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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, POE - various supported event loops
6 6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 8
9 use AnyEvent; 9 use AnyEvent;
10 10
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub {
16 ... 16 ...
17 }); 17 });
18 18
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 21 $w->send; # wake up current and all future wait's
22 22
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 24
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
66 66
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 69model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 70
71
72=head1 DESCRIPTION 71=head1 DESCRIPTION
73 72
74L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 73L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
75allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 74allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
76users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 75users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist
79The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 78The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
80module. 79module.
81 80
82During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 81During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
83to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 82to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
84following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 83following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
85L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 84L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
86L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 85L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
87to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 86to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
88adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 87adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
89be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 88be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
141=head2 I/O WATCHERS 140=head2 I/O WATCHERS
142 141
143You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
144with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
145 144
146C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch for 145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch
147events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which 146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>,
148creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events,
149respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle
150becomes ready. 149becomes ready.
150
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
151 154
152The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it. 155The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
153You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the 156You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
154underlying file descriptor. 157underlying file descriptor.
155 158
156Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
157always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
158handles. 161handles.
159
160Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
161presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
162callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
163 162
164Example: 163Example:
165 164
166 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher
167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
174 173
175You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 174You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
176method with the following mandatory arguments: 175method with the following mandatory arguments:
177 176
178C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 177C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
179supported) should the timer activate. C<cb> the callback to invoke in that 178supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
180case. 179in that case.
180
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
181 184
182The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating
183timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk
184and Glib). 187and Glib).
185
186Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
187presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
188callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
189 188
190Example: 189Example:
191 190
192 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds
193 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
234 233
235You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
236I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 235I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to
237be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 236be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
238 237
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241
239Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 242Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback
240invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means
241that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 244that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
242but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 245but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
243 246
257 260
258The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
259watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often
260as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a
261signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid
262and exit status (as returned by waitpid). 265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types,
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments.
263 267
264There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
265I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 269I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
266have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
267 271
284 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 288 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
285 pid => $pid, 289 pid => $pid,
286 cb => sub { 290 cb => sub {
287 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 291 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
288 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 292 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
289 $done->broadcast; 293 $done->send;
290 }, 294 },
291 ); 295 );
292 296
293 # do something else, then wait for process exit 297 # do something else, then wait for process exit
294 $done->wait; 298 $done->wait;
295 299
296=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 300=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
297 301
302If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
303require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
304will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
305
306AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and
307will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
308
309The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
310because they represent a condition that must become true.
311
298Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 312Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
299method without any arguments. 313>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
314C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
315becomes true.
300 316
301A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 317After creation, the conditon variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
302->broadcast >> method has been called. 318by calling the C<send> method.
303 319
304They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 320Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
321optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
322in time where multiple outstandign events have been processed. And yet
323another way to call them is transations - each condition variable can be
324used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
325a result.
326
327Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
305example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 328for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
306then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 329then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
307availability of results. 330availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
331called or can synchronously C<< ->wait >> for the results.
308 332
309You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 333You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
310an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 334you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
311program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 335could C<< ->wait >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
312->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 336button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
313 337
314Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
315two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 339two pieces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you
316lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 340lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
317you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
318as this asks for trouble. 342as this asks for trouble.
319 343
320This object has two methods: 344Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
345used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
346easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
347AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
348it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
349
350There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
351eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
352for the send to occur.
353
354Example:
355
356 # wait till the result is ready
357 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
358
359 # do something such as adding a timer
360 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
361 # when the "result" is ready.
362 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
363 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
364 after => 1,
365 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
366 );
367
368 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
369 # calls send
370 $result_ready->wait;
371
372=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
373
374These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
375code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
376the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
377uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
321 378
322=over 4 379=over 4
323 380
381=item $cv->send (...)
382
383Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further
384calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been
385called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
386
387If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
388immediately from within send.
389
390Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
391future C<< ->wait >> calls.
392
393=item $cv->croak ($error)
394
395Similar to send, but causes all call's wait C<< ->wait >> to invoke
396C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
397
398This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
399user/consumer.
