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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5Event, Coro, Glib, Tk, Perl - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
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 wether 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.
45
46=head1 SUPPORT
47
48There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
49channel, too.
50
51See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
52Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
53
54=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
55
56Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
57nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
58
59Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
60policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
61
62First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
63interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
64pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
65the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
66only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
67cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
68loops.
69
70The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
71programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
72religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
73module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
74model you use.
75
76For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
77actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
78like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
79cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
80that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
81module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
82
83AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
84fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
85with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
86your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
87too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
88event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
89use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
90to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
91
92In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
93model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
94modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
95follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
96offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
97technically possible.
98
99Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
100of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
101non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
102such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
103platform bugs and differences.
104
105Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
106useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
107model, you should I<not> use this module.
22 108
23=head1 DESCRIPTION 109=head1 DESCRIPTION
24 110
25L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 111L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
26allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 112allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
27users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 113users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist
28peacefully at any one time). 114peacefully at any one time).
29 115
30The interface itself is vaguely similar but not identical to the Event 116The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
31module. 117module.
32 118
33On the first call of any method, the module tries to detect the currently 119During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
34loaded event loop by probing wether any of the following modules is 120to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
35loaded: L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>. The first one found is 121following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
36used. If none is found, the module tries to load these modules in the 122L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
37order given. The first one that could be successfully loaded will be 123L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
38used. If still none could be found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl 124to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
39event loop, which is also not very efficient. 125adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
126be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
127found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
128very efficient, but should work everywhere.
40 129
41Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 130Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
42an Event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 131an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
43that model the default. For example: 132that model the default. For example:
44 133
45 use Tk; 134 use Tk;
46 use AnyEvent; 135 use AnyEvent;
47 136
48 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 137 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
49 138
139The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and
140starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
141use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
142
50The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 143The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
51C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 144C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
52explicitly. 145explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
53 146
54=head1 WATCHERS 147=head1 WATCHERS
55 148
56AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 149AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
57stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 150stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
58the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 151the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
59 152
60These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 153These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
61creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke 154creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
155callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
156is in control).
157
158Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
159potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
160callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
161Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
162widely between event loops.
163
62the callback. To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by 164To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
63setting the variable that stores it to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all 165variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
64references to it). 166to it).
65 167
66All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 168All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
67 169
170Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
171example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
172
173An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
174
175 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
176 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
177 undef $w;
178 });
179
180Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
181my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
182declared.
183
68=head2 IO WATCHERS 184=head2 I/O WATCHERS
69 185
70You can create I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method with 186You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
71the following mandatory arguments: 187with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
72 188
73C<fh> the Perl I<filehandle> (not filedescriptor) to watch for 189C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
190for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
191handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
192non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
193most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
194or block devices.
195
74events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, that creates 196C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
75a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events. C<cb> teh callback 197watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
76to invoke everytime the filehandle becomes ready.
77 198
78Only one io watcher per C<fh> and C<poll> combination is allowed (i.e. on 199C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
79a socket you can have one r + one w, not any more (limitation comes from
80Tk - if you are sure you are not using Tk this limitation is gone).
81 200
82Filehandles will be kept alive, so as long as the watcher exists, the 201Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
83filehandle exists, too. 202presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
203callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
84 204
85Example: 205The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
206You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
207underlying file descriptor.
86 208
209Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
210always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
211handles.
212
87 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 213Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
214watcher.
215
88 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 216 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
89 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 217 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
90 warn "read: $input\n"; 218 warn "read: $input\n";
91 undef $w; 219 undef $w;
92 }); 220 });
94=head2 TIME WATCHERS 222=head2 TIME WATCHERS
95 223
96You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 224You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
97method with the following mandatory arguments: 225method with the following mandatory arguments:
98 226
99C<after> after how many seconds (fractions are supported) should the timer 227C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
100activate. C<cb> the callback to invoke. 228supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
229in that case.
101 230
102The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 231Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
103timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 232presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
104and Glib). 233callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
105 234
106Example: 235The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
236parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
237callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
238seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
239false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
107 240
241The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
242attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
243only approximate.
244
108 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 245Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
246
109 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 247 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
110 warn "timeout\n"; 248 warn "timeout\n";
111 }); 249 });
112 250
113 # to cancel the timer: 251 # to cancel the timer:
114 undef $w 252 undef $w;
115 253
116=head2 CONDITION WATCHERS 254Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
117 255
118Condition watchers can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 256 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
119method without any arguments. 257 warn "timeout\n";
258 };
120 259
121A condition watcher watches for a condition - precisely that the C<< 260=head3 TIMING ISSUES
122->broadcast >> method has been called.
123 261
124The watcher has only two methods: 262There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
263in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
264o'clock").
265
266While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
267use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
268"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
269the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
270fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire.
271
272AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
273about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
274on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
275timers.
276
277AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
278AnyEvent API.
