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Revision 1.241 by root, Fri Jul 17 18:08:35 2009 UTC

1=head1 => NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
21 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
22 45
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 47
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 50
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 51Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 52policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 53
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 54First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 55interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 56pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 57the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 58only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 59cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
60loops.
37 61
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 62The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 63programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 64religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 66model you use.
43 67
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 68For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 69actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 70like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 74
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 76fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if 77with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 78your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 83
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 84In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to 86modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 87follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
121These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 145These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
122creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 146creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
123callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
124is in control). 148is in control).
125 149
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops.
155
126To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 156To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
127variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 157variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
128to it). 158to it).
129 159
130All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 160All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
132Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
133example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
134 164
135An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 165An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
136 166
137 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
138 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
139 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
140 }); 170 });
141 171
142Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 172Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
143my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
144declared. 174declared.
145 175
146=head2 I/O WATCHERS 176=head2 I/O WATCHERS
147 177
148You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 178You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
149with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
150 180
151C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 181C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
182for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
186or block devices.
187
152for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 188C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
153which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 189watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
190
154respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 191C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
155becomes ready.
156 192
157Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 193Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
158presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 194presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
159callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 195callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
160 196
164 200
165Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
166always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
167handles. 203handles.
168 204
169Example:
170
171 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 205Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
206watcher.
207
172 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 208 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
173 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 209 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
174 warn "read: $input\n"; 210 warn "read: $input\n";
175 undef $w; 211 undef $w;
176 }); 212 });
186 222
187Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
188presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
189callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
190 226
191The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
192timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
193and Glib). 229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
194 232
195Example: 233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
235only approximate.
196 236
197 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238
198 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
199 warn "timeout\n"; 240 warn "timeout\n";
200 }); 241 });
201 242
202 # to cancel the timer: 243 # to cancel the timer:
203 undef $w; 244 undef $w;
204 245
205Example 2:
206
207 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 246Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
208 my $w;
209 247
210 my $cb = sub {
211 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
212 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 248 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
249 warn "timeout\n";
213 }; 250 };
214
215 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
216 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
217 251
218=head3 TIMING ISSUES 252=head3 TIMING ISSUES
219 253
220There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 254There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
221in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 255in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
294In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you 328In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
295can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the 329can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
296difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into 330difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
297account. 331account.
298 332
333=item AnyEvent->now_update
334
335Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
336the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
337AnyEvent->now >>, above).
338
339When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
340this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
341might affect timers and time-outs.
342
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time".
345
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347
299=back 348=back
300 349
301=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
302 351
303You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 352You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
304I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 353I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
305be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
306 355
307Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 356Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
308presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 357presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
309callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 358callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
310 359
326=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 375=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
327 376
328You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 377You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
329 378
330The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 379The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
331watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 380watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
332as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 381the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
333signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 382any trace events (stopped/continued).
334and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 383
335you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 384The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
385waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
386callback arguments.
387
388This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
389and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
390random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
391C<system>, is just fine).
336 392
337There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 393There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
338I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 394I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
339have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 395have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
340 396
341Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 397Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
398see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
342event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 399that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
343loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 400the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
401pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
402start the watcher.
344 403
345This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 404This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
346AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 405thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
347C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 406watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
407C<AnyEvent::detect>).
348 408
349Example: fork a process and wait for it 409Example: fork a process and wait for it
350 410
351 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 411 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
352 412
353 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 413 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
354 414
355 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 415 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
356 pid => $pid, 416 pid => $pid,
357 cb => sub { 417 cb => sub {
358 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 418 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
359 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 419 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
360 $done->send; 420 $done->send;
361 }, 421 },
362 ); 422 );
363 423
364 # do something else, then wait for process exit 424 # do something else, then wait for process exit
365 $done->recv; 425 $done->recv;
426
427=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
428
429Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
430to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
431"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
432attention by the event loop".
433
434Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
435better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
436events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
437
438Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
439EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
440will simply call the callback "from time to time".
441
442Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
443program is otherwise idle:
444
445 my @lines; # read data
446 my $idle_w;
447 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
448 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
449
450 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
451 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
452 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
453 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
454 print "handled when idle: $line";
455 } else {
456 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
457 undef $idle_w;
458 }
459 });
460 });
366 461
367=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 462=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
368 463
369If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 464If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
370require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 465require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
371will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 466will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
372 467
373AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 468AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
374will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 469loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
375 470
376The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 471The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
377because they represent a condition that must become true. 472because they represent a condition that must become true.
