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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { ... }); 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
12 17
18 # one-shot or repeating timers
13 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... }); 19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
14 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ... 20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...);
15 21
16 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time 22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
17 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time. 23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
18 24
25 # POSIX signal
19 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... }); 26 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
20 27
28 # child process exit
21 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { 29 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
22 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 30 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
23 ... 31 ...
24 }); 32 });
33
34 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
35 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
25 36
26 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 37 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
27 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 38 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
28 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
29 # use a condvar in callback mode: 40 # use a condvar in callback mode:
32=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL 43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
33 44
34This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested 45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
35in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the 46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
36L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage. 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.
37 58
38=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 59=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
39 60
40Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 61Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
41nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 62nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
57module 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
58model you use. 79model you use.
59 80
60For 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
61actually 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
62like 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
63cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything 84cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
64that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your 85that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
65module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 86module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
66 87
67AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 88AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
68fine. 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
69with 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
70your 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
71too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 92your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all event models it
72event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those 93supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those use one of the
73use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops 94supported event loops. It is easy to add new event loops to AnyEvent, too,
74to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 95so it is future-proof).
75 96
76In 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
77model>, 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
78modules, 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
79follow. 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
80offering 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
81technically possible. 102technically possible.
82 103
83Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox 104Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
84of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100% 105of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
90useful) 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
91model, you should I<not> use this module. 112model, you should I<not> use this module.
92 113
93=head1 DESCRIPTION 114=head1 DESCRIPTION
94 115
95L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 116L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
96allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 117allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
97users 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
98peacefully at any one time). 119than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
99 120
100The 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>
101module. 122module.
102 123
103During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 124During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
104to 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
105following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, 126following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
106L<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
107L<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
108to 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
109adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 130available, the pure-perl L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> should always work, so
110be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 131the other two are not normally tried.
111found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
112very efficient, but should work everywhere.
113 132
114Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 133Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
115an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 134an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
116that model the default. For example: 135that model the default. For example:
117 136
119 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
120 139
121 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
122 141
123The 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
124starts 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,
125use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
126 146
127The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
128C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
129explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :) 149explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
130 150
139callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
140is in control). 160is in control).
141 161
142Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables> 162Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
143potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<< 163potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
144callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in 164callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practice in
145Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs 165Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
146widely between event loops. 166widely between event loops.
147 167
148To 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
149variable 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
150to it). 170to it).
151 171
152All 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.
153 173
154Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
155example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
156 176
157An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
158 178
159 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
160 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
161 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
162 }); 182 });
165my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
166declared. 186declared.
167 187
168=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
169 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
170You 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
171with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
172 198
173C<fh> is 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
174for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file 200for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
175handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which 201handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
176non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets, 202non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
177most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files 203most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
178or block devices. 204or block devices.
188 214
189The 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.
190You 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
191underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
192 218
193Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
194always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
195handles. 221handles.
196 222
197Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the 223Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
198watcher. 224watcher.
203 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
204 }); 230 });
205 231
206=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
207 233
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
208You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
209method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
210 244
211C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
212supported) 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
214 248
215Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
216presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
217callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
218 252
219The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another 253The callback will normally be invoked only once. If you specify another
220parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the 254parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
221callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional 255callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
222seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a 256seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
223false value, then it is treated as if it were missing. 257false value, then it is treated as if it were not specified at all.
224 258
225The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no 259The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
226attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is 260attempt is made to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
227only approximate. 261only approximate.
228 262
229Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds. 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
230 264
231 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
249 283
250While 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
251use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
252"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
253the 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
254fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
255 289
256AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
257about 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
258on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
259timers. 293timers.
260 294
261AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
262AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
284I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the 318I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
285function to call when you want to know the current time.> 319function to call when you want to know the current time.>
286 320
287This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and 321This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
288thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example, 322thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
289L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts). 323L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update its activity timeouts).
290 324
291The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact 325The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
292with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience. 326with your timing; you can skip it without a bad conscience.
293 327
294For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib> 328For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
295and L<EV> and the following set-up: 329and L<EV> and the following set-up:
296 330
297The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at 331The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callbacks at
298time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback, 332time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
299you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a 333you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
300second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires 334second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
301after three seconds. 335after three seconds.
302 336
320In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you 354In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
321can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the 355can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
322difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into 356difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
323account. 357account.
324 358
359=item AnyEvent->now_update
360
361Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
362the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
363AnyEvent->now >>, above).
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
325=back 381=back
326 382
327=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
328 386
329You 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
330I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl 388I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
331callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
332 390
338invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
339that 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,
340but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
341 399
342The 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
343between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
344 403
345This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
346directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
347 407
348Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
349 409
350 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
351 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$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
352=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
353 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
354You 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.
