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1=head1 => NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
20 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's 35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
21 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
22 45
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 47
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 50
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 51Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 52policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 53
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 54First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 55interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 56pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 57the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 58only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 59cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
60loops.
37 61
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 62The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 63programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 64religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 66model you use.
43 67
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 68For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 69actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 70like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 74
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 76fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if 77with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 78your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 83
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 84In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to 86modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 87follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 88offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 89technically possible.
66 90
91Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
92of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
93non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
94such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
95platform bugs and differences.
96
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 97Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 98useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 99model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 100
71=head1 DESCRIPTION 101=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 102
102starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 132starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 133use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
104 134
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 135The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 136C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
107explicitly. 137explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
108 138
109=head1 WATCHERS 139=head1 WATCHERS
110 140
111AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 141AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
112stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 142stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 145These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 146creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 148is in control).
119 149
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops.
155
120To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 156To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
121variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 157variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
122to it). 158to it).
123 159
124All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 160All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 164
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 165An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 166
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
134 }); 170 });
135 171
136Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 172Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 174declared.
139 175
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 176=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 177
142You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 178You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 180
145C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 181C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
182for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
186or block devices.
187
146for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 188C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 189watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
190
148respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 191C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
149becomes ready.
150 192
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 193Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 194presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 195callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 196
158 200
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 203handles.
162 204
163Example:
164
165 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 205Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
206watcher.
207
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 208 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 209 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 210 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 211 undef $w;
170 }); 212 });
180 222
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 226
185The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
186timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
187and Glib). 229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
188 232
189Example: 233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
235only approximate.
190 236
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 240 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 241 });
195 242
196 # to cancel the timer: 243 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 244 undef $w;
198 245
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 246Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 247
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 248 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
249 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 250 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 251
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 252=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 253
214There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 254There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 255in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
227timers. 267timers.
228 268
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 269AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 270AnyEvent API.
231 271
272AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
273
274=over 4
275
276=item AnyEvent->time
277
278This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
279seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
280return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
281
282It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
283will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
284
285=item AnyEvent->now
286
287This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
288this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
289the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
290time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
291
292I<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.>
294
295This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
296thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
297L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
298
299The 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.
301
302For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
303and L<EV> and the following set-up:
304
305The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
306time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
307you 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
309after three seconds.
310
311With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
312both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
313be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
314
315With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
316time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
317last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
318to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
319
320In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
321regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
322callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
323higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
324
325In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
326the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
327
328In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
329can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
330difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
331account.
332
333=item AnyEvent->now_update
334
335Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
336the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
337AnyEvent->now >>, above).
338
339When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
340this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
341might affect timers and time-outs.
342
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time".
345
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347
348=back
349
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 351
234You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 352You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
235I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 353I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 355
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 356Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 357presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 358callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 359
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 375=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 376
259You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 377You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
260 378
261The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 379The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 380watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 381the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 382any trace events (stopped/continued).
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 383
266you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 384The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
385waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
386callback arguments.
387
388This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
389and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
390random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
391C<system>, is just fine).
267 392
268There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 393There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
269I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 394I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 395have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 396
272Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 397Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
398see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
273event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 399that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
274loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 400the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
401pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
402start the watcher.
275 403
276This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 404This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
277AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 405thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
278C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 406watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
407C<AnyEvent::detect>).
279 408
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 409Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 410
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 411 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 412
284 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 413 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
285 414
286 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 415 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
287 pid => $pid, 416 pid => $pid,
288 cb => sub { 417 cb => sub {
289 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 418 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
290 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 419 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
291 $done->send; 420 $done->send;
292 }, 421 },
293 ); 422 );
294 423
295 # do something else, then wait for process exit 424 # do something else, then wait for process exit
296 $done->recv; 425 $done->recv;
426
427=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
428
429Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
430to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
431"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
432attention by the event loop".
433
434Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
435better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
436events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
437
438Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
439EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
440will simply call the callback "from time to time".
441
442Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
443program is otherwise idle:
444
445 my @lines; # read data
446 my $idle_w;
447 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
448 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
449
450 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
451 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
452 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
453 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
454 print "handled when idle: $line";
455 } else {
456 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
457 undef $idle_w;
458 }
459 });
460 });
297 461
298=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 462=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
299 463
300If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 464If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
301require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 465require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
307The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 471The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
308because they represent a condition that must become true. 472because they represent a condition that must become true.
