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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 and POE are various supported 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6event loops. 6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
7 7
8=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
9 9
10 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
11 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
12 # file descriptor readable 15 # file handle or descriptor readable
13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... }); 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14 17
15 # one-shot or repeating timers 18 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... }); 19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ... 20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...);
18 21
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time 22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time. 23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21 24
22 # POSIX signal 25 # POSIX signal
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL 43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41 44
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested 45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the 46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage. 47L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
48
49=head1 SUPPORT
50
51There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
52channel, too.
53
54See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
55Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
45 56
46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 57=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
47 58
48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 59Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 60nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 76module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
66model you use. 77model you use.
67 78
68For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 79For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
69actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 80actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
70like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 81like joining a cult: After you join, you are dependent on them and you
71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything 82cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your 83that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 84module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
74 85
75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 86AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
76fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 87fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
77with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if 88with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
78your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 89your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 90too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those 91event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops 92use one of the supported event loops. It is easy to add new event loops
82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 93to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
83 94
84In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 95In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 96model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
86modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to 97modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
87follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 98follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and to the point, by only
88offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 99offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
89technically possible. 100technically possible.
90 101
91Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox 102Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
92of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100% 103of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
98useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 109useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
99model, you should I<not> use this module. 110model, you should I<not> use this module.
100 111
101=head1 DESCRIPTION 112=head1 DESCRIPTION
102 113
103L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 114L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
104allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 115allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
105users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 116module users to use a specific event loop implementation (since more
106peacefully at any one time). 117than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
107 118
108The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 119The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
109module. 120module.
110 121
111During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 122During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
127 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
128 139
129 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
130 141
131The 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
132starts 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,
133use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
134 146
135The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
136C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
137explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :) 149explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
138 150
147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
148is in control). 160is in control).
149 161
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables> 162Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially 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<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in 164callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practice in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs 165Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops. 166widely between event loops.
155 167
156To 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
157variable 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
158to it). 170to it).
159 171
160All 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.
161 173
162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
164 176
165An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
166 178
167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
169 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
170 }); 182 });
173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
174declared. 186declared.
175 187
176=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
177 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
178You 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
179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
180 198
181C<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
182for 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
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which 201handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets, 202non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most 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
186or block devices. 204or block devices.
196 214
197The 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.
198You 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
199underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
200 218
201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
203handles. 221handles.
204 222
205Example: 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
206watcher. 224watcher.
211 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
212 }); 230 });
213 231
214=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
215 233
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
216You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
217method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
218 244
219C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
220supported) 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
222 248
223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
226 252
227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another 253The callback will normally be invoked only once. If you specify another
228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the 254parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional 255callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a 256seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing. 257false value, then it is treated as if it were not specified at all.
232 258
233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no 259The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt 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
235only approximate. 261only approximate.
236 262
237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds. 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238 264
239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
257 283
258While 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
259use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
260"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
261the 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
262fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
263 289
264AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
265about 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
266on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
267timers. 293timers.
268 294
269AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
270AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
292I<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
293function to call when you want to know the current time.> 319function to call when you want to know the current time.>
294 320
295This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and 321This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
296thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example, 322thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
297L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts). 323L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update its activity timeouts).
298 324
299The 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
300with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience. 326with your timing; you can skip it without a bad conscience.
301 327
302For 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>
303and L<EV> and the following set-up: 329and L<EV> and the following set-up:
304 330
305The 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
306time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback, 332time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
307you 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
308second) 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
309after three seconds. 335after three seconds.
310 336
341might affect timers and time-outs. 367might affect timers and time-outs.
342 368
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the 369When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time". 370event loop's idea of "current time".
345 371
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
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled. 379Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347 380
348=back 381=back
349 382
350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
351 386
352You 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
353I<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
354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
355 390
361invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
362that 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,
363but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
364 399
365The 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
366between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
367 403
368This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
369directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
370 407
371Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
372 409
373 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
374 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$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
375=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
376 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
377You 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.
378 454
379The 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,
380watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when 456using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
381the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
382any trace events (stopped/continued). 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
459(stopped/continued).
383 460
384The 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
385waitpid), 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
386callback arguments. 463callback arguments.
387 464
392 469
393There 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
394I<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
395have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
396 473
397Not 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
398event 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
399loaded 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.
400 480
401This 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
402AnyEvent 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
403C<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.
404 489
405Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
406 491
407 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
408 493
420 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
421 $done->recv; 506 $done->recv;
422 507
423=head2 IDLE WATCHERS 508=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
424 509
425Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important 510 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
426to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
427"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
428attention by the event loop".
429 511
430Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing 512This will repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle,
431better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new 513until either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
432events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
433 514
434Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only 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
435EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent 525EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
436will simply call the callback "from time to time". 526will simply call the callback "from time to time".