355 454
356The 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,
357watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when 456using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
358the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
359any trace events (stopped/continued). 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
459(stopped/continued).
360 460
361The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by 461The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
362waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher 462waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
363callback arguments. 463callback arguments.
364 464
369 469
370There 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
371I<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
372have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
373 473
374Not 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
375event 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
376loaded 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.
377 480
378This 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
379AnyEvent 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
380C<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 the latency and race problems
488mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
381 489
382Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
383 491
384 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
385 493
395 ); 503 );
396 504
397 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
398 $done->recv; 506 $done->recv;
399 507
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 });
547
400=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
401 554
402If 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
403require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
404will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
405 558
406AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
407will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
408 561
409The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
410because 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.
411 566
412Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
413>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
414
415C<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
416becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not 570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
417the results). 571the results).
418 572
419After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
420by 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
421were 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<<
422->send >> method). 576->send >> method).
423 577
424Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 578Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
425optionally 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:
426in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet 580
427another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 581=over 4
428used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 582
429a 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
430 601
431Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
432for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
433then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
434availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
447 618
448Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
449used 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
450easy (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
451AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call 622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
452it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method. 623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
453 624
454There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which 625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
455eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits 626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
456for the send to occur. 627for the send to occur.
457 628
458Example: wait for a timer. 629Example: wait for a timer.
459 630
460 # wait till the result is ready 631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
461 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
462 633
463 # do something such as adding a timer 634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
464 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send 635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
465 # when the "result" is ready. 636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
466 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
467 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
468 after => 1, 639 after => 1,
469 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
470 ); 641 );
471 642
472 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
473 # calls send 644 # calls ->send
474 $result_ready->recv; 645 $timer_fired->recv;
475 646
476Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 647Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
477condition variables are also code references. 648variables are also callable directly.
478 649
479 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 650 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
480 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 651 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
481 $done->recv; 652 $done->recv;
482 653
488 659
489 ... 660 ...
490 661
491 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv; 662 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
492 663
493And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the 664And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
494results are available: 665results are available:
495 666
496 $couchdb->info->cb (sub { 667 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
497 my @info = $_[0]->recv; 668 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
498 }); 669 });
516immediately from within send. 687immediately from within send.
517 688
518Any 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
519future C<< ->recv >> calls. 690future C<< ->recv >> calls.
520 691
521Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 692Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
522(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
523C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle 694C<send>.
524overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
525instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
526support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
527invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
528example).
529 695
530=item $cv->croak ($error) 696=item $cv->croak ($error)
531 697
532Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
533C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
534 700
535This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
536user/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.
537 707
538=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
539 709
540=item $cv->end 710=item $cv->end
541
542These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
543 711
544These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 712These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
545one. 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
546to use a condition variable for the whole process. 714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
547 715
548Every 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
549C<< ->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
550>>, 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
551is 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
552callback 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.
553 722
554Let'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:
555 730
556 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
557 732
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
558 my %result; 757 my %result;
559 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
560 759
561 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) { 760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
562 $cv->begin; 761 $cv->begin;
563 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub { 762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
564 $result{$host} = ...; 763 $result{$host} = ...;
579loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
580to 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
581C<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
582doesn't execute once). 781doesn't execute once).
583 782
584This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 783This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
585use 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
586is 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
587C<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>.
588 788
589=back 789=back
590 790
591=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
592 792
596=over 4 796=over 4
597 797
598=item $cv->recv 798=item $cv->recv
599 799
600Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak 800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
601>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers 801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
602normally. 802normally.
603 803
604You 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
605will return immediately. 805will return immediately.
606 806
608function will call C<croak>. 808function will call C<croak>.
609 809
610In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
611in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
612 812
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
613Not 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
614(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
615using 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
616caller 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
617condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
618callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
619while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
620 827
621Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
622sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
623multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
624can supply.
625
626The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
627fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
628versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
629C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
630coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
631
632You 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
633only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
634time). 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
635waits otherwise. 831waits otherwise.
636 832
637=item $bool = $cv->ready 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
643 839
644This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
645replaces it before doing so. 841replaces it before doing so.
646 842
647The 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
648C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition 844C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the
649variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time 845condition variable itself. If the condition is already true, the
650is guaranteed not to block. 846callback is called immediately when it is set. Calling C<recv> inside
847the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
651 848
652=back 849=back
653 850
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 implementation, 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
883=item Backends with special needs.
884
885Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
886otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
887instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
888everything should just work.
889
890 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
891
892=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
893
894Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
895
896There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
897
898B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
899use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
900polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
901consider for AnyEvent.