279
280AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
125 281
126=over 4 282=over 4
127 283
128=item $cv->wait 284=item AnyEvent->time
129 285
130Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 286This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
131called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 287seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
288return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
132 289
133Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case, so 290It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
134if you are using this from a module, never require a blocking wait, but 291will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
135let the caller decide wether the call will block or not (for example,
136by coupling condition variables with some kind of request results and
137supporting callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not
138block, while still suppporting blockign waits if the caller so desires).
139 292
140You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 293=item AnyEvent->now
141immediately.
142 294
143=item $cv->broadcast 295This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
296this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
297the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
298time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
144 299
145Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 300I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
146calls to C<wait> will return after this method has been called. If nobody 301function to call when you want to know the current time.>
147is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..
148 302
149Example: 303This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
304thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
305L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
306
307The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
308with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
309
310For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
311and L<EV> and the following set-up:
312
313The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
314time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
315you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
316second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
317after three seconds.
318
319With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
320both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
321be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
322
323With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
324time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
325last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
326to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
327
328In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
329regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
330callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
331higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
332
333In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
334the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
335
336In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
337can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
338difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
339account.
340
341=item AnyEvent->now_update
342
343Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
344the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
345AnyEvent->now >>, above).
346
347When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
348this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
349might affect timers and time-outs.
350
351When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
352event loop's idea of "current time".
353
354Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
355
356=back
357
358=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
359
360You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
361I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
362callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
363
364Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
365presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
366callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
367
368Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
369invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
370that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
371but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
372
373The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
374between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
375interrupt your program at bad times.
376
377This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
378so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
379correctly.
380
381Example: exit on SIGINT
382
383 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
384
385=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
386
387Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
388callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot do
389race-free signal handling in perl. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, but
390in some cases, signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might
391be delayed is specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10
392seconds). This variable can be changed only before the first signal
393watcher is created, and should be left alone otherwise. Higher values
394will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
395saving. All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
396L<Async::Interrupt> module. This will not work with inherently broken
397event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib> (and not with L<POE>
398currently, as POE does it's own workaround with one-second latency). With
399those, you just have to suffer the delays.
400
401=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
402
403You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
404
405The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (one some backends,
406using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
407croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
408finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
409(stopped/continued).
410
411The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
412waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
413callback arguments.
414
415This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
416and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
417random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
418C<system>, is just fine).
419
420There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
421I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
422have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
423
424Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
425see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
426that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
427the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
428pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
429start the watcher.
430
431This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
432thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
433watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
434C<AnyEvent::detect>).
435
436As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
437emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
438mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
439
440Example: fork a process and wait for it
441
442 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
443
444 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
445
446 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
447 pid => $pid,
448 cb => sub {
449 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
450 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
451 $done->send;
452 },
453 );
454
455 # do something else, then wait for process exit
456 $done->recv;
457
458=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
459
460Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
461to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
462"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
463attention by the event loop".
464
465Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
466better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
467events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
468
469Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
470EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
471will simply call the callback "from time to time".
472
473Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
474program is otherwise idle:
475
476 my @lines; # read data
477 my $idle_w;
478 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
479 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
480
481 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
482 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
483 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
484 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
485 print "handled when idle: $line";
486 } else {
487 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
488 undef $idle_w;
489 }
490 });
491 });
492
493=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
494
495If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
496require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
497will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
498
499AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
500loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
501
502The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
503because they represent a condition that must become true.
504
505Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
506
507Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
508>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
509C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
510becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
511the results).
512
513After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
514by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
515were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
516->send >> method).
517
518Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
519optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
520in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
521another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
522used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
523a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a promise to
524compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
525
526Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
527for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
528then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
529availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
530called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
531
532You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
533you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
534could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
535button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
536
537Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
538two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
539lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
540you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
541as this asks for trouble.
542
543Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
544used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
545easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
546AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
547it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
548
549There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
550eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
551for the send to occur.
552
553Example: wait for a timer.
150 554
151 # wait till the result is ready 555 # wait till the result is ready
152 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 556 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
153 557
154 # do something such as adding a timer 558 # do something such as adding a timer
155 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 559 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
156 # when the "result" is ready. 560 # when the "result" is ready.
561 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
562 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
563 after => 1,
564 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
565 );
157 566
567 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
568 # calls -<send
158 $result_ready->wait; 569 $result_ready->recv;
570
571Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
572variables are also callable directly.
573
574 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
575 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
576 $done->recv;
577
578Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
579callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
580the main program:
581
582 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
583
584 ...
585
586 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
587
588And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
589results are available:
590
591 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
592 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
593 });
594
595=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
596
597These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
598code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
599the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
600uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
601
602=over 4
603
604=item $cv->send (...)
605
606Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
607calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
608called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
609
610If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
611immediately from within send.
612
613Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
614future C<< ->recv >> calls.
615
616Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
617they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
618C<send>.
619
620=item $cv->croak ($error)
621
622Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
623C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
624
625This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
626user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
627delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
628diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
629deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
630the problem.
631
632=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
633
634=item $cv->end
635
636These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
637one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
638to use a condition variable for the whole process.