400
401=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
402
403=item $cv->end
404
405These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
406one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
407to use a condition variable for the whole process.
408
409Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
410C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
411>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
412is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
413callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
414
415Let's clarify this with the ping example:
416
417 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
418
419 my %result;
420 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
421
422 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
423 $cv->begin;
424 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
425 $result{$host} = ...;
426 $cv->end;
427 };
428 }
429
430 $cv->end;
431
432This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
433C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
434order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
435each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
436it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
437results arrive is not relevant.
438
439There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
440loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
441to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
442C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
443doesn't execute once).
444
445This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
446use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
447is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
448C<begin> and for eahc subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
449
450=back
451
452=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
453
454These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
455code awaits the condition.
456
457=over 4
458
324=item $cv->wait 459=item $cv->wait
325 460
326Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 461Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
327called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 462>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
463normally.
328 464
329You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 465You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
330immediately. 466will return immediately.
467
468If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
469function will call C<croak>.
470
471In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
472in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
331 473
332Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 474Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
333(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 475(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
334using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 476using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
335caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 477caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
338while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 480while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
339 481
340Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 482Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot
341sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 483sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require
342multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 484multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
343can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 485can supply.
344L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
345from different coroutines, however).
346 486
347=item $cv->broadcast 487The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
488fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
489versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
490C<< ->wait >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
491coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
348 492
349Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 493You can ensure that C<< -wait >> never blocks by setting a callback and
350calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 494only calling C<< ->wait >> from within that callback (or at a later
351called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 495time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
496waits otherwise.
497
498=item $bool = $cv->ready
499
500Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
501C<croak> have been called.
502
503=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback])
504
505This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
506replaces it before doing so.
507
508The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
509C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<wait> inside the callback
510or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
352 511
353=back 512=back
354
355Example:
356
357 # wait till the result is ready
358 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
359
360 # do something such as adding a timer
361 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
362 # when the "result" is ready.
363 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
364 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
365 after => 1,
366 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
367 );
368
369 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher
370 # calls broadcast
371 $result_ready->wait;
372 513
373=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 514=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
374 515
375=over 4 516=over 4
376 517
382C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 523C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
383AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 524AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
384 525
385The known classes so far are: 526The known classes so far are:
386 527
387 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
388 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
389 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice). 528 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
390 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice. 529 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
530 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
391 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice. 531 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
392 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
393 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice. 532 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
394 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs). 533 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
395 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse. 534 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
396 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support. 535 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
397 536
410Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 549Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
411if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 550if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
412have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 551have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
413runtime. 552runtime.
414 553
554=item @AnyEvent::detect
555
556If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
557before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
558the event loop has been chosen.
559
560You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
561if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
562and the array will be ignored.
563
415=back 564=back
416 565
417=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 566=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
418 567
419As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods 568As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
423decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 572decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
424by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 573by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
425to load the event module first. 574to load the event module first.
426 575
427Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 576Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
428the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 577the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
429because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 578because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
430events is to stay interactive. 579events is to stay interactive.
431 580
432It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 581It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module
433requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 582requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
453 602
454You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 603You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by
455loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 604loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar
456behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 605behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better.
457 606
607=head1 OTHER MODULES
608
609The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
610AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
611in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are
612available via CPAN.
613
614=over 4
615
616=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
617
618Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
619functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
620
621=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
622
623Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
624
625=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
626
627Provides a means to do non-blocking connects, accepts etc.
628
629=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
630
631Provides a simple web application server framework.
632
633=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
634
635Provides asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities, beyond what
636L<AnyEvent::Util> offers.
637
638=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
639
640The fastest ping in the west.
641
642=item L<Net::IRC3>
643
644AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
645
646=item L<Net::XMPP2>
647
648AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
649
650=item L<Net::FCP>
651
652AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
653of AnyEvent.
654
655=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
656
657High level API for event-based execution flow control.