902
903B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
904backend, so it can be supported through POE.
905
906AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
907load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
908in which case everything will be automatic.
909
910=back
911
654=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 912=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
655 913
914These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
915write AnyEvent extension modules.
916
656=over 4 917=over 4
657 918
658=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 919=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
659 920
660Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 921Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
922backend has been autodetected.
923
661contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 924Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
662Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 925name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
663C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 926of the C<AnyEvent::Impl::xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
664AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 927case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
665 928will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
666The known classes so far are:
667
668 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
669 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
670 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
671 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
672 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
673 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
674 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
675 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
676
677There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
678watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
679POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
680second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
681AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
682it's adaptor.
683
684AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
685autodetecting them.
686 929
687=item AnyEvent::detect 930=item AnyEvent::detect
688 931
689Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 932Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
690if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 933if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
691have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 934have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
692runtime. 935runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
936
937If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
938created, use C<post_detect>.
693 939
694=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 940=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
695 941
696Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 942Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
697autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 943autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
944
945The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
946(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
947created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
948other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
949L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
950
951The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
952event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
953and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
954avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
698 955
699If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 956If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
700that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 957that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
958C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
701L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 959a case where this is useful.
960
961Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
962C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
963
964 our WATCHER;
965
966 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
967 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
968 };
969
970 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
971 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
972 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
973 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
974
975 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
702 976
703=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 977=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
704 978
705If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 979If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
706before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 980before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
707the event loop has been chosen. 981after the event loop has been chosen.
708 982
709You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 983You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
710if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 984if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
711and the array will be ignored. 985array will be ignored.
712 986
713Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 987Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
988it, as it takes care of these details.
989
990This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
991when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
992not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
993into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
994
995Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
996together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
997Coro to accomplish this):
998
999 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1000 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1001 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1002 } else {
1003 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1004 # as soon as it is
1005 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1006 }
714 1007
715=back 1008=back
716 1009
717=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1010=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
718 1011
729because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1022because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
730events is to stay interactive. 1023events is to stay interactive.
731 1024
732It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module 1025It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
733requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 1026requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
734called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >> 1027called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
735freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1028freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
736 1029
737=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1030=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
738 1031
739There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1032There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
740dictate which event model to use. 1033dictate which event model to use.
741 1034
742If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1035If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
743do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1036when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
744decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1037uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1038to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1039available loop implementation.
745 1040
746If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in 1041If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
747Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the 1042Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
748event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 1043event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
749speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1044speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
750modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1045modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
751decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 1046decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
752might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 1047might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
753 1048
754You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the 1049You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
755C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour 1050C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
756everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better. 1051everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
757 1052
773 1068
774 1069
775=head1 OTHER MODULES 1070=head1 OTHER MODULES
776 1071
777The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 1072The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
778AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 1073AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
779in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 1074modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
780available via CPAN. 1075come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
781 1076
782=over 4 1077=over 4
783 1078
784=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 1079=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
785 1080
786Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 1081Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
787functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 1082functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
788 1083
789=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 1084=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
790 1085
791Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 1086Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
792addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 1087addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
794 1089
795=item L<AnyEvent::Handle> 1090=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
796 1091
797Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes, 1092Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
798supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and 1093supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
799non-blocking SSL/TLS. 1094non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
800 1095
801=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 1096=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
802 1097
803Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 1098Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
804 1099
1100=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1101
1102Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1103the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1104Client Protocol).
1105
1106=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1107
1108Here be danger!
1109
1110As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1111there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1112its use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1113the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1114
1115It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1116confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1117fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1118with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1119packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1120support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1121wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1122
805=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP> 1123=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
806 1124
807A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent 1125Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
808HTTP requests. 1126notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1127
1128=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1129
1130Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1131toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1132L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1133file I/O, and much more.
809 1134
810=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 1135=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
811 1136
812Provides a simple web application server framework. 1137A simple embedded webserver.
813 1138
814=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 1139=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
815 1140
816The fastest ping in the west. 1141The fastest ping in the west.
817 1142
818=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
819
820Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
821
822=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
823
824Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
825programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
826together.
827
828=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
829
830Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
831L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
832
833=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
834
835A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
836
837=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
838
839A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
840L<App::IGS>).
841
842=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
843
844AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
845
846=item L<Net::XMPP2>
847
848AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
849
850=item L<Net::FCP>
851
852AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
853of AnyEvent.
854
855=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
856
857High level API for event-based execution flow control.