437 527
438Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the 528Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
439program is otherwise idle: 529program is otherwise idle:
455 }); 545 });
456 }); 546 });
457 547
458=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
459 549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
554
460If 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
461require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
462will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
463 558
464AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
465will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
466 561
467The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
468because 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.
469 566
470Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
471>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
472
473C<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
474becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not 570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
475the results). 571the results).
476 572
477After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
478by 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
479were 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<<
480->send >> method). 576->send >> method).
481 577
482Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 578Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
483optionally 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:
484in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet 580
485another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 581=over 4
486used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 582
487a 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
488 601
489Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
490for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
491then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
492availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
505 618
506Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
507used 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
508easy (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
509AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call 622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
510it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method. 623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
511 624
512There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which 625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
513eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits 626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
514for the send to occur. 627for the send to occur.
515 628
516Example: wait for a timer. 629Example: wait for a timer.
517 630
518 # wait till the result is ready 631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
519 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
520 633
521 # do something such as adding a timer 634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
522 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send 635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
523 # when the "result" is ready. 636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
524 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
525 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
526 after => 1, 639 after => 1,
527 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
528 ); 641 );
529 642
530 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
531 # calls send 644 # calls ->send
532 $result_ready->recv; 645 $timer_fired->recv;
533 646
534Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that 647Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
535condition variables are also code references. 648variables are also callable directly.
536 649
537 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 650 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
538 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 651 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
539 $done->recv; 652 $done->recv;
540 653
546 659
547 ... 660 ...
548 661
549 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv; 662 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
550 663
551And 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
552results are available: 665results are available:
553 666
554 $couchdb->info->cb (sub { 667 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
555 my @info = $_[0]->recv; 668 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
556 }); 669 });
574immediately from within send. 687immediately from within send.
575 688
576Any 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
577future C<< ->recv >> calls. 690future C<< ->recv >> calls.
578 691
579Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly 692Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
580(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
581C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle 694C<send>.
582overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
583instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
584support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
585invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
586example).
587 695
588=item $cv->croak ($error) 696=item $cv->croak ($error)
589 697
590Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
591C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
592 700
593This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
594user/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.
595 707
596=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
597 709
598=item $cv->end 710=item $cv->end
599
600These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
601 711
602These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 712These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
603one. 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
604to use a condition variable for the whole process. 714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
605 715
606Every 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
607C<< ->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
608>>, 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
609is 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
610callback 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.
611 722
612Let'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:
613 730
614 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
615 732
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
616 my %result; 757 my %result;
617 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
618 759
619 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) { 760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
620 $cv->begin; 761 $cv->begin;
621 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub { 762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
622 $result{$host} = ...; 763 $result{$host} = ...;
637loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
638to 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
639C<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
640doesn't execute once). 781doesn't execute once).
641 782
642This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 783This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
643use 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
644is 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
645C<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>.
646 788
647=back 789=back
648 790
649=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
650 792
654=over 4 796=over 4
655 797
656=item $cv->recv 798=item $cv->recv
657 799
658Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak 800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
659>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers 801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
660normally. 802normally.
661 803
662You 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
663will return immediately. 805will return immediately.
664 806
666function will call C<croak>. 808function will call C<croak>.
667 809
668In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
669in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
670 812
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
671Not 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
672(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
673using 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
674caller 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
675condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
676callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
677while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
678 827
679Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
680sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
681multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
682can supply.
683
684The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
685fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
686versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
687C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
688coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
689
690You 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
691only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
692time). 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
693waits otherwise. 831waits otherwise.
694 832
695=item $bool = $cv->ready 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
701 839
702This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
703replaces it before doing so. 841replaces it before doing so.
704 842
705The 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
706C<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
707variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time 845condition variable itself. If the condition is already true, the
708is 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.
709 848
710=back 849=back
711 850
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
882=item Backends with special needs.
883
884Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
885otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
886instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
887everything should just work.
888
889 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
890
891Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
892architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
893is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
894it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
895L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync> for the gory details.
896
897 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
898
899=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
900
901Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
902
903There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
904
905B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
906use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
907polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
908consider for AnyEvent.
909
910B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
911backend, so it can be supported through POE.
912
913AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
914load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
915in which case everything will be automatic.
916
917=back
918
712=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 919=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
713 920
921These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
922write AnyEvent extension modules.
923
714=over 4 924=over 4
715 925
716=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 926=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
717 927
718Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 928Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
929backend has been autodetected.
930
719contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 931Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
720Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 932name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
721C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 933of the C<AnyEvent::Impl::xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
722AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 934case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
723 935will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
724The known classes so far are:
725
726 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
727 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
728 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
729 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
730 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
731 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
732 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
733 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
734
735There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
736watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
737POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
738second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
739AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
740it's adaptor.
