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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - events independent of event loop implementation
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { ... }); 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
12 14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
13 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... }); 16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
14 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ... 17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
15 18
16 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time 19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
17 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time. 20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
18 21
22 # POSIX signal
19 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... }); 23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
20 24
25 # child process exit
21 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { 26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
22 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
23 ... 28 ...
24 }); 29 });
30
31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
25 33
26 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
27 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
28 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
29 # use a condvar in callback mode: 37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
32=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL 40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
33 41
34This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested 42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
35in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the 43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
36L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage. 44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
45
46=head1 SUPPORT
47
48There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
49channel, too.
50
51See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
52Respository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
37 53
38=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 54=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
39 55
40Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 56Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
41nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 57nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
137These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 153These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
138creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 154creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
139callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 155callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
140is in control). 156is in control).
141 157
158Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
159potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
160callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
161Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
162widely between event loops.
163
142To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 164To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
143variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 165variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
144to it). 166to it).
145 167
146All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 168All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
162=head2 I/O WATCHERS 184=head2 I/O WATCHERS
163 185
164You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 186You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
165with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 187with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
166 188
167C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch for events 189C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
168(AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file handle). C<poll> 190for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
191handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
192non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
193most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
194or block devices.
195
169must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a watcher 196C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
170waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively. C<cb> is the 197watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
198
171callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready. 199C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
172 200
173Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 201Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
174presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 202presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
175callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 203callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
176 204
308In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you 336In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
309can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the 337can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
310difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into 338difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
311account. 339account.
312 340
341=item AnyEvent->now_update
342
343Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
344the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
345AnyEvent->now >>, above).
346
347When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
348this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
349might affect timers and time-outs.
350
351When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
352event loop's idea of "current time".
353
354Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
355
313=back 356=back
314 357
315=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 358=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
316 359
317You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 360You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
326invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means 369invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
327that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 370that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
328but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 371but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
329 372
330The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 373The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
331between multiple watchers. 374between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
375interrupt your program at bad times.
332 376
333This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 377This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
334directly will likely not work correctly. 378so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
379correctly.
335 380
336Example: exit on SIGINT 381Example: exit on SIGINT
337 382
338 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 383 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
339 384
385=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
386
387Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
388callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot do
389race-free signal handling in perl. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, but
390in some cases, signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might
391be delayed is specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10
392seconds). This variable can be changed only before the first signal
393watcher is created, and should be left alone otherwise. Higher values
394will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
395saving. All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
396L<Async::Interrupt> module. This will not work with inherently broken
397event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib> (and not with L<POE>
398currently, as POE does it's own workaround with one-second latency). With
399those, you just have to suffer the delays.
400
340=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 401=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
341 402
342You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 403You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
343 404
344The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 405The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
345watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 406watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
346as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 407the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
347signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 408any trace events (stopped/continued).
348and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 409
349you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 410The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
411waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
412callback arguments.
413
414This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
415and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
416random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
417C<system>, is just fine).
350 418
351There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 419There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
352I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 420I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
353have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 421have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
354 422
355Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 423Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
424see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
356event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 425that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
357loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 426the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
427pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
428start the watcher.
358 429
359This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 430This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
360AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 431thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
361C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 432watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
433C<AnyEvent::detect>).
434
435As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
436emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
437mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
362 438
363Example: fork a process and wait for it 439Example: fork a process and wait for it
364 440
365 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 441 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
366 442
376 ); 452 );
377 453
378 # do something else, then wait for process exit 454 # do something else, then wait for process exit
379 $done->recv; 455 $done->recv;
380 456
457=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
458
459Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
460to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
461"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
462attention by the event loop".
463
464Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
465better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
466events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
467
468Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
469EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
470will simply call the callback "from time to time".
471
472Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
473program is otherwise idle:
474
475 my @lines; # read data
476 my $idle_w;
477 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
478 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
479
480 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
481 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
482 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
483 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
484 print "handled when idle: $line";
485 } else {
486 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
487 undef $idle_w;
488 }
489 });
490 });
491
381=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 492=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
382 493
383If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 494If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
384require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 495require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
385will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 496will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
386 497
387AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 498AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
388will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 499loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
389 500
390The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 501The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
391because they represent a condition that must become true. 502because they represent a condition that must become true.
