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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,
6FLTK and 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
51An FAQ document is available as L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
52
53There also is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
54channel, too.
55
56See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
57Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 58
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 59=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 60
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 61Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 62nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 63
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 64Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 65policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 66
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 67First 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 68interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 69pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 70the 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 71only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 72cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
73loops.
37 74
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 75The 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 76programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 77religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 78module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 79model you use.
43 80
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 81For 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 82actually 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 83like joining a cult: After you join, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 84cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 85that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 86module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 87
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 88AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 89fine. 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 90with the rest: POE + EV? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if your module
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 91uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, too. But if
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 92your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all event models it
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 93supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those use one of the
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 94supported event loops. It is easy to add new event loops to AnyEvent, too,
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 95so it is future-proof).
59 96
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 97In 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 98model>, 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 99modules, 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 100follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 101offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 102technically possible.
66 103
104Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
105of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
106non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
107such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
108platform bugs and differences.
109
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 110Now, 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 111useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 112model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 113
71=head1 DESCRIPTION 114=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 115
73L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 116L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
74allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 117allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
75users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 118module users to use a specific event loop implementation (since more
76peacefully at any one time). 119than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
77 120
78The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 121The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
79module. 122module.
80 123
81During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 124During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
82to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 125to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
83following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, 126following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, L<AnyEvent::Loop>,
84L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 127L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. The first one
85L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 128found is used. If none are detected, the module tries to load the first
86to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 129four modules in the order given; but note that if L<EV> is not
87adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 130available, the pure-perl L<AnyEvent::Loop> should always work, so
88be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 131the other two are not normally tried.
89found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
90very efficient, but should work everywhere.
91 132
92Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 133Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
93an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 134an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
94that model the default. For example: 135that model the default. For example:
95 136
97 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
98 139
99 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
100 141
101The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and 142The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 143starts using it, all bets are off - this case should be very rare though,
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
104 146
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called C<AnyEvent::Loop>. Like
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148other event modules you can load it explicitly and enjoy the high
107explicitly. 149availability of that event loop :)
108 150
109=head1 WATCHERS 151=head1 WATCHERS
110 152
111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 153AnyEvent 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 154stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 157These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 158creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 160is in control).
119 161
162Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
163potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
164callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practice in
165Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
166widely between event loops.
167
120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 168To disable a watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
121variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 169variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
122to it). 170to it).
123 171
124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 172All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
125 173
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 176
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 178
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
134 }); 182 });
135 183
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 184Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 186declared.
139 187
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 196You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 198
145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 199C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
200for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
201handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
202non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
203most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
204or block devices.
205
146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 206C<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, 207watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
208
148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 209C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
149becomes ready.
150 210
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 211Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 212presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 213callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 214
155The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it. 215The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
156You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the 216You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
157underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
158 218
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 221handles.
162 222
163Example:
164
165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 223Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
224watcher.
225
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 226 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 227 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 228 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
170 }); 230 });
171 231
172=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
173 233
234 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
235
236 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
237 after => <fractional_seconds>,
238 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
239 cb => <callback>,
240 );
241
174You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
175method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
176 244
177C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
178supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke 246supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
180 248
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 252
185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 253The callback will normally be invoked only once. If you specify another
186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 254parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
187and Glib). 255callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
256seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
257false value, then it is treated as if it were not specified at all.
188 258
189Example: 259The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
260attempt is made to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
261only approximate.
190 262
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
264
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 266 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 267 });
195 268
196 # to cancel the timer: 269 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 270 undef $w;
198 271
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 272Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 273
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 274 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
275 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 276 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 277
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 278=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 279
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 280There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 281in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
217 283
218While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they 284While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
219use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
220"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from 286"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
221the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to 287the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
222fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
223 289
224AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
225about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based 291of these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
226on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
227timers. 293timers.
228 294
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
231 297
298AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
299
300=over 4
301
302=item AnyEvent->time
303
304This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
305seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
306return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
307
308It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
309will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
310
311=item AnyEvent->now
312
313This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
314this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
315the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
316time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
317
318I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
319function to call when you want to know the current time.>
320
321This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
322thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
323L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update its activity timeouts).
324
325The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
326with your timing; you can skip it without a bad conscience.
327
328For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
329and L<EV> and the following set-up:
330
331The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callbacks at
332time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
333you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
334second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
335after three seconds.
336
337With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
338both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
339be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
340
341With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
342time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
343last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
344to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
345
346In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
347regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
348callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
349higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
350
351In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
352the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
353
354In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
355can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
356difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
357account.
358
359=item AnyEvent->now_update
360
361Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Loop>) cache the current
362time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<< AnyEvent->now >>,
363above).
364
365When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
366this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
367might affect timers and time-outs.
368
369When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
370event loop's idea of "current time".
371
372A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
373when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
374idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
375script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
376AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
377(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
378
379Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
380
381=back
382
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
386
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 387You 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 388I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 390
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 391Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 392presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 393callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 394
243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
244that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 397that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
245but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
246 399
247The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 400The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
248between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
249 403
250This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
251directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
252 407
253Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
254 409
255 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
256 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
437variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
438and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
439AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
440will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
441saving.
442
443All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
444L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
445work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
446(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does its own workaround with
447one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
448
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 453You can also watch for a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260 454
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 455The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (on some backends,
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 456using 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 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 459(stopped/continued).
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 460
461The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
462waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
463callback arguments.
464
465This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
466and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
467random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
468C<system>, is just fine).
267 469
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 470There 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 471I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 473
272Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 474Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
475see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
273event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 476that 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). 477the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
478pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
479start the watcher.
275 480
276This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 481This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 482thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 483watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
484C<AnyEvent::detect>).
485
486As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
487emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which case the latency and race
488problems mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
279 489
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 491
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 493
284 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 494 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
285 495
286 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 496 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
287 pid => $pid, 497 pid => $pid,
288 cb => sub { 498 cb => sub {
289 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 499 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
290 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 500 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
291 $done->send; 501 $done->send;
292 }, 502 },
293 ); 503 );
294 504
295 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
296 $done->recv; 506 $done->recv;
507
508=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
509
510 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
511
512This will repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle,
513until either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
514
515Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
516is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
517invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
518defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
519have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
520when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
521detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
522will be invoked.
523
524Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
525EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
526will simply call the callback "from time to time".