741
742AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
743autodetecting them.
744 936
745=item AnyEvent::detect 937=item AnyEvent::detect
746 938
747Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 939Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
748if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 940if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
749have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 941have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
750runtime. 942runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
943
944If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
945created, use C<post_detect>.
751 946
752=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 947=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
753 948
754Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 949Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
755autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 950autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
951
952The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
953(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
954created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
955other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
956L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
957
958The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
959event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
960and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
961avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
756 962
757If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 963If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
758that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 964that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
965C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
759L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 966a case where this is useful.
967
968Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
969C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
970
971 our WATCHER;
972
973 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
974 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
975 };
976
977 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
978 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
979 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
980 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
981
982 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
760 983
761=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 984=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
762 985
763If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 986If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
764before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 987before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
765the event loop has been chosen. 988after the event loop has been chosen.
766 989
767You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 990You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
768if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 991if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
769and the array will be ignored. 992array will be ignored.
770 993
771Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 994Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
995it, as it takes care of these details.
996
997This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
998when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
999not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
1000into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
1001
1002Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
1003together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
1004Coro to accomplish this):
1005
1006 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1007 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1008 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1009 } else {
1010 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1011 # as soon as it is
1012 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1013 }
772 1014
773=back 1015=back
774 1016
775=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1017=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
776 1018
787because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1029because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
788events is to stay interactive. 1030events is to stay interactive.
789 1031
790It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module 1032It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
791requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 1033requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
792called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >> 1034called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
793freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1035freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
794 1036
795=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1037=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
796 1038
797There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1039There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
798dictate which event model to use. 1040dictate which event model to use.
799 1041
800If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1042If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
801do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1043when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
802decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1044uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1045to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1046available loop implementation.
803 1047
804If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in 1048If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
805Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the 1049Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
806event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 1050event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
807speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1051speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
808modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1052modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
809decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 1053decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
810might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 1054might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
811 1055
812You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the 1056You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
813C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour 1057C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
814everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better. 1058everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
815 1059
831 1075
832 1076
833=head1 OTHER MODULES 1077=head1 OTHER MODULES
834 1078
835The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 1079The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
836AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 1080AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
837in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 1081modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
838available via CPAN. 1082come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
839 1083
840=over 4 1084=over 4
841 1085
842=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 1086=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
843 1087
844Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 1088Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
845functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 1089functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
846 1090
847=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 1091=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
848 1092
849Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 1093Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
850addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 1094addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
852 1096
853=item L<AnyEvent::Handle> 1097=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
854 1098
855Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes, 1099Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
856supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and 1100supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
857non-blocking SSL/TLS. 1101non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
858 1102
859=item L<AnyEvent::DNS> 1103=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
860 1104
861Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities. 1105Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
862 1106
1107=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1108
1109Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1110the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1111Client Protocol).
1112
1113=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1114
1115Here be danger!
1116
1117As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1118there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1119its use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1120the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1121
1122It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1123confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1124fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1125with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1126packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1127support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1128wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1129
863=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP> 1130=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
864 1131
865A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent 1132Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
866HTTP requests. 1133notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1134
1135=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1136
1137Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1138toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1139L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1140file I/O, and much more.
867 1141
868=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 1142=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
869 1143
870Provides a simple web application server framework. 1144A simple embedded webserver.
871 1145
872=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 1146=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
873 1147
874The fastest ping in the west. 1148The fastest ping in the west.
875 1149
876=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
877
878Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
879
880=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
881
882Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
883programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
884together.
885
886=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
887
888Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
889L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
890
891=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
892
893A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
894
895=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
896
897A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
898L<App::IGS>).
899
900=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
901
902AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
903
904=item L<Net::XMPP2>
905
906AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
907
908=item L<Net::FCP>
909
910AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
911of AnyEvent.
912
913=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
914
915High level API for event-based execution flow control.