392 503
504Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
505
393Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 506Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
394>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 507>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
395
396C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 508C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
397becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not 509becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
398the results). 510the results).
399 511
400After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 512After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
405Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 517Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
406optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points 518optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
407in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet 519in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
408another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 520another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
409used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 521used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
410a result. 522a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a promise to
523compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
411 524
412Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 525Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
413for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 526for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
414then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 527then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
415availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 528availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
449 after => 1, 562 after => 1,
450 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 563 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
451 ); 564 );
452 565
453 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 566 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
454 # calls send 567 # calls -<send
455 $result_ready->recv; 568 $result_ready->recv;
456 569
457Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 570Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
458condition variables are also code references. 571variables are also callable directly.
459 572
460 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 573 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
461 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 574 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
462 $done->recv; 575 $done->recv;
463 576
469 582
470 ... 583 ...
471 584
472 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv; 585 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
473 586
474And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the 587And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
475results are available: 588results are available:
476 589
477 $couchdb->info->cb (sub { 590 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
478 my @info = $_[0]->recv; 591 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
479 }); 592 });
497immediately from within send. 610immediately from within send.
498 611
499Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 612Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
500future C<< ->recv >> calls. 613future C<< ->recv >> calls.
501 614
502Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 615Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
503(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling 616they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
504C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle 617C<send>.
505overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
506instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
507support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
508invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
509example).
510 618
511=item $cv->croak ($error) 619=item $cv->croak ($error)
512 620
513Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 621Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
514C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 622C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
515 623
516This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 624This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
517user/consumer. 625user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
626delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
627diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
628deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
629the problem.
518 630
519=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 631=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
520 632
521=item $cv->end 633=item $cv->end
522
523These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
524 634
525These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 635These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
526one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 636one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
527to use a condition variable for the whole process. 637to use a condition variable for the whole process.
528 638
530C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end 640C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
531>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback 641>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
532is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no 642is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
533callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 643callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
534 644
535Let's clarify this with the ping example: 645You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
646sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
647condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
648
649Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
650STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
651close before activating a condvar:
652
653 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
654
655 $cv->begin; # first watcher
656 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
657 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
658 or $cv->end;
659 });
660
661 $cv->begin; # second watcher
662 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
663 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
664 or $cv->end;
665 });
666
667 $cv->recv;
668
669This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
670one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
671sending.
672
673The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
674there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
675begung can potentially be zero:
536 676
537 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 677 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
538 678
539 my %result; 679 my %result;
540 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 680 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
560loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 700loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
561to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 701to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
562C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop 702C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
563doesn't execute once). 703doesn't execute once).
564 704
565This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 705This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
566use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end> 706potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
567is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 707the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
568C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>. 708subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
709call C<end>.
569 710
570=back 711=back
571 712
572=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 713=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
573 714
589function will call C<croak>. 730function will call C<croak>.
590 731
591In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 732In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
592in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 733in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
593 734
735Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
736event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
737>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
738condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
739L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
740any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
741
594Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 742Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
595(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 743(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
596using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 744using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
597caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 745caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
598condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 746condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
599callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 747callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
600while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 748while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
601 749
602Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
603sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
604multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
605can supply.
606
607The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
608fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
609versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
610C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
611coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
612
613You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and 750You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
614only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 751only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
615time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking 752time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
616waits otherwise. 753waits otherwise.
617 754
630variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time 767variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
631is guaranteed not to block. 768is guaranteed not to block.
632 769
633=back 770=back
634 771
772=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
773
774The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
775
776=over 4
777
778=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
779
780EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
781use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
782that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
783available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
784
785 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
786 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
787 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
788
789=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
790
791These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
792is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
793them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
794when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
795create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
796
797 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
798 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
799 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
800 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
801
802=item Backends with special needs.
803
804Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
805otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
806instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
807everything should just work.
808
809 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
810
811Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
812architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
813is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
814it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
815L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
816
817 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
818
819=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
820
821Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
822
823There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
824
825B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
826use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
827polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
828consider for AnyEvent.
829
830B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
831backend, so it can be supported through POE.