473
474Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
378 475
379Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 476Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
380>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 477>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
381C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 478C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
382becomes true. 479becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
480the results).
383 481
384After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 482After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
385by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it 483by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
386were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<< 484were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
387->send >> method). 485->send >> method).
433 after => 1, 531 after => 1,
434 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 532 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
435 ); 533 );
436 534
437 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 535 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
438 # calls send 536 # calls -<send
439 $result_ready->recv; 537 $result_ready->recv;
440 538
441Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 539Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
442condition variables are also code references. 540variables are also callable directly.
443 541
444 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 542 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
445 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 543 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
446 $done->recv; 544 $done->recv;
545
546Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
547callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
548the main program:
549
550 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
551
552 ...
553
554 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
555
556And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
557results are available:
558
559 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
560 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
561 });
447 562
448=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 563=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
449 564
450These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 565These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
451code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 566code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
464immediately from within send. 579immediately from within send.
465 580
466Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 581Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
467future C<< ->recv >> calls. 582future C<< ->recv >> calls.
468 583
469Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 584Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
470(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling 585they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
471C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle 586C<send>.
472overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
473instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
474support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
475invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
476example).
477 587
478=item $cv->croak ($error) 588=item $cv->croak ($error)
479 589
480Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 590Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
481C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 591C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
482 592
483This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 593This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
484user/consumer. 594user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
595delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
596diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
597deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
598the problem.
485 599
486=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 600=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
487 601
488=item $cv->end 602=item $cv->end
489
490These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
491 603
492These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 604These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
493one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 605one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
494to use a condition variable for the whole process. 606to use a condition variable for the whole process.
495 607
497C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end 609C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
498>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback 610>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
499is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no 611is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
500callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 612callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
501 613
502Let's clarify this with the ping example: 614You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
615sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
616condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
617
618Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
619STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
620close before activating a condvar:
621
622 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
623
624 $cv->begin; # first watcher
625 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
626 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
627 or $cv->end;
628 });
629
630 $cv->begin; # second watcher
631 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
632 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
633 or $cv->end;
634 });
635
636 $cv->recv;
637
638This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
639one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
640sending.
641
642The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
643there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
644begung can potentially be zero:
503 645
504 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 646 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
505 647
506 my %result; 648 my %result;
507 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 649 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
527loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 669loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
528to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 670to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
529C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop 671C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
530doesn't execute once). 672doesn't execute once).
531 673
532This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 674This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
533use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end> 675potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
534is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 676the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
535C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>. 677subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
678call C<end>.
536 679
537=back 680=back
538 681
539=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 682=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
540 683
556function will call C<croak>. 699function will call C<croak>.
557 700
558In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 701In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
559in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 702in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
560 703
704Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
705event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
706>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
707condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
708L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
709any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
710
561Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 711Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
562(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 712(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
563using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 713using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
564caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 714caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
565condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 715condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
566callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 716callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
567while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 717while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
568 718
569Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
570sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
571multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
572can supply.
573
574The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
575fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
576versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
577C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
578coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
579
580You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and 719You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
581only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 720only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
582time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking 721time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
583waits otherwise. 722waits otherwise.
584 723
585=item $bool = $cv->ready 724=item $bool = $cv->ready
586 725
587Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 726Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
588C<croak> have been called. 727C<croak> have been called.
589 728
590=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 729=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
591 730
592This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 731This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
593replaces it before doing so. 732replaces it before doing so.
594 733
595The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 734The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
596C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback 735C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
597or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 736variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
737is guaranteed not to block.
598 738
599=back 739=back
600 740
741=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
742
743The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
744
745=over 4
746
747=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
748
749EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
750use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
751that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
752available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
753
754 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
755 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
756 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
757
758=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
759
760These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
761is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
762them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
763when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
764create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
765
766 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
767 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
768 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
769 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
770
771=item Backends with special needs.
772
773Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
774otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
775instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
776everything should just work.
777
778 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
779
780Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
781architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
782is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
783it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
784L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
785
786 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
787
788=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
789
790Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
791
792There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
793
794B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
795use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
796polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
797consider for AnyEvent.
798
799B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
800backend, so it can be supported through POE.
801
802AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
803load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
804in which case everything will be automatic.
805
806=back
807
601=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 808=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
602 809
810These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
811write AnyEvent extension modules.
812
603=over 4 813=over 4
604 814
605=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 815=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
606 816
607Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 817Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
818backend has been autodetected.