309 473
310Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 474Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
311>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 475>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
476
312C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 477C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
313becomes true. 478becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
479the results).
314 480
315After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 481After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
316by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it 482by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
317were a callback). 483were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
484->send >> method).
318 485
319Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 486Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
320optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points 487optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
321in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet 488in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
322another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be 489another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
373 540
374 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 541 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
375 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done); 542 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
376 $done->recv; 543 $done->recv;
377 544
545Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
546callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
547the main program:
548
549 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
550
551 ...
552
553 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
554
555And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the
556results are available:
557
558 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
559 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
560 });
561
378=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 562=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
379 563
380These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 564These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
381code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 565code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
382the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't 566the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
394immediately from within send. 578immediately from within send.
395 579
396Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 580Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
397future C<< ->recv >> calls. 581future C<< ->recv >> calls.
398 582
399Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as a 583Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly
400code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling C<send>. 584(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
585C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle
586overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
587instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
588support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
589invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
590example).
401 591
402=item $cv->croak ($error) 592=item $cv->croak ($error)
403 593
404Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke 594Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
405C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 595C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
408user/consumer. 598user/consumer.
409 599
410=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 600=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
411 601
412=item $cv->end 602=item $cv->end
413
414These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
415 603
416These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into 604These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
417one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 605one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
418to use a condition variable for the whole process. 606to use a condition variable for the whole process.
419 607
421C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end 609C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
422>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback 610>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
423is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no 611is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
424callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 612callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
425 613
426Let's clarify this with the ping example: 614You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
615sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
616condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
617
618Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
619STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
620close before activating a condvar:
621
622 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
623
624 $cv->begin; # first watcher
625 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
626 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
627 or $cv->end;
628 });
629
630 $cv->begin; # second watcher
631 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
632 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
633 or $cv->end;
634 });
635
636 $cv->recv;
637
638This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
639one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
640sending.
641
642The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
643there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
644begung can potentially be zero:
427 645
428 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 646 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
429 647
430 my %result; 648 my %result;
431 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 649 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
451loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 669loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
452to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 670to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
453C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop 671C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
454doesn't execute once). 672doesn't execute once).
455 673
456This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 674This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
457use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end> 675potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
458is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 676the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
459C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>. 677subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
678call C<end>.
460 679
461=back 680=back
462 681
463=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 682=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
464 683
509=item $bool = $cv->ready 728=item $bool = $cv->ready
510 729
511Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 730Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
512C<croak> have been called. 731C<croak> have been called.
513 732
514=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 733=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
515 734
516This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 735This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
517replaces it before doing so. 736replaces it before doing so.
518 737
519The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 738The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
520C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<recv> inside the callback 739C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
521or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 740variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
741is guaranteed not to block.
522 742
523=back 743=back
524 744
745=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
746
747The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
748
749=over 4
750
751=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
752
753EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
754use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
755that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
756available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
757
758 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
759 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
760 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
761
762=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
763
764These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
765is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
766them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
767when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
768create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
769
770 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
771 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
772 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
773 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
774
775=item Backends with special needs.
776
777Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
778otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
779instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
780everything should just work.
781
782 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
783
784Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
785architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
786is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
787it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
788L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
789
790 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
791
792=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
793
794Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
795
796There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
797
798B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
799use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
800polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
801consider for AnyEvent.
802
803B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
804backend, so it can be supported through POE.
805
806AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
807load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
808in which case everything will be automatic.
809
810=back
811
525=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 812=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
526 813
814These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
815write AnyEvent extension modules.
816
527=over 4 817=over 4
528 818
529=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 819=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
530 820
531Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 821Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
822backend has been autodetected.
823
532contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 824Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
533Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 825name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
534C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 826of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
535AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 827case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
536 828will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
537The known classes so far are:
538
539 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
540 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
541 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
542 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
543 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
544 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
545 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
546 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
547
548There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
549watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
550POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
551second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
552AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
553it's adaptor.
554
555AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
556autodetecting them.
