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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
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - 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 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
17
18 # one-shot or repeating timers
19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
21
22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
24
25 # POSIX signal
26 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
27
28 # child process exit
29 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
30 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 31 ...
13 }); 32 });
14 33
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 34 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 35 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 36
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 37 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 38 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
21 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
40 # use a condvar in callback mode:
41 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
42
43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
44
45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
47L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
48
49=head1 SUPPORT
50
51There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
52channel, too.
53
54See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
55Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 56
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 57=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 58
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 59Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 60nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 61
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 62Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 63policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 64
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 65First 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 66interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 67pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 68the 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 69only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 70cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
71loops.
37 72
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 73The 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 74programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 75religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 76module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 77model you use.
43 78
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 79For 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 80actually 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 81like 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 82cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 83that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 84module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 85
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 86AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 87fine. 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 88with 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, 89your 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 90too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 91event 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 92use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 93to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 94
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 95In 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 96model>, 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 97modules, 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 98follow. 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 99offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 100technically possible.
66 101
102Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
103of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
104non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
105such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
106platform bugs and differences.
107
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 108Now, 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 109useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 110model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 111
71=head1 DESCRIPTION 112=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 113
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 143starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
104 145
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 146The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 147C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
107explicitly. 148explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
108 149
109=head1 WATCHERS 150=head1 WATCHERS
110 151
111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 152AnyEvent 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 153stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 156These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 157creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 158callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 159is in control).
119 160
161Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
162potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
163callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
164Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
165widely between event loops.
166
120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 167To 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 168variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
122to it). 169to it).
123 170
124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 171All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 173Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 174example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 175
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 176An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 177
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 178 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 179 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 180 undef $w;
134 }); 181 });
135 182
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 183Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 184my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 185declared.
139 186
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 187=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 188
189 $w = AnyEvent->io (
190 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
191 poll => <"r" or "w">,
192 cb => <callback>,
193 );
194
142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 195You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 196with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 197
145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 198C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
199for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
200handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
201non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
202most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
203or block devices.
204
146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 205C<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, 206watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
207
148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 208C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
149becomes ready.
150 209
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 210Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 211presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 212callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 213
158 217
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 218Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 219always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 220handles.
162 221
163Example:
164
165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 222Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
223watcher.
224
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 225 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 226 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 227 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 228 undef $w;
170 }); 229 });
171 230
172=head2 TIME WATCHERS 231=head2 TIME WATCHERS
173 232
233 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
234
235 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
236 after => <fractional_seconds>,
237 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
238 cb => <callback>,
239 );
240
174You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 241You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
175method with the following mandatory arguments: 242method with the following mandatory arguments:
176 243
177C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 244C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
178supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke 245supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
180 247
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 248Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 249presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 250callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 251
185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 252The 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 253parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
187and Glib). 254callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
255seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
256false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
188 257
189Example: 258The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
259attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
260only approximate.
190 261
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 262Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
263
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 264 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 265 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 266 });
195 267
196 # to cancel the timer: 268 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 269 undef $w;
198 270
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 271Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 272
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 273 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
274 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 275 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 276
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 277=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 278
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 279There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 280in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
227timers. 292timers.
228 293
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 294AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 295AnyEvent API.
231 296
297AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
298
299=over 4
300
301=item AnyEvent->time
302
303This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
304seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
305return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
306
307It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
308will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
309
310=item AnyEvent->now
311
312This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
313this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
314the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
315time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
316
317I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
318function to call when you want to know the current time.>
319
320This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
321thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
322L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
323
324The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
325with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
326
327For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
328and L<EV> and the following set-up:
329
330The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
331time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
332you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
333second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
334after three seconds.
335
336With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
337both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
338be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
339
340With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
341time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
342last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
343to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
344
345In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
346regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
347callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
348higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
349
350In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
351the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
352
353In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
354can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
355difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
356account.
357
358=item AnyEvent->now_update
359
360Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
361the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
362AnyEvent->now >>, above).
363
364When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
365this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
366might affect timers and time-outs.
367
368When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
369event loop's idea of "current time".
370
371A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
372when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
373idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
374script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
375AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
376(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
377
378Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
379
380=back
381
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 382=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 383
384 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
385
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 386You 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 387I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 388callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 389
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 390Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 391presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 392callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 393
243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means 395invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
244that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 396that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
245but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 397but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
246 398
247The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 399The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
248between multiple watchers. 400between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
401interrupt your program at bad times.
249 402
250This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 403This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
251directly will likely not work correctly. 404so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
405correctly.
252 406
253Example: exit on SIGINT 407Example: exit on SIGINT
254 408
255 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 409 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
256 410
411=head3 Restart Behaviour
412
413While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
414not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
415pure perl implementation).