527
528Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
529program is otherwise idle:
530
531 my @lines; # read data
532 my $idle_w;
533 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
534 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
535
536 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
537 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
538 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
539 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
540 print "handled when idle: $line";
541 } else {
542 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
543 undef $idle_w;
544 }
545 });
546 });
297 547
298=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
299 554
300If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 555If 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 556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
302will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
303 558
304AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
305will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
306 561
307The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
308because they represent a condition that must become true. 563they represent a condition that must become true.
564
565Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
309 566
310Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
311>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
312C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 569C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
313becomes true. 570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
571the results).
314 572
315After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
316by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it 574by 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<< 575were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
318->send >> method). 576->send >> method).
319 577
320Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 578Since 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 579some 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 580
323another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 581=over 4
324used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 582
325a result. 583=item * Condition variables are like callbacks - you can call them (and pass them instead
584of callbacks). Unlike callbacks however, you can also wait for them to be called.
585
586=item * Condition variables are signals - one side can emit or send them,
587the other side can wait for them, or install a handler that is called when
588the signal fires.
589
590=item * Condition variables are like "Merge Points" - points in your program
591where you merge multiple independent results/control flows into one.
592
593=item * Condition variables represent a transaction - functions that start
594some kind of transaction can return them, leaving the caller the choice
595between waiting in a blocking fashion, or setting a callback.
596
597=item * Condition variables represent future values, or promises to deliver
598some result, long before the result is available.
599
600=back
326 601
327Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
328for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
329then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
330availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
343 618
344Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
345used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing 620used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
346easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of 621easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
347AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call 622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
348it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method. 623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
349 624
350There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which 625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
351eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits 626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
352for the send to occur. 627for the send to occur.
353 628
354Example: wait for a timer. 629Example: wait for a timer.
355 630
356 # wait till the result is ready 631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
357 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
358 633
359 # do something such as adding a timer 634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
360 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send 635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
361 # when the "result" is ready. 636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
362 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
363 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
364 after => 1, 639 after => 1,
365 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
366 ); 641 );
367 642
368 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
369 # calls send 644 # calls ->send
370 $result_ready->recv; 645 $timer_fired->recv;
371 646
372Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 647Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
373condition variables are also code references. 648variables are also callable directly.
374 649
375 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 650 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
376 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 651 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
377 $done->recv; 652 $done->recv;
653
654Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
655callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
656the main program:
657
658 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
659
660 ...
661
662 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
663
664And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
665results are available:
666
667 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
668 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
669 });
378 670
379=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 671=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
380 672
381These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 673These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
382code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 674code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
395immediately from within send. 687immediately from within send.
396 688
397Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 689Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
398future C<< ->recv >> calls. 690future C<< ->recv >> calls.
399 691
400Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 692Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
401(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling 693they 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 694C<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).
408 695
409=item $cv->croak ($error) 696=item $cv->croak ($error)
410 697
411Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
412C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
413 700
414This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
415user/consumer. 702user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
703delays the error detection, but has the overwhelming advantage that it
704diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
705deep in some event callback with no connection to the actual code causing
706the problem.
416 707
417=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
418 709
419=item $cv->end 710=item $cv->end
420
421These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
422 711
423These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 712These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
424one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 713one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
425to use a condition variable for the whole process. 714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
426 715
427Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to 716Every 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 717C<< ->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 718>>, 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 719condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
431callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 720>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
721be called without any arguments.
432 722
433Let's clarify this with the ping example: 723You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
724sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
725condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
726
727Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
728STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
729close before activating a condvar:
434 730
435 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
436 732
733 $cv->begin; # first watcher
734 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
735 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
736 or $cv->end;
737 });
738
739 $cv->begin; # second watcher
740 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
741 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
742 or $cv->end;
743 });
744
745 $cv->recv;
746
747This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
748one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
749sending.
750
751The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
752there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
753begun can potentially be zero:
754
755 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
756
437 my %result; 757 my %result;
438 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
439 759
440 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) { 760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
441 $cv->begin; 761 $cv->begin;
442 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub { 762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
443 $result{$host} = ...; 763 $result{$host} = ...;
458loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
459to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 779to 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 780C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
461doesn't execute once). 781doesn't execute once).
462 782
463This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 783This 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> 784potentially zero) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
465is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 785the 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>. 786subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
787call C<end>.
467 788
468=back 789=back
469 790
470=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
471 792
475=over 4 796=over 4
476 797
477=item $cv->recv 798=item $cv->recv
478 799
479Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak 800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
480>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers 801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
481normally. 802normally.
482 803
483You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but 804You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
484will return immediately. 805will return immediately.
485 806
487function will call C<croak>. 808function will call C<croak>.
488 809
489In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
490in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
491 812
813Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
814event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
815>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
816condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
817L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
818any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
819
492Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 820Not 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 821(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 822using 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 823caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
496condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
497callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
498while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
499 827
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 828You can ensure that C<< ->recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
512only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
513time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking 830time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
514waits otherwise. 831waits otherwise.
515 832
516=item $bool = $cv->ready 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
517 834
518Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 835Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
519C<croak> have been called. 836C<croak> have been called.
520 837
521=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 838=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
522 839
523This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
524replaces it before doing so. 841replaces it before doing so.
525 842
526The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 843The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
527C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback 844C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the
845condition variable itself. If the condition is already true, the
846callback is called immediately when it is set. Calling C<recv> inside
528or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 847the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
529 848
530=back 849=back
531 850
851=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
852
853The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
854
855=over 4
856
857=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
858
859EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
860use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
861pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
862AnyEvent itself.
863
864 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
865 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl AnyEvent::Loop, fast and portable.
866
867=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
868
869These will be used if they are already loaded when the first watcher
870is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
871them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
872when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
873create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
874
875 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
876 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
877 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
878 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
879 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
880 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
881 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async.
882 AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa based on Cocoa::EventLoop.
883 AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK2 based on FLTK (fltk 2 binding).
884
885=item Backends with special needs.
886
887Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
888otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
889instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
890everything should just work.
891
892 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
893
894=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
895
896Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
897
898There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
899
900B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
901use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
902polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
903consider for AnyEvent.
904
905B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
906backend, so it can be supported through POE.
907
908AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
909load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
910in which case everything will be automatic.
911
912=back
913
532=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 914=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
533 915
916These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
917write AnyEvent extension modules.
918
534=over 4 919=over 4
535 920
536=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 921=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
537 922
538Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 923Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
924backend has been autodetected.