916
917=item L<Coro> 1150=item L<Coro>
918 1151
919Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1152Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
920 1153
921=item L<IO::Lambda>
922
923The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
924
925=back 1154=back
926 1155
927=cut 1156=cut
928 1157
929package AnyEvent; 1158package AnyEvent;
930 1159
931no warnings; 1160# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
932use strict qw(vars subs); 1161sub common_sense {
1162 # from common:.sense 1.0
1163 ${^WARNING_BITS} = "\xfc\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\xcf\xc0\xf3\xfc\x33\x00";
1164 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1165 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1166}
933 1167
1168BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1169
934use Carp; 1170use Carp ();
935 1171
936our $VERSION = 4.411; 1172our $VERSION = '5.271';
937our $MODEL; 1173our $MODEL;
938 1174
939our $AUTOLOAD; 1175our $AUTOLOAD;
940our @ISA; 1176our @ISA;
941 1177
942our @REGISTRY; 1178our @REGISTRY;
943 1179
944our $WIN32; 1180our $VERBOSE;
945 1181
946BEGIN { 1182BEGIN {
947 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }"; 1183 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1184
948 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }"; 1185 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
949 1186
950 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV} 1187 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
951 if ${^TAINT}; 1188 if ${^TAINT};
952}
953 1189
954our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1190 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1191
1192}
1193
1194our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
955 1195
956our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred 1196our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
957 1197
958{ 1198{
959 my $idx; 1199 my $idx;
961 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/, 1201 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
962 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6"; 1202 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
963} 1203}
964 1204
965my @models = ( 1205my @models = (
966 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1206 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
967 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
968 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1207 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
969 # everything below here will not be autoprobed 1208 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
970 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1209 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
971 # and is usually faster 1210 # and is usually faster
1211 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
1212 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1213 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1214 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
972 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles 1215 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
973 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
974 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
975 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1216 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
976 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1217 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
977 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1218 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
978 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1219 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1220 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1221 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1222 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1223 # obvious default class.
1224 [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1225 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1226 [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1227 [AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
979); 1228);
980 1229
981our %method = map +($_ => 1), 1230our %method = map +($_ => 1),
982 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY); 1231 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
983 1232
984our @post_detect; 1233our @post_detect;
985 1234
986sub post_detect(&) { 1235sub post_detect(&) {
987 my ($cb) = @_; 1236 my ($cb) = @_;
988 1237
989 if ($MODEL) {
990 $cb->();
991
992 1
993 } else {
994 push @post_detect, $cb; 1238 push @post_detect, $cb;
995 1239
996 defined wantarray 1240 defined wantarray
997 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect" 1241 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
998 : () 1242 : ()
999 }
1000} 1243}
1001 1244
1002sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY { 1245sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1003 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect; 1246 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1004} 1247}
1005 1248
1006sub detect() { 1249sub detect() {
1250 # free some memory
1251 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1252
1253 local $!; # for good measure
1254 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1255
1256 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1257 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1258 if (eval "require $model") {
1259 $MODEL = $model;
1260 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1261 } else {
1262 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1263 }
1264 }
1265
1266 # check for already loaded models
1007 unless ($MODEL) { 1267 unless ($MODEL) {
1008 no strict 'refs'; 1268 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
1009 local $SIG{__DIE__}; 1269 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
1010 1270 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
1011 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1012 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1013 if (eval "require $model") { 1271 if (eval "require $model") {
1014 $MODEL = $model; 1272 $MODEL = $model;
1015 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1273 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1016 } else { 1274 last;
1017 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1275 }
1018 } 1276 }
1019 } 1277 }
1020 1278
1021 # check for already loaded models
1022 unless ($MODEL) { 1279 unless ($MODEL) {
1280 # try to autoload a model
1023 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1281 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
1024 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1282 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1283 if (
1284 $autoload
1285 and eval "require $package"
1025 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1286 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
1026 if (eval "require $model") { 1287 and eval "require $model"
1288 ) {
1027 $MODEL = $model; 1289 $MODEL = $model;
1028 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1290 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1029 last; 1291 last;
1030 }
1031 } 1292 }
1032 } 1293 }
1033 1294
1034 unless ($MODEL) {
1035 # try to load a model
1036
1037 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
1038 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
1039 if (eval "require $package"
1040 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
1041 and eval "require $model") {
1042 $MODEL = $model;
1043 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
1044 last;
1045 }
1046 }
1047
1048 $MODEL 1295 $MODEL
1049 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n"; 1296 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
1050 }
1051 } 1297 }
1052
1053 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1054
1055 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1056
1057 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1058
1059 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1060 } 1298 }
1299
1300 @models = (); # free probe data
1301
1302 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1303 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1304
1305 # now nuke some methods that are overriden by the backend.
1306 # SUPER is not allowed.
