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Revision 1.215 by root, Tue Jun 23 12:19:33 2009 UTC

1=head1 => NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
21 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
22 45
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 47
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 50
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 51Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 52policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 53
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 54First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 55interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 56pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 57the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 58only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 59cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
60loops.
37 61
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 62The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 63programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 64religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 66model you use.
43 67
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 68For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 69actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 70like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 74
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 76fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if 77with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 78your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 83
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 84In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to 86modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 87follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 88offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 89technically possible.
66 90
91Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
92of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
93non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
94such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
95platform bugs and differences.
96
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 97Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 98useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 99model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 100
71=head1 DESCRIPTION 101=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 102
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 132starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 133use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
104 134
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 135The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 136C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
107explicitly. 137explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
108 138
109=head1 WATCHERS 139=head1 WATCHERS
110 140
111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 141AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
112stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 142stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 145These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 146creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 148is in control).
119 149
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops.
155
120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 156To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
121variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 157variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
122to it). 158to it).
123 159
124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 160All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 164
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 165An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 166
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
134 }); 170 });
135 171
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 172Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 174declared.
139 175
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 176=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 177
142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 178You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 180
145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 181C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch
182for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
186or block devices.
187
146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 188C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 189watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
190
148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 191C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
149becomes ready.
150 192
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 193Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 194presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 195callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 196
158 200
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 203handles.
162 204
163Example:
164
165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 205Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
206watcher.
207
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 208 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 209 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 210 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 211 undef $w;
170 }); 212 });
180 222
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 226
185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
187and Glib). 229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
188 232
189Example: 233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
235only approximate.
190 236
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 240 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 241 });
195 242
196 # to cancel the timer: 243 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 244 undef $w;
198 245
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 246Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 247
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 248 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
249 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 250 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 251
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 252=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 253
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 254There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 255in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
227timers. 267timers.
228 268
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 269AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 270AnyEvent API.
231 271
272AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
273
274=over 4
275
276=item AnyEvent->time
277
278This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
279seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
280return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
281
282It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
283will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
284
285=item AnyEvent->now
286
287This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
288this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
289the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
290time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
291
292I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
293function to call when you want to know the current time.>
294
295This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
296thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
297L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
298
299The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
300with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
301
302For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
303and L<EV> and the following set-up:
304
305The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
306time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
307you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
308second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
309after three seconds.
310
311With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
312both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
313be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
314
315With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
316time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
317last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
318to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
319
320In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
321regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
322callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
323higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
324
325In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
326the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
327
328In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
329can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
330difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
331account.
332
333=item AnyEvent->now_update
334
335Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
336the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
337AnyEvent->now >>, above).
338
339When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
340this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
341might affect timers and time-outs.
342
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time".
345
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347
348=back
349
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 351
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 352You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
235I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 353I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 355
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 356Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 357presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 358callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 359
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 375=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 376
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 377You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260 378
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 379The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 380watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 381the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 382any trace events (stopped/continued).
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 383
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 384The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
385waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
386callback arguments.
387
388This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
389and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
390random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
391C<system>, is just fine).
267 392
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 393There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
269I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 394I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 395have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 396
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 402AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 403C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>).
279 404
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 405Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 406
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 407 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 408
284 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 409 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
285 410
286 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 411 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
287 pid => $pid, 412 pid => $pid,
288 cb => sub { 413 cb => sub {
289 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 414 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
290 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 415 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
291 $done->send; 416 $done->send;
292 }, 417 },
293 ); 418 );
294 419
295 # do something else, then wait for process exit 420 # do something else, then wait for process exit
296 $done->recv; 421 $done->recv;
422
423=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
424
425Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
426to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
427"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
428attention by the event loop".
429
430Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
431better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
432events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
433
434Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
435EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
436will simply call the callback "from time to time".
437
438Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
439program is otherwise idle:
440
441 my @lines; # read data
442 my $idle_w;
443 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
444 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
445
446 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
447 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
448 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
449 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
450 print "handled when idle: $line";
451 } else {
452 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
453 undef $idle_w;
454 }
455 });
456 });
297 457
298=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 458=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
299 459
300If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 460If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
301require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 461require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
307The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 467The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
308because they represent a condition that must become true. 468because they represent a condition that must become true.
309 469
310Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 470Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
311>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 471>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
472
312C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 473C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
313becomes true. 474becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
475the results).
314 476
315After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 477After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
316by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it 478by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
317were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<< 479were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
318->send >> method). 480->send >> method).