925
539contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 926Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
540Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 927name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
541C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 928of the C<AnyEvent::Impl::xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
542AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 929case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
543 930will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
544The known classes so far are:
545
546 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
547 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
548 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
549 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
550 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
551 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
552 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
553 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
554
555There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
556watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
557POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
558second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
559AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
560it's adaptor.
561
562AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
563autodetecting them.
564 931
565=item AnyEvent::detect 932=item AnyEvent::detect
566 933
567Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 934Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
568if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 935if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
569have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 936have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
570runtime. 937runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
938
939The effect of calling this function is as if a watcher had been created
940(specifically, actions that happen "when the first watcher is created"
941happen when calling detetc as well).
942
943If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
944created, use C<post_detect>.
571 945
572=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 946=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
573 947
574Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 948Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
575autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 949autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
950
951The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
952(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
953created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
954other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
955L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
956
957The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
958event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
959and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
960avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
576 961
577If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 962If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
578that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 963that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
964C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
579L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 965a case where this is useful.
966
967Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
968C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
969
970 our WATCHER;
971
972 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
973 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
974 };
975
976 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
977 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
978 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
979 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
980
981 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
580 982
581=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 983=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
582 984
583If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 985If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
584before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 986before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
585the event loop has been chosen. 987after the event loop has been chosen.
586 988
587You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 989You 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, 990if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
589and the array will be ignored. 991array will be ignored.
590 992
591Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 993Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
994it, as it takes care of these details.
995
996This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
997when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
998not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
999into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
1000
1001Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
1002together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
1003Coro to accomplish this):
1004
1005 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1006 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1007 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1008 } else {
1009 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1010 # as soon as it is
1011 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1012 }
1013
1014=item AnyEvent::postpone { BLOCK }
1015
1016Arranges for the block to be executed as soon as possible, but not before
1017the call itself returns. In practise, the block will be executed just
1018before the event loop polls for new events, or shortly afterwards.
1019
1020This function never returns anything (to make the C<return postpone { ...
1021}> idiom more useful.
1022
1023To understand the usefulness of this function, consider a function that
1024asynchronously does something for you and returns some transaction
1025object or guard to let you cancel the operation. For example,
1026C<AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect>:
1027
1028 # start a conenction attempt unless one is active
1029 $self->{connect_guard} ||= AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect "www.example.net", 80, sub {
1030 delete $self->{connect_guard};
1031 ...
1032 };
1033
1034Imagine that this function could instantly call the callback, for
1035example, because it detects an obvious error such as a negative port
1036number. Invoking the callback before the function returns causes problems
1037however: the callback will be called and will try to delete the guard
1038object. But since the function hasn't returned yet, there is nothing to
1039delete. When the function eventually returns it will assign the guard
1040object to C<< $self->{connect_guard} >>, where it will likely never be
1041deleted, so the program thinks it is still trying to connect.
1042
1043This is where C<AnyEvent::postpone> should be used. Instead of calling the
1044callback directly on error:
1045
1046 $cb->(undef), return # signal error to callback, BAD!
1047 if $some_error_condition;
1048
1049It should use C<postpone>:
1050
1051 AnyEvent::postpone { $cb->(undef) }, return # signal error to callback, later
1052 if $some_error_condition;
1053
1054=item AnyEvent::log $level, $msg[, @args]
1055
1056Log the given C<$msg> at the given C<$level>.
1057
1058If L<AnyEvent::Log> is not loaded then this function makes a simple test
1059to see whether the message will be logged. If the test succeeds it will
1060load AnyEvent::Log and call C<AnyEvent::Log::log> - consequently, look at
1061the L<AnyEvent::Log> documentation for details.
1062
1063If the test fails it will simply return.
1064
1065If you want to sprinkle loads of logging calls around your code, consider
1066creating a logger callback with the C<AnyEvent::Log::logger> function,
1067which can reduce typing, codesize and can reduce the logging overhead
1068enourmously.
592 1069
593=back 1070=back
594 1071
595=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1072=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
596 1073
607because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1084because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
608events is to stay interactive. 1085events is to stay interactive.
609 1086
610It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module 1087It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
611requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 1088requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
612called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >> 1089called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
613freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1090freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
614 1091
615=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1092=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
616 1093
617There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1094There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
618dictate which event model to use. 1095dictate which event model to use.
619 1096
620If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1097If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
621do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1098when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
622decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1099uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1100to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1101available loop implementation.
623 1102
624If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in 1103If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
625Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the 1104Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
626event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 1105event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
627speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1106speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
628modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1107modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
629decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 1108decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
630might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 1109might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
631 1110
632You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the 1111You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
633C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour 1112C<AnyEvent::Loop> module, which gives you similar behaviour
634everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better. 1113everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
635 1114
636=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION 1115=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
637 1116
638Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who 1117Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
651 1130
652 1131
653=head1 OTHER MODULES 1132=head1 OTHER MODULES
654 1133
655The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 1134The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
656AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 1135AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other
657in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 1136AnyEvent modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the
658available via CPAN. 1137modules come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN (see
1138L<http://search.cpan.org/search?m=module&q=anyevent%3A%3A*> for
1139a longer non-exhaustive list), and the list is heavily biased towards
1140modules of the AnyEvent author himself :)
659 1141
660=over 4 1142=over 4
661 1143
662=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 1144=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
663 1145
664Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 1146Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
665functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 1147functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
666
667=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
668
669Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
670 1148
671=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 1149=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
672 1150
673Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 1151Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
674addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 1152addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
675connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more. 1153connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
676 1154
1155=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1156
1157Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1158supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1159non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
1160
677=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 1161=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
678 1162
679Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 1163Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
680 1164
1165=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1166
1167Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1168the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1169Client Protocol).
1170
1171=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1172
1173Here be danger!
1174
1175As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1176there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1177its use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1178the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1179
1180It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1181confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1182fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1183with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1184packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1185support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1186wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1187
1188=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1189
1190Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1191notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1192
1193=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1194
1195Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1196toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1197L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1198file I/O, and much more.
1199
681=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 1200=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
682 1201
683Provides a simple web application server framework. 1202A simple embedded webserver.
684 1203
685=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 1204=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
686 1205
687The fastest ping in the west. 1206The fastest ping in the west.