1307 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1308 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1309 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1310 }
1311
1312 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1313
1314 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1315
1316 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1317 shift->();
1318
1319 undef
1320 };
1061 1321
1062 $MODEL 1322 $MODEL
1063} 1323}
1064 1324
1065sub AUTOLOAD { 1325sub AUTOLOAD {
1066 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1326 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
1067 1327
1068 $method{$func} 1328 $method{$func}
1069 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1329 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
1070 1330
1071 detect unless $MODEL; 1331 detect;
1072 1332
1073 my $class = shift; 1333 my $class = shift;
1074 $class->$func (@_); 1334 $class->$func (@_);
1075} 1335}
1076 1336
1077# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends 1337# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1078# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually 1338# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1079# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one). 1339# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1080sub _dupfh($$$$) { 1340sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1081 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_; 1341 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1082 1342
1083 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't 1343 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1084 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<") 1344 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1085 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1086 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1087 1345
1088 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh 1346 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1089 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!,"; 1347 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1090 1348
1091 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases 1349 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1092 1350
1093 ($fh2, $rw) 1351 ($fh2, $rw)
1094} 1352}
1095 1353
1354=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1355
1356Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1357simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1358overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1359
1360See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1361
1362=cut
1363
1364package AE;
1365
1366our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1367
1368# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1369# implementations can overwrite these.
1370
1371sub io($$$) {
1372 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1373}
1374
1375sub timer($$$) {
1376 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1377}
1378
1379sub signal($$) {
1380 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1381}
1382
1383sub child($$) {
1384 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1385}
1386
1387sub idle($) {
1388 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1389}
1390
1391sub cv(;&) {
1392 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1393}
1394
1395sub now() {
1396 AnyEvent->now
1397}
1398
1399sub now_update() {
1400 AnyEvent->now_update
1401}
1402
1403sub time() {
1404 AnyEvent->time
1405}
1406
1096package AnyEvent::Base; 1407package AnyEvent::Base;
1097 1408
1098# default implementations for many methods 1409# default implementations for many methods
1099 1410
1100BEGIN { 1411sub time {
1412 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1413 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1101 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") { 1414 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1415 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1102 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time; 1416 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1103 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())... 1417 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1104 } else { 1418 } else {
1419 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1105 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail 1420 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1421 }
1422
1423 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1424 };
1425 die if $@;
1426
1427 &time
1428}
1429
1430*now = \&time;
1431
1432sub now_update { }
1433
1434# default implementation for ->condvar
1435
1436sub condvar {
1437 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1438 *condvar = sub {
1439 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1440 };
1441
1442 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
1443 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1444 };
1445 };
1446 die if $@;
1447
1448 &condvar
1449}
1450
1451# default implementation for ->signal
1452
1453our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1454
1455sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1456 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1457 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1458 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1459
1460 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1461}
1462
1463our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1464our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1465our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1466
1467# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1468# used by Impls
1469sub _sig_add() {
1470 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1471 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1472 my $NOW = AE::now;
1473
1474 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1475 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1476 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1477 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1478 ;
1106 } 1479 }
1107} 1480}
1108 1481
1109sub time { _time } 1482sub _sig_del {
1110sub now { _time } 1483 undef $SIG_TW
1111sub now_update { } 1484 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1112
1113# default implementation for ->condvar
1114
1115sub condvar {
1116 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1117} 1485}
1118 1486
1119# default implementation for ->signal 1487our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1488 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1489 undef $_sig_name_init;
1120 1490
1121our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO); 1491 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1492 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1493 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1494 } else {
1495 require Config;
1122 1496
1123sub _signal_exec { 1497 my %signame2num;
1124 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4; 1498 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1499 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1125 1500
1126 while (%SIG_EV) { 1501 my @signum2name;
1127 for (keys %SIG_EV) { 1502 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1128 delete $SIG_EV{$_}; 1503
1129 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} }; 1504 *sig2num = sub($) {
1505 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1506 };
1507 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1508 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1509 };
1130 } 1510 }
1131 } 1511 };
1132} 1512 die if $@;
1513};
1514
1515sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1516sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
1133 1517
1134sub signal { 1518sub signal {
1135 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1519 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1520 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1521 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1522 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1136 1523
1137 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) { 1524 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1138 require Fcntl; 1525 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1139 1526
1140 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1141 require AnyEvent::Util;
1142
1143 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1144 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1145 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1146 } else { 1527 } else {
1528 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1529
1530 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1531 require AnyEvent::Util;
1532
1533 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1534 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1535 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1536 } else {
1147 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W; 1537 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1148 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R; 1538 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1149 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case 1539 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1150 1540
1151 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure... 1541 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1152 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC; 1542 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1153 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC; 1543 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1544 }
1545
1546 $SIGPIPE_R
1547 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1548
1549 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1154 } 1550 }
1155 1551
1156 $SIGPIPE_R 1552 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1157 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n"; 1553 ? sub {
1554 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1158 1555
1159 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec); 1556 # async::interrupt
1160 }
1161
1162 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1557 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
1163 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
1164
1165 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1558 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1559
1560 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1561 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1562 signal => $signal,
1563 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1564 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1565 ;
1566
1567 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1568 }
1569 : sub {
1570 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1571
1572 # pure perl
1573 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1574 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1575
1166 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1576 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1167 local $!; 1577 local $!;
1168 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV; 1578 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1169 undef $SIG_EV{$signal}; 1579 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1580 };
1581
1582 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1583 # so limit the signal latency.