832
833AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
834load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
835in which case everything will be automatic.
836
837=back
838
635=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 839=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
636 840
841These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
842write AnyEvent extension modules.
843
637=over 4 844=over 4
638 845
639=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 846=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
640 847
641Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 848Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
849backend has been autodetected.
850
642contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 851Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
643Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 852name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
644C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 853of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
645AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 854case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
646 855will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
647The known classes so far are:
648
649 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
650 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
651 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
652 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
653 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
654 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
655 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
656 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
657
658There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
659watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
660POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
661second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
662AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
663it's adaptor.
664
665AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
666autodetecting them.
667 856
668=item AnyEvent::detect 857=item AnyEvent::detect
669 858
670Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 859Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
671if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 860if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
672have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 861have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
673runtime. 862runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
863
864If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
865created, use C<post_detect>.
674 866
675=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 867=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
676 868
677Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 869Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
678autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 870autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
679 871
872The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
873(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
874created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
875other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
876L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
877
878The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
879event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
880and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
881avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
882
680If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 883If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
681that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 884that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
885C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
682L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 886a case where this is useful.
887
888Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
889C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
890
891 our WATCHER;
892
893 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
894 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
895 };
896
897 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
898 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
899 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
900 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
901
902 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
683 903
684=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 904=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
685 905
686If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 906If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
687before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 907before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
688the event loop has been chosen. 908the event loop has been chosen.
689 909
690You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 910You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
691if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 911if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
692and the array will be ignored. 912array will be ignored.
693 913
694Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 914Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
915it,as it takes care of these details.
916
917This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
918when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
919not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
920into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
695 921
696=back 922=back
697 923
698=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 924=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
699 925
754 980
755 981
756=head1 OTHER MODULES 982=head1 OTHER MODULES
757 983
758The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 984The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
759AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 985AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
760in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 986modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
761available via CPAN. 987come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
762 988
763=over 4 989=over 4
764 990
765=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 991=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
766 992
775 1001
776=item L<AnyEvent::Handle> 1002=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
777 1003
778Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes, 1004Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
779supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and 1005supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
780non-blocking SSL/TLS. 1006non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
781 1007
782=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 1008=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
783 1009
784Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 1010Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
785 1011
813 1039
814=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD> 1040=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
815 1041
816A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information. 1042A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
817 1043
1044=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
1045
1046AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
1047
1048=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
1049
1050AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1051Net::XMPP2>.
1052
818=item L<AnyEvent::IGS> 1053=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
819 1054
820A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by 1055A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
821L<App::IGS>). 1056L<App::IGS>).
822 1057
823=item L<Net::IRC3>
824
825AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
826
827=item L<Net::XMPP2>
828
829AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
830
831=item L<Net::FCP> 1058=item L<Net::FCP>
832 1059
833AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace 1060AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
834of AnyEvent. 1061of AnyEvent.
835 1062
839 1066
840=item L<Coro> 1067=item L<Coro>
841 1068
842Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1069Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
843 1070
844=item L<IO::Lambda>
845
846The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
847
848=back 1071=back
849 1072
850=cut 1073=cut
851 1074
852package AnyEvent; 1075package AnyEvent;
853 1076
1077# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
1078sub common_sense {
854no warnings; 1079 # no warnings
1080 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS};
855use strict qw(vars subs); 1081 # use strict vars subs
1082 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1083}
856 1084
1085BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1086
857use Carp; 1087use Carp ();
858 1088
859our $VERSION = 4.233; 1089our $VERSION = 4.86;
860our $MODEL; 1090our $MODEL;
861 1091
862our $AUTOLOAD; 1092our $AUTOLOAD;
863our @ISA; 1093our @ISA;
864 1094
865our @REGISTRY; 1095our @REGISTRY;
866 1096
867our $WIN32; 1097our $WIN32;
868 1098
1099our $VERBOSE;
1100
869BEGIN { 1101BEGIN {
870 my $win32 = ! ! ($^O =~ /mswin32/i); 1102 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
871 eval "sub WIN32(){ $win32 }"; 1103 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
872}
873 1104
1105 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1106 if ${^TAINT};
1107
874our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1108 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1109
1110}
1111
1112our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
875 1113
876our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1114our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
877 1115
878{ 1116{
879 my $idx; 1117 my $idx;
887 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1125 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
888 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1126 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
889 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1127 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
890 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1128 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
891 # and is usually faster 1129 # and is usually faster
892 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
893 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers 1130 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
894 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1131 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1132 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
895 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1133 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
896 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1134 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
897 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1135 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
898 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1136 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1137 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1138 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1139 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1140 # obvious default class.