688 1207
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> 1208=item L<Coro>
707 1209
708Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1210Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
709 1211
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 1212=back
726 1213
727=cut 1214=cut
728 1215
729package AnyEvent; 1216package AnyEvent;
730 1217
731no warnings; 1218# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
732use strict; 1219sub common_sense {
1220 # from common:.sense 3.4
1221 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS} ^ "\x3c\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf0\x0f\xc0\xf0\xfc\x33\x00";
1222 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1223 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1224}
733 1225
1226BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1227
734use Carp; 1228use Carp ();
735 1229
736our $VERSION = '4.03'; 1230our $VERSION = '6.01';
737our $MODEL; 1231our $MODEL;
738 1232
739our $AUTOLOAD;
740our @ISA; 1233our @ISA;
741 1234
742our @REGISTRY; 1235our @REGISTRY;
743 1236
1237our $VERBOSE;
1238
1239BEGIN {
1240 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1241
1242 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1243
1244 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1245 if ${^TAINT};
1246
1247 $ENV{"PERL_ANYEVENT_$_"} = $ENV{"AE_$_"}
1248 for grep s/^AE_// && !exists $ENV{"PERL_ANYEVENT_$_"}, keys %ENV;
1249
1250 @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV} = ()
1251 if ${^TAINT};
1252
744our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1253 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1254}
1255
1256our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
745 1257
746our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1258our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
747 1259
748{ 1260{
749 my $idx; 1261 my $idx;
750 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx 1262 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
751 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/, 1263 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
752 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6"; 1264 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
753} 1265}
754 1266
1267our @post_detect;
1268
1269sub post_detect(&) {
1270 my ($cb) = @_;
1271
1272 push @post_detect, $cb;
1273
1274 defined wantarray
1275 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1276 : ()
1277}
1278
1279sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1280 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1281}
1282
1283our $POSTPONE_W;
1284our @POSTPONE;
1285
1286sub _postpone_exec {
1287 undef $POSTPONE_W;
1288
1289 &{ shift @POSTPONE }
1290 while @POSTPONE;
1291}
1292
1293sub postpone(&) {
1294 push @POSTPONE, shift;
1295
1296 $POSTPONE_W ||= AE::timer (0, 0, \&_postpone_exec);
1297
1298 ()
1299}
1300
1301sub log($$;@) {
1302 # only load the big bloated module when we actually are about to log something
1303 if ($_[0] <= $VERBOSE) { # also catches non-numeric levels(!)
1304 require AnyEvent::Log;
1305 # AnyEvent::Log overwrites this function
1306 goto &log;
1307 }
1308
1309 0 # not logged
1310}
1311
1312if (length $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG}) {
1313 require AnyEvent::Log; # AnyEvent::Log does the thing for us
1314}
1315
755my @models = ( 1316our @models = (
756 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1317 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
757 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1318 [AnyEvent::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
758 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
759 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1319 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
760 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1320 # as the pure perl backend should work everywhere
761 # and is usually faster 1321 # and is usually faster
1322 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
1323 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1324 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1325 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
762 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles 1326 [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 1327 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
766 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1328 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
767 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1329 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
768 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1330 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1331 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # a bitch to autodetect
1332 [Cocoa::EventLoop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa::],
1333 [FLTK:: => AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK2::],
769); 1334);
770 1335
771our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1336our @isa_hook;
772 1337
773our @post_detect; 1338sub _isa_set {
1339 my @pkg = ("AnyEvent", (map $_->[0], grep defined, @isa_hook), $MODEL);
774 1340
1341 @{"$pkg[$_-1]::ISA"} = $pkg[$_]
1342 for 1 .. $#pkg;
1343
1344 grep $_ && $_->[1], @isa_hook
1345 and AE::_reset ();
1346}
1347
1348# used for hooking AnyEvent::Strict and AnyEvent::Debug::Wrap into the class hierarchy
1349sub _isa_hook($$;$) {
1350 my ($i, $pkg, $reset_ae) = @_;
1351
1352 $isa_hook[$i] = $pkg ? [$pkg, $reset_ae] : undef;
1353
1354 _isa_set;
1355}
1356
1357# all autoloaded methods reserve the complete glob, not just the method slot.
1358# due to bugs in perls method cache implementation.
1359our @methods = qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar);
1360
775sub post_detect(&) { 1361sub detect() {
776 my ($cb) = @_; 1362 return $MODEL if $MODEL; # some programs keep references to detect
777 1363
778 if ($MODEL) { 1364 local $!; # for good measure
779 $cb->(); 1365 local $SIG{__DIE__}; # we use eval
780 1366
781 1 1367 # free some memory
1368 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1369 # undef &func doesn't correctly update the method cache. grmbl.
1370 # so we delete the whole glob. grmbl.
1371 # otoh, perl doesn't let me undef an active usb, but it lets me free
1372 # a glob with an active sub. hrm. i hope it works, but perl is
1373 # usually buggy in this department. sigh.
1374 delete @{"AnyEvent::"}{@methods};
1375 undef @methods;
1376
1377 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z0-9:]+)$/) {
1378 my $model = $1;
1379 $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$model" unless $model =~ s/::$//;
1380 if (eval "require $model") {
1381 AnyEvent::log 7 => "loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.";
1382 $MODEL = $model;
782 } else { 1383 } else {
783 push @post_detect, $cb; 1384 AnyEvent::log 5 => "unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@";
784 1385 }
785 defined wantarray
786 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
787 : ()
788 } 1386 }
789}
790 1387
791sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1388 # check for already loaded models
792 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
793}
794
795sub detect() {
796 unless ($MODEL) { 1389 unless ($MODEL) {
797 no strict 'refs'; 1390 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
798 local $SIG{__DIE__}; 1391 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
799 1392 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
800 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
801 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
802 if (eval "require $model") { 1393 if (eval "require $model") {
1394 AnyEvent::log 7 => "autodetected model '$model', using it.";
803 $MODEL = $model; 1395 $MODEL = $model;
804 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1396 last;
805 } else { 1397 }
806 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
807 } 1398 }
808 } 1399 }
809 1400
810 # check for already loaded models
811 unless ($MODEL) { 1401 unless ($MODEL) {
1402 # try to autoload a model
812 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1403 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
813 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1404 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1405 if (
1406 $autoload
1407 and eval "require $package"
814 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1408 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
815 if (eval "require $model") { 1409 and eval "require $model"
1410 ) {
1411 AnyEvent::log 7 => "autoloaded model '$model', using it.";
816 $MODEL = $model; 1412 $MODEL = $model;
817 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
818 last; 1413 last;
819 }
820 } 1414 }
821 } 1415 }
822 1416
823 unless ($MODEL) { 1417 $MODEL
824 # try to load a model 1418 or die "AnyEvent: backend autodetection failed - did you properly install AnyEvent?";
1419 }
1420 }
825 1421
826 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1422 # free memory only needed for probing
827 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1423 undef @models;
828 if (eval "require $package" 1424 undef @REGISTRY;
829 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 1425
830 and eval "require $model") { 1426 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
831 $MODEL = $model; 1427
832 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1428 # now nuke some methods that are overridden by the backend.