639
640Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
641C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
642>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
643is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
644callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
645
646You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
647sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
648condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
649
650Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
651STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
652close before activating a condvar:
653
654 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
655
656 $cv->begin; # first watcher
657 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
658 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
659 or $cv->end;
660 });
661
662 $cv->begin; # second watcher
663 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
664 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
665 or $cv->end;
666 });
667
668 $cv->recv;
669
670This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
671one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
672sending.
673
674The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
675there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
676begung can potentially be zero:
677
678 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
679
680 my %result;
681 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
682
683 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
684 $cv->begin;
685 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
686 $result{$host} = ...;
687 $cv->end;
688 };
689 }
690
691 $cv->end;
692
693This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
694C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
695order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
696each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
697it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
698results arrive is not relevant.
699
700There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
701loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
702to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
703C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
704doesn't execute once).
705
706This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
707potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
708the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
709subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
710call C<end>.
159 711
160=back 712=back
161 713
162=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 714=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
163 715
164You can listen for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 716These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
165I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix. Multiple signals events can be clumped 717code awaits the condition.
166together into one callback invocation, and callback invocation might or
167might not be asynchronous.
168
169These watchers might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
170directly will likely not work correctly.
171
172Example: exit on SIGINT
173
174 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
175
176=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
177
178You can also listen for the status of a child process specified by the
179C<pid> argument. The watcher will only trigger once. This works by
180installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>.
181
182Example: wait for pid 1333
183
184 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => 1333, cb => sub { warn "exit status $?" });
185
186=head1 GLOBALS
187 718
188=over 4 719=over 4
189 720
721=item $cv->recv
722
723Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
724>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
725normally.
726
727You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
728will return immediately.
729
730If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
731function will call C<croak>.
732
733In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
734in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
735
736Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
737event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
738>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
739condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
740L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
741any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
742
743Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
744(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
745using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
746caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
747condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
748callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
749while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
750
751You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
752only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
753time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
754waits otherwise.
755
756=item $bool = $cv->ready
757
758Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
759C<croak> have been called.
760
761=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
762
763This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
764replaces it before doing so.
765
766The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
767C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
768variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
769is guaranteed not to block.
770
771=back
772
773=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
774
775The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
776
777=over 4
778
779=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
780
781EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
782use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
783that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
784available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
785
786 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
787 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
788 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
789
790=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
791
792These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
793is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
794them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
795when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
796create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
797
798 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
799 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
800 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
801 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
802 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
803
804=item Backends with special needs.
805
806Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
807otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
808instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
809everything should just work.
810
811 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
812
813Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
814architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
815is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
816it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
817L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
818
819 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
820
821=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
822
823Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
824
825There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
826
827B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
828use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
829polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
830consider for AnyEvent.
831
832B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
833backend, so it can be supported through POE.
834
835AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
836load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
837in which case everything will be automatic.
838
839=back
840
841=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
842
843These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
844write AnyEvent extension modules.
845
846=over 4
847
190=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 848=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
191 849
192Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 850Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
851backend has been autodetected.
852
193contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 853Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
194Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 854name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
195C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 855of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
196AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 856case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
197 857will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
198The known classes so far are:
199
200 EV::AnyEvent based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice)
201 AnyEvent::Impl::Coro based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
202 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, also second best choice :)
203 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, second-best choice.
204 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
205 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient.
206 858
207=item AnyEvent::detect 859=item AnyEvent::detect
208 860
209Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model if 861Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
210necessary. You should only call this function right before you would have 862if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
211created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, very late at runtime. 863have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
864runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
865
866If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
867created, use C<post_detect>.
868
869=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
870
871Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
872autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
873
874The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
875(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
876created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
877other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
878L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
879
880The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
881event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
882and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
883avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
884
885If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
886that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
887C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
888a case where this is useful.
889
890Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
891C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
892
893 our WATCHER;
894
895 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
896 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
897 };
898
899 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
900 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
901 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
902 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
903
904 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
905
906=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
907
908If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
909before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
910the event loop has been chosen.
911
912You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
913if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
914array will be ignored.
915
916Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
917it,as it takes care of these details.
918
919This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
920when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
921not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
922into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
212 923
213=back 924=back
214 925
215=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 926=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
216 927
217As a module author, you should "use AnyEvent" and call AnyEvent methods 928As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
218freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it. 929freely, but you should not load a specific event module or rely on it.
219 930
220Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - Anyevent will 931Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
221decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 932decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
222by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 933by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
223to load the event module first. 934to load the event module first.
224 935
936Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
937the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
938because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
939events is to stay interactive.
940
941It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
942requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
943called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
944freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
945
225=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 946=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
226 947
227There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 948There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
228dictate which event model to use. 949dictate which event model to use.
229 950
230If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 951If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
231do anything special and let AnyEvent decide which implementation to chose. 952do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
953decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
232 954
233If the main program relies on a specific event model (for example, in Gtk2 955If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
234programs you have to rely on either Glib or Glib::Event), you should load 956Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
235it before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it, generally, as early 957event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
236as possible. The reason is that modules might create watchers when they 958speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
237are loaded, and AnyEvent will decide on the event model to use as soon as 959modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
238it creates watchers, and it might chose the wrong one unless you load the 960decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
239correct one yourself. 961might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
240 962
241You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 963You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
242loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, but letting AnyEvent chose is 964C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
243generally better. 965everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
966
967=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
968
969Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
970only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
971
972In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
973
974 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
975
976This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
977
978Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
979it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
980variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
981exit cleanly.