416
417=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
418
419Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
420"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
421latter might corrupt your memory.
422
423AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
424i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
425called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
426callbacks, too).
427
428=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
429
430Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
431callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
432do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
433this. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, which means in some cases,
434signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
435specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
436variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
437and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
438AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
439will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
440saving.
441
442All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
443L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
444work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
445(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does it's own workaround with
446one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
447
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 448=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 449
450 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
451
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 452You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260 453
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 454The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (one some backends,
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 455using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 456croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 457finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 458(stopped/continued).
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 459
460The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
461waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
462callback arguments.
463
464This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
465and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
466random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
467C<system>, is just fine).
267 468
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 469There 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 470I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 471have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 472
272Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 473Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
474see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
273event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 475that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
274loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 476the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
477pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
478start the watcher.
275 479
276This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 480This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 481thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 482watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
483C<AnyEvent::detect>).
484
485As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
486emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
487mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
279 488
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 489Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 490
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 491 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 492
284 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 493 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
285 494
286 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 495 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
287 pid => $pid, 496 pid => $pid,
288 cb => sub { 497 cb => sub {
289 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 498 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
290 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 499 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
291 $done->send; 500 $done->send;
292 }, 501 },
293 ); 502 );
294 503
295 # do something else, then wait for process exit 504 # do something else, then wait for process exit
296 $done->recv; 505 $done->recv;
506
507=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
508
509 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
510
511Repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle, until
512either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
513
514Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
515is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
516invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
517defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
518have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
519when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
520detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
521will be invoked.
522
523Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
524EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
525will simply call the callback "from time to time".
526
527Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
528program is otherwise idle:
529
530 my @lines; # read data
531 my $idle_w;
532 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
533 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
534
535 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
536 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
537 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
538 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
539 print "handled when idle: $line";
540 } else {
541 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
542 undef $idle_w;
543 }
544 });
545 });
297 546
298=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 547=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
548
549 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
550
551 $cv->send (<list>);
552 my @res = $cv->recv;
299 553
300If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 554If 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 555require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
302will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 556will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
303 557
304AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 558AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
305will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 559loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
306 560
307The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 561The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
308because they represent a condition that must become true. 562they represent a condition that must become true.
563
564Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
309 565
310Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 566Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
311>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 567>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
312C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 568C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
313becomes true. 569becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
570the results).
314 571
315After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 572After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
316by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it 573by 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<< 574were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
318->send >> method). 575->send >> method).
319 576
320Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 577Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
321optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points 578some different mental models of what they are - pick the ones you can connect to:
322in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet 579
323another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 580=over 4
324used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 581
325a result. 582=item * Condition variables are like callbacks - you can call them (and pass them instead
583of callbacks). Unlike callbacks however, you can also wait for them to be called.
584
585=item * Condition variables are signals - one side can emit or send them,
586the other side can wait for them, or install a handler that is called when
587the signal fires.
588
589=item * Condition variables are like "Merge Points" - points in your program
590where you merge multiple independent results/control flows into one.
591
592=item * Condition variables represent a transaction - function that start
593some kind of transaction can return them, leaving the caller the choice
594between waiting in a blocking fashion, or setting a callback.
595
596=item * Condition variables represent future values, or promises to deliver
597some result, long before the result is available.
598
599=back
326 600
327Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 601Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
328for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 602for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
329then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 603then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
330availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 604availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
351eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits 625eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
352for the send to occur. 626for the send to occur.
353 627
354Example: wait for a timer. 628Example: wait for a timer.
355 629
356 # wait till the result is ready 630 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
357 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 631 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
358 632
359 # do something such as adding a timer 633 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
360 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send 634 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
361 # when the "result" is ready. 635 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
362 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 636 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
363 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 637 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
364 after => 1, 638 after => 1,
365 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 639 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
366 ); 640 );
367 641
368 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 642 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
369 # calls send 643 # calls ->send
370 $result_ready->recv; 644 $timer_fired->recv;
371 645
372Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 646Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
373condition variables are also code references. 647variables are also callable directly.
374 648
375 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 649 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
376 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 650 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
377 $done->recv; 651 $done->recv;
652
653Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
654callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
655the main program:
656
657 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
658
659 ...
660
661 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
662
663And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
664results are available:
665
666 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
667 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
668 });
378 669
379=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 670=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
380 671
381These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 672These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
382code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 673code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
395immediately from within send. 686immediately from within send.
396 687
397Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 688Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
398future C<< ->recv >> calls. 689future C<< ->recv >> calls.
399 690
400Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 691Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
401(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling 692they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
402C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle 693C<send>.
403overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
404instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
405support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
406invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
407example).