1429 # SUPER usage is not allowed in these.
1430 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1431 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1432 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1433 }
1434
1435 _isa_set;
1436
1437 # we're officially open!
1438
1439 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}) {
1440 require AnyEvent::Strict;
1441 }
1442
1443 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP}) {
1444 require AnyEvent::Debug;
1445 AnyEvent::Debug::wrap ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP});
1446 }
1447
1448 if (length $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL}) {
1449 require AnyEvent::Socket;
1450 require AnyEvent::Debug;
1451
1452 my $shell = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL};
1453 $shell =~ s/\$\$/$$/g;
1454
1455 my ($host, $service) = AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport ($shell);
1456 $AnyEvent::Debug::SHELL = AnyEvent::Debug::shell ($host, $service);
1457 }
1458
1459 # now the anyevent environment is set up as the user told us to, so
1460 # call the actual user code - post detects
1461
1462 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1463 undef @post_detect;
1464
1465 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1466 shift->();
1467
1468 undef
1469 };
1470
1471 $MODEL
1472}
1473
1474for my $name (@methods) {
1475 *$name = sub {
1476 detect;
1477 # we use goto because
1478 # a) it makes the thunk more transparent
1479 # b) it allows us to delete the thunk later
1480 goto &{ UNIVERSAL::can AnyEvent => "SUPER::$name" }
1481 };
1482}
1483
1484# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1485# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1486# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1487sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1488 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1489
1490 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1491 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1492
1493 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1494 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1495
1496 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1497
1498 ($fh2, $rw)
1499}
1500
1501=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1502
1503Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1504simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1505overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1506
1507See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1508
1509=cut
1510
1511package AE;
1512
1513our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1514
1515sub _reset() {
1516 eval q{
1517 # fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1518 # implementations can overwrite these.
1519
1520 sub io($$$) {
1521 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1522 }
1523
1524 sub timer($$$) {
1525 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1526 }
1527
1528 sub signal($$) {
1529 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1530 }
1531
1532 sub child($$) {
1533 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1534 }
1535
1536 sub idle($) {
1537 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0]);
1538 }
1539
1540 sub cv(;&) {
1541 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1542 }
1543
1544 sub now() {
1545 AnyEvent->now
1546 }
1547
1548 sub now_update() {
1549 AnyEvent->now_update
1550 }
1551
1552 sub time() {
1553 AnyEvent->time
1554 }
1555
1556 *postpone = \&AnyEvent::postpone;
1557 *log = \&AnyEvent::log;
1558 };
1559 die if $@;
1560}
1561
1562BEGIN { _reset }
1563
1564package AnyEvent::Base;
1565
1566# default implementations for many methods
1567
1568sub time {
1569 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1570 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1571 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1572 *time = sub { Time::HiRes::time () };
1573 *AE::time = \& Time::HiRes::time ;
1574 *now = \&time;
1575 AnyEvent::log 8 => "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.";
1576 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1577 } else {
1578 *time = sub { CORE::time };
1579 *AE::time = sub (){ CORE::time };
1580 *now = \&time;
1581 AnyEvent::log 3 => "using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!";
1582 }
1583 };
1584 die if $@;
1585
1586 &time
1587}
1588
1589*now = \&time;
1590sub now_update { }
1591
1592sub _poll {
1593 Carp::croak "$AnyEvent::MODEL does not support blocking waits. Caught";
1594}
1595
1596# default implementation for ->condvar
1597# in fact, the default should not be overwritten
1598
1599sub condvar {
1600 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1601 *condvar = sub {
1602 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1603 };
1604
1605 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
1606 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1607 };
1608 };
1609 die if $@;
1610
1611 &condvar
1612}
1613
1614# default implementation for ->signal
1615
1616our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1617
1618sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1619 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1620 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1621 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1622
1623 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1624}
1625
1626our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1627our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1628our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1629
1630# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1631# used by Impls
1632sub _sig_add() {
1633 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1634 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1635 my $NOW = AE::now;
1636
1637 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1638 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1639 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1640 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1641 ;
1642 }
1643}
1644
1645sub _sig_del {
1646 undef $SIG_TW
1647 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1648}
1649
1650our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1651 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1652 undef $_sig_name_init;
1653
1654 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1655 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1656 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1657 } else {
1658 require Config;
1659
1660 my %signame2num;
1661 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1662 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1663
1664 my @signum2name;
1665 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1666
1667 *sig2num = sub($) {
1668 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1669 };
1670 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1671 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1672 };
1673 }
1674 };
1675 die if $@;
1676};
1677
1678sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1679sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
1680
1681sub signal {
1682 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1683 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1684 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1685 AnyEvent::log 8 => "using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.";
1686
1687 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1688 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1689
1690 } else {
1691 AnyEvent::log 8 => "using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.";
1692
1693 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1694 require AnyEvent::Util;
1695
1696 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1697 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1698 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1699 } else {
1700 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1701 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1702 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1703
1704 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1705 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1706 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1707 }
1708
1709 $SIGPIPE_R
1710 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1711
1712 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1713 }
1714
1715 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1716 ? sub {
1717 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1718
1719 # async::interrupt
1720 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
1721 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1722
1723 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1724 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1725 signal => $signal,
1726 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1727 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1728 ;
1729
1730 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1731 }
1732 : sub {
1733 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1734
1735 # pure perl
1736 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1737 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1738
1739 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
833 last; 1740 local $!;
1741 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1742 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
834 } 1743 };
1744
1745 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1746 # so limit the signal latency.
1747 _sig_add;
1748
1749 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1750 }
1751 ;
1752
1753 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1754 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1755
1756 _sig_del;
1757
1758 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1759
1760 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1761 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1762 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1763 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1764 # instead of getting the default action.