557 829
558=item AnyEvent::detect 830=item AnyEvent::detect
559 831
560Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 832Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
561if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 833if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
562have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 834have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
563runtime. 835runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
836
837If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
838created, use C<post_detect>.
564 839
565=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 840=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
566 841
567Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 842Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
568autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 843autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
844
845The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
846(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
847created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
848other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
849L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
850
851The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
852event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
853and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
854avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
569 855
570If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 856If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
571that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 857that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
572L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 858L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
573 859
576If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 862If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
577before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 863before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
578the event loop has been chosen. 864the event loop has been chosen.
579 865
580You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 866You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
581if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 867if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
582and the array will be ignored. 868array will be ignored.
583 869
584Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 870Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
871it,as it takes care of these details.
872
873This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
874when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
875not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
876into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
585 877
586=back 878=back
587 879
588=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 880=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
589 881
612 904
613If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 905If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
614do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 906do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
615decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 907decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
616 908
617If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 909If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
618Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 910Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
619event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 911event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
620speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 912speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
621modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 913modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
622decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 914decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
623might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 915might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
624 916
625You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 917You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
626loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 918C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
627behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 919everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
920
921=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
922
923Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
924only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
925
926In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
927
928 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
929
930This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
931
932Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
933it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
934variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
935exit cleanly.
936
628 937
629=head1 OTHER MODULES 938=head1 OTHER MODULES
630 939
631The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 940The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
632AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 941AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
633in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 942modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
634available via CPAN. 943come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
635 944
636=over 4 945=over 4
637 946
638=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 947=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
639 948
640Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 949Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
641functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 950functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
642
643=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
644
645Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes.
646 951
647=item L<AnyEvent::Socket> 952=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
648 953
649Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets, 954Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
650addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp 955addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
651connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more. 956connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
652 957
958=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
959
960Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
961supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
962non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
963
964=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
965
966Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
967
968=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
969
970A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
971HTTP requests.
972
653=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 973=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
654 974
655Provides a simple web application server framework. 975Provides a simple web application server framework.
656 976
657=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
658
659Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
660
661=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 977=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
662 978
663The fastest ping in the west. 979The fastest ping in the west.
664 980
981=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
982
983Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
984
985=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
986
987Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
988programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
989together.
990
991=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
992
993Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
994L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
995
996=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
997
998A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
999
665=item L<Net::IRC3> 1000=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
666 1001
667AnyEvent based IRC client module family. 1002AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
668 1003
669=item L<Net::XMPP2> 1004=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
670 1005
671AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family. 1006AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1007Net::XMPP2>.
1008
1009=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1010
1011A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1012L<App::IGS>).
672 1013
673=item L<Net::FCP> 1014=item L<Net::FCP>
674 1015
675AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace 1016AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
676of AnyEvent. 1017of AnyEvent.
681 1022
682=item L<Coro> 1023=item L<Coro>
683 1024
684Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1025Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
685 1026
686=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
687
688Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
689programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
690together.
691
692=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
693
694Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
695IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
696
697=item L<IO::Lambda>
698
699The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
700
701=back 1027=back
702 1028
703=cut 1029=cut
704 1030
705package AnyEvent; 1031package AnyEvent;
706 1032
707no warnings; 1033no warnings;
708use strict; 1034use strict qw(vars subs);
709 1035
710use Carp; 1036use Carp;
711 1037
712our $VERSION = '4.03'; 1038our $VERSION = 4.82;
713our $MODEL; 1039our $MODEL;
714 1040
715our $AUTOLOAD; 1041our $AUTOLOAD;
716our @ISA; 1042our @ISA;
717 1043
1044our @REGISTRY;
1045
1046our $WIN32;
1047
1048BEGIN {
1049 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
1050 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1051
1052 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1053 if ${^TAINT};
1054}
1055
718our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 1056our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
719 1057
720our @REGISTRY; 1058our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
721
722our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2)
723 1059
724{ 1060{
725 my $idx; 1061 my $idx;
726 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx 1062 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1063 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
727 for split /\s*,\s*/, $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6"; 1064 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
728} 1065}
729 1066
730my @models = ( 1067my @models = (
731 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1068 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
732 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1069 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
1070 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
1071 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
1072 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1073 # and is usually faster
1074 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1075 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
733 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1076 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1077 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1078 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
734 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1079 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
735 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1080 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
736 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1081 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
737 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1082 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
738 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1083 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
739 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1084 # obvious default class.