408 694
409=item $cv->croak ($error) 695=item $cv->croak ($error)
410 696
411Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 697Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
412C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 698C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
413 699
414This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 700This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
415user/consumer. 701user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
702delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
703diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
704deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
705the problem.
416 706
417=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 707=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
418 708
419=item $cv->end 709=item $cv->end
420
421These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
422 710
423These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 711These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
424one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 712one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
425to use a condition variable for the whole process. 713to use a condition variable for the whole process.
426 714
427Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to 715Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
428C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end 716C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
429>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback 717>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
430is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no 718condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
431callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 719>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
720be called without any arguments.
432 721
433Let's clarify this with the ping example: 722You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
723sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
724condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
725
726Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
727STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
728close before activating a condvar:
434 729
435 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 730 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
436 731
732 $cv->begin; # first watcher
733 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
734 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
735 or $cv->end;
736 });
737
738 $cv->begin; # second watcher
739 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
740 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
741 or $cv->end;
742 });
743
744 $cv->recv;
745
746This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
747one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
748sending.
749
750The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
751there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
752begung can potentially be zero:
753
754 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
755
437 my %result; 756 my %result;
438 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 757 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
439 758
440 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) { 759 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
441 $cv->begin; 760 $cv->begin;
442 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub { 761 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
443 $result{$host} = ...; 762 $result{$host} = ...;
458loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 777loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
459to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 778to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
460C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop 779C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
461doesn't execute once). 780doesn't execute once).
462 781
463This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 782This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
464use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end> 783potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
465is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 784the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
466C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>. 785subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
786call C<end>.
467 787
468=back 788=back
469 789
470=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 790=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
471 791
487function will call C<croak>. 807function will call C<croak>.
488 808
489In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 809In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
490in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 810in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
491 811
812Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
813event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
814>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
815condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
816L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
817any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
818
492Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 819Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
493(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 820(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
494using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 821using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
495caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 822caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
496condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 823condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
497callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 824callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
498while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 825while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
499 826
500Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
501sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
502multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
503can supply.
504
505The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
506fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
507versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
508C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
509coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
510
511You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and 827You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
512only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 828only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
513time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking 829time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
514waits otherwise. 830waits otherwise.
515 831
516=item $bool = $cv->ready 832=item $bool = $cv->ready
517 833
518Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 834Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
519C<croak> have been called. 835C<croak> have been called.
520 836
521=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 837=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
522 838
523This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 839This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
524replaces it before doing so. 840replaces it before doing so.
525 841
526The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 842The callback will be called when the condition becomes (or already was)
527C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback 843"true", i.e. when C<send> or C<croak> are called (or were called), with
844the only argument being the condition variable itself. Calling C<recv>
528or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 845inside the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
529 846
530=back 847=back
531 848
849=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
850
851The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
852
853=over 4
854
855=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
856
857EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
858use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
859pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
860AnyEvent itself.
861
862 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
863 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
864
865=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
866
867These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
868is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
869them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
870when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
871create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
872
873 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
874 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
875 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
876 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
877 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
878 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
879
880=item Backends with special needs.
881
882Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
883otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
884instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
885everything should just work.
886
887 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
888
889Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
890architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
891is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
892it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
893L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
894
895 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
896
897=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
898
899Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
900
901There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
902
903B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
904use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
905polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
906consider for AnyEvent.
907
908B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
909backend, so it can be supported through POE.
910
911AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
912load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
913in which case everything will be automatic.
914
915=back
916
532=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 917=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
533 918
919These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
920write AnyEvent extension modules.
921
534=over 4 922=over 4
535 923
536=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 924=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
537 925
538Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 926Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
927backend has been autodetected.
928
539contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 929Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
540Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 930name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
541C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 931of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
542AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 932case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
543 933will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
544The known classes so far are:
545
546 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
547 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
548 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
549 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
550 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
551 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
552 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
553 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
554
555There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
556watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
557POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
558second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
559AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
560it's adaptor.
561
562AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
563autodetecting them.
564 934
565=item AnyEvent::detect 935=item AnyEvent::detect
566 936
567Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 937Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
568if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 938if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
569have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 939have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
570runtime. 940runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
941
942If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
943created, use C<post_detect>.
571 944
572=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 945=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
573 946
574Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 947Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
575autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 948autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
576 949
950The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
951(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
952created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
953other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
954L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
955
956The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
957event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
958and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
959avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
960
577If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 961If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
578that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 962that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
963C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
579L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 964a case where this is useful.
965
966Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
967C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
968
969 our WATCHER;
970
971 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
972 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
973 };
974
975 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
976 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
977 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
978 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
979
980 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
580 981
581=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 982=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
582 983
583If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 984If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
584before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 985before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
585the event loop has been chosen. 986the event loop has been chosen.