819
608contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 820Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
609Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 821name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
610C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 822of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
611AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 823case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
612 824will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
613The known classes so far are:
614
615 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
616 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
617 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
618 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
619 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
620 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
621 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
622 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
623
624There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
625watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
626POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
627second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
628AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
629it's adaptor.
630
631AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
632autodetecting them.
633 825
634=item AnyEvent::detect 826=item AnyEvent::detect
635 827
636Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 828Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
637if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 829if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
638have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 830have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
639runtime. 831runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
832
833If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
834created, use C<post_detect>.
640 835
641=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 836=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
642 837
643Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 838Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
644autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 839autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
840
841The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
842(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
843created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
844other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
845L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
846
847The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
848event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
849and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
850avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
645 851
646If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 852If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
647that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 853that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
648L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 854L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
649 855
652If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 858If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
653before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 859before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
654the event loop has been chosen. 860the event loop has been chosen.
655 861
656You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 862You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
657if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 863if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
658and the array will be ignored. 864array will be ignored.
659 865
660Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 866Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
867it,as it takes care of these details.
868
869This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
870when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
871not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
872into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
661 873
662=back 874=back
663 875
664=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 876=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
665 877
720 932
721 933
722=head1 OTHER MODULES 934=head1 OTHER MODULES
723 935
724The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 936The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
725AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 937AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
726in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 938modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
727available via CPAN. 939come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
728 940
729=over 4 941=over 4
730 942
731=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 943=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
732 944
733Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 945Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
734functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 946functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
735
736=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
737
738Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
739 947
740=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 948=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
741 949
742Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 950Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
743addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 951addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
744connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more. 952connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
745 953
954=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
955
956Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
957supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
958non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
959
746=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 960=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
747 961
748Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 962Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
749 963
964=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
965
966A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
967HTTP requests.
968
750=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 969=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
751 970
752Provides a simple web application server framework. 971Provides a simple web application server framework.
753 972
754=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 973=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
755 974
756The fastest ping in the west. 975The fastest ping in the west.
757 976
977=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
978
979Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
980
981=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
982
983Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
984programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
985together.
986
987=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
988
989Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
990L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
991
992=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
993
994A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
995
758=item L<Net::IRC3> 996=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
759 997
760AnyEvent based IRC client module family. 998AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
761 999
762=item L<Net::XMPP2> 1000=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
763 1001
764AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family. 1002AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1003Net::XMPP2>.
1004
1005=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1006
1007A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1008L<App::IGS>).
765 1009
766=item L<Net::FCP> 1010=item L<Net::FCP>
767 1011
768AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace 1012AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
769of AnyEvent. 1013of AnyEvent.
774 1018
775=item L<Coro> 1019=item L<Coro>
776 1020
777Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1021Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
778 1022
779=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
780
781Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
782programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
783together.
784
785=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
786
787Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
788IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
789
790=item L<IO::Lambda>
791
792The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
793
794=back 1023=back
795 1024
796=cut 1025=cut
797 1026
798package AnyEvent; 1027package AnyEvent;
799 1028
800no warnings; 1029no warnings;
801use strict; 1030use strict qw(vars subs);
802 1031
803use Carp; 1032use Carp ();
804 1033
805our $VERSION = '4.05'; 1034our $VERSION = 4.83;
806our $MODEL; 1035our $MODEL;
807 1036
808our $AUTOLOAD; 1037our $AUTOLOAD;
809our @ISA; 1038our @ISA;
810 1039
811our @REGISTRY; 1040our @REGISTRY;
812 1041
813our $WIN32; 1042our $WIN32;
814 1043
815BEGIN { 1044BEGIN {
816 my $win32 = ! ! ($^O =~ /mswin32/i); 1045 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
817 eval "sub WIN32(){ $win32 }"; 1046 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1047
1048 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1049 if ${^TAINT};
818} 1050}
819 1051
820our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1052our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
821 1053
822our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1054our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
833 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1065 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
834 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1066 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
835 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1067 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
836 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1068 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
837 # and is usually faster 1069 # and is usually faster
838 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
839 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers 1070 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
840 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1071 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1072 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
841 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1073 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
842 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1074 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
843 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1075 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
844 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1076 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1077 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1078 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1079 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1080 # obvious default class.