740 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1085# [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
741 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1086# [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1087# [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
742); 1088);
743 1089
744our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1090our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1091 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
745 1092
746our @post_detect; 1093our @post_detect;
747 1094
748sub post_detect(&) { 1095sub post_detect(&) {
749 my ($cb) = @_; 1096 my ($cb) = @_;
754 1 1101 1
755 } else { 1102 } else {
756 push @post_detect, $cb; 1103 push @post_detect, $cb;
757 1104
758 defined wantarray 1105 defined wantarray
759 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect" 1106 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
760 : () 1107 : ()
761 } 1108 }
762} 1109}
763 1110
764sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY { 1111sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
765 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect; 1112 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
766} 1113}
767 1114
768sub detect() { 1115sub detect() {
769 unless ($MODEL) { 1116 unless ($MODEL) {
770 no strict 'refs'; 1117 no strict 'refs';
1118 local $SIG{__DIE__};
771 1119
772 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1120 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
773 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1121 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
774 if (eval "require $model") { 1122 if (eval "require $model") {
775 $MODEL = $model; 1123 $MODEL = $model;
776 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1124 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
777 } else { 1125 } else {
778 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1126 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $verbose;
779 } 1127 }
780 } 1128 }
781 1129
782 # check for already loaded models 1130 # check for already loaded models
783 unless ($MODEL) { 1131 unless ($MODEL) {
805 last; 1153 last;
806 } 1154 }
807 } 1155 }
808 1156
809 $MODEL 1157 $MODEL
810 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1158 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
811 } 1159 }
812 } 1160 }
813 1161
1162 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1163
814 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1164 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
815 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1165
1166 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
816 1167
817 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect; 1168 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
818 } 1169 }
819 1170
820 $MODEL 1171 $MODEL
830 1181
831 my $class = shift; 1182 my $class = shift;
832 $class->$func (@_); 1183 $class->$func (@_);
833} 1184}
834 1185
1186# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1187# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1188# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1189sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1190 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1191
1192 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1193 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<") : ($w, ">");
1194
1195 open my $fh2, "$mode&", $fh
1196 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1197
1198 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1199
1200 ($fh2, $rw)
1201}
1202
835package AnyEvent::Base; 1203package AnyEvent::Base;
836 1204
1205# default implementations for many methods
1206
1207BEGIN {
1208 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1209 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1210 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1211 } else {
1212 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1213 }
1214}
1215
1216sub time { _time }
1217sub now { _time }
1218sub now_update { }
1219
837# default implementation for ->condvar 1220# default implementation for ->condvar
838 1221
839sub condvar { 1222sub condvar {
840 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar:: 1223 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
841} 1224}
842 1225
843# default implementation for ->signal 1226# default implementation for ->signal
844 1227
845our %SIG_CB; 1228our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1229
1230sub _signal_exec {
1231 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4;
1232
1233 while (%SIG_EV) {
1234 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1235 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1236 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1237 }
1238 }
1239}
846 1240
847sub signal { 1241sub signal {
848 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1242 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
849 1243
1244 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) {
1245 require Fcntl;
1246
1247 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1248 require AnyEvent::Util;
1249
1250 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1251 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1252 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1253 } else {
1254 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1255 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1256 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1257
1258 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1259 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1260 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1261 }
1262
1263 $SIGPIPE_R
1264 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1265
1266 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1267 }
1268
850 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1269 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
851 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1270 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
852 1271
853 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1272 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
854 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1273 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
855 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1274 local $!;
1275 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1276 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
856 }; 1277 };
857 1278
858 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1279 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
859} 1280}
860 1281
861sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1282sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
862 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1283 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
863 1284
864 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1285 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
865 1286
1287 # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1288 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1289 # instead of getting the default action.