982
983
984=head1 OTHER MODULES
985
986The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
987AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
988modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
989come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
990
991=over 4
992
993=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
994
995Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
996functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
997
998=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
999
1000Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1001addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1002connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1003
1004=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1005
1006Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1007supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1008non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1009
1010=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1011
1012Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1013
1014=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
1015
1016A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
1017HTTP requests.
1018
1019=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1020
1021Provides a simple web application server framework.
1022
1023=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1024
1025The fastest ping in the west.
1026
1027=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1028
1029Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
1030
1031=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1032
1033Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
1034programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
1035together.
1036
1037=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
1038
1039Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
1040L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
1041
1042=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
1043
1044A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
1045
1046=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
1047
1048AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
1049
1050=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
1051
1052AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1053Net::XMPP2>.
1054
1055=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1056
1057A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1058L<App::IGS>).
1059
1060=item L<Net::FCP>
1061
1062AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
1063of AnyEvent.
1064
1065=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
1066
1067High level API for event-based execution flow control.
1068
1069=item L<Coro>
1070
1071Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1072
1073=back
244 1074
245=cut 1075=cut
246 1076
247package AnyEvent; 1077package AnyEvent;
248 1078
1079# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
1080sub common_sense {
249no warnings; 1081 # no warnings
250use strict; 1082 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS};
1083 # use strict vars subs
1084 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1085}
251 1086
1087BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1088
252use Carp; 1089use Carp ();
253 1090
254our $VERSION = '2.55'; 1091our $VERSION = 4.881;
255our $MODEL; 1092our $MODEL;
256 1093
257our $AUTOLOAD; 1094our $AUTOLOAD;
258our @ISA; 1095our @ISA;
259 1096
260our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
261
262our @REGISTRY; 1097our @REGISTRY;
263 1098
1099our $WIN32;
1100
1101our $VERBOSE;
1102
1103BEGIN {
1104 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
1105 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1106
1107 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1108 if ${^TAINT};
1109
1110 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1111
1112}
1113
1114our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1115
1116our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1117
1118{
1119 my $idx;
1120 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1121 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1122 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1123}
1124
264my @models = ( 1125my @models = (
265 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Coro::],
266 [EV:: => EV::AnyEvent::], 1126 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
267 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1127 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
268 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
269 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
270 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1128 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1129 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1130 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1131 # and is usually faster
1132 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1133 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1134 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
1135 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1136 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1137 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
1138 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1139 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1140 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1141 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1142 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1143 # obvious default class.
1144# [0, IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1145# [0, IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1146# [0, IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
271); 1147);
272 1148
273our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait signal one_event DESTROY); 1149our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1150 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1151
1152our @post_detect;
1153
1154sub post_detect(&) {
1155 my ($cb) = @_;
1156
1157 if ($MODEL) {
1158 $cb->();
1159
1160 undef
1161 } else {
1162 push @post_detect, $cb;
1163
1164 defined wantarray
1165 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1166 : ()
1167 }
1168}
1169
1170sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1171 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1172}
274 1173
275sub detect() { 1174sub detect() {
276 unless ($MODEL) { 1175 unless ($MODEL) {
277 no strict 'refs'; 1176 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1177
1178 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1179 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1180 if (eval "require $model") {
1181 $MODEL = $model;
1182 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1183 } else {
1184 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1185 }
1186 }
278 1187
279 # check for already loaded models 1188 # check for already loaded models
1189 unless ($MODEL) {
280 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1190 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
281 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1191 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
282 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1192 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
283 if (eval "require $model") { 1193 if (eval "require $model") {
284 $MODEL = $model; 1194 $MODEL = $model;
285 warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1195 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
286 last; 1196 last;
1197 }
287 } 1198 }
288 } 1199 }
1200
1201 unless ($MODEL) {
1202 # try to autoload a model
1203 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
1204 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1205 if (
1206 $autoload
1207 and eval "require $package"
1208 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
1209 and eval "require $model"
1210 ) {
1211 $MODEL = $model;
1212 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1213 last;
1214 }
1215 }
1216
1217 $MODEL
1218 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
1219 }
289 } 1220 }
290 1221
291 unless ($MODEL) { 1222 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
292 # try to load a model
293
294 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
295 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
296 if (eval "require $package"
297 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
298 and eval "require $model") {
299 $MODEL = $model;
300 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
301 last;
302 }
303 }
304
305 $MODEL
306 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: Event (or Coro+Event), Glib or Tk.";
307 }
308 1223
309 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1224 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
310 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1225
1226 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1227
1228 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
311 } 1229 }
312 1230
313 $MODEL 1231 $MODEL
314} 1232}
315 1233
316sub AUTOLOAD { 1234sub AUTOLOAD {
317 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1235 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
318 1236
319 $method{$func} 1237 $method{$func}
320 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1238 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
321 1239
322 detect unless $MODEL; 1240 detect unless $MODEL;
323 1241
324 my $class = shift; 1242 my $class = shift;
325 $class->$func (@_); 1243 $class->$func (@_);
326} 1244}
327 1245
1246# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1247# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1248# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1249sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1250 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1251
1252 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1253 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1254
1255 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1256 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1257