586 987
587You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 988You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
588if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 989if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
589and the array will be ignored. 990array will be ignored.
590 991
591Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 992Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
993it, as it takes care of these details.
994
995This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
996when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
997not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
998into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
999
1000Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
1001together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
1002Coro to accomplish this):
1003
1004 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1005 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1006 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1007 } else {
1008 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1009 # as soon as it is
1010 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1011 }
592 1012
593=back 1013=back
594 1014
595=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1015=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
596 1016
651 1071
652 1072
653=head1 OTHER MODULES 1073=head1 OTHER MODULES
654 1074
655The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 1075The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
656AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 1076AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
657in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 1077modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
658available via CPAN. 1078come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
659 1079
660=over 4 1080=over 4
661 1081
662=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 1082=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
663 1083
664Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 1084Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
665functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 1085functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
666
667=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
668
669Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
670 1086
671=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 1087=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
672 1088
673Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 1089Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
674addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 1090addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
675connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more. 1091connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
676 1092
1093=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1094
1095Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1096supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1097non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1098
677=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 1099=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
678 1100
679Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 1101Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
680 1102
1103=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1104
1105Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1106the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1107Client Protocol).
1108
1109=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1110
1111Here be danger!
1112
1113As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1114there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1115it's use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1116the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1117
1118It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1119confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1120fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1121with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1122packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1123support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1124wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1125
1126=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1127
1128Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1129notifying you in an event-bnased way when the operation is finished.
1130
1131=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1132
1133Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1134toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1135L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1136file I/O, and much more.
1137
681=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 1138=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
682 1139
683Provides a simple web application server framework. 1140A simple embedded webserver.
684 1141
685=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 1142=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
686 1143
687The fastest ping in the west. 1144The fastest ping in the west.
688 1145
689=item L<Net::IRC3>
690
691AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
692
693=item L<Net::XMPP2>
694
695AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
696
697=item L<Net::FCP>
698
699AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
700of AnyEvent.
701
702=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
703
704High level API for event-based execution flow control.
705
706=item L<Coro> 1146=item L<Coro>
707 1147
708Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1148Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
709 1149
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>
722
723The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
724
725=back 1150=back
726 1151
727=cut 1152=cut
728 1153
729package AnyEvent; 1154package AnyEvent;
730 1155
731no warnings; 1156# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
732use strict; 1157sub common_sense {
1158 # from common:.sense 1.0
1159 ${^WARNING_BITS} = "\xfc\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\xcf\xc0\xf3\xfc\x33\x00";
1160 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1161 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1162}
733 1163
1164BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1165
734use Carp; 1166use Carp ();
735 1167
736our $VERSION = '4.03'; 1168our $VERSION = '5.27';
737our $MODEL; 1169our $MODEL;
738 1170
739our $AUTOLOAD; 1171our $AUTOLOAD;
740our @ISA; 1172our @ISA;
741 1173
742our @REGISTRY; 1174our @REGISTRY;
743 1175
1176our $VERBOSE;
1177
1178BEGIN {
1179 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1180
1181 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1182
1183 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1184 if ${^TAINT};
1185
744our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1186 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1187
1188}
1189
1190our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
745 1191
746our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1192our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
747 1193
748{ 1194{
749 my $idx; 1195 my $idx;
751 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/, 1197 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
752 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6"; 1198 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
753} 1199}
754 1200
755my @models = ( 1201my @models = (
756 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1202 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
757 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
758 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1203 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
759 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1204 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
760 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1205 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
761 # and is usually faster 1206 # and is usually faster
1207 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
1208 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1209 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1210 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
762 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles 1211 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
763 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
764 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
765 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1212 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
766 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1213 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
767 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1214 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
768 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1215 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1216 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1217 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1218 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1219 # obvious default class.