1081# [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1082# [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1083# [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
845); 1084);
846 1085
847our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer time now signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1086our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1087 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
848 1088
849our @post_detect; 1089our @post_detect;
850 1090
851sub post_detect(&) { 1091sub post_detect(&) {
852 my ($cb) = @_; 1092 my ($cb) = @_;
857 1 1097 1
858 } else { 1098 } else {
859 push @post_detect, $cb; 1099 push @post_detect, $cb;
860 1100
861 defined wantarray 1101 defined wantarray
862 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 1102 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
863 : () 1103 : ()
864 } 1104 }
865} 1105}
866 1106
867sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1107sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
868 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect; 1108 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
869} 1109}
870 1110
871sub detect() { 1111sub detect() {
872 unless ($MODEL) { 1112 unless ($MODEL) {
875 1115
876 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1116 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
877 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1117 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
878 if (eval "require $model") { 1118 if (eval "require $model") {
879 $MODEL = $model; 1119 $MODEL = $model;
880 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1120 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
881 } else { 1121 } else {
882 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1122 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $verbose;
883 } 1123 }
884 } 1124 }
885 1125
886 # check for already loaded models 1126 # check for already loaded models
887 unless ($MODEL) { 1127 unless ($MODEL) {
909 last; 1149 last;
910 } 1150 }
911 } 1151 }
912 1152
913 $MODEL 1153 $MODEL
914 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1154 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
915 } 1155 }
916 } 1156 }
917 1157
1158 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1159
918 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1160 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
919 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1161
1162 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
920 1163
921 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect; 1164 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
922 } 1165 }
923 1166
924 $MODEL 1167 $MODEL
926 1169
927sub AUTOLOAD { 1170sub AUTOLOAD {
928 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1171 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
929 1172
930 $method{$func} 1173 $method{$func}
931 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1174 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
932 1175
933 detect unless $MODEL; 1176 detect unless $MODEL;
934 1177
935 my $class = shift; 1178 my $class = shift;
936 $class->$func (@_); 1179 $class->$func (@_);
937} 1180}
938 1181
1182# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1183# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1184# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1185sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1186 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1187
1188 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1189 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1190
1191 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1192 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1193
1194 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1195
1196 ($fh2, $rw)
1197}
1198
939package AnyEvent::Base; 1199package AnyEvent::Base;
940 1200
941# default implementation for now and time 1201# default implementations for many methods
942 1202
943use Time::HiRes (); 1203BEGIN {
1204 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1205 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1206 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1207 } else {
1208 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1209 }
1210}
944 1211
945sub time { Time::HiRes::time } 1212sub time { _time }
946sub now { Time::HiRes::time } 1213sub now { _time }
1214sub now_update { }
947 1215
948# default implementation for ->condvar 1216# default implementation for ->condvar
949 1217
950sub condvar { 1218sub condvar {
951 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar:: 1219 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
952} 1220}
953 1221
954# default implementation for ->signal 1222# default implementation for ->signal
955 1223
956our %SIG_CB; 1224our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1225
1226sub _signal_exec {
1227 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4;
1228
1229 while (%SIG_EV) {
1230 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1231 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1232 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1233 }
1234 }
1235}
957 1236
958sub signal { 1237sub signal {
959 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1238 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
960 1239
1240 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) {
1241 require Fcntl;
1242
1243 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1244 require AnyEvent::Util;
1245
1246 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1247 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1248 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1249 } else {
1250 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1251 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1252 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1253
1254 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1255 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1256 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1257 }
1258
1259 $SIGPIPE_R
1260 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1261
1262 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1263 }
1264
961 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1265 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
962 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1266 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
963 1267
964 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1268 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
965 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1269 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
966 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1270 local $!;
1271 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1272 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
967 }; 1273 };
968 1274
969 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1275 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
970} 1276}
971 1277
972sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1278sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
973 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1279 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
974 1280
975 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1281 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
976 1282
1283 # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1284 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1285 # instead of getting the default action.