1584 _sig_add;
1585
1586 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1587 }
1588 ;
1589
1590 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1591 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1592
1593 _sig_del;
1594
1595 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1596
1597 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1598 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1599 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1600 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1601 # instead of getting the default action.
1602 undef $SIG{$signal}
1603 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1604 };
1605
1606 *_signal_exec = sub {
1607 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1608 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1609 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1610
1611 while (%SIG_EV) {
1612 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1613 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1614 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1615 }
1616 }
1617 };
1170 }; 1618 };
1619 die if $@;
1171 1620
1172 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal" 1621 &signal
1173}
1174
1175sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
1176 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1177
1178 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1179
1180 # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1181 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1182 # instead of getting the default action.
1183 undef $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1184} 1622}
1185 1623
1186# default implementation for ->child 1624# default implementation for ->child
1187 1625
1188our %PID_CB; 1626our %PID_CB;
1189our $CHLD_W; 1627our $CHLD_W;
1190our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1628our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
1191our $WNOHANG; 1629our $WNOHANG;
1192 1630
1193sub _sigchld { 1631# used by many Impl's
1194 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1632sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1633 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1634
1635 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
1195 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1636 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
1196 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1637 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1197 }
1198} 1638}
1199 1639
1200sub child { 1640sub child {
1641 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1642 *_sigchld = sub {
1643 my $pid;
1644
1645 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1646 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
1647 };
1648
1649 *child = sub {
1201 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1650 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1202 1651
1203 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1652 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
1204 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1653 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
1205 1654
1206 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1655 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1207 1656
1657 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
1658 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
1659 ? 1
1208 $WNOHANG ||= eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1660 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
1209 1661
1210 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1662 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1211 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1663 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
1212 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1664 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1213 &_sigchld; 1665 &_sigchld;
1214 } 1666 }
1215 1667
1216 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child" 1668 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1217} 1669 };
1218 1670
1219sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY { 1671 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
1220 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1672 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1221 1673
1222 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1674 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
1223 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1675 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1224 1676
1225 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1677 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1678 };
1679 };
1680 die if $@;
1681
1682 &child
1226} 1683}
1227 1684
1228# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless 1685# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1229# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting 1686# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1230# the callback use more than 50% of the time. 1687# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1231sub idle { 1688sub idle {
1689 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1690 *idle = sub {
1232 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1691 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1233 1692
1234 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb}; 1693 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1235 1694
1236 $rcb = sub { 1695 $rcb = sub {
1237 if ($cb) { 1696 if ($cb) {
1238 $w = _time; 1697 $w = _time;
1239 &$cb; 1698 &$cb;
1240 $w = _time - $w; 1699 $w = _time - $w;
1241 1700
1242 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher, 1701 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1243 # within some limits 1702 # within some limits
1244 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001; 1703 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1245 $w = 5 if $w > 5; 1704 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1246 1705
1247 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb); 1706 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1248 } else { 1707 } else {
1249 # clean up... 1708 # clean up...
1250 undef $w; 1709 undef $w;
1251 undef $rcb; 1710 undef $rcb;
1711 }
1712 };
1713
1714 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1715
1716 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1252 } 1717 };
1718
1719 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1720 undef $${$_[0]};
1721 };
1253 }; 1722 };
1723 die if $@;
1254 1724
1255 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb); 1725 &idle
1256
1257 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1258}
1259
1260sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1261 undef $${$_[0]};
1262} 1726}
1263 1727
1264package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1728package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1265 1729
1266our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1730our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1267 1731
1268package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base; 1732package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1269 1733
1270use overload 1734#use overload
1271 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }, 1735# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1272 fallback => 1; 1736# fallback => 1;
1737
1738# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1739${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1740*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1741*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1742${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1743
1744our $WAITING;
1273 1745
1274sub _send { 1746sub _send {
1275 # nop 1747 # nop
1276} 1748}
1277 1749
1290sub ready { 1762sub ready {
1291 $_[0]{_ae_sent} 1763 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1292} 1764}
1293 1765
1294sub _wait { 1766sub _wait {
1767 $WAITING
1768 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1769 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1770
1771 local $WAITING = 1;
1295 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent}; 1772 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1296} 1773}
1297 1774
1298sub recv { 1775sub recv {
1299 $_[0]->_wait; 1776 $_[0]->_wait;
1301 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak}; 1778 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1302 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0] 1779 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1303} 1780}
1304 1781
1305sub cb { 1782sub cb {
1306 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1783 my $cv = shift;
1784
1785 @_
1786 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1787 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1788 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1789
1307 $_[0]{_ae_cb} 1790 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1308} 1791}
1309 1792
1310sub begin { 1793sub begin {
1311 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter}; 1794 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1312 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 1795 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1361C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>. 1844C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1362 1845
1363When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event 1846When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1364model it chooses. 1847model it chooses.