858
859=item L<Coro> 1143=item L<Coro>
860 1144
861Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1145Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
862 1146
863=item L<IO::Lambda>
864
865The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
866
867=back 1147=back
868 1148
869=cut 1149=cut
870 1150
871package AnyEvent; 1151package AnyEvent;
872 1152
873no warnings; 1153# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
874use strict qw(vars subs); 1154sub common_sense {
1155 # from common:.sense 3.3
1156 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS} ^ "\x3c\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\x0f\xc0\xf0\xfc\x33\x00";
1157 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1158 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1159}
875 1160
1161BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1162
876use Carp; 1163use Carp ();
877 1164
878our $VERSION = 4.35; 1165our $VERSION = '5.29';
879our $MODEL; 1166our $MODEL;
880 1167
881our $AUTOLOAD; 1168our $AUTOLOAD;
882our @ISA; 1169our @ISA;
883 1170
884our @REGISTRY; 1171our @REGISTRY;
885 1172
886our $WIN32; 1173our $VERBOSE;
887 1174
888BEGIN { 1175BEGIN {
889 my $win32 = ! ! ($^O =~ /mswin32/i); 1176 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
890 eval "sub WIN32(){ $win32 }";
891}
892 1177
1178 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1179
1180 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1181 if ${^TAINT};
1182
893our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1183 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1184
1185}
1186
1187our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
894 1188
895our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1189our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
896 1190
897{ 1191{
898 my $idx; 1192 my $idx;
900 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/, 1194 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
901 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6"; 1195 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
902} 1196}
903 1197
904my @models = ( 1198my @models = (
905 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1199 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
906 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
907 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1200 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
908 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1201 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
909 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1202 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
910 # and is usually faster 1203 # and is usually faster
1204 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
1205 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1206 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1207 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
911 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles 1208 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
912 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
913 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
914 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1209 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
915 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1210 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
916 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1211 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
917 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1212 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1213 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::],
918); 1214);
919 1215
920our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer time now signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1216our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1217 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
921 1218
922our @post_detect; 1219our @post_detect;
923 1220
924sub post_detect(&) { 1221sub post_detect(&) {
925 my ($cb) = @_; 1222 my ($cb) = @_;
926 1223
927 if ($MODEL) {
928 $cb->();
929
930 1
931 } else {
932 push @post_detect, $cb; 1224 push @post_detect, $cb;
933 1225
934 defined wantarray 1226 defined wantarray
935 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 1227 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
936 : () 1228 : ()
1229}
1230
1231sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1232 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1233}
1234
1235sub detect() {
1236 # free some memory
1237 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1238
1239 local $!; # for good measure
1240 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1241
1242 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1243 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1244 if (eval "require $model") {
1245 $MODEL = $model;
1246 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1247 } else {
1248 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1249 }
937 } 1250 }
938}
939 1251
940sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1252 # check for already loaded models
941 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
942}
943
944sub detect() {
945 unless ($MODEL) { 1253 unless ($MODEL) {
946 no strict 'refs'; 1254 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
947 local $SIG{__DIE__}; 1255 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
948 1256 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
949 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
950 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
951 if (eval "require $model") { 1257 if (eval "require $model") {
952 $MODEL = $model; 1258 $MODEL = $model;
953 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1259 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
954 } else { 1260 last;
955 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1261 }
956 } 1262 }
957 } 1263 }
958 1264
959 # check for already loaded models
960 unless ($MODEL) { 1265 unless ($MODEL) {
1266 # try to autoload a model
961 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1267 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
962 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1268 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1269 if (
1270 $autoload
1271 and eval "require $package"
963 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1272 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
964 if (eval "require $model") { 1273 and eval "require $model"
1274 ) {
965 $MODEL = $model; 1275 $MODEL = $model;
966 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1276 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
967 last; 1277 last;
968 }
969 } 1278 }
970 } 1279 }
971 1280
972 unless ($MODEL) {
973 # try to load a model
974
975 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
976 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
977 if (eval "require $package"
978 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
979 and eval "require $model") {
980 $MODEL = $model;
981 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
982 last;
983 }
984 }
985
986 $MODEL 1281 $MODEL
987 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1282 or die "AnyEvent: backend autodetection failed - did you properly install AnyEvent?\n";
988 }
989 } 1283 }
990
991 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
992
993 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
994
995 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
996
997 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
998 } 1284 }
1285
1286 @models = (); # free probe data
1287
1288 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1289 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1290
1291 # now nuke some methods that are overridden by the backend.
1292 # SUPER is not allowed.