866 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1290 undef $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
867} 1291}
868 1292
869# default implementation for ->child 1293# default implementation for ->child
870 1294
871our %PID_CB; 1295our %PID_CB;
872our $CHLD_W; 1296our $CHLD_W;
873our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1297our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
874our $PID_IDLE;
875our $WNOHANG; 1298our $WNOHANG;
876 1299
877sub _child_wait { 1300sub _sigchld {
878 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1301 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
879 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1302 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }),
880 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1303 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} });
881 } 1304 }
882
883 undef $PID_IDLE;
884}
885
886sub _sigchld {
887 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
888 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
889 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
890 &_child_wait;
891 });
892} 1305}
893 1306
894sub child { 1307sub child {
895 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1308 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
896 1309
897 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1310 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
898 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1311 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
899 1312
900 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1313 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
901 1314
902 unless ($WNOHANG) {
903 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1315 $WNOHANG ||= eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
904 }
905 1316
906 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1317 unless ($CHLD_W) {
907 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1318 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
908 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1319 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
909 &_sigchld; 1320 &_sigchld;
910 } 1321 }
911 1322
912 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1323 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
913} 1324}
914 1325
915sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1326sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
916 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1327 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
917 1328
918 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1329 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
919 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1330 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
920 1331
921 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1332 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1333}
1334
1335# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1336# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1337# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1338sub idle {
1339 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1340
1341 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1342
1343 $rcb = sub {
1344 if ($cb) {
1345 $w = _time;
1346 &$cb;
1347 $w = _time - $w;
1348
1349 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1350 # within some limits
1351 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1352 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1353
1354 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1355 } else {
1356 # clean up...
1357 undef $w;
1358 undef $rcb;
1359 }
1360 };
1361
1362 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1363
1364 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1365}
1366
1367sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1368 undef $${$_[0]};
922} 1369}
923 1370
924package AnyEvent::CondVar; 1371package AnyEvent::CondVar;
925 1372
926our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::; 1373our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
978} 1425}
979 1426
980# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4 1427# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
981*broadcast = \&send; 1428*broadcast = \&send;
982*wait = \&_wait; 1429*wait = \&_wait;
1430
1431=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1432
1433In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1434caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1435the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1436checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1437development.
1438
1439As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1440executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1441also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1442program.
1443
1444The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1445within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1446$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1447so on.
1448
1449=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1450
1451The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1452submodules.
1453
1454Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1455C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1456enabled.
1457
1458=over 4
1459
1460=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1461
1462By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1463conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1464talkative.
1465
1466When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1467conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1468C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1469
1470When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1471model it chooses.
1472
1473=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1474
1475AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1476argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1477will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1478check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1479it will croak.
1480
1481In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1482
1483Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in
1484production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while
1485developing programs can be very useful, however.
1486
1487=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1488
1489This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1490auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1491entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1492and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1493used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1494auto detection and -probing.
1495
1496This functionality might change in future versions.
1497
1498For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1499could start your program like this:
1500
1501 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1502
1503=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1504
1505Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1506for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1507of auto probing).
1508
1509Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1510current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1511used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1512list.
1513
1514This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1515against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1516small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1517
1518Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1519but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1520- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1521addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1522IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1523
1524=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1525
1526Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1527for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1528some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1529default.
1530
1531Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1532EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1533
1534=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1535
1536The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1537will create in parallel.
1538
1539=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1540
1541The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1542resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1543sent to the DNS server.
1544
1545=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1546
1547The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1548configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1549default config will be used.
1550
1551=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1552
1553When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1554L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1555variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1556instead of a system-dependent default.
1557
1558=back
983 1559
984=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1560=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
985 1561
986This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1562This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
987a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1563a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
1021 1597
1022I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1598I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
1023condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1599condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
1024C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1600C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
1025not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1601not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
1026
1027=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1028
1029The following environment variables are used by this module:
1030
1031=over 4
1032
1033=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1034
1035By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1036conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1037talkative.
1038
1039When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1040conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1041C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1042
1043When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1044model it chooses.
1045
1046=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1047
1048This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1049auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1050entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1051and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1052used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1053auto detection and -probing.
1054
1055This functionality might change in future versions.
1056
1057For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1058could start your program like this:
1059
1060 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1061
1062=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1063
1064Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1065for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1066of auto probing).
1067
1068Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1069current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1070used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1071list.
1072
1073This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1074against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1075small, as the program has to handle connection errors already-
1076
1077Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1078but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1079- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1080addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1081IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1082
1083=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1084
1085Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1086for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1087some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1088default.