1220 [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1221 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1222 [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1223 [AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
769); 1224);
770 1225
771our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1226our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1227 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
772 1228
773our @post_detect; 1229our @post_detect;
774 1230
775sub post_detect(&) { 1231sub post_detect(&) {
776 my ($cb) = @_; 1232 my ($cb) = @_;
777 1233
778 if ($MODEL) {
779 $cb->();
780
781 1
782 } else {
783 push @post_detect, $cb; 1234 push @post_detect, $cb;
784 1235
785 defined wantarray 1236 defined wantarray
786 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 1237 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
787 : () 1238 : ()
1239}
1240
1241sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1242 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1243}
1244
1245sub detect() {
1246 # free some memory
1247 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1248
1249 local $!; # for good measure
1250 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1251
1252 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1253 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1254 if (eval "require $model") {
1255 $MODEL = $model;
1256 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1257 } else {
1258 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1259 }
788 } 1260 }
789}
790 1261
791sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1262 # check for already loaded models
792 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
793}
794
795sub detect() {
796 unless ($MODEL) { 1263 unless ($MODEL) {
797 no strict 'refs'; 1264 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
798 local $SIG{__DIE__}; 1265 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
799 1266 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
800 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
801 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
802 if (eval "require $model") { 1267 if (eval "require $model") {
803 $MODEL = $model; 1268 $MODEL = $model;
804 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1269 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
805 } else { 1270 last;
806 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1271 }
807 } 1272 }
808 } 1273 }
809 1274
810 # check for already loaded models
811 unless ($MODEL) { 1275 unless ($MODEL) {
1276 # try to autoload a model
812 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1277 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
813 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1278 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1279 if (
1280 $autoload
1281 and eval "require $package"
814 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1282 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
815 if (eval "require $model") { 1283 and eval "require $model"
1284 ) {
816 $MODEL = $model; 1285 $MODEL = $model;
817 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1286 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
818 last; 1287 last;
819 }
820 } 1288 }
821 } 1289 }
822 1290
823 unless ($MODEL) {
824 # try to load a model
825
826 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
827 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
828 if (eval "require $package"
829 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
830 and eval "require $model") {
831 $MODEL = $model;
832 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
833 last;
834 }
835 }
836
837 $MODEL 1291 $MODEL
838 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1292 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
839 }
840 } 1293 }
841
842 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
843 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
844
845 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
846 } 1294 }
1295
1296 @models = (); # free probe data
1297
1298 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1299 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1300
1301 # now nuke some methods that are overriden by the backend.
1302 # SUPER is not allowed.
1303 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1304 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1305 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1306 }
1307
1308 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1309
1310 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1311
1312 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1313 shift->();
1314
1315 undef
1316 };
847 1317
848 $MODEL 1318 $MODEL
849} 1319}
850 1320
851sub AUTOLOAD { 1321sub AUTOLOAD {
852 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1322 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
853 1323
854 $method{$func} 1324 $method{$func}
855 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1325 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
856 1326
857 detect unless $MODEL; 1327 detect;
858 1328
859 my $class = shift; 1329 my $class = shift;
860 $class->$func (@_); 1330 $class->$func (@_);
861} 1331}
862 1332
1333# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1334# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1335# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1336sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1337 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1338
1339 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1340 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1341
1342 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1343 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1344
1345 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1346
1347 ($fh2, $rw)
1348}
1349
1350=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1351
1352Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1353simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1354overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1355
1356See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1357
1358=cut
1359
1360package AE;
1361
1362our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1363
1364# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1365# implementations can overwrite these.
1366
1367sub io($$$) {
1368 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1369}
1370
1371sub timer($$$) {
1372 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1373}
1374
1375sub signal($$) {
1376 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1377}
1378
1379sub child($$) {
1380 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1381}
1382
1383sub idle($) {
1384 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1385}
1386
1387sub cv(;&) {
1388 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1389}
1390
1391sub now() {
1392 AnyEvent->now
1393}
1394
1395sub now_update() {
1396 AnyEvent->now_update
1397}
1398
1399sub time() {
1400 AnyEvent->time
1401}
1402
863package AnyEvent::Base; 1403package AnyEvent::Base;
864 1404
1405# default implementations for many methods
1406
1407sub time {
1408 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1409 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1410 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1411 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1412 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1413 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1414 } else {
1415 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1416 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1417 }
1418
1419 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1420 };
1421 die if $@;
1422
1423 &time
1424}
1425
1426*now = \&time;
1427
1428sub now_update { }
1429
865# default implementation for ->condvar 1430# default implementation for ->condvar
866 1431
867sub condvar { 1432sub condvar {
1433 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1434 *condvar = sub {
868 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar:: 1435 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1436 };
1437
1438 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
1439 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1440 };
1441 };
1442 die if $@;
1443
1444 &condvar
869} 1445}
870 1446
871# default implementation for ->signal 1447# default implementation for ->signal
872 1448
873our %SIG_CB; 1449our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1450
1451sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1452 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1453 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1454 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1455
1456 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1457}
1458
1459our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1460our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1461our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1462
1463# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1464# used by Impls
1465sub _sig_add() {
1466 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1467 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1468 my $NOW = AE::now;
1469
1470 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1471 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1472 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1473 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1474 ;
1475 }
1476}
1477
1478sub _sig_del {
1479 undef $SIG_TW
1480 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1481}
1482
1483our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1484 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1485 undef $_sig_name_init;
1486
1487 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1488 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1489 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1490 } else {
1491 require Config;
1492
1493 my %signame2num;
1494 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1495 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1496
1497 my @signum2name;
1498 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1499
1500 *sig2num = sub($) {
1501 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1502 };
1503 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1504 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1505 };
1506 }
1507 };
1508 die if $@;
1509};
1510
1511sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1512sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
874 1513
875sub signal { 1514sub signal {
1515 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1516 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1517 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1518 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1519
1520 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1521 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1522
1523 } else {
1524 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1525
1526 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1527 require AnyEvent::Util;
1528
1529 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1530 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1531 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1532 } else {
1533 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1534 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1535 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1536
1537 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1538 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1539 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1540 }
1541
1542 $SIGPIPE_R
1543 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1544
1545 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1546 }
1547
1548 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1549 ? sub {
876 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1550 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
877 1551
1552 # async::interrupt
878 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1553 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
879 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
880
881 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1554 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1555
1556 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1557 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1558 signal => $signal,
1559 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1560 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1561 ;
1562
1563 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1564 }
1565 : sub {
1566 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1567
1568 # pure perl
1569 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1570 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1571
882 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1572 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1573 local $!;
1574 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1575 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1576 };
1577
1578 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1579 # so limit the signal latency.