1293 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1294 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1295 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1296 }
1297
1298 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}) {
1299 eval { require AnyEvent::Strict };
1300 warn "AnyEvent: cannot load AnyEvent::Strict: $@"
1301 if $@ && $VERBOSE;
1302 }
1303
1304 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1305
1306 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1307 shift->();
1308
1309 undef
1310 };
999 1311
1000 $MODEL 1312 $MODEL
1001} 1313}
1002 1314
1003sub AUTOLOAD { 1315sub AUTOLOAD {
1004 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1316 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
1005 1317
1006 $method{$func} 1318 $method{$func}
1007 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1319 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
1008 1320
1009 detect unless $MODEL; 1321 detect;
1010 1322
1011 my $class = shift; 1323 my $class = shift;
1012 $class->$func (@_); 1324 $class->$func (@_);
1013} 1325}
1014 1326
1015# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends 1327# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1016# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually 1328# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1017# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one). 1329# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1018sub _dupfh($$$$) { 1330sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1019 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_; 1331 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1020 1332
1021 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't 1333 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1022 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<") 1334 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1023 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1024 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1025 1335
1026 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh 1336 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1027 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!"; 1337 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1028 1338
1029 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases 1339 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1030 1340
1031 ($fh2, $rw) 1341 ($fh2, $rw)
1032} 1342}
1033 1343
1344=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1345
1346Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1347simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1348overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1349
1350See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1351
1352=cut
1353
1354package AE;
1355
1356our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1357
1358# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1359# implementations can overwrite these.
1360
1361sub io($$$) {
1362 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1363}
1364
1365sub timer($$$) {
1366 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1367}
1368
1369sub signal($$) {
1370 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1371}
1372
1373sub child($$) {
1374 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1375}
1376
1377sub idle($) {
1378 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1379}
1380
1381sub cv(;&) {
1382 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1383}
1384
1385sub now() {
1386 AnyEvent->now
1387}
1388
1389sub now_update() {
1390 AnyEvent->now_update
1391}
1392
1393sub time() {
1394 AnyEvent->time
1395}
1396
1034package AnyEvent::Base; 1397package AnyEvent::Base;
1035 1398
1036# default implementation for now and time 1399# default implementations for many methods
1037 1400
1038BEGIN { 1401sub time {
1402 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1403 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1039 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); time (); 1") { 1404 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1405 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1040 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time; 1406 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1041 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())... 1407 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1042 } else { 1408 } else {
1409 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1043 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail 1410 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1411 }
1412
1413 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1414 };
1415 die if $@;
1416
1417 &time
1418}
1419
1420*now = \&time;
1421
1422sub now_update { }
1423
1424# default implementation for ->condvar
1425
1426sub condvar {
1427 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1428 *condvar = sub {
1429 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1430 };
1431
1432 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
1433 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1434 };
1435 };
1436 die if $@;
1437
1438 &condvar
1439}
1440
1441# default implementation for ->signal
1442
1443our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1444
1445sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1446 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1447 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1448 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1449
1450 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1451}
1452
1453our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1454our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1455our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1456
1457# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1458# used by Impls
1459sub _sig_add() {
1460 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1461 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1462 my $NOW = AE::now;
1463
1464 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1465 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1466 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1467 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1468 ;
1044 } 1469 }
1045} 1470}
1046 1471
1047sub time { _time } 1472sub _sig_del {
1048sub now { _time } 1473 undef $SIG_TW
1049 1474 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1050# default implementation for ->condvar
1051
1052sub condvar {
1053 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
1054} 1475}
1055 1476
1056# default implementation for ->signal 1477our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1478 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1479 undef $_sig_name_init;
1057 1480
1058our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO); 1481 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1482 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1483 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1484 } else {
1485 require Config;
1059 1486
1060sub _signal_exec { 1487 my %signame2num;
1061 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4; 1488 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1489 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1062 1490
1063 while (%SIG_EV) { 1491 my @signum2name;
1064 for (keys %SIG_EV) { 1492 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1065 delete $SIG_EV{$_}; 1493
1066 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} }; 1494 *sig2num = sub($) {
1495 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1496 };
1497 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1498 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1499 };
1067 } 1500 }
1068 } 1501 };
1069} 1502 die if $@;
1503};
1504
1505sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1506sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
1070 1507
1071sub signal { 1508sub signal {
1072 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1509 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1510 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1511 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1512 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1073 1513
1074 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) { 1514 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1075 require Fcntl; 1515 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1076 1516
1077 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1078 require AnyEvent::Util;
1079
1080 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1081 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1082 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1083 } else { 1517 } else {
1518 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1519
1520 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1521 require AnyEvent::Util;
1522
1523 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1524 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1525 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1526 } else {
1084 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W; 1527 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1085 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R; 1528 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1086 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case 1529 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1530
1531 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1532 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1533 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1534 }
1535
1536 $SIGPIPE_R
1537 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1538
1539 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1087 } 1540 }
1088 1541
1089 $SIGPIPE_R 1542 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1090 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n"; 1543 ? sub {
1544 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1091 1545
1092 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure... 1546 # async::interrupt
1093 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1094 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1095
1096 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1097 }
1098
1099 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1547 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
1100 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
1101
1102 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1548 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1549
1550 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1551 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1552 signal => $signal,
1553 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1554 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1555 ;
1556
1557 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1558 }
1559 : sub {
1560 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1561
1562 # pure perl
1563 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1564 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1565
1103 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1566 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1104 local $!; 1567 local $!;
1105 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV; 1568 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1106 undef $SIG_EV{$signal}; 1569 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1570 };
1571
1572 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1573 # so limit the signal latency.