1141# [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1142# [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1143# [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
899); 1144);
900 1145
901our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer time now signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1146our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1147 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
902 1148
903our @post_detect; 1149our @post_detect;
904 1150
905sub post_detect(&) { 1151sub post_detect(&) {
906 my ($cb) = @_; 1152 my ($cb) = @_;
907 1153
908 if ($MODEL) { 1154 if ($MODEL) {
909 $cb->(); 1155 $cb->();
910 1156
911 1 1157 undef
912 } else { 1158 } else {
913 push @post_detect, $cb; 1159 push @post_detect, $cb;
914 1160
915 defined wantarray 1161 defined wantarray
916 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 1162 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
917 : () 1163 : ()
918 } 1164 }
919} 1165}
920 1166
921sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1167sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
922 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect; 1168 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
923} 1169}
924 1170
925sub detect() { 1171sub detect() {
926 unless ($MODEL) { 1172 unless ($MODEL) {
927 no strict 'refs';
928 local $SIG{__DIE__}; 1173 local $SIG{__DIE__};
929 1174
930 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1175 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
931 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1176 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
932 if (eval "require $model") { 1177 if (eval "require $model") {
933 $MODEL = $model; 1178 $MODEL = $model;
934 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1179 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
935 } else { 1180 } else {
936 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1181 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
937 } 1182 }
938 } 1183 }
939 1184
940 # check for already loaded models 1185 # check for already loaded models
941 unless ($MODEL) { 1186 unless ($MODEL) {
942 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1187 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
943 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1188 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
944 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1189 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
945 if (eval "require $model") { 1190 if (eval "require $model") {
946 $MODEL = $model; 1191 $MODEL = $model;
947 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1192 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
948 last; 1193 last;
949 } 1194 }
950 } 1195 }
951 } 1196 }
952 1197
957 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1202 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
958 if (eval "require $package" 1203 if (eval "require $package"
959 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 1204 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
960 and eval "require $model") { 1205 and eval "require $model") {
961 $MODEL = $model; 1206 $MODEL = $model;
962 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1207 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
963 last; 1208 last;
964 } 1209 }
965 } 1210 }
966 1211
967 $MODEL 1212 $MODEL
968 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1213 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
969 } 1214 }
970 } 1215 }
971 1216
972 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1217 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
973 1218
983 1228
984sub AUTOLOAD { 1229sub AUTOLOAD {
985 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1230 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
986 1231
987 $method{$func} 1232 $method{$func}
988 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1233 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
989 1234
990 detect unless $MODEL; 1235 detect unless $MODEL;
991 1236
992 my $class = shift; 1237 my $class = shift;
993 $class->$func (@_); 1238 $class->$func (@_);
994} 1239}
995 1240
996# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends 1241# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
997# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually 1242# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
998# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one). 1243# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
999sub _dupfh($$$$) { 1244sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1000 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_; 1245 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1001 1246
1002 require Fcntl;
1003
1004 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't 1247 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1005 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<") 1248 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1006 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1007 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1008 1249
1009 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh 1250 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1010 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!"; 1251 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1011 1252
1012 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases 1253 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1013 1254
1014 ($fh2, $rw) 1255 ($fh2, $rw)
1015} 1256}
1016 1257
1017package AnyEvent::Base; 1258package AnyEvent::Base;
1018 1259
1019# default implementation for now and time 1260# default implementations for many methods
1020 1261
1021BEGIN { 1262sub _time {
1263 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1022 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); time (); 1") { 1264 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1265 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1023 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time; 1266 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1024 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())... 1267 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1025 } else { 1268 } else {
1269 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1026 *_time = \&CORE::time; # epic fail 1270 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1027 } 1271 }
1272
1273 &_time
1028} 1274}
1029 1275
1030sub time { _time } 1276sub time { _time }
1031sub now { _time } 1277sub now { _time }
1278sub now_update { }
1032 1279
1033# default implementation for ->condvar 1280# default implementation for ->condvar
1034 1281
1035sub condvar { 1282sub condvar {
1036 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar:: 1283 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1037} 1284}
1038 1285
1039# default implementation for ->signal 1286# default implementation for ->signal
1040 1287
1041our %SIG_CB; 1288our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1289our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1290our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1291our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1042 1292
1293sub _signal_exec {
1294 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1295 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1296 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 9;
1297
1298 while (%SIG_EV) {
1299 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1300 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1301 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1302 }
1303 }
1304}
1305
1306# install a dumym wakeupw atcher to reduce signal catching latency
1307sub _sig_add() {
1308 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1309 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1310 my $NOW = AnyEvent->now;