1580 _sig_add;
1581
1582 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1583 }
1584 ;
1585
1586 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1587 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1588
1589 _sig_del;
1590
1591 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1592
1593 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1594 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1595 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1596 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1597 # instead of getting the default action.
1598 undef $SIG{$signal}
1599 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1600 };
1601
1602 *_signal_exec = sub {
1603 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1604 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1605 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1606
1607 while (%SIG_EV) {
1608 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1609 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
883 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1610 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1611 }
1612 }
1613 };
884 }; 1614 };
1615 die if $@;
885 1616
886 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1617 &signal
887}
888
889sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
890 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
891
892 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
893
894 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
895} 1618}
896 1619
897# default implementation for ->child 1620# default implementation for ->child
898 1621
899our %PID_CB; 1622our %PID_CB;
900our $CHLD_W; 1623our $CHLD_W;
901our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1624our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
902our $PID_IDLE;
903our $WNOHANG; 1625our $WNOHANG;
904 1626
905sub _child_wait { 1627# used by many Impl's
906 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1628sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1629 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1630
1631 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
907 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1632 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
908 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1633 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
909 }
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} 1634}
921 1635
922sub child { 1636sub child {
1637 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1638 *_sigchld = sub {
1639 my $pid;
1640
1641 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1642 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
1643 };
1644
1645 *child = sub {
923 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1646 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
924 1647
925 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1648 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
926 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1649 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
927 1650
928 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1651 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
929 1652
930 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1653 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
1654 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
1655 ? 1
931 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1656 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
932 }
933 1657
934 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1658 unless ($CHLD_W) {
935 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1659 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
936 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1660 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
937 &_sigchld; 1661 &_sigchld;
938 } 1662 }
939 1663
940 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1664 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
941} 1665 };
942 1666
943sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1667 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
944 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1668 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
945 1669
946 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1670 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
947 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1671 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
948 1672
949 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1673 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1674 };
1675 };
1676 die if $@;
1677
1678 &child
1679}
1680
1681# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1682# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1683# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1684sub idle {
1685 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1686 *idle = sub {
1687 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1688
1689 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1690
1691 $rcb = sub {
1692 if ($cb) {
1693 $w = _time;
1694 &$cb;
1695 $w = _time - $w;
1696
1697 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1698 # within some limits
1699 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1700 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1701
1702 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1703 } else {
1704 # clean up...
1705 undef $w;
1706 undef $rcb;
1707 }
1708 };
1709
1710 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1711
1712 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1713 };
1714
1715 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1716 undef $${$_[0]};
1717 };
1718 };
1719 die if $@;
1720
1721 &idle
950} 1722}
951 1723
952package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1724package AnyEvent::CondVar;
953 1725
954our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1726our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
955 1727
956package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1728package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
957 1729
958use overload 1730#use overload
959 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1731# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
960 fallback => 1; 1732# fallback => 1;
1733
1734# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1735${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1736*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1737*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1738${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1739
1740our $WAITING;
961 1741
962sub _send { 1742sub _send {
963 # nop 1743 # nop
964} 1744}
965 1745
978sub ready { 1758sub ready {
979 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1759 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
980} 1760}
981 1761
982sub _wait { 1762sub _wait {
1763 $WAITING
1764 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1765 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1766
1767 local $WAITING = 1;
983 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent}; 1768 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
984} 1769}
985 1770
986sub recv { 1771sub recv {
987 $_[0]->_wait; 1772 $_[0]->_wait;
989 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak}; 1774 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
990 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0] 1775 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
991} 1776}
992 1777
993sub cb { 1778sub cb {
994 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1779 my $cv = shift;
1780
1781 @_
1782 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1783 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1784 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1785
995 $_[0]{_ae_cb} 1786 $cv->{_ae_cb}
996} 1787}
997 1788
998sub begin { 1789sub begin {
999 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter}; 1790 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1000 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1791 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1006} 1797}
1007 1798
1008# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4 1799# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1009*broadcast = \&send; 1800*broadcast = \&send;
1010*wait = \&_wait; 1801*wait = \&_wait;
1802
1803=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1804
1805In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1806caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1807the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1808checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1809development.