1258 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1259
1260 ($fh2, $rw)
1261}
1262
328package AnyEvent::Base; 1263package AnyEvent::Base;
329 1264
1265# default implementations for many methods
1266
1267sub _time {
1268 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1269 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1270 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1271 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1272 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1273 } else {
1274 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1275 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1276 }
1277
1278 &_time
1279}
1280
1281sub time { _time }
1282sub now { _time }
1283sub now_update { }
1284
330# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1285# default implementation for ->condvar
331 1286
332sub condvar { 1287sub condvar {
333 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1288 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
334}
335
336sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
337 ${$_[0]}++;
338}
339
340sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
341 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
342} 1289}
343 1290
344# default implementation for ->signal 1291# default implementation for ->signal
345 1292
346our %SIG_CB; 1293our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1294our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1295our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1296our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
347 1297
1298sub _signal_exec {
1299 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1300 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1301 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 9;
1302
1303 while (%SIG_EV) {
1304 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1305 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1306 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1307 }
1308 }
1309}
1310
1311# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1312sub _sig_add() {
1313 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1314 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1315 my $NOW = AnyEvent->now;
1316
1317 $SIG_TW = AnyEvent->timer (
1318 after => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1319 interval => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1320 cb => sub { }, # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1321 );
1322 }
1323}
1324
1325sub _sig_del {
1326 undef $SIG_TW
1327 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1328}
1329
348sub signal { 1330sub _signal {
349 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1331 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
350 1332
351 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1333 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
352 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1334 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
353 1335
1336 if ($HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT) {
1337 # async::interrupt
1338
1339 $signal = Async::Interrupt::sig2num ($signal);
354 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1340 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1341
1342 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1343 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1344 signal => $signal,
1345 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1346 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1347 ;
1348
1349 } else {
1350 # pure perl
1351
1352 # AE::Util has been loaded in signal
1353 $signal = AnyEvent::Util::sig2name ($signal);
1354 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1355
355 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1356 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
356 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1357 local $!;
1358 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1359 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1360 };
1361
1362 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1363 # so limit the signal latency.
1364 _sig_add;
357 }; 1365 }
358 1366
359 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1367 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
360} 1368}
361 1369
1370sub signal {
1371 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1372 if (!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT} && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.0 (); 1") {
1373 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1374
1375 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1;
1376 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1377 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1378
1379 } else {
1380 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1381
1382 require Fcntl;
1383
1384 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1385 require AnyEvent::Util;
1386
1387 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1388 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1389 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1390 } else {
1391 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1392 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1393 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1394
1395 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1396 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1397 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1398 }
1399
1400 $SIGPIPE_R
1401 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1402
1403 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1404 }
1405
1406 *signal = \&_signal;
1407 &signal
1408}
1409
362sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1410sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
363 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1411 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
364 1412
1413 _sig_del;
1414
365 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1415 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
366 1416
367 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1417 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1418 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1419 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1420 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1421 # instead of getting the default action.
1422 undef $SIG{$signal}
1423 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
368} 1424}
369 1425
370# default implementation for ->child 1426# default implementation for ->child
371 1427
372our %PID_CB; 1428our %PID_CB;
373our $CHLD_W; 1429our $CHLD_W;
374our $PID_IDLE; 1430our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
375our $WNOHANG; 1431our $WNOHANG;
376 1432
377sub _child_wait { 1433sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
378 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1434 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1435
1436 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
379 $_->() for values %{ (delete $PID_CB{$pid}) || {} }; 1437 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
380 } 1438 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1439}
381 1440
382 undef $PID_IDLE; 1441sub _sigchld {
1442 my $pid;
1443
1444 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1445 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
383} 1446}
384 1447
385sub child { 1448sub child {
386 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1449 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
387 1450
388 my $pid = uc $arg{pid} 1451 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
389 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1452 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
390 1453
391 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1454 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
392 1455
393 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1456 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
394 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1457 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
1458 ? 1
1459 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
1460
1461 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1462 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
1463 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1464 &_sigchld;
395 } 1465 }
396 1466
397 unless ($CHLD_W) {
398 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_child_wait);
399 # child could be a zombie already
400 $PID_IDLE ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => \&_child_wait);
401 }
402
403 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1467 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
404} 1468}
405 1469
406sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1470sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
407 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1471 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
408 1472
409 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1473 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
410 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1474 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
411 1475
412 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1476 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
413} 1477}
414 1478
1479# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1480# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1481# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1482sub idle {
1483 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1484
1485 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1486
1487 $rcb = sub {
1488 if ($cb) {
1489 $w = _time;
1490 &$cb;
1491 $w = _time - $w;
1492
1493 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1494 # within some limits
1495 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1496 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1497
1498 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1499 } else {
1500 # clean up...