374 536
375 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 537 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
376 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 538 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
377 $done->recv; 539 $done->recv;
378 540
541Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
542callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
543the main program:
544
545 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
546
547 ...
548
549 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
550
551And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the
552results are available:
553
554 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
555 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
556 });
557
379=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 558=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
380 559
381These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 560These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
382code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 561code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
383the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't 562the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
516=item $bool = $cv->ready 695=item $bool = $cv->ready
517 696
518Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 697Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
519C<croak> have been called. 698C<croak> have been called.
520 699
521=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 700=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
522 701
523This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 702This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
524replaces it before doing so. 703replaces it before doing so.
525 704
526The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 705The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
527C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback 706C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
528or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 707variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
708is guaranteed not to block.
529 709
530=back 710=back
531 711
532=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 712=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
533 713
662=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 842=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
663 843
664Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 844Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
665functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 845functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
666 846
667=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
668
669Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
670
671=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 847=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
672 848
673Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 849Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
674addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 850addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
675connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more. 851connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
676 852
853=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
854
855Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
856supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
857non-blocking SSL/TLS.
858
677=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 859=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
678 860
679Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 861Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
680 862
863=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
864
865A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
866HTTP requests.
867
681=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 868=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
682 869
683Provides a simple web application server framework. 870Provides a simple web application server framework.
684 871
685=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 872=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
686 873
687The fastest ping in the west. 874The fastest ping in the west.
688 875
876=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
877
878Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
879
880=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
881
882Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
883programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
884together.
885
886=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
887
888Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
889L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
890
891=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
892
893A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
894
895=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
896
897A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
898L<App::IGS>).
899
689=item L<Net::IRC3> 900=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
690 901
691AnyEvent based IRC client module family. 902AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
692 903
693=item L<Net::XMPP2> 904=item L<Net::XMPP2>
694 905
695AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family. 906AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
696 907
705 916
706=item L<Coro> 917=item L<Coro>
707 918
708Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 919Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
709 920
710=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
711
712Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
713programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
714together.
715
716=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
717
718Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
719IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
720
721=item L<IO::Lambda> 921=item L<IO::Lambda>
722 922
723The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent. 923The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
724 924
725=back 925=back
727=cut 927=cut
728 928
729package AnyEvent; 929package AnyEvent;
730 930
731no warnings; 931no warnings;
732use strict; 932use strict qw(vars subs);
733 933
734use Carp; 934use Carp;
735 935
736our $VERSION = '4.03'; 936our $VERSION = 4.411;
737our $MODEL; 937our $MODEL;
738 938
739our $AUTOLOAD; 939our $AUTOLOAD;
740our @ISA; 940our @ISA;
741 941
742our @REGISTRY; 942our @REGISTRY;
943
944our $WIN32;
945
946BEGIN {
947 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
948 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
949
950 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
951 if ${^TAINT};
952}
743 953
744our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 954our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
745 955
746our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 956our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
747 957
766 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 976 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
767 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 977 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
768 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 978 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
769); 979);
770 980
771our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 981our %method = map +($_ => 1),
982 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
772 983
773our @post_detect; 984our @post_detect;
774 985
775sub post_detect(&) { 986sub post_detect(&) {
776 my ($cb) = @_; 987 my ($cb) = @_;
781 1 992 1
782 } else { 993 } else {
783 push @post_detect, $cb; 994 push @post_detect, $cb;
784 995
785 defined wantarray 996 defined wantarray
786 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 997 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
787 : () 998 : ()
788 } 999 }
789} 1000}
790 1001
791sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1002sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
792 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect; 1003 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
793} 1004}
794 1005
795sub detect() { 1006sub detect() {
796 unless ($MODEL) { 1007 unless ($MODEL) {
833 last; 1044 last;
834 } 1045 }
835 } 1046 }
836 1047
837 $MODEL 1048 $MODEL
838 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1049 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
839 } 1050 }
840 } 1051 }
841 1052
1053 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1054
842 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1055 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
843 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1056
1057 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
844 1058
845 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect; 1059 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
846 } 1060 }
847 1061
848 $MODEL 1062 $MODEL
858 1072
859 my $class = shift; 1073 my $class = shift;
860 $class->$func (@_); 1074 $class->$func (@_);
861} 1075}
862 1076
1077# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1078# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1079# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1080sub _dupfh($$$$) {
1081 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1082
1083 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1084 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<")
1085 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1086 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1087
1088 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh
1089 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!,";
1090
1091 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1092
1093 ($fh2, $rw)
1094}
1095
863package AnyEvent::Base; 1096package AnyEvent::Base;
864 1097
1098# default implementations for many methods
1099
1100BEGIN {
1101 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1102 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1103 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1104 } else {
1105 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1106 }
1107}
1108
1109sub time { _time }
1110sub now { _time }