977 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1286 undef $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
978} 1287}
979 1288
980# default implementation for ->child 1289# default implementation for ->child
981 1290
982our %PID_CB; 1291our %PID_CB;
983our $CHLD_W; 1292our $CHLD_W;
984our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1293our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
985our $PID_IDLE;
986our $WNOHANG; 1294our $WNOHANG;
987 1295
988sub _child_wait { 1296sub _sigchld {
989 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1297 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
990 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1298 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
991 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1299 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
992 } 1300 }
993
994 undef $PID_IDLE;
995}
996
997sub _sigchld {
998 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
999 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
1000 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1001 &_child_wait;
1002 });
1003} 1301}
1004 1302
1005sub child { 1303sub child {
1006 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1304 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1007 1305
1008 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1306 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
1009 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1307 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
1010 1308
1011 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1309 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1012 1310
1013 unless ($WNOHANG) {
1014 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1311 $WNOHANG ||= eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
1015 }
1016 1312
1017 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1313 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1018 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1314 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
1019 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1315 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1020 &_sigchld; 1316 &_sigchld;
1021 } 1317 }
1022 1318
1023 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1319 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1024} 1320}
1025 1321
1026sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1322sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
1027 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1323 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1028 1324
1029 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1325 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
1030 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1326 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1031 1327
1032 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1328 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1329}
1330
1331# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1332# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1333# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1334sub idle {
1335 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1336
1337 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1338
1339 $rcb = sub {
1340 if ($cb) {
1341 $w = _time;
1342 &$cb;
1343 $w = _time - $w;
1344
1345 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1346 # within some limits
1347 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1348 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1349
1350 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1351 } else {
1352 # clean up...
1353 undef $w;
1354 undef $rcb;
1355 }
1356 };
1357
1358 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1359
1360 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1361}
1362
1363sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1364 undef $${$_[0]};
1033} 1365}
1034 1366
1035package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1367package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1036 1368
1037our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1369our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1039package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1371package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1040 1372
1041use overload 1373use overload
1042 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1374 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1043 fallback => 1; 1375 fallback => 1;
1376
1377our $WAITING;
1044 1378
1045sub _send { 1379sub _send {
1046 # nop 1380 # nop
1047} 1381}
1048 1382
1061sub ready { 1395sub ready {
1062 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1396 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1063} 1397}
1064 1398
1065sub _wait { 1399sub _wait {
1400 $WAITING
1401 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1402 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1403
1404 local $WAITING = 1;
1066 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent}; 1405 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1067} 1406}
1068 1407
1069sub recv { 1408sub recv {
1070 $_[0]->_wait; 1409 $_[0]->_wait;
1089} 1428}
1090 1429
1091# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4 1430# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1092*broadcast = \&send; 1431*broadcast = \&send;
1093*wait = \&_wait; 1432*wait = \&_wait;
1433
1434=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1435
1436In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1437caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1438the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1439checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1440development.
1441
1442As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1443executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1444also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1445program.
1446
1447The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1448within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1449$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1450so on.
1451
1452=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1453
1454The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1455submodules.
1456
1457Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1458C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1459enabled.
1460
1461=over 4
1462
1463=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1464
1465By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1466conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1467talkative.
1468
1469When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1470conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1471C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1472
1473When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1474model it chooses.
1475
1476=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1477
1478AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1479argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1480will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1481check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1482it will croak.
1483
1484In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1485
1486Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in
1487production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while
1488developing programs can be very useful, however.
1489
1490=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1491
1492This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1493auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1494entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1495and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1496used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1497auto detection and -probing.
1498
1499This functionality might change in future versions.
1500
1501For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1502could start your program like this:
1503
1504 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1505
1506=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1507
1508Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1509for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1510of auto probing).
1511
1512Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1513current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1514used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1515list.
1516
1517This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1518against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1519small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1520
1521Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1522but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1523- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1524addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1525IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1526
1527=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1528
1529Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1530for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1531some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1532default.
1533
1534Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1535EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1536
1537=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1538
1539The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1540will create in parallel.
1541
1542=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1543
1544The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1545resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1546sent to the DNS server.
1547
1548=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1549
1550The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1551configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1552default config will be used.
1553
1554=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1555
1556When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1557L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1558variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1559instead of a system-dependent default.
1560
1561=back
1094 1562
1095=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1563=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1096 1564
1097This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1565This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
1098a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1566a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1132 1600
1133I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1601I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
1134condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1602condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
1135C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1603C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
1136not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1604not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
1137
1138=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1139
1140The following environment variables are used by this module:
1141
1142=over 4
1143
1144=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1145
1146By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1147conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1148talkative.
1149
1150When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1151conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1152C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1153
1154When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1155model it chooses.
1156
1157=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1158
1159This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1160auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1161entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1162and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1163used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1164auto detection and -probing.
1165
1166This functionality might change in future versions.
1167
1168For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1169could start your program like this:
1170
1171 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1172
1173=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1174
1175Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1176for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1177of auto probing).
1178
1179Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1180current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1181used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1182list.