658
659=item L<Coro>
660
661Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
662
663=item L<IO::Lambda>
664
665The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
666
667=item L<IO::AIO>
668
669Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
670programmer. Can be trivially made to use AnyEvent.
671
672=item L<BDB>
673
674Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. Can be trivially made to use
675AnyEvent.
676
677=back
678
458=cut 679=cut
459 680
460package AnyEvent; 681package AnyEvent;
461 682
462no warnings; 683no warnings;
463use strict; 684use strict;
464 685
465use Carp; 686use Carp;
466 687
467our $VERSION = '3.3'; 688our $VERSION = '3.4';
468our $MODEL; 689our $MODEL;
469 690
470our $AUTOLOAD; 691our $AUTOLOAD;
471our @ISA; 692our @ISA;
472 693
473our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 694our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
474 695
475our @REGISTRY; 696our @REGISTRY;
476 697
477my @models = ( 698my @models = (
478 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
479 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
480 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 699 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
481 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 700 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
482 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
483 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 701 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
484 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 702 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
485 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 703 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
486 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 704 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
487 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 705 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
706 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
488 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 707 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
489 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 708 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
490 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 709 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
491); 710);
492 711
493our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 712our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
713
714our @detect;
494 715
495sub detect() { 716sub detect() {
496 unless ($MODEL) { 717 unless ($MODEL) {
497 no strict 'refs'; 718 no strict 'refs';
498 719
532 last; 753 last;
533 } 754 }
534 } 755 }
535 756
536 $MODEL 757 $MODEL
537 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."; 758 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
538 } 759 }
539 } 760 }
540 761
541 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 762 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
542 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 763 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
764
765 (shift @detect)->() while @detect;
543 } 766 }
544 767
545 $MODEL 768 $MODEL
546} 769}
547 770
889 }); 1112 });
890 1113
891 $quit->wait; 1114 $quit->wait;
892 1115
893 1116
894=head1 BENCHMARK 1117=head1 BENCHMARKS
895 1118
896To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 1119To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
897over the event loops themselves (and to give you an impression of the 1120over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
898speed of various event loops), here is a benchmark of various supported 1121of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
899event models natively and with anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of 1122
900timers (with a zero timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to 1123=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1124
1125Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1126through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1127timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
901become writable, which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys 1128which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
902them again.
903 1129
904Rewriting the benchmark to use many different sockets instead of using 1130Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
905the same filehandle for all I/O watchers results in a much longer runtime 1131distribution.
906(socket creation is expensive), but qualitatively the same figures, so it
907was not used.
908 1132
909=head2 Explanation of the columns 1133=head3 Explanation of the columns
910 1134
911I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 1135I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
912different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 1136different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
913loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable 1137loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
914and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib 1138and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
930signal the end of this phase. 1154signal the end of this phase.
931 1155
932I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 1156I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
933watcher. 1157watcher.
934 1158
935=head2 Results 1159=head3 Results
936 1160
937 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1161 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
938 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1162 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface
939 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1163 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers
940 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1164 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal
941 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1165 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation
942 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1166 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface
943 Event/Any 16000 936 39.17 33.63 1.43 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1167 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers
944 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1168 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour
945 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1169 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
946 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1170 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event
947 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1171 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select
948 1172
949=head2 Discussion 1173=head3 Discussion
950 1174
951The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1175The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
952well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1176well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
953can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of 1177can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
954file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at 1178file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
955the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed 1179the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
956boost. 1180boost.
957 1181
1182Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1183overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1184the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1185higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1186
1187To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1188benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1189EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1190cycles with POE.
1191
958C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 1192C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
959maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 1193maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
960far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 1194far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
961natively. 1195natively.
962 1196
963The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 1197The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
964zero timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 1198constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
965interpreter and the backend itself, and all watchers become ready at the 1199interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
966same time). Nevertheless this shows that it adds very little overhead in 1200adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
967itself. Like any select-based backend its performance becomes really bad 1201performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
968with lots of file descriptors (and few of them active), of course, but 1202them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
969this was not subject of this benchmark.