1111sub now_update { }
1112
865# default implementation for ->condvar 1113# default implementation for ->condvar
866 1114
867sub condvar { 1115sub condvar {
868 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar:: 1116 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
869} 1117}
870 1118
871# default implementation for ->signal 1119# default implementation for ->signal
872 1120
873our %SIG_CB; 1121our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1122
1123sub _signal_exec {
1124 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4;
1125
1126 while (%SIG_EV) {
1127 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1128 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1129 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1130 }
1131 }
1132}
874 1133
875sub signal { 1134sub signal {
876 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1135 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
877 1136
1137 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) {
1138 require Fcntl;
1139
1140 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1141 require AnyEvent::Util;
1142
1143 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1144 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1145 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1146 } else {
1147 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1148 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1149 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1150
1151 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1152 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1153 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1154 }
1155
1156 $SIGPIPE_R
1157 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1158
1159 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1160 }
1161
878 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1162 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
879 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1163 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
880 1164
881 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1165 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
882 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1166 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
883 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1167 local $!;
1168 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1169 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
884 }; 1170 };
885 1171
886 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1172 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
887} 1173}
888 1174
889sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1175sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
890 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1176 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
891 1177
892 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1178 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
893 1179
1180 # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1181 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1182 # instead of getting the default action.
894 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1183 undef $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
895} 1184}
896 1185
897# default implementation for ->child 1186# default implementation for ->child
898 1187
899our %PID_CB; 1188our %PID_CB;
900our $CHLD_W; 1189our $CHLD_W;
901our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1190our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
902our $PID_IDLE;
903our $WNOHANG; 1191our $WNOHANG;
904 1192
905sub _child_wait { 1193sub _sigchld {
906 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1194 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
907 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1195 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
908 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1196 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
909 } 1197 }
910
911 undef $PID_IDLE;
912}
913
914sub _sigchld {
915 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
916 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
917 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
918 &_child_wait;
919 });
920} 1198}
921 1199
922sub child { 1200sub child {
923 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1201 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
924 1202
925 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1203 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
926 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1204 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
927 1205
928 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1206 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
929 1207
930 unless ($WNOHANG) {
931 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1208 $WNOHANG ||= eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
932 }
933 1209
934 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1210 unless ($CHLD_W) {
935 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1211 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
936 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1212 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
937 &_sigchld; 1213 &_sigchld;
938 } 1214 }
939 1215
940 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1216 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
941} 1217}
942 1218
943sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1219sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
944 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1220 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
945 1221
946 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1222 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
947 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1223 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
948 1224
949 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1225 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1226}
1227
1228# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1229# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1230# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1231sub idle {
1232 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1233
1234 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1235
1236 $rcb = sub {
1237 if ($cb) {
1238 $w = _time;
1239 &$cb;
1240 $w = _time - $w;
1241
1242 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1243 # within some limits
1244 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1245 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1246
1247 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1248 } else {
1249 # clean up...
1250 undef $w;
1251 undef $rcb;
1252 }
1253 };
1254
1255 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1256
1257 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1258}
1259
1260sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1261 undef $${$_[0]};
950} 1262}
951 1263
952package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1264package AnyEvent::CondVar;
953 1265
954our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1266our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1006} 1318}
1007 1319
1008# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4 1320# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1009*broadcast = \&send; 1321*broadcast = \&send;
1010*wait = \&_wait; 1322*wait = \&_wait;
1323
1324=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1325
1326In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1327caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1328the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1329checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1330development.
1331
1332As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1333executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1334also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1335program.
1336
1337The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1338within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1339$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1340so on.
1341
1342=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1343
1344The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1345submodules.
1346
1347Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1348C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1349enabled.
1350
1351=over 4
1352
1353=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1354
1355By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1356conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1357talkative.
1358
1359When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1360conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1361C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1362
1363When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1364model it chooses.
1365
1366=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1367
1368AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1369argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1370will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1371check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems
1372it will croak.
1373
1374In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1375
1376Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in
1377production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while
1378developing programs can be very useful, however.
1379
1380=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1381
1382This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1383auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1384entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1385and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1386used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1387auto detection and -probing.
1388
1389This functionality might change in future versions.
1390
1391For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1392could start your program like this:
1393
1394 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1395
1396=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1397
1398Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1399for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1400of auto probing).