1765 undef $SIG{$signal}
1766 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1767 };
1768
1769 *_signal_exec = sub {
1770 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1771 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1772 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1773
1774 while (%SIG_EV) {
1775 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1776 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1777 &$_ for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
835 } 1778 }
836
837 $MODEL
838 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
839 } 1779 }
840 } 1780 };
841
842 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
843 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
844
845 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
846 }
847
848 $MODEL
849}
850
851sub AUTOLOAD {
852 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
853
854 $method{$func}
855 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
856
857 detect unless $MODEL;
858
859 my $class = shift;
860 $class->$func (@_);
861}
862
863package AnyEvent::Base;
864
865# default implementation for ->condvar
866
867sub condvar {
868 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
869}
870
871# default implementation for ->signal
872
873our %SIG_CB;
874
875sub signal {
876 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
877
878 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
879 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
880
881 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
882 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
883 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} };
884 }; 1781 };
1782 die if $@;
885 1783
886 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1784 &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} 1785}
896 1786
897# default implementation for ->child 1787# default implementation for ->child
898 1788
899our %PID_CB; 1789our %PID_CB;
900our $CHLD_W; 1790our $CHLD_W;
901our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1791our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
902our $PID_IDLE;
903our $WNOHANG;
904 1792
905sub _child_wait { 1793# used by many Impl's
906 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1794sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1795 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1796
1797 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
907 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1798 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
908 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1799 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} 1800}
921 1801
922sub child { 1802sub child {
1803 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1804 *_sigchld = sub {
1805 my $pid;
1806
1807 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1808 while ($pid = waitpid -1, WNOHANG) > 0;
1809 };
1810
1811 *child = sub {
923 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1812 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
924 1813
925 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1814 my $pid = $arg{pid};
926 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1815 my $cb = $arg{cb};
927 1816
928 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1817 $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb+0} = $cb;
929 1818
930 unless ($WNOHANG) {
931 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
932 }
933
934 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1819 unless ($CHLD_W) {
935 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1820 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
936 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1821 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
937 &_sigchld; 1822 &_sigchld;
938 } 1823 }
939 1824
940 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1825 bless [$pid, $cb+0], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
941} 1826 };
942 1827
943sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1828 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
944 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1829 my ($pid, $icb) = @{$_[0]};
945 1830
946 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1831 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$icb};
947 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1832 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
948 1833
949 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1834 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1835 };
1836 };
1837 die if $@;
1838
1839 &child
1840}
1841
1842# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1843# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1844# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1845sub idle {
1846 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1847 *idle = sub {
1848 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1849
1850 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1851
1852 $rcb = sub {
1853 if ($cb) {
1854 $w = AE::time;
1855 &$cb;
1856 $w = AE::time - $w;
1857
1858 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1859 # within some limits
1860 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1861 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1862
1863 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1864 } else {
1865 # clean up...
1866 undef $w;
1867 undef $rcb;
1868 }
1869 };
1870
1871 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1872
1873 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1874 };
1875
1876 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1877 undef $${$_[0]};
1878 };
1879 };
1880 die if $@;
1881
1882 &idle
950} 1883}
951 1884
952package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1885package AnyEvent::CondVar;
953 1886
954our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1887our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
955 1888
1889# only to be used for subclassing
1890sub new {
1891 my $class = shift;
1892 bless AnyEvent->condvar (@_), $class
1893}
1894
956package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1895package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
957 1896
958use overload 1897#use overload
959 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1898# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
960 fallback => 1; 1899# fallback => 1;
1900
1901# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1902${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1903*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1904*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1905${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1906
1907our $WAITING;
961 1908
962sub _send { 1909sub _send {
963 # nop 1910 # nop
1911}
1912
1913sub _wait {
1914 AnyEvent->_poll until $_[0]{_ae_sent};
964} 1915}
965 1916
966sub send { 1917sub send {
967 my $cv = shift; 1918 my $cv = shift;
968 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_]; 1919 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
977 1928
978sub ready { 1929sub ready {
979 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1930 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
980} 1931}
981 1932
982sub _wait {
983 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
984}
985
986sub recv { 1933sub recv {
1934 unless ($_[0]{_ae_sent}) {
1935 $WAITING
1936 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait attempted";
1937
1938 local $WAITING = 1;
987 $_[0]->_wait; 1939 $_[0]->_wait;
1940 }
988 1941
989 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak}; 1942 $_[0]{_ae_croak}
990 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0] 1943 and Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1944
1945 wantarray
1946 ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} }
1947 : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
991} 1948}
992 1949
993sub cb { 1950sub cb {
994 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1951 my $cv = shift;
1952
1953 @_
1954 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1955 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1956 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1957
995 $_[0]{_ae_cb} 1958 $cv->{_ae_cb}
996} 1959}
997 1960
998sub begin { 1961sub begin {
999 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter}; 1962 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1000 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1963 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1005 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } }; 1968 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1006} 1969}
1007 1970
1008# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4 1971# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1009*broadcast = \&send; 1972*broadcast = \&send;
1010*wait = \&_wait; 1973*wait = \&recv;
1974
1975=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1976
1977In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1978caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1979the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1980checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1981development.
1982
1983As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1984executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1985also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1986program.
1987
1988The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1989within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1990$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1991so on.
1992
1993=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1994
1995AnyEvent supports a number of environment variables that tune the
1996runtime behaviour. They are usually evaluated when AnyEvent is
1997loaded, initialised, or a submodule that uses them is loaded. Many of
1998them also cause AnyEvent to load additional modules - for example,
1999C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP> causes the L<AnyEvent::Debug> module to be
2000loaded.
2001
2002All the environment variables documented here start with
2003C<PERL_ANYEVENT_>, which is what AnyEvent considers its own
2004namespace. Other modules are encouraged (but by no means required) to use
2005C<PERL_ANYEVENT_SUBMODULE> if they have registered the AnyEvent::Submodule
2006namespace on CPAN, for any submodule. For example, L<AnyEvent::HTTP> could
2007be expected to use C<PERL_ANYEVENT_HTTP_PROXY> (it should not access env
2008variables starting with C<AE_>, see below).
2009
2010All variables can also be set via the C<AE_> prefix, that is, instead
2011of setting C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> you can also set C<AE_VERBOSE>. In
2012case there is a clash btween anyevent and another program that uses
2013C<AE_something> you can set the corresponding C<PERL_ANYEVENT_something>
2014variable to the empty string, as those variables take precedence.
2015
2016When AnyEvent is first loaded, it copies all C<AE_xxx> env variables
2017to their C<PERL_ANYEVENT_xxx> counterpart unless that variable already
2018exists. If taint mode is on, then AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment
2019variables starting with C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> (or replace them
2020with C<undef> or the empty string, if the corresaponding C<AE_> variable
2021is set).