1311
1312 $SIG_TW = AnyEvent->timer (
1313 after => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1314 interval => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1315 cb => sub { }, # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1316 );
1317 }
1318}
1319
1320sub _sig_del {
1321 undef $SIG_TW
1322 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1323}
1324
1043sub signal { 1325sub _signal {
1044 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1326 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1045 1327
1046 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1328 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
1047 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1329 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
1048 1330
1049 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1331 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1332
1333 if ($HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT) {
1334 # async::interrupt
1335
1336 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= do {
1337 my $asy = new Async::Interrupt
1338 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1339 signal => $signal,
1340 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1341 ;
1342 $asy->pipe_autodrain (0);
1343
1344 $asy
1345 };
1346
1347 } else {
1348 # pure perl
1349
1050 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1350 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1051 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1351 local $!;
1352 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1353 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1354 };
1355
1356 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1357 # so limit the signal latency.
1358 _sig_add;
1052 }; 1359 }
1053 1360
1054 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1361 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1055} 1362}
1056 1363
1364sub signal {
1365 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1366 if (!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT} && eval "use Async::Interrupt 0.6 (); 1") {
1367 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1368
1369 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1;
1370 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1371 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1372
1373 } else {
1374 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1375
1376 require Fcntl;
1377
1378 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1379 require AnyEvent::Util;
1380
1381 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1382 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1383 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1384 } else {
1385 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1386 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1387 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1388
1389 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1390 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1391 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1392 }
1393
1394 $SIGPIPE_R
1395 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1396
1397 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1398 }
1399
1400 *signal = \&_signal;
1401 &signal
1402}
1403
1057sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1404sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
1058 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1405 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1059 1406
1407 _sig_del;
1408
1060 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1409 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1061 1410
1411 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1412 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1413 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1414 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1415 # instead of getting the default action.
1416 undef $SIG{$signal}
1062 delete $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1417 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1063} 1418}
1064 1419
1065# default implementation for ->child 1420# default implementation for ->child
1066 1421
1067our %PID_CB; 1422our %PID_CB;
1068our $CHLD_W; 1423our $CHLD_W;
1069our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1424our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1070our $PID_IDLE;
1071our $WNOHANG; 1425our $WNOHANG;
1072 1426
1073sub _child_wait { 1427sub _sigchld {
1074 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1428 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
1429 $_->($pid, $?)
1075 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1430 for values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} },
1076 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1431 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1077 } 1432 }
1078
1079 undef $PID_IDLE;
1080}
1081
1082sub _sigchld {
1083 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
1084 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
1085 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1086 &_child_wait;
1087 });
1088} 1433}
1089 1434
1090sub child { 1435sub child {
1091 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1436 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1092 1437
1093 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1438 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
1094 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1439 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
1095 1440
1096 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1441 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1097 1442
1098 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1443 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
1444 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
1445 ? 1
1099 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1446 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
1100 }
1101 1447
1102 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1448 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1103 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1449 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
1104 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1450 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1105 &_sigchld; 1451 &_sigchld;
1106 } 1452 }
1107 1453
1108 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1454 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1109} 1455}
1110 1456
1111sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1457sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
1112 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1458 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1113 1459
1114 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1460 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
1115 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1461 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1116 1462
1117 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1463 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1118} 1464}
1119 1465
1466# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1467# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1468# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1469sub idle {
1470 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1471
1472 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1473
1474 $rcb = sub {
1475 if ($cb) {
1476 $w = _time;
1477 &$cb;
1478 $w = _time - $w;
1479
1480 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1481 # within some limits
1482 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1483 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1484
1485 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1486 } else {
1487 # clean up...