1501 undef $w;
1502 undef $rcb;
1503 }
1504 };
1505
1506 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1507
1508 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1509}
1510
1511sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1512 undef $${$_[0]};
1513}
1514
1515package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1516
1517our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1518
1519package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1520
1521#use overload
1522# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1523# fallback => 1;
1524
1525# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1526${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1527*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1528*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1529${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1530
1531our $WAITING;
1532
1533sub _send {
1534 # nop
1535}
1536
1537sub send {
1538 my $cv = shift;
1539 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1540 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1541 $cv->_send;
1542}
1543
1544sub croak {
1545 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1546 $_[0]->send;
1547}
1548
1549sub ready {
1550 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1551}
1552
1553sub _wait {
1554 $WAITING
1555 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1556 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1557
1558 local $WAITING = 1;
1559 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1560}
1561
1562sub recv {
1563 $_[0]->_wait;
1564
1565 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1566 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1567}
1568
1569sub cb {
1570 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1571 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
1572}
1573
1574sub begin {
1575 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1576 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1577}
1578
1579sub end {
1580 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1581 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1582}
1583
1584# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1585*broadcast = \&send;
1586*wait = \&_wait;
1587
1588=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1589
1590In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1591caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1592the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1593checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1594development.
1595
1596As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1597executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1598also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1599program.
1600
1601The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1602within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1603$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1604so on.
1605
1606=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1607
1608The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1609submodules.
1610
1611Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1612C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1613enabled.
1614
1615=over 4
1616
1617=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1618
1619By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1620conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1621talkative.
1622
1623When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1624conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1625C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1626
1627When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1628model it chooses.
1629
1630When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1631which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1632
1633=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1634
1635AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1636argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1637will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1638check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1639it will croak.
1640
1641In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1642
1643Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1644>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1645C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1646can be very useful, however.
1647
1648=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1649
1650This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1651auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1652entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1653and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1654used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1655auto detection and -probing.
1656
1657This functionality might change in future versions.
1658
1659For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1660could start your program like this:
1661
1662 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1663
1664=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1665
1666Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1667for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1668of auto probing).
1669
1670Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1671current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1672used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1673list.
1674
1675This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1676against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1677small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1678
1679Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1680but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1681- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1682addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1683IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1684
1685=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1686
1687Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1688for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1689some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1690default.
1691
1692Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1693EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1694
1695=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1696
1697The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1698will create in parallel.
1699
1700=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1701
1702The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1703resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1704sent to the DNS server.
1705
1706=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1707
1708The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1709configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1710default config will be used.
1711
1712=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1713
1714When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1715L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1716variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1717instead of a system-dependent default.
1718
1719=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1720
1721When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1722loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1723
1724=back
1725
415=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1726=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1727
1728This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1729a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1730provide AnyEvent compatibility.
416 1731
417If you need to support another event library which isn't directly 1732If you need to support another event library which isn't directly
418supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by 1733supported by AnyEvent, you can supply your own interface to it by
419pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of 1734pushing, before the first watcher gets created, the package name of
420the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto 1735the event module and the package name of the interface to use onto
421C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading 1736C<@AnyEvent::REGISTRY>. You can do that before and even without loading
422AnyEvent. 1737AnyEvent, so it is reasonably cheap.
423 1738
424Example: 1739Example:
425 1740
426 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::]; 1741 push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [urxvt => urxvt::anyevent::];
427 1742
428This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::> 1743This tells AnyEvent to (literally) use the C<urxvt::anyevent::>
429package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is loaded. When 1744package/class when it finds the C<urxvt> package/module is already loaded.
1745
430AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it will 1746When AnyEvent is loaded and asked to find a suitable event model, it
431first check for the presence of urxvt. 1747will first check for the presence of urxvt by trying to C<use> the
1748C<urxvt::anyevent> module.
432 1749
433The class should provide implementations for all watcher types (see 1750The class should provide implementations for all watcher types. See
434L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> 1751L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (source code), L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> (Source code)
435(Source code) and so on for actual examples, use C<perldoc -m 1752and so on for actual examples. Use C<perldoc -m AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to
436AnyEvent::Impl::Glib> to see the sources). 1753see the sources.
437 1754
1755If you don't provide C<signal> and C<child> watchers than AnyEvent will
1756provide suitable (hopefully) replacements.
1757
438The above isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt) 1758The above example isn't fictitious, the I<rxvt-unicode> (a.k.a. urxvt)
439uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included in AnyEvent 1759terminal emulator uses the above line as-is. An interface isn't included
440because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter inside 1760in AnyEvent because it doesn't make sense outside the embedded interpreter
441I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the 1761inside I<rxvt-unicode>, and it is updated and maintained as part of the
442I<rxvt-unicode> distribution. 1762I<rxvt-unicode> distribution.
443 1763
444I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1764I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
445condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1765condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
446C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1766C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
447not be in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1767not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
448 1768
449=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
450
451The following environment variables are used by this module:
452
453C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, reports which event
454model gets used.