1574 _sig_add;
1575
1576 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1577 }
1578 ;
1579
1580 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1581 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1582
1583 _sig_del;
1584
1585 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1586
1587 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1588 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1589 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1590 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1591 # instead of getting the default action.
1592 undef $SIG{$signal}
1593 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1594 };
1595
1596 *_signal_exec = sub {
1597 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1598 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1599 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1600
1601 while (%SIG_EV) {
1602 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1603 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1604 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1605 }
1606 }
1607 };
1107 }; 1608 };
1609 die if $@;
1108 1610
1109 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1611 &signal
1110}
1111
1112sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
1113 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1114
1115 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1116
1117 delete $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1118} 1612}
1119 1613
1120# default implementation for ->child 1614# default implementation for ->child
1121 1615
1122our %PID_CB; 1616our %PID_CB;
1123our $CHLD_W; 1617our $CHLD_W;
1124our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1618our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1125our $PID_IDLE;
1126our $WNOHANG;
1127 1619
1128sub _child_wait { 1620# used by many Impl's
1129 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1621sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1622 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1623
1624 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
1130 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1625 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
1131 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1626 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1132 }
1133
1134 undef $PID_IDLE;
1135}
1136
1137sub _sigchld {
1138 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
1139 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
1140 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1141 &_child_wait;
1142 });
1143} 1627}
1144 1628
1145sub child { 1629sub child {
1630 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1631 *_sigchld = sub {
1632 my $pid;
1633
1634 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1635 while ($pid = waitpid -1, WNOHANG) > 0;
1636 };
1637
1638 *child = sub {
1146 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1639 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1147 1640
1148 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1641 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
1149 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1642 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
1150 1643
1151 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1644 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1152 1645
1153 unless ($WNOHANG) {
1154 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
1155 }
1156
1157 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1646 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1158 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1647 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
1159 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1648 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1160 &_sigchld; 1649 &_sigchld;
1161 } 1650 }
1162 1651
1163 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1652 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1164} 1653 };
1165 1654
1166sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1655 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
1167 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1656 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1168 1657
1169 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1658 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
1170 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1659 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1171 1660
1172 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1661 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1662 };
1663 };
1664 die if $@;
1665
1666 &child
1667}
1668
1669# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1670# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1671# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1672sub idle {
1673 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1674 *idle = sub {
1675 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1676
1677 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1678
1679 $rcb = sub {
1680 if ($cb) {
1681 $w = _time;
1682 &$cb;
1683 $w = _time - $w;
1684
1685 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1686 # within some limits
1687 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1688 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1689
1690 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1691 } else {
1692 # clean up...
1693 undef $w;
1694 undef $rcb;
1695 }
1696 };
1697
1698 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1699
1700 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1701 };
1702
1703 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1704 undef $${$_[0]};
1705 };
1706 };
1707 die if $@;
1708
1709 &idle
1173} 1710}
1174 1711
1175package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1712package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1176 1713
1177our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1714our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1178 1715
1716# only to be used for subclassing
1717sub new {
1718 my $class = shift;
1719 bless AnyEvent->condvar (@_), $class
1720}
1721
1179package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1722package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1180 1723
1181use overload 1724#use overload
1182 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1725# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1183 fallback => 1; 1726# fallback => 1;
1727
1728# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1729${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1730*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1731*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1732${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1733
1734our $WAITING;
1184 1735
1185sub _send { 1736sub _send {
1186 # nop 1737 # nop
1187} 1738}
1188 1739
1201sub ready { 1752sub ready {
1202 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1753 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1203} 1754}
1204 1755
1205sub _wait { 1756sub _wait {
1757 $WAITING
1758 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1759 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1760
1761 local $WAITING = 1;
1206 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent}; 1762 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1207} 1763}
1208 1764
1209sub recv { 1765sub recv {
1210 $_[0]->_wait; 1766 $_[0]->_wait;
1212 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak}; 1768 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1213 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0] 1769 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1214} 1770}
1215 1771
1216sub cb { 1772sub cb {
1217 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1773 my $cv = shift;
1774
1775 @_
1776 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1777 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1778 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1779
1218 $_[0]{_ae_cb} 1780 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1219} 1781}
1220 1782
1221sub begin { 1783sub begin {
1222 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter}; 1784 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1223 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1785 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1251so on. 1813so on.