970 1203
971The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation cost, 1204The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
972but overall scores on the third place. 1205cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
973 1206
974C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit bit higher, but it features a 1207C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
975faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 1208faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
976C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 1209C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
977watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 1210watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
978making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers 1211making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
979(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so 1212(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
982The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with 1215The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
983more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes 1216more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
984precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the 1217precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
985file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 1218file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
986employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a 1219employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
987hidden memory cost inside the kernel, though, that is not reflected in the 1220hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
988figures above). 1221above).
989 1222
990C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (wether using its pure perl 1223C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
991select-based backend or the Event module) shows abysmal performance and 1224select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1225be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
992memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as EV watchers, 1226memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
993and 10 times as much memory as both Event or EV via AnyEvent. Watcher 1227as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1228requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
994invocation is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 1229invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1230implementation.
1231
995implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 1232The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
996really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 1233for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
997to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 1234small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
998L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 1235optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1236using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1237memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1238design).
999 1239
1000=head2 Summary 1240=head3 Summary
1001 1241
1242=over 4
1243
1002Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop, but most 1244=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
1003event loops have acceptable performance with or without AnyEvent. 1245(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1246performance with or without AnyEvent.
1004 1247
1005The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of 1248=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1006the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as the EV 1249the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1007adds AnyEvent significant overhead. 1250adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
1008 1251
1009And you should simply avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or 1252=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1010reasonable memory usage. 1253reasonable memory usage.
1011 1254
1255=back
1256
1257=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1258
1259This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1260creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a
1261timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1262watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1263watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1264
1265The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1266are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1267fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The
1268timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1269most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1270
1271In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1272(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1273connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1274
1275Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1276distribution.
1277
1278=head3 Explanation of the columns
1279
1280I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1281each server has a read and write socket end).
1282
1283I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is
1284nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1285
1286I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1287single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1288it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1289a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1290
1291=head3 Results
1292
1293 name sockets create request
1294 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1295 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1296 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1297 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1298 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1299
1300=head3 Discussion
1301
1302This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1303particular event loop.
1304
1305EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1306is relatively high, though.
1307
1308Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1309loops Event and Glib.
1310
1311Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1312understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1313the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1314uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1315
1316Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
1317clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
1318
1319POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
1320as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
1321it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
1322
1323=head3 Summary
1324
1325=over 4
1326
1327=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1328
1329=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1330
1331=back
1332
1333=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
1334
1335While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
1336large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
1337I/O watchers.
1338
1339In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
1340case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
1341one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
1342well.
1343
1344The columns are identical to the previous table.
1345
1346=head3 Results
1347
1348 name sockets create request
1349 EV 16 20.00 6.54
1350 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1351 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1352 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1353 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1354
1355=head3 Discussion
1356
1357The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1358server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1359in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1360to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
1361speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1362them).
1363
1364EV is again fastest.
1365
1366Perl again comes second. It is noticably faster than the C-based event
1367loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1368matter.
1369
1370POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1371others.
1372
1373=head3 Summary
1374
1375=over 4
1376
1377=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1378watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1379
1380=back
1381
1012 1382
1013=head1 FORK 1383=head1 FORK
1014 1384
1015Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 1385Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1016because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 1386because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1387calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1017 1388
1018If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 1389If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1019watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 1390watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1020 1391
1021 1392
1033 1404
1034 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 1405 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1035 1406
1036 use AnyEvent; 1407 use AnyEvent;
1037 1408
1409Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1410be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1411probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL).
1412
1038 1413
1039=head1 SEE ALSO 1414=head1 SEE ALSO
1040 1415
1041Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 1416Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1042L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>,
1043L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 1417L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1044 1418
1045Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 1419Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1046L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 1420L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1047L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, 1421L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1048L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 1422L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1423
1424Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
1049 1425
1050Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 1426Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>.
1051 1427
1052 1428
1053=head1 AUTHOR 1429=head1 AUTHOR

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