package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1284
1285use overload
1286 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1287 fallback => 1;
1288
1289sub _send {
1290 # nop
1291}
1292
1293sub send {
1294 my $cv = shift;
1295 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1296 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1297 $cv->_send;
1298}
1299
1300sub croak {
1301 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1302 $_[0]->send;
1303}
1304
1305sub ready {
1306 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1307}
1308
1309sub _wait {
1310 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1311}
1312
1313sub recv {
1314 $_[0]->_wait;
1315
1316 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1317 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1318}
1319
1320sub cb {
1321 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1322 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
1323}
1324
1325sub begin {
1326 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1327 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1328}
1329
1330sub end {
1331 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1332 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1333}
1334
1335# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1336*broadcast = \&send;
1337*wait = \&_wait;
1338
1339=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1340
1341In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1342caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1343the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1344checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1345development.
1346
1347As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1348executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1349also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1350program.
1351
1352The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1353within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1354$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1355so on.
1356
1357=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1358
1359The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1360submodules.
1361
1362Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1363C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1364enabled.
1365
1366=over 4
1367
1368=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1369
1370By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1371conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1372talkative.
1373
1374When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1375conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1376C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1377
1378When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1379model it chooses.
1380
1381=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1382
1383AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1384argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1385will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1386check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1387it will croak.
1388
1389In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1390
1391Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in
1392production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while
1393developing programs can be very useful, however.
1394
1395=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1396
1397This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1398auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1399entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1400and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1401used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1402auto detection and -probing.
1403
1404This functionality might change in future versions.
1405
1406For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1407could start your program like this:
1408
1409 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1410
1411=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1412
1413Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1414for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1415of auto probing).
1416
1417Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1418current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1419used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1420list.
1421
1422This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1423against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1424small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1425
1426Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1427but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1428- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1429addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1430IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1431
1432=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1433
1434Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1435for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1436some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1437default.
1438
1439Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1440EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1441
1442=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1443
1444The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1445will create in parallel.
1446
1447=back
732 1448
733=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1449=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
734 1450
735This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1451This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
736a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1452a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
770 1486
771I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1487I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
772condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1488condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
773C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1489C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
774not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1490not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
775
776=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
777
778The following environment variables are used by this module:
779
780=over 4
781
782=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
783
784By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
785conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
786talkative.
787
788When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
789conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
790C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
791
792When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
793model it chooses.
794
795=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
796
797This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
798autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
799entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
800and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
801used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
802autodetection and -probing.
803
804This functionality might change in future versions.
805
806For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
807could start your program like this:
808
809 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
810
811=back
812 1491
813=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1492=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
814 1493
815The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1494The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
816to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1495to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
825 poll => 'r', 1504 poll => 'r',
826 cb => sub { 1505 cb => sub {
827 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1506 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
828 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1507 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
829 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1508 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
830 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1509 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
831 }, 1510 },
832 ); 1511 );
833 1512
834 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1513 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
835 1514
840 }); 1519 });
841 } 1520 }
842 1521
843 new_timer; # create first timer 1522 new_timer; # create first timer
844 1523
845 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1524 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
846 1525
847=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1526=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
848 1527
849Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1528Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
850API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1529API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
900 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1579 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
901 or die "connection or write error"; 1580 or die "connection or write error";
902 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1581 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
903 1582
904Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1583Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
905result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1584result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
906 1585
907 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1586 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
908 1587
909 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1588 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
910 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1589 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
911 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1590 $txn->{finished}->send;
912 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1591 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
913 } 1592 }
914 1593
915The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1594The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
916request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1595request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
917data: 1596data:
918 1597
919 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1598 $txn->{finished}->recv;
920 return $txn->{result}; 1599 return $txn->{result};
921 1600
922The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1601The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
923that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1602that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
924whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1603whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
925and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1604and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
926problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1605problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
927random callback. 1606random callback.
928 1607
959 1638
960 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1639 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
961 1640
962 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1641 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
963 ... 1642 ...
964 $quit->broadcast; 1643 $quit->send;
965 }); 1644 });
966 1645
967 $quit->wait; 1646 $quit->recv;
968 1647
969 1648
970=head1 BENCHMARKS 1649=head1 BENCHMARKS
971 1650
972To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 1651To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
974of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 1653of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
975 1654
976=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 1655=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
977 1656
978Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 1657Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
979through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 1658through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
980timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 1659timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
981which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 1660which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
982 1661
983Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 1662Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
984distribution. 1663distribution.
1001all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 1680all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1002and memory usage is not included in the figures. 1681and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1003 1682
1004I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 1683I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1005callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 1684callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1006invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 1685invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1007signal the end of this phase. 1686signal the end of this phase.
1008 1687
1009I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 1688I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1010watcher. 1689watcher.
1011 1690
1012=head3 Results 1691=head3 Results
1013 1692
1014 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1693 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1015 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1694 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1016 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1695 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1017 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1696 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1018 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1697 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1019 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1698 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1020 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1699 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1021 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1700 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1022 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1701 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1023 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1702 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1024 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1703 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1025 1704
1026=head3 Discussion 1705=head3 Discussion
1027 1706
1028The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1707The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1029well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1708well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1071file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 1750file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
1072employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a 1751employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
1073hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures 1752hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1074above). 1753above).