2022
2023The exact algorithm is currently:
2024
2025 1. if taint mode enabled, delete all PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz variables from %ENV
2026 2. copy over AE_xyz to PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz unless the latter alraedy exists
2027 3. if taint mode enabled, set all PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz variables to undef.
2028
2029This ensures that child processes will not see the C<AE_> variables.
2030
2031The following environment variables are currently known to AnyEvent:
2032
2033=over 4
2034
2035=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
2036
2037By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
2038conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
2039talkative. If you want to do more than just set the global logging level
2040you should have a look at C<PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG>, which allows much more
2041complex specifications.
2042
2043When set to C<5> or higher (warn), causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
2044conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
2045C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>, or a guard callback throwing an exception - this
2046is the minimum recommended level.
2047
2048When set to C<7> or higher (info), cause AnyEvent to report which event model it
2049chooses.
2050
2051When set to C<8> or higher (debug), then AnyEvent will report extra information on
2052which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
2053
2054=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG>
2055
2056Accepts rather complex logging specifications. For example, you could log
2057all C<debug> messages of some module to stderr, warnings and above to
2058stderr, and errors and above to syslog, with:
2059
2060 PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG=Some::Module=debug,+log:filter=warn,+%syslog:%syslog=error,syslog
2061
2062For the rather extensive details, see L<AnyEvent::Log>.
2063
2064This variable is evaluated when AnyEvent (or L<AnyEvent::Log>) is loaded,
2065so will take effect even before AnyEvent has initialised itself.
2066
2067Note that specifying this environment variable causes the L<AnyEvent::Log>
2068module to be loaded, while C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> does not, so only
2069using the latter saves a few hundred kB of memory until the first message
2070is being logged.
2071
2072=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
2073
2074AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
2075argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
2076will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
2077check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
2078it will croak.
2079
2080In other words, enables "strict" mode.
2081
2082Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
2083>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
2084C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
2085can be very useful, however.
2086
2087=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL>
2088
2089If this env variable is set, then its contents will be interpreted by
2090C<AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport> (after replacing every occurance of
2091C<$$> by the process pid) and an C<AnyEvent::Debug::shell> is bound on
2092that port. The shell object is saved in C<$AnyEvent::Debug::SHELL>.
2093
2094This happens when the first watcher is created.
2095
2096For example, to bind a debug shell on a unix domain socket in
2097F<< /tmp/debug<pid>.sock >>, you could use this:
2098
2099 PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL=/tmp/debug\$\$.sock perlprog
2100
2101Note that creating sockets in F</tmp> is very unsafe on multiuser
2102systems.
2103
2104=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP>
2105
2106Can be set to C<0>, C<1> or C<2> and enables wrapping of all watchers for
2107debugging purposes. See C<AnyEvent::Debug::wrap> for details.
2108
2109=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
2110
2111This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
2112auto detection and -probing kicks in.
2113
2114It normally is a string consisting entirely of ASCII letters (e.g. C<EV>
2115or C<IOAsync>). The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended and the
2116resulting module name is loaded and - if the load was successful - used as
2117event model backend. If it fails to load then AnyEvent will proceed with
2118auto detection and -probing.
2119
2120If the string ends with C<::> instead (e.g. C<AnyEvent::Impl::EV::>) then
2121nothing gets prepended and the module name is used as-is (hint: C<::> at
2122the end of a string designates a module name and quotes it appropriately).
2123
2124For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Loop::Perl>) you
2125could start your program like this:
2126
2127 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
2128
2129=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
2130
2131Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
2132for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
2133of auto probing).
2134
2135Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
2136current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
2137used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
2138list.
2139
2140This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
2141against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
2142small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
2143
2144Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
2145but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
2146- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
2147addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
2148IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
2149
2150=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_HOSTS>
2151
2152This variable, if specified, overrides the F</etc/hosts> file used by
2153L<AnyEvent::Socket>C<::resolve_sockaddr>, i.e. hosts aliases will be read
2154from that file instead.
2155
2156=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
2157
2158Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension for
2159DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, especially
2160when DNSSEC is involved, but some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS
2161packets, which is why it is off by default.
2162
2163Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
2164EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
2165
2166=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
2167
2168The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
2169will create in parallel.
2170
2171=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
2172
2173The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
2174resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
2175sent to the DNS server.
2176
2177=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
2178
2179The absolute path to a F<resolv.conf>-style file to use instead of
2180F</etc/resolv.conf> (or the OS-specific configuration) in the default
2181resolver, or the empty string to select the default configuration.
2182
2183=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
2184
2185When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
2186L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
2187variables are nonempty, they will be used to specify CA certificate
2188locations instead of a system-dependent default.
2189
2190=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
2191
2192When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
2193loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
2194
2195=back
1011 2196
1012=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 2197=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1013 2198
1014This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 2199This 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 2200a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1049 2234
1050I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 2235I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
1051condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 2236condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
1052C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 2237C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
1053not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 2238not 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 2239
1123=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 2240=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
1124 2241
1125The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 2242The 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 2243to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1139 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 2256 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
1140 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 2257 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1141 }, 2258 },
1142 ); 2259 );
1143 2260
1144 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
1145
1146 sub new_timer {
1147 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2261 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
1148 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2262 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
1149 &new_timer; # and restart the time
1150 }); 2263 });
1151 }
1152
1153 new_timer; # create first timer
1154 2264
1155 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2265 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
1156 2266
1157=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2267=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1158 2268
1231 2341
1232The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2342The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
1233that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2343that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
1234whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2344whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
1235and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2345and 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 2346problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
1237random callback. 2347random callback.
1238 2348
1239All of this enables the following usage styles: 2349All of this enables the following usage styles:
1240 2350
12411. Blocking: 23511. Blocking:
1289through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2399through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1290timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2400timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1291which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2401which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1292 2402
1293Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2403Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1294distribution. 2404distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2405for the EV and Perl backends only.
1295 2406
1296=head3 Explanation of the columns 2407=head3 Explanation of the columns
1297 2408
1298I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2409I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1299different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2410different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1320watcher. 2431watcher.
1321 2432
1322=head3 Results 2433=head3 Results
1323 2434
1324 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2435 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1325 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2436 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 2437 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 2438 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 2439 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 2440 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 2441 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2442 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2443 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 2444 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 2445 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 2446 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 2447 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1335 2448
1336=head3 Discussion 2449=head3 Discussion
1337 2450
1338The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2451The 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) 2452well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1351benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2464benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1352EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2465EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1353cycles with POE. 2466cycles with POE.