1252 1814
1253=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 1815=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1254 1816
1255The following environment variables are used by this module or its 1817The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1256submodules: 1818submodules.
1819
1820Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1821C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1822enabled.
1257 1823
1258=over 4 1824=over 4
1259 1825
1260=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> 1826=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1261 1827
1268C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>. 1834C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1269 1835
1270When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event 1836When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1271model it chooses. 1837model it chooses.
1272 1838
1839When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1840which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1841
1273=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> 1842=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1274 1843
1275AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough 1844AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1276argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value 1845argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1277will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly 1846will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1278check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems 1847check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1279it will croak. 1848it will croak.
1280 1849
1281In other words, enables "strict" mode. 1850In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1282 1851
1283Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in 1852Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1284production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while 1853>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1285developing programs can be very useful, however. 1854C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1855can be very useful, however.
1286 1856
1287=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL> 1857=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1288 1858
1289This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before 1859This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1290auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting 1860auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1333 1903
1334=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS> 1904=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1335 1905
1336The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call> 1906The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1337will create in parallel. 1907will create in parallel.
1908
1909=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1910
1911The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1912resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1913sent to the DNS server.
1914
1915=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1916
1917The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1918configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1919default config will be used.
1920
1921=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1922
1923When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1924L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1925variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1926instead of a system-dependent default.
1927
1928=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1929
1930When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1931loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1338 1932
1339=back 1933=back
1340 1934
1341=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1935=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1342 1936
1400 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1994 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
1401 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1995 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1402 }, 1996 },
1403 ); 1997 );
1404 1998
1405 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
1406
1407 sub new_timer {
1408 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1999 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
1409 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2000 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
1410 &new_timer; # and restart the time
1411 }); 2001 });
1412 }
1413
1414 new_timer; # create first timer
1415 2002
1416 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2003 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
1417 2004
1418=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2005=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1419 2006
1492 2079
1493The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2080The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
1494that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2081that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
1495whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2082whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
1496and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2083and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
1497problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 2084problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
1498random callback. 2085random callback.
1499 2086
1500All of this enables the following usage styles: 2087All of this enables the following usage styles:
1501 2088
15021. Blocking: 20891. Blocking:
1550through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2137through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1551timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2138timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1552which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2139which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1553 2140
1554Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2141Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1555distribution. 2142distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2143for the EV and Perl backends only.
1556 2144
1557=head3 Explanation of the columns 2145=head3 Explanation of the columns
1558 2146
1559I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2147I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1560different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2148different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1581watcher. 2169watcher.
1582 2170
1583=head3 Results 2171=head3 Results
1584 2172
1585 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2173 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1586 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface 2174 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
1587 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2175 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1588 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2176 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1589 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation 2177 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
1590 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface 2178 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
1591 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2179 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2180 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2181 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1592 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour 2182 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
1593 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2183 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1594 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event 2184 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
1595 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select 2185 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1596 2186
1597=head3 Discussion 2187=head3 Discussion
1598 2188
1599The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2189The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1600well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 2190well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1612benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2202benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1613EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2203EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1614cycles with POE. 2204cycles with POE.
1615 2205
1616C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2206C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1617maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2207maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2208overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2209slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
1618far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2210any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1619natively.
1620 2211
1621The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2212The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1622constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2213constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1623interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2214interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1624adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2215adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1625performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2216performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1626them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2217them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1627 2218
1628The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2219The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1629cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2220cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2221
2222C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2223when using its pure perl backend.
1630 2224
1631C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2225C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1632faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2226faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1633C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2227C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1634watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2228watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1695In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2289In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1696(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 2290(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1697connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2291connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1698 2292
1699Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2293Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1700distribution. 2294distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2295for the EV and Perl backends only.
1701 2296
1702=head3 Explanation of the columns 2297=head3 Explanation of the columns
1703 2298
1704I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2299I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1705each server has a read and write socket end). 2300each server has a read and write socket end).
1712it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2307it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1713a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2308a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1714 2309
1715=head3 Results 2310=head3 Results
1716 2311
1717 name sockets create request 2312 name sockets create request
1718 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2313 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1719 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2314 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1720 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2315 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1721 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2316 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2317 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2318 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1722 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2319 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1723 2320
1724=head3 Discussion 2321=head3 Discussion
1725 2322
1726This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2323This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1727particular event loop. 2324particular event loop.