1401
1402Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1403current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1404used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1405list.
1406
1407This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1408against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1409small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1410
1411Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1412but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1413- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1414addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1415IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1416
1417=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1418
1419Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1420for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1421some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1422default.
1423
1424Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1425EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1426
1427=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1428
1429The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1430will create in parallel.
1431
1432=back
1011 1433
1012=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1434=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1013 1435
1014This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1436This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1015a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1437a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1049 1471
1050I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1472I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
1051condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1473condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
1052C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1474C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
1053not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1475not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
1054
1055=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1056
1057The following environment variables are used by this module:
1058
1059=over 4
1060
1061=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1062
1063By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1064conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1065talkative.
1066
1067When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1068conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1069C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1070
1071When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1072model it chooses.
1073
1074=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1075
1076This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1077auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1078entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1079and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1080used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1081auto detection and -probing.
1082
1083This functionality might change in future versions.
1084
1085For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1086could start your program like this:
1087
1088 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1089
1090=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1091
1092Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1093for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1094of auto probing).
1095
1096Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1097current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1098used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1099list.
1100
1101This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1102against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1103small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1104
1105Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1106but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1107- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1108addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1109IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1110
1111=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1112
1113Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1114for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1115some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1116default.
1117
1118Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1119EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1120
1121=back
1122 1476
1123=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1477=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
1124 1478
1125The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1479The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
1126to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1480to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1320watcher. 1674watcher.
1321 1675
1322=head3 Results 1676=head3 Results
1323 1677
1324 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1678 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1325 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1679 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1326 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1680 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1327 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1681 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1328 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1682 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1329 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1683 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1330 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1684 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1331 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1685 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1332 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1686 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1333 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1687 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1334 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1688 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1335 1689
1336=head3 Discussion 1690=head3 Discussion
1337 1691
1338The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1692The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1339well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1693well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1540=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 1894=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1541watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 1895watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1542 1896
1543=back 1897=back
1544 1898
1899=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
1900
1901Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
1902could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
1903simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
1904shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
1905fine, and shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't very
1906optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
1907baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
1908
1909The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
1910connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
1911creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
1912test the efficiency of the framework, but it is a benchmark nevertheless.
1913
1914 name runtime
1915 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
1916 + optimized 0.122 sec
1917 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
1918 + optimized 0.138 sec
1919 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
1920 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
1921 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
1922 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
1923
1924 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
1925 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
1926 +state machine 0.134 sec
1927
1928The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault) - the IO::Lambda
1929benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
1930defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
1931written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
1932AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
1933resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here as non-blocking connects
1934generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
1935connects (which involve a single syscall only).
1936
1937The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
1938offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda (using conventional
1939Perl syntax), which means both the echo server and the client are 100%
1940non-blocking w.r.t. I/O, further placing it at a disadvantage.
1941
1942As you can see, AnyEvent + EV even beats the hand-optimised "raw sockets
1943benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl backend easily beats
1944IO::Lambda and POE.
1945
1946And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
1947slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda,
1948even thought it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a
1949non-blocking way.
1950
1951
1952=head1 SIGNALS
1953
1954AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1955
1956=over 4
1957
1958=item SIGCHLD
1959
1960A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1961emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
1962event loops install a similar handler.
1963
1964=item SIGPIPE
1965
1966A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
1967when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1968
1969The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
1970on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
1971badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
1972program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
1973some random socket.
1974
1975The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
1976that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
1977
1978Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
1979
1980=back
1981
1982=cut
1983
1984$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
1985 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1986
1545 1987
1546=head1 FORK 1988=head1 FORK
1547 1989
1548Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 1990Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1549because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 1991because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1563specified in the variable. 2005specified in the variable.
1564 2006
1565You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2007You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1566before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2008before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1567 2009
1568 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2010 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1569 2011
1570 use AnyEvent; 2012 use AnyEvent;
1571 2013
1572Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2014Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1573be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2015be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1574probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2016probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2017$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2018
2019
2020=head1 BUGS
2021
2022Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2023to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2024and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2025memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2026pronounced).
1575 2027
1576 2028
1577=head1 SEE ALSO 2029=head1 SEE ALSO
1578 2030
1579Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2031Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1596Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2048Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1597 2049
1598 2050
1599=head1 AUTHOR 2051=head1 AUTHOR
1600 2052
1601 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2053 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1602 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2054 http://home.schmorp.de/
1603 2055
1604=cut 2056=cut
1605 2057
16061 20581
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