1488 undef $w;
1489 undef $rcb;
1490 }
1491 };
1492
1493 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1494
1495 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1496}
1497
1498sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1499 undef $${$_[0]};
1500}
1501
1120package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1502package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1121 1503
1122our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1504our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1123 1505
1124package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1506package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1125 1507
1126use overload 1508#use overload
1127 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1509# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1128 fallback => 1; 1510# fallback => 1;
1511
1512# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1513${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1514*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1515*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1516${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1517
1518our $WAITING;
1129 1519
1130sub _send { 1520sub _send {
1131 # nop 1521 # nop
1132} 1522}
1133 1523
1146sub ready { 1536sub ready {
1147 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1537 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1148} 1538}
1149 1539
1150sub _wait { 1540sub _wait {
1541 $WAITING
1542 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1543 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1544
1545 local $WAITING = 1;
1151 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent}; 1546 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1152} 1547}
1153 1548
1154sub recv { 1549sub recv {
1155 $_[0]->_wait; 1550 $_[0]->_wait;
1196so on. 1591so on.
1197 1592
1198=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 1593=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1199 1594
1200The following environment variables are used by this module or its 1595The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1201submodules: 1596submodules.
1597
1598Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1599C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1600enabled.
1202 1601
1203=over 4 1602=over 4
1204 1603
1205=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> 1604=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1206 1605
1213C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>. 1612C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1214 1613
1215When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event 1614When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1216model it chooses. 1615model it chooses.
1217 1616
1617When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1618which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1619
1218=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> 1620=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1219 1621
1220AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough 1622AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1221argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value 1623argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1222will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly 1624will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1223check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems 1625check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1224it will croak. 1626it will croak.
1225 1627
1226In other words, enables "strict" mode. 1628In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1227 1629
1228Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in 1630Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1229production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while 1631>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1230developing programs can be very useful, however. 1632C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1633can be very useful, however.
1231 1634
1232=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL> 1635=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1233 1636
1234This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before 1637This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1235auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting 1638auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1256used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the 1659used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1257list. 1660list.
1258 1661
1259This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks 1662This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1260against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely 1663against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1261small, as the program has to handle connection errors already- 1664small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1262 1665
1263Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6, 1666Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1264but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4> 1667but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1265- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6 1668- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1266addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or 1669addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1278 1681
1279=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS> 1682=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1280 1683
1281The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call> 1684The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1282will create in parallel. 1685will create in parallel.
1686
1687=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1688
1689The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1690resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1691sent to the DNS server.
1692
1693=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1694
1695The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1696configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1697default config will be used.
1698
1699=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1700
1701When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1702L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1703variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1704instead of a system-dependent default.
1705
1706=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1707
1708When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1709loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1283 1710
1284=back 1711=back
1285 1712
1286=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1713=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1287 1714
1526watcher. 1953watcher.
1527 1954
1528=head3 Results 1955=head3 Results
1529 1956
1530 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1957 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1531 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1958 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1532 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1959 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1533 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1960 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1534 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1961 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1535 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1962 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1536 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1963 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1964 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
1965 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1537 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1966 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1538 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1967 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1539 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1968 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1540 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1969 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1541 1970
1542=head3 Discussion 1971=head3 Discussion
1543 1972
1544The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1973The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1545well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1974well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1570performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 1999performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1571them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2000them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1572 2001
1573The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2002The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1574cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2003cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2004
2005C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2006when using its pure perl backend.
1575 2007
1576C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2008C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1577faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2009faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1578C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2010C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1579watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2011watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1657it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2089it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1658a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2090a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1659 2091
1660=head3 Results 2092=head3 Results
1661 2093
1662 name sockets create request 2094 name sockets create request
1663 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2095 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1664 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2096 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
2097 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
2098 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
1665 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2099 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1666 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2100 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1667 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2101 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1668 2102
1669=head3 Discussion 2103=head3 Discussion
1670 2104
1671This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2105This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1672particular event loop. 2106particular event loop.