455
456=head1 EXAMPLE 1769=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
457 1770
458The following program uses an io watcher to read data from stdin, a timer 1771The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
459to display a message once per second, and a condvar to exit the program 1772to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
460when the user enters quit: 1773program when the user enters quit:
461 1774
462 use AnyEvent; 1775 use AnyEvent;
463 1776
464 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 1777 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
465 1778
466 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 1779 my $io_watcher = AnyEvent->io (
1780 fh => \*STDIN,
1781 poll => 'r',
1782 cb => sub {
467 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1783 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
468 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1784 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
469 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1785 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
470 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1786 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1787 },
471 }); 1788 );
472 1789
473 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1790 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
474 1791
475 sub new_timer { 1792 sub new_timer {
476 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1793 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub {
479 }); 1796 });
480 } 1797 }
481 1798
482 new_timer; # create first timer 1799 new_timer; # create first timer
483 1800
484 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1801 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
485 1802
486=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1803=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
487 1804
488Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1805Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
489API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1806API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
539 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1856 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
540 or die "connection or write error"; 1857 or die "connection or write error";
541 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1858 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
542 1859
543Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1860Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
544result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1861result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
545 1862
546 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1863 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
547 1864
548 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1865 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
549 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1866 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
550 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1867 $txn->{finished}->send;
551 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1868 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
552 } 1869 }
553 1870
554The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1871The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
555request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1872request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
556data: 1873data:
557 1874
558 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1875 $txn->{finished}->recv;
559 return $txn->{result}; 1876 return $txn->{result};
560 1877
561The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1878The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
562that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1879that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
563wether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1880whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
564and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1881and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
565problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1882problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
566random callback. 1883random callback.
567 1884
568All of this enables the following usage styles: 1885All of this enables the following usage styles:
569 1886
5701. Blocking: 18871. Blocking:
571 1888
572 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url); 1889 my $data = $fcp->client_get ($url);
573 1890
5742. Blocking, but parallelizing: 18912. Blocking, but running in parallel:
575 1892
576 my @datas = map $_->result, 1893 my @datas = map $_->result,
577 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_), 1894 map $fcp->txn_client_get ($_),
578 @urls; 1895 @urls;
579 1896
580Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know 1897Both blocking examples work without the module user having to know
581anything about events. 1898anything about events.
582 1899
5833a. Event-based in a main program, using any support Event module: 19003a. Event-based in a main program, using any supported event module:
584 1901
585 use Event; 1902 use EV;
586 1903
587 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1904 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
588 my $txn = shift; 1905 my $txn = shift;
589 my $data = $txn->result; 1906 my $data = $txn->result;
590 ... 1907 ...
591 }); 1908 });
592 1909
593 Event::loop; 1910 EV::loop;
594 1911
5953b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too: 19123b. The module user could use AnyEvent, too:
596 1913
597 use AnyEvent; 1914 use AnyEvent;
598 1915
599 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1916 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
600 1917
601 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1918 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
602 ... 1919 ...
603 $quit->broadcast; 1920 $quit->send;
604 }); 1921 });
605 1922
606 $quit->wait; 1923 $quit->recv;
1924
1925
1926=head1 BENCHMARKS
1927
1928To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
1929over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
1930of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
1931
1932=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1933
1934Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1935through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1936timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1937which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1938
1939Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1940distribution.
1941
1942=head3 Explanation of the columns
1943
1944I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1945different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1946loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
1947and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
1948would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
1949of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
1950
1951I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
1952RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
1953and Perl-based overheads.
1954
1955I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
1956takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
1957all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1958and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1959
1960I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1961callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1962invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1963signal the end of this phase.
1964
1965I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1966watcher.
1967
1968=head3 Results
1969
1970 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1971 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1972 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1973 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1974 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1975 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1976 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1977 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
1978 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1979 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1980 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1981 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1982 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1983
1984=head3 Discussion
1985
1986The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1987well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1988can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
1989file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
1990the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
1991boost.
1992
1993Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1994overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1995the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1996higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1997
1998To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1999benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
2000EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
2001cycles with POE.
2002
2003C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
2004maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
2005far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
2006natively.
2007
2008The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
2009constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
2010interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
2011adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
2012performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
2013them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
2014
2015The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
2016cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2017
2018C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2019when using its pure perl backend.
2020
2021C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
2022faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
2023C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
2024watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
2025making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
2026(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
2027inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
2028
2029The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
2030more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
2031precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
2032file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
2033employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
2034hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
2035above).
2036
2037C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
2038select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
2039be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
2040memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
2041as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
2042requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
2043invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2044implementation.
2045
2046The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
2047for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
2048small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
2049optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2050using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2051memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2052design).
2053
2054=head3 Summary
2055
2056=over 4
2057
2058=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
2059(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
2060performance with or without AnyEvent.
2061
2062=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
2063the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
2064adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
2065
2066=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
2067reasonable memory usage.
2068
2069=back
2070
2071=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
2072
2073This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
2074creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
2075timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
2076watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
2077watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
2078
2079The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
2080are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
2081fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
2082timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
2083most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
2084
2085In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
2086(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
2087connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
2088
2089Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
2090distribution.