1810
1811As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1812executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1813also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1814program.
1815
1816The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1817within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1818$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1819so on.
1820
1821=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1822
1823The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1824submodules.
1825
1826Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1827C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1828enabled.
1829
1830=over 4
1831
1832=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1833
1834By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1835conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1836talkative.
1837
1838When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1839conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1840C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1841
1842When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1843model it chooses.
1844
1845When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1846which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1847
1848=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1849
1850AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1851argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1852will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1853check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1854it will croak.
1855
1856In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1857
1858Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1859>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1860C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1861can be very useful, however.
1862
1863=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1864
1865This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1866auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1867entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1868and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1869used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1870auto detection and -probing.
1871
1872This functionality might change in future versions.
1873
1874For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1875could start your program like this:
1876
1877 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1878
1879=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1880
1881Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1882for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1883of auto probing).
1884
1885Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1886current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1887used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1888list.
1889
1890This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1891against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1892small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1893
1894Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1895but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1896- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1897addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1898IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1899
1900=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1901
1902Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1903for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1904some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1905default.
1906
1907Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1908EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1909
1910=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1911
1912The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1913will create in parallel.
1914
1915=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1916
1917The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1918resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1919sent to the DNS server.
1920
1921=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1922
1923The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1924configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1925default config will be used.
1926
1927=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1928
1929When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1930L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1931variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1932instead of a system-dependent default.
1933
1934=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1935
1936When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1937loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1938
1939=back
1011 1940
1012=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1941=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1013 1942
1014This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1943This 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 1944a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1049 1978
1050I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1979I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
1051condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1980condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
1052C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1981C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
1053not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1982not 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 1983
1123=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1984=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
1124 1985
1125The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1986The 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 1987to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1139 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 2000 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
1140 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 2001 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1141 }, 2002 },
1142 ); 2003 );
1143 2004
1144 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
1145
1146 sub new_timer {
1147 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2005 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
1148 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2006 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
1149 &new_timer; # and restart the time
1150 }); 2007 });
1151 }
1152
1153 new_timer; # create first timer
1154 2008
1155 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2009 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
1156 2010
1157=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2011=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1158 2012
1231 2085
1232The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2086The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
1233that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2087that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
1234whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2088whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
1235and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2089and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
1236problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 2090problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
1237random callback. 2091random callback.
1238 2092
1239All of this enables the following usage styles: 2093All of this enables the following usage styles:
1240 2094
12411. Blocking: 20951. Blocking:
1289through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2143through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1290timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2144timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1291which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2145which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1292 2146
1293Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2147Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1294distribution. 2148distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2149for the EV and Perl backends only.
1295 2150
1296=head3 Explanation of the columns 2151=head3 Explanation of the columns
1297 2152
1298I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2153I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1299different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2154different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1320watcher. 2175watcher.
1321 2176
1322=head3 Results 2177=head3 Results
1323 2178
1324 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2179 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1325 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2180 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
1326 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2181 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1327 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2182 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1328 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 2183 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
1329 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 2184 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
1330 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2185 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2186 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2187 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1331 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 2188 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
1332 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2189 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1333 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 2190 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
1334 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 2191 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1335 2192
1336=head3 Discussion 2193=head3 Discussion
1337 2194
1338The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2195The 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) 2196well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1351benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2208benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1352EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2209EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1353cycles with POE. 2210cycles with POE.
1354 2211
1355C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2212C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1356maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2213maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2214overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2215slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
1357far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2216any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1358natively.
1359 2217
1360The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2218The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1361constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2219constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1362interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2220interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1363adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2221adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1364performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2222performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1365them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2223them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1366 2224
1367The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2225The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1368cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2226cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2227
2228C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2229when using its pure perl backend.
1369 2230
1370C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2231C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1371faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2232faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1372C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2233C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1373watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2234watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1434In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2295In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1435(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 2296(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1436connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2297connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1437 2298
1438Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2299Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1439distribution. 2300distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2301for the EV and Perl backends only.
1440 2302
1441=head3 Explanation of the columns 2303=head3 Explanation of the columns
1442 2304
1443I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2305I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1444each server has a read and write socket end). 2306each server has a read and write socket end).