1365 1848
1849When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1850which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1851
1366=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> 1852=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1367 1853
1368AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough 1854AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1369argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value 1855argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1370will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly 1856will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1371check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems 1857check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1372it will croak. 1858it will croak.
1373 1859
1374In other words, enables "strict" mode. 1860In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1375 1861
1376Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in 1862Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1377production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while 1863>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1378developing programs can be very useful, however. 1864C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1865can be very useful, however.
1379 1866
1380=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL> 1867=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1381 1868
1382This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before 1869This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1383auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting 1870auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1426 1913
1427=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS> 1914=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1428 1915
1429The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call> 1916The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1430will create in parallel. 1917will create in parallel.
1918
1919=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1920
1921The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1922resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1923sent to the DNS server.
1924
1925=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1926
1927The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1928configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1929default config will be used.
1930
1931=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1932
1933When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1934L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1935variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1936instead of a system-dependent default.
1937
1938=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1939
1940When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1941loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1431 1942
1432=back 1943=back
1433 1944
1434=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1945=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
1435 1946
1493 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 2004 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
1494 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 2005 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1495 }, 2006 },
1496 ); 2007 );
1497 2008
1498 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
1499
1500 sub new_timer {
1501 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2009 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
1502 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2010 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
1503 &new_timer; # and restart the time
1504 }); 2011 });
1505 }
1506
1507 new_timer; # create first timer
1508 2012
1509 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2013 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
1510 2014
1511=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2015=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1512 2016
1585 2089
1586The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2090The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
1587that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2091that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
1588whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2092whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
1589and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2093and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
1590problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 2094problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
1591random callback. 2095random callback.
1592 2096
1593All of this enables the following usage styles: 2097All of this enables the following usage styles:
1594 2098
15951. Blocking: 20991. Blocking:
1643through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2147through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1644timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2148timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1645which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2149which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1646 2150
1647Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2151Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1648distribution. 2152distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2153for the EV and Perl backends only.
1649 2154
1650=head3 Explanation of the columns 2155=head3 Explanation of the columns
1651 2156
1652I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2157I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1653different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2158different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1674watcher. 2179watcher.
1675 2180
1676=head3 Results 2181=head3 Results
1677 2182
1678 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2183 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1679 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface 2184 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
1680 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2185 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1681 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2186 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1682 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation 2187 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
1683 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface 2188 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
1684 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2189 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2190 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2191 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1685 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour 2192 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
1686 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2193 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1687 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event 2194 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
1688 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select 2195 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1689 2196
1690=head3 Discussion 2197=head3 Discussion
1691 2198
1692The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2199The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1693well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 2200well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1705benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2212benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1706EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2213EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1707cycles with POE. 2214cycles with POE.
1708 2215
1709C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2216C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1710maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2217maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2218overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2219slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
1711far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2220any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1712natively.
1713 2221
1714The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2222The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1715constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2223constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1716interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2224interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1717adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2225adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1718performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2226performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1719them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2227them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1720 2228
1721The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2229The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1722cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2230cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2231
2232C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2233when using its pure perl backend.
1723 2234
1724C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2235C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1725faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2236faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1726C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2237C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1727watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2238watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1788In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2299In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1789(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 2300(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1790connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2301connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1791 2302
1792Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2303Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1793distribution. 2304distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2305for the EV and Perl backends only.
1794 2306
1795=head3 Explanation of the columns 2307=head3 Explanation of the columns
1796 2308
1797I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2309I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1798each server has a read and write socket end). 2310each server has a read and write socket end).
1805it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2317it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1806a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2318a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1807 2319
1808=head3 Results 2320=head3 Results
1809 2321
1810 name sockets create request 2322 name sockets create request
1811 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2323 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1812 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2324 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1813 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2325 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1814 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2326 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2327 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2328 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1815 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2329 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1816 2330
1817=head3 Discussion 2331=head3 Discussion
1818 2332
1819This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2333This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1820particular event loop. 2334particular event loop.
1822EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2336EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1823is relatively high, though. 2337is relatively high, though.
1824 2338
1825Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2339Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1826loops Event and Glib. 2340loops Event and Glib.