1729EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2326EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1730is relatively high, though. 2327is relatively high, though.
1731 2328
1732Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2329Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1733loops Event and Glib. 2330loops Event and Glib.
2331
2332IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2333good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1734 2334
1735Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2335Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1736understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2336understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1737the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2337the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1738uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2338uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1801=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2401=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1802watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2402watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1803 2403
1804=back 2404=back
1805 2405
2406=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2407
2408Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2409could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2410simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2411shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2412fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2413very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2414baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2415
2416The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2417connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2418creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2419test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2420benchmark nevertheless.
2421
2422 name runtime
2423 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2424 + optimized 0.122 sec
2425 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2426 + optimized 0.138 sec
2427 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2428 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2429 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2430 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2431
2432 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2433 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2434 +state machine 0.134 sec
2435
2436The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2437benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2438defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2439written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2440AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2441resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2442generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2443connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2444
2445The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2446offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2447Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2448non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2449
2450As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2451hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2452backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2453
2454And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2455slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2456higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2457it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2458
2459The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2460F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2461part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2462
1806 2463
1807=head1 SIGNALS 2464=head1 SIGNALS
1808 2465
1809AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals: 2466AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1810 2467
1813=item SIGCHLD 2470=item SIGCHLD
1814 2471
1815A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher 2472A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1816emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some 2473emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
1817event loops install a similar handler. 2474event loops install a similar handler.
2475
2476Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2477AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
1818 2478
1819=item SIGPIPE 2479=item SIGPIPE
1820 2480
1821A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef> 2481A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
1822when AnyEvent gets loaded. 2482when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1834 2494
1835=back 2495=back
1836 2496
1837=cut 2497=cut
1838 2498
2499undef $SIG{CHLD}
2500 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2501
1839$SIG{PIPE} = sub { } 2502$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
1840 unless defined $SIG{PIPE}; 2503 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1841 2504
2505=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2506
2507One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2508its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2509
2510That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2511modules if they are installed.
2512
2513This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2514affect AnyEvent's operation.
2515
2516=over 4
2517
2518=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2519
2520This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2521my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2522signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2523delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2524catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2525C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2526
2527If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2528catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2529will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2530battery life on laptops).
2531
2532This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2533that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2534
2535Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2536and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2537(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2538does nothing for those backends.
2539
2540=item L<EV>
2541
2542This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2543event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2544loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2545the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2546automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2547can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2548C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2549L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2550
2551If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2552then this module will do nothing for you.
2553
2554=item L<Guard>
2555
2556The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2557C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2558lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2559purely used for performance.
2560
2561=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2562
2563One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2564via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2565advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2566
2567=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2568
2569Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2570worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2571the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2572
2573=item L<Time::HiRes>
2574
2575This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2576chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2577pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2578try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2579
2580=back
2581
1842 2582
1843=head1 FORK 2583=head1 FORK
1844 2584
1845Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2585Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1846because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2586because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
1847calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2587- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2588are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2589one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2590continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2591what you are doing).
2592
2593This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2594the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2595usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2596is loaded).
1848 2597
1849If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2598If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1850watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2599watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2600something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2601
2602The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2603is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2604fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2605watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2606parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2607to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2608preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2609to have another binary.
1851 2610
1852 2611
1853=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2612=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1854 2613
1855AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2614AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1867 use AnyEvent; 2626 use AnyEvent;
1868 2627
1869Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2628Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1870be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2629be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1871probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and 2630probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
1872$ENV{PERL_ANYEGENT_STRICT}. 2631$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2632
2633Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2634C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2635enabled.
1873 2636
1874 2637
1875=head1 BUGS 2638=head1 BUGS
1876 2639
1877Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard 2640Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
1881pronounced). 2644pronounced).
1882 2645
1883 2646
1884=head1 SEE ALSO 2647=head1 SEE ALSO
1885 2648
2649Tutorial/Introduction: L<AnyEvent::Intro>.
2650
2651FAQ: L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
2652
1886Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2653Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1887 2654
1888Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, 2655Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1889L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2656L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1890 2657
1891Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2658Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1892L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2659L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1893L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2660L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1894L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2661L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1895 2662
1896Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2663Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1897servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2664servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1898 2665
1899Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2666Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1900 2667
1901Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2668Thread support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
1902 2669
1903Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2670Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>,
2671L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1904 2672
1905 2673
1906=head1 AUTHOR 2674=head1 AUTHOR
1907 2675
1908 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2676 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>

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