1451it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2313it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1452a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2314a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1453 2315
1454=head3 Results 2316=head3 Results
1455 2317
1456 name sockets create request 2318 name sockets create request
1457 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2319 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1458 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2320 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1459 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2321 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1460 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2322 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2323 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2324 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1461 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2325 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1462 2326
1463=head3 Discussion 2327=head3 Discussion
1464 2328
1465This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2329This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1466particular event loop. 2330particular event loop.
1468EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2332EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1469is relatively high, though. 2333is relatively high, though.
1470 2334
1471Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2335Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1472loops Event and Glib. 2336loops Event and Glib.
2337
2338IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2339good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1473 2340
1474Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2341Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1475understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2342understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1476the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2343the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1477uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2344uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1540=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2407=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1541watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2408watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1542 2409
1543=back 2410=back
1544 2411
2412=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2413
2414Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2415could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2416simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2417shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2418fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2419very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2420baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2421
2422The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2423connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2424creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2425test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2426benchmark nevertheless.
2427
2428 name runtime
2429 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2430 + optimized 0.122 sec
2431 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2432 + optimized 0.138 sec
2433 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2434 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2435 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2436 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2437
2438 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2439 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2440 +state machine 0.134 sec
2441
2442The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2443benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2444defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2445written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2446AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2447resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2448generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2449connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2450
2451The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2452offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2453Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2454non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2455
2456As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2457hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2458backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2459
2460And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2461slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2462higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2463it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2464
2465The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2466F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2467part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2468
2469
2470=head1 SIGNALS
2471
2472AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2473
2474=over 4
2475
2476=item SIGCHLD
2477
2478A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2479emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2480event loops install a similar handler.
2481
2482Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2483AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2484
2485=item SIGPIPE
2486
2487A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2488when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2489
2490The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2491on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2492badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2493program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2494some random socket.
2495
2496The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2497that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2498
2499Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2500
2501=back
2502
2503=cut
2504
2505undef $SIG{CHLD}
2506 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2507
2508$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2509 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2510
2511=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2512
2513One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2514it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2515
2516That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2517modules if they are installed.
2518
2519This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2520affect AnyEvent's operation.
2521
2522=over 4
2523
2524=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2525
2526This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2527my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2528signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2529delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2530catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2531C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2532
2533If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2534catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2535will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2536battery life on laptops).
2537
2538This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2539that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2540
2541Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2542and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2543(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2544does nothing for those backends.
2545
2546=item L<EV>
2547
2548This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2549event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2550loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2551the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2552automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2553can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2554C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2555L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2556
2557If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2558then this module will do nothing for you.
2559
2560=item L<Guard>
2561
2562The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2563C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2564lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2565purely used for performance.
2566
2567=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2568
2569One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2570via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2571advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2572
2573=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2574
2575Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2576worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2577the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2578
2579=item L<Time::HiRes>
2580
2581This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2582chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2583pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2584try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2585
2586=back
2587
1545 2588
1546=head1 FORK 2589=head1 FORK
1547 2590
1548Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2591Most 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> 2592because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
1550calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2593- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2594are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2595one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2596continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2597what you are doing).
2598
2599This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2600the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2601usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2602is loaded).
1551 2603
1552If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2604If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1553watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2605watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2606something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2607
2608The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2609is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2610fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2611watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2612parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2613to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2614preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2615to have another binary.
1554 2616
1555 2617
1556=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2618=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1557 2619
1558AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2620AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1563specified in the variable. 2625specified in the variable.
1564 2626
1565You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2627You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1566before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2628before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1567 2629
1568 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2630 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1569 2631
1570 use AnyEvent; 2632 use AnyEvent;
1571 2633
1572Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2634Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1573be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2635be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1574probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2636probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2637$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2638
2639Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2640C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2641enabled.
2642
2643
2644=head1 BUGS
2645
2646Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2647to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2648and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2649memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2650pronounced).
1575 2651
1576 2652
1577=head1 SEE ALSO 2653=head1 SEE ALSO
1578 2654
1579Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2655Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1582L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2658L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1583 2659
1584Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2660Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1585L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2661L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1586L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2662L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1587L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2663L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1588 2664
1589Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2665Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1590servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2666servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1591 2667
1592Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2668Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1593 2669
1594Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2670Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2671L<Coro::Event>,
1595 2672
1596Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2673Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2674L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1597 2675
1598 2676
1599=head1 AUTHOR 2677=head1 AUTHOR
1600 2678
1601 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2679 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1602 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2680 http://home.schmorp.de/
1603 2681
1604=cut 2682=cut
1605 2683
16061 26841
1607 2685

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