2341
2342IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2343good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1827 2344
1828Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2345Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1829understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2346understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1830the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2347the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1831uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2348uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1900 2417
1901Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which 2418Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
1902could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark 2419could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
1903simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which 2420simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
1904shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is 2421shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
1905fine, and shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't very 2422fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
1906optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra 2423very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
1907baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent. 2424baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
1908 2425
1909The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times, 2426The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
1910connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then 2427connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
1911creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't 2428creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
1912test the efficiency of the framework, but it is a benchmark nevertheless. 2429test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2430benchmark nevertheless.
1913 2431
1914 name runtime 2432 name runtime
1915 Lambda/select 0.330 sec 2433 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
1916 + optimized 0.122 sec 2434 + optimized 0.122 sec
1917 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec 2435 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
1923 2441
1924 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec 2442 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
1925 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec 2443 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
1926 +state machine 0.134 sec 2444 +state machine 0.134 sec
1927 2445
1928The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault) - the IO::Lambda 2446The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
1929benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O, 2447benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
1930defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly 2448defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
1931written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using 2449written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
1932AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS 2450AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
1933resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here as non-blocking connects 2451resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
1934generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking 2452generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
1935connects (which involve a single syscall only). 2453connects (which involve a single syscall only).
1936 2454
1937The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which 2455The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
1938offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda (using conventional 2456offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
1939Perl syntax), which means both the echo server and the client are 100% 2457Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
1940non-blocking w.r.t. I/O, further placing it at a disadvantage. 2458non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
1941 2459
1942As you can see, AnyEvent + EV even beats the hand-optimised "raw sockets 2460As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
1943benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl backend easily beats 2461hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
1944IO::Lambda and POE. 2462backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
1945 2463
1946And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and 2464And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
1947slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda, 2465slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2466higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
1948even thought it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a 2467it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
1949non-blocking way. 2468
2469The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2470F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2471part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
1950 2472
1951 2473
1952=head1 SIGNALS 2474=head1 SIGNALS
1953 2475
1954AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals: 2476AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1958=item SIGCHLD 2480=item SIGCHLD
1959 2481
1960A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher 2482A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1961emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some 2483emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
1962event loops install a similar handler. 2484event loops install a similar handler.
2485
2486Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2487AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
1963 2488
1964=item SIGPIPE 2489=item SIGPIPE
1965 2490
1966A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef> 2491A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
1967when AnyEvent gets loaded. 2492when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1979 2504
1980=back 2505=back
1981 2506
1982=cut 2507=cut
1983 2508
2509undef $SIG{CHLD}
2510 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2511
1984$SIG{PIPE} = sub { } 2512$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
1985 unless defined $SIG{PIPE}; 2513 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1986 2514
2515=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2516
2517One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2518its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2519
2520That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2521modules if they are installed.
2522
2523This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2524affect AnyEvent's operation.
2525
2526=over 4
2527
2528=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2529
2530This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2531my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2532signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2533delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2534catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2535C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2536
2537If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2538catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2539will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2540battery life on laptops).
2541
2542This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2543that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2544
2545Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2546and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2547(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2548does nothing for those backends.
2549
2550=item L<EV>
2551
2552This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2553event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2554loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2555the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2556automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2557can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2558C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2559L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2560
2561If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2562then this module will do nothing for you.
2563
2564=item L<Guard>
2565
2566The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2567C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2568lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2569purely used for performance.
2570
2571=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2572
2573One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2574via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2575advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2576
2577=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2578
2579Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2580worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2581the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2582
2583=item L<Time::HiRes>
2584
2585This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2586chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2587pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2588try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2589
2590=back
2591
1987 2592
1988=head1 FORK 2593=head1 FORK
1989 2594
1990Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2595Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1991because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2596because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
1992calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2597- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2598are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2599one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2600continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2601what you are doing).
2602
2603This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2604the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2605usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2606is loaded).
1993 2607
1994If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2608If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1995watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2609watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2610something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2611
2612The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2613is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2614fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2615watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2616parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2617to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2618preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2619to have another binary.
1996 2620
1997 2621
1998=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2622=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1999 2623
2000AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2624AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
2014Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2638Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2015be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2639be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2016probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and 2640probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2017$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}. 2641$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2018 2642
2643Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2644C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2645enabled.
2646
2019 2647
2020=head1 BUGS 2648=head1 BUGS
2021 2649
2022Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard 2650Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2023to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10 2651to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2034L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2662L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
2035 2663
2036Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2664Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2037L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2665L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2038L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2666L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
2039L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2667L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
2040 2668
2041Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2669Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2042servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2670servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2043 2671
2044Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2672Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2045 2673
2046Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2674Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2675L<Coro::Event>,
2047 2676
2048Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2677Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2678L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
2049 2679
2050 2680
2051=head1 AUTHOR 2681=head1 AUTHOR
2052 2682
2053 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2683 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>

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