1354 2467
1355C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2468C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1356maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2469maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2470overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2471slower, 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 2472any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1358natively.
1359 2473
1360The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2474The 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 2475constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1362interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2476interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1363adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2477adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1364performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2478performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1365them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2479them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1366 2480
1367The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2481The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1368cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2482cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2483
2484C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2485when using its pure perl backend.
1369 2486
1370C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2487C<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 2488faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1372C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2489C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1373watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2490watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1408(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable 2525(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1409performance with or without AnyEvent. 2526performance with or without AnyEvent.
1410 2527
1411=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of 2528=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1412the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV 2529the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1413adds AnyEvent significant overhead. 2530does AnyEvent add significant overhead.
1414 2531
1415=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or 2532=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1416reasonable memory usage. 2533reasonable memory usage.
1417 2534
1418=back 2535=back
1434In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2551In 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 2552(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1436connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2553connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1437 2554
1438Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2555Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1439distribution. 2556distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2557for the EV and Perl backends only.
1440 2558
1441=head3 Explanation of the columns 2559=head3 Explanation of the columns
1442 2560
1443I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2561I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1444each server has a read and write socket end). 2562each server has a read and write socket end).
1451it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2569it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1452a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2570a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1453 2571
1454=head3 Results 2572=head3 Results
1455 2573
1456 name sockets create request 2574 name sockets create request
1457 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2575 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1458 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2576 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1459 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2577 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1460 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2578 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2579 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2580 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1461 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2581 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1462 2582
1463=head3 Discussion 2583=head3 Discussion
1464 2584
1465This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2585This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1466particular event loop. 2586particular event loop.
1468EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2588EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1469is relatively high, though. 2589is relatively high, though.
1470 2590
1471Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2591Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1472loops Event and Glib. 2592loops Event and Glib.
2593
2594IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2595good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1473 2596
1474Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2597Event 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 2598understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1476the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2599the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1477uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2600uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1540=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2663=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1541watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2664watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1542 2665
1543=back 2666=back
1544 2667
2668=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2669
2670Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2671could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2672simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2673shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2674fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2675very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2676baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2677
2678The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2679connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2680creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2681test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2682benchmark nevertheless.
2683
2684 name runtime
2685 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2686 + optimized 0.122 sec
2687 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2688 + optimized 0.138 sec
2689 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2690 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2691 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2692 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2693
2694 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2695 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2696 +state machine 0.134 sec
2697
2698The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2699benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2700defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2701written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2702AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2703resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2704generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2705connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2706
2707The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2708offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2709Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2710non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2711
2712As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2713hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2714backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2715
2716And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2717slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2718higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2719it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2720
2721The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2722F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2723part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2724
2725
2726=head1 SIGNALS
2727
2728AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2729
2730=over 4
2731
2732=item SIGCHLD
2733
2734A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2735emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2736event loops install a similar handler.
2737
2738Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2739AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2740
2741=item SIGPIPE
2742
2743A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2744when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2745
2746The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2747on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2748badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2749program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2750some random socket.
2751
2752The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2753that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2754
2755Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2756
2757=back
2758
2759=cut
2760
2761undef $SIG{CHLD}
2762 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2763
2764$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2765 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2766
2767=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2768
2769One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2770its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2771
2772That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2773modules if they are installed.
2774
2775This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2776affect AnyEvent's operation.
2777
2778=over 4
2779
2780=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2781
2782This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2783my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2784signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2785delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2786catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2787C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2788
2789If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2790catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2791will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2792battery life on laptops).
2793
2794This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2795that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2796
2797Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2798and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2799(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2800does nothing for those backends.
2801
2802=item L<EV>
2803
2804This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2805event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2806loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2807the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2808automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2809can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2810C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2811L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2812
2813If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2814then this module will do nothing for you.
2815
2816=item L<Guard>
2817
2818The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2819C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2820lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2821purely used for performance.
2822
2823=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2824
2825One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2826via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2827advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2828
2829=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2830
2831Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2832worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2833the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2834
2835=item L<Time::HiRes>
2836
2837This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2838chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2839pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Loop>) will additionally load it to
2840try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2841
2842=back
2843
1545 2844
1546=head1 FORK 2845=head1 FORK
1547 2846
1548Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2847Most 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> 2848because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
1550calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2849- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2850are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2851one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2852continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2853what you are doing).
2854
2855This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2856the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2857usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2858is loaded).
1551 2859
1552If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2860If 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. 2861watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2862something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2863
2864The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2865is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2866fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2867watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2868parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2869to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2870preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2871to have another binary.
1554 2872
1555 2873
1556=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2874=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1557 2875
1558AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2876AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1563specified in the variable. 2881specified in the variable.
1564 2882
1565You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2883You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1566before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2884before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1567 2885
1568 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2886 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1569 2887
1570 use AnyEvent; 2888 use AnyEvent;
1571 2889
1572Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2890Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1573be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2891be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1574probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2892probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2893$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2894
2895Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2896C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2897enabled.
2898
2899
2900=head1 BUGS
2901
2902Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2903to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2904and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2905memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2906pronounced).
1575 2907
1576 2908
1577=head1 SEE ALSO 2909=head1 SEE ALSO
1578 2910
1579Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2911Tutorial/Introduction: L<AnyEvent::Intro>.
1580 2912
1581Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, 2913FAQ: L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
1582L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2914
2915Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util> (misc. grab-bag), L<AnyEvent::Log>
2916(simply logging).
2917
2918Development/Debugging: L<AnyEvent::Strict> (stricter checking),
2919L<AnyEvent::Debug> (interactive shell, watcher tracing).
2920
2921Supported event modules: L<AnyEvent::Loop>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>,
2922L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>,
2923L<Qt>, L<POE>, L<FLTK>.
1583 2924
1584Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2925Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1585L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2926L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1586L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2927L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
2928L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>,
1587L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2929L<AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK>.
1588 2930
1589Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2931Non-blocking handles, pipes, stream sockets, TCP clients and
1590servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2932servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1591 2933
1592Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2934Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1593 2935
1594Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2936Thread support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
1595 2937
1596Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2938Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>,
2939L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1597 2940
1598 2941
1599=head1 AUTHOR 2942=head1 AUTHOR
1600 2943
1601 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2944 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1602 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2945 http://home.schmorp.de/
1603 2946
1604=cut 2947=cut
1605 2948
16061 29491
1607 2950

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