2091
2092=head3 Explanation of the columns
2093
2094I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
2095each server has a read and write socket end).
2096
2097I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
2098nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
2099
2100I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
2101single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
2102it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
2103a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
2104
2105=head3 Results
2106
2107 name sockets create request
2108 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
2109 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
2110 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
2111 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
2112 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
2113 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
2114 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
2115
2116=head3 Discussion
2117
2118This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
2119particular event loop.
2120
2121EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
2122is relatively high, though.
2123
2124Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
2125loops Event and Glib.
2126
2127IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2128good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
2129
2130Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
2131understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
2132the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
2133uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
2134
2135Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
2136clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
2137
2138POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
2139as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
2140it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
2141
2142=head3 Summary
2143
2144=over 4
2145
2146=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
2147
2148=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
2149
2150=back
2151
2152=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
2153
2154While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
2155large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
2156I/O watchers.
2157
2158In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
2159case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
2160one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
2161well.
2162
2163The columns are identical to the previous table.
2164
2165=head3 Results
2166
2167 name sockets create request
2168 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2169 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
2170 Event 16 81.27 35.86
2171 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
2172 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
2173
2174=head3 Discussion
2175
2176The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
2177server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
2178in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
2179to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
2180speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
2181them).
2182
2183EV is again fastest.
2184
2185Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
2186loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
2187matter.
2188
2189POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
2190others.
2191
2192=head3 Summary
2193
2194=over 4
2195
2196=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
2197watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
2198
2199=back
2200
2201=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2202
2203Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2204could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2205simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2206shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2207fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2208very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2209baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2210
2211The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2212connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2213creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2214test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2215benchmark nevertheless.
2216
2217 name runtime
2218 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2219 + optimized 0.122 sec
2220 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2221 + optimized 0.138 sec
2222 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2223 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2224 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2225 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2226
2227 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2228 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2229 +state machine 0.134 sec
2230
2231The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2232benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2233defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2234written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2235AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2236resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2237generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2238connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2239
2240The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2241offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2242Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2243non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2244
2245As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2246hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2247backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2248
2249And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2250slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2251large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2252in a non-blocking way.
2253
2254The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2255F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2256part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2257
2258
2259=head1 SIGNALS
2260
2261AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2262
2263=over 4
2264
2265=item SIGCHLD
2266
2267A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2268emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2269event loops install a similar handler.
2270
2271Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2272AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2273
2274=item SIGPIPE
2275
2276A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2277when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2278
2279The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2280on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2281badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2282program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2283some random socket.
2284
2285The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2286that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2287
2288Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2289
2290=back
2291
2292=cut
2293
2294undef $SIG{CHLD}
2295 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2296
2297$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2298 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2299
2300=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2301
2302One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2303it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2304
2305That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2306modules if they are installed.
2307
2308This section epxlains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2309affect AnyEvent's operetion.
2310
2311=over 4
2312
2313=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2314
2315This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2316my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2317signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2318delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2319catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2320C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2321
2322If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2323catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2324will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (And good for
2325battery life on laptops).
2326
2327This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2328that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2329
2330Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2331and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2332(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2333does nothing for those backends.
2334
2335=item L<EV>
2336
2337This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2338event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2339loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2340the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2341automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2342can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2343C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2344L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2345
2346=item L<Guard>
2347
2348The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2349C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2350lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2351purely used for performance.
2352
2353=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2354
2355This module is required when you want to read or write JSON data via
2356L<AnyEvent::Handle>. It is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2357advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2358
2359In fact, L<AnyEvent::Handle> will use L<JSON::XS> by default if it is
2360installed.
2361
2362=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2363
2364Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2365worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2366the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2367
2368=item L<Time::HiRes>
2369
2370This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2371chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2372pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2373try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2374
2375=back
2376
2377
2378=head1 FORK
2379
2380Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
2381because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
2382calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
2383
2384If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
2385watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2386something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2387
2388
2389=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
2390
2391AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
2392$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
2393execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
2394make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
2395will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
2396specified in the variable.
2397
2398You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
2399before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
2400
2401 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
2402
2403 use AnyEvent;
2404
2405Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2406be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2407probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2408$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2409
2410Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2411C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2412enabled.
2413
2414
2415=head1 BUGS
2416
2417Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2418to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2419and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2420memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2421pronounced).
2422
607 2423
608=head1 SEE ALSO 2424=head1 SEE ALSO
609 2425
610Event modules: L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>. 2426Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
611 2427
612Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::Coro>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>. 2428Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
2429L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
613 2430
614Nontrivial usage example: L<Net::FCP>. 2431Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2432L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2433L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
2434L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
615 2435
616=head1 2436Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2437servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2438
2439Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2440
2441Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2442L<Coro::Event>,
2443
2444Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2445L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
2446
2447
2448=head1 AUTHOR
2449
2450 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
2451 http://home.schmorp.de/
617 2452
618=cut 2453=cut
619 2454
6201 24551
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