1674EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2108EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1675is relatively high, though. 2109is relatively high, though.
1676 2110
1677Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2111Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1678loops Event and Glib. 2112loops Event and Glib.
2113
2114IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2115good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1679 2116
1680Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2117Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1681understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2118understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1682the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2119the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1683uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2120uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1746=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2183=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1747watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2184watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1748 2185
1749=back 2186=back
1750 2187
2188=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2189
2190Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2191could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2192simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2193shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2194fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2195very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2196baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2197
2198The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2199connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2200creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2201test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2202benchmark nevertheless.
2203
2204 name runtime
2205 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2206 + optimized 0.122 sec
2207 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2208 + optimized 0.138 sec
2209 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2210 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2211 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2212 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2213
2214 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2215 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2216 +state machine 0.134 sec
2217
2218The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2219benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2220defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2221written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2222AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2223resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2224generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2225connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2226
2227The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2228offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2229Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2230non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2231
2232As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2233hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2234backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2235
2236And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2237slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2238large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2239in a non-blocking way.
2240
2241The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2242F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2243part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2244
2245
2246=head1 SIGNALS
2247
2248AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2249
2250=over 4
2251
2252=item SIGCHLD
2253
2254A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2255emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2256event loops install a similar handler.
2257
2258Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2259AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2260
2261=item SIGPIPE
2262
2263A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2264when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2265
2266The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2267on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2268badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2269program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2270some random socket.
2271
2272The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2273that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2274
2275Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2276
2277=back
2278
2279=cut
2280
2281undef $SIG{CHLD}
2282 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2283
2284$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2285 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2286
2287=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2288
2289One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2290it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2291
2292That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2293modules if they are installed.
2294
2295This section epxlains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2296affect AnyEvent's operetion.
2297
2298=over 4
2299
2300=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2301
2302This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2303my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2304signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2305delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2306catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2307C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2308
2309If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2310catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2311will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (And good for
2312battery life on laptops).
2313
2314This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2315that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2316
2317Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2318and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2319(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2320does nothing for those backends.
2321
2322=item L<EV>
2323
2324This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2325event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2326loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2327the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2328automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2329can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2330C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2331L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2332
2333=item L<Guard>
2334
2335The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2336C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2337lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2338purely used for performance.
2339
2340=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2341
2342This module is required when you want to read or write JSON data via
2343L<AnyEvent::Handle>. It is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2344advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2345
2346In fact, L<AnyEvent::Handle> will use L<JSON::XS> by default if it is
2347installed.
2348
2349=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2350
2351Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2352worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2353the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2354
2355=item L<Time::HiRes>
2356
2357This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2358chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2359pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2360try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2361
2362=back
2363
1751 2364
1752=head1 FORK 2365=head1 FORK
1753 2366
1754Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2367Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1755because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2368because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1756calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2369calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1757 2370
1758If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2371If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1759watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2372watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2373something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
1760 2374
1761 2375
1762=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2376=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1763 2377
1764AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2378AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1776 use AnyEvent; 2390 use AnyEvent;
1777 2391
1778Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2392Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1779be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2393be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1780probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and 2394probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
1781$ENV{PERL_ANYEGENT_STRICT}. 2395$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2396
2397Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2398C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2399enabled.
1782 2400
1783 2401
1784=head1 BUGS 2402=head1 BUGS
1785 2403
1786Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard 2404Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
1787to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10 2405to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
1788and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying 2406and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
1789mamleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as 2407memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
1790pronounced). 2408pronounced).
1791 2409
1792 2410
1793=head1 SEE ALSO 2411=head1 SEE ALSO
1794 2412
1798L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2416L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1799 2417
1800Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2418Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1801L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2419L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1802L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2420L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1803L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2421L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>.
1804 2422
1805Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2423Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1806servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2424servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1807 2425
1808Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2426Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1809 2427
1810Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2428Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2429L<Coro::Event>,
1811 2430
1812Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2431Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2432L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1813 2433
1814 2434
1815=head1 AUTHOR 2435=head1 AUTHOR
1816 2436
1817 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2437 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>

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