1183
1184This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1185against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1186small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1187
1188Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1189but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1190- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1191addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1192IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1193
1194=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1195
1196Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1197for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1198some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1199default.
1200
1201Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1202EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1203
1204=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1205
1206The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1207will create in parallel.
1208
1209=back
1210 1605
1211=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1606=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
1212 1607
1213The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1608The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
1214to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1609to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1408watcher. 1803watcher.
1409 1804
1410=head3 Results 1805=head3 Results
1411 1806
1412 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1807 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1413 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1808 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1414 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1809 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1415 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1810 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1416 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1811 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1417 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1812 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1418 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1813 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1814 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
1815 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1419 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1816 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1420 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1817 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1421 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1818 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1422 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1819 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1423 1820
1424=head3 Discussion 1821=head3 Discussion
1425 1822
1426The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1823The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1427well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1824well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1452performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 1849performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1453them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 1850them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1454 1851
1455The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 1852The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1456cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 1853cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1854
1855C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
1856when using its pure perl backend.
1457 1857
1458C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 1858C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1459faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 1859faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1460C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 1860C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1461watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 1861watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1539it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 1939it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1540a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 1940a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1541 1941
1542=head3 Results 1942=head3 Results
1543 1943
1544 name sockets create request 1944 name sockets create request
1545 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 1945 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1546 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 1946 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1947 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
1948 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
1547 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 1949 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1548 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 1950 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1549 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 1951 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1550 1952
1551=head3 Discussion 1953=head3 Discussion
1552 1954
1553This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 1955This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1554particular event loop. 1956particular event loop.
1556EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 1958EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1557is relatively high, though. 1959is relatively high, though.
1558 1960
1559Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 1961Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1560loops Event and Glib. 1962loops Event and Glib.
1963
1964IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
1965good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1561 1966
1562Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 1967Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1563understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 1968understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1564the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 1969the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1565uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 1970uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1628=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2033=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1629watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2034watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1630 2035
1631=back 2036=back
1632 2037
2038=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2039
2040Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2041could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2042simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2043shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2044fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2045very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2046baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2047
2048The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2049connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2050creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2051test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2052benchmark nevertheless.
2053
2054 name runtime
2055 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2056 + optimized 0.122 sec
2057 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2058 + optimized 0.138 sec
2059 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2060 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2061 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2062 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2063
2064 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2065 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2066 +state machine 0.134 sec
2067
2068The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2069benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2070defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2071written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2072AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2073resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2074generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2075connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2076
2077The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2078offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2079Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2080non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2081
2082As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2083hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2084backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2085
2086And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2087slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2088large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2089in a non-blocking way.
2090
2091The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2092F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2093part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2094
2095
2096=head1 SIGNALS
2097
2098AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2099
2100=over 4
2101
2102=item SIGCHLD
2103
2104A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2105emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2106event loops install a similar handler.
2107
2108Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2109AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2110
2111=item SIGPIPE
2112
2113A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2114when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2115
2116The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2117on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2118badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2119program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2120some random socket.
2121
2122The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2123that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2124
2125Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2126
2127=back
2128
2129=cut
2130
2131undef $SIG{CHLD}
2132 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2133
2134$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2135 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1633 2136
1634=head1 FORK 2137=head1 FORK
1635 2138
1636Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2139Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1637because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2140because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1651specified in the variable. 2154specified in the variable.
1652 2155
1653You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2156You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1654before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2157before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1655 2158
1656 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2159 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1657 2160
1658 use AnyEvent; 2161 use AnyEvent;
1659 2162
1660Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2163Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1661be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2164be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1662probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2165probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2166$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2167
2168Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2169C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2170enabled.
2171
2172
2173=head1 BUGS
2174
2175Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2176to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2177and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2178memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2179pronounced).
1663 2180
1664 2181
1665=head1 SEE ALSO 2182=head1 SEE ALSO
1666 2183
1667Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2184Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1670L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2187L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1671 2188
1672Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2189Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1673L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2190L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1674L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2191L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1675L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2192L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>.
1676 2193
1677Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2194Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1678servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2195servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1679 2196
1680Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2197Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1681 2198
1682Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2199Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2200L<Coro::Event>,
1683 2201
1684Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2202Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2203L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1685 2204
1686 2205
1687=head1 AUTHOR 2206=head1 AUTHOR
1688 2207
1689 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2208 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1690 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2209 http://home.schmorp.de/
1691 2210
1692=cut 2211=cut
1693 2212
16941 22131
1695 2214

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