1075 1754
1076C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 1755C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1077perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 1756select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1078couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 1757be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1079and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 1758memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1080EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 1759as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1081requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 1760requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1082invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 1761invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1762implementation.
1763
1083implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 1764The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1084really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 1765for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1085to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 1766small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1086L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 1767optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1768using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1769memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1770design).
1087 1771
1088=head3 Summary 1772=head3 Summary
1089 1773
1090=over 4 1774=over 4
1091 1775
1102 1786
1103=back 1787=back
1104 1788
1105=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 1789=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1106 1790
1107This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 1791This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1108creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 1792creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1109timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O 1793timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1110watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket 1794watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1111watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server". 1795watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1112 1796
1113The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 1797The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1114are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active 1798are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1115fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The 1799fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1116timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 1800timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1117most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 1801most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1118 1802
1119In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 1803In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1120(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 1804(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1121connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 1805connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1122 1806
1123Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 1807Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1124distribution. 1808distribution.
1126=head3 Explanation of the columns 1810=head3 Explanation of the columns
1127 1811
1128I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 1812I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1129each server has a read and write socket end). 1813each server has a read and write socket end).
1130 1814
1131I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 1815I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1132nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher. 1816nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1133 1817
1134I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 1818I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1135single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding 1819single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1136it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 1820it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1170 1854
1171=head3 Summary 1855=head3 Summary
1172 1856
1173=over 4 1857=over 4
1174 1858
1175=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 1859=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1176that it uses select.
1177 1860
1178=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 1861=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1179 1862
1180=back 1863=back
1181 1864
1210speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of 1893speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1211them). 1894them).
1212 1895
1213EV is again fastest. 1896EV is again fastest.
1214 1897
1215The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 1898Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1216overhead of running an iteration is much smaller in C than in Perl (little 1899loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1217code to execute in the inner loop, and perl's function calling overhead is 1900matter.
1218high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1219
1220The pure perl event loop is much slower, but still competitive.
1221 1901
1222POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the 1902POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1223others. 1903others.
1224 1904
1225=head3 Summary 1905=head3 Summary
1229=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 1909=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1230watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 1910watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1231 1911
1232=back 1912=back
1233 1913
1914=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
1915
1916Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
1917could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
1918simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
1919shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
1920fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
1921very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
1922baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
1923
1924The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
1925connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
1926creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
1927test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
1928benchmark nevertheless.
1929
1930 name runtime
1931 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
1932 + optimized 0.122 sec
1933 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
1934 + optimized 0.138 sec
1935 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
1936 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
1937 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
1938 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
1939
1940 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
1941 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
1942 +state machine 0.134 sec
1943
1944The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
1945benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
1946defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
1947written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
1948AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
1949resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
1950generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
1951connects (which involve a single syscall only).
1952
1953The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
1954offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
1955Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
1956non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
1957
1958As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
1959hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
1960backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
1961
1962And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
1963slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
1964large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
1965in a non-blocking way.
1966
1967The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
1968F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
1969part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
1970
1971
1972=head1 SIGNALS
1973
1974AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1975
1976=over 4
1977
1978=item SIGCHLD
1979
1980A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1981emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
1982event loops install a similar handler.
1983
1984If, when AnyEvent is loaded, SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then AnyEvent will
1985reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
1986
1987=item SIGPIPE
1988
1989A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
1990when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1991
1992The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
1993on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
1994badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
1995program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
1996some random socket.
1997
1998The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
1999that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2000
2001Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2002
2003=back
2004
2005=cut
2006
2007undef $SIG{CHLD}
2008 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2009
2010$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2011 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1234 2012
1235=head1 FORK 2013=head1 FORK
1236 2014
1237Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2015Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1238because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2016because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
2017calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1239 2018
1240If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2019If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1241watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2020watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1242 2021
1243 2022
1251specified in the variable. 2030specified in the variable.
1252 2031
1253You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2032You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1254before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2033before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1255 2034
1256 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2035 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1257 2036
1258 use AnyEvent; 2037 use AnyEvent;
2038
2039Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2040be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2041probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2042$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2043
2044Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2045C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2046enabled.
2047
2048
2049=head1 BUGS
2050
2051Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2052to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2053and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2054memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2055pronounced).
1259 2056
1260 2057
1261=head1 SEE ALSO 2058=head1 SEE ALSO
1262 2059
1263Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2060Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1264L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 2061
2062Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1265L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2063L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1266 2064
1267Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2065Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1268L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2066L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1269L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, 2067L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1270L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2068L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1271 2069
2070Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2071servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
2072
2073Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2074
2075Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
2076
1272Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2077Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1273 2078
1274 2079
1275=head1 AUTHOR 2080=head1 AUTHOR
1276 2081
1277 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2082 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1278 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2083 http://home.schmorp.de/
1279 2084
1280=cut 2085=cut
1281 2086
12821 20871
1283 2088

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