1089
1090Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1091EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1092
1093=back
1094 1602
1095=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1603=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
1096 1604
1097The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1605The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
1098to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1606to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1292watcher. 1800watcher.
1293 1801
1294=head3 Results 1802=head3 Results
1295 1803
1296 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1804 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1297 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1805 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
1298 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1806 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1299 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1807 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1300 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1808 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
1301 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1809 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
1302 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1810 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1811 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
1812 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1303 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1813 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
1304 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1814 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1305 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1815 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
1306 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1816 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
1307 1817
1308=head3 Discussion 1818=head3 Discussion
1309 1819
1310The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1820The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1311well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1821well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1336performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 1846performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1337them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 1847them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1338 1848
1339The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 1849The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1340cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 1850cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1851
1852C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
1853when using its pure perl backend.
1341 1854
1342C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 1855C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1343faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 1856faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1344C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 1857C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1345watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 1858watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1423it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 1936it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1424a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 1937a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1425 1938
1426=head3 Results 1939=head3 Results
1427 1940
1428 name sockets create request 1941 name sockets create request
1429 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 1942 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1430 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 1943 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1944 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
1945 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
1431 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 1946 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1432 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 1947 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1433 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 1948 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1434 1949
1435=head3 Discussion 1950=head3 Discussion
1436 1951
1437This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 1952This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1438particular event loop. 1953particular event loop.
1440EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 1955EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1441is relatively high, though. 1956is relatively high, though.
1442 1957
1443Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 1958Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1444loops Event and Glib. 1959loops Event and Glib.
1960
1961IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
1962good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1445 1963
1446Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 1964Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1447understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 1965understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1448the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 1966the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1449uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 1967uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1512=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2030=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1513watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2031watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1514 2032
1515=back 2033=back
1516 2034
2035=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2036
2037Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2038could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2039simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2040shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2041fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2042very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2043baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2044
2045The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2046connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2047creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2048test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2049benchmark nevertheless.
2050
2051 name runtime
2052 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2053 + optimized 0.122 sec
2054 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2055 + optimized 0.138 sec
2056 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2057 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2058 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2059 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2060
2061 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2062 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2063 +state machine 0.134 sec
2064
2065The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2066benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2067defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2068written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2069AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2070resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2071generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2072connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2073
2074The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2075offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2076Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2077non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2078
2079As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2080hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2081backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2082
2083And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2084slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2085large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2086in a non-blocking way.
2087
2088The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2089F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2090part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2091
2092
2093=head1 SIGNALS
2094
2095AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2096
2097=over 4
2098
2099=item SIGCHLD
2100
2101A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2102emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2103event loops install a similar handler.
2104
2105Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2106AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2107
2108=item SIGPIPE
2109
2110A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2111when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2112
2113The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2114on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2115badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2116program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2117some random socket.
2118
2119The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2120that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2121
2122Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2123
2124=back
2125
2126=cut
2127
2128undef $SIG{CHLD}
2129 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2130
2131$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2132 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1517 2133
1518=head1 FORK 2134=head1 FORK
1519 2135
1520Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2136Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1521because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2137because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1535specified in the variable. 2151specified in the variable.
1536 2152
1537You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2153You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1538before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2154before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1539 2155
1540 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2156 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1541 2157
1542 use AnyEvent; 2158 use AnyEvent;
1543 2159
1544Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2160Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1545be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2161be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1546probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2162probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2163$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2164
2165Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2166C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2167enabled.
2168
2169
2170=head1 BUGS
2171
2172Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2173to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2174and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2175memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2176pronounced).
1547 2177
1548 2178
1549=head1 SEE ALSO 2179=head1 SEE ALSO
1550 2180
1551Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>. 2181Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1554L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2184L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1555 2185
1556Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2186Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1557L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2187L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1558L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2188L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1559L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2189L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>.
1560 2190
1561Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and 2191Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1562servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>. 2192servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1563 2193
1564Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2194Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1565 2195
1566Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2196Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2197L<Coro::Event>,
1567 2198
1568Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>. 2199Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2200L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1569 2201
1570 2202
1571=head1 AUTHOR 2203=head1 AUTHOR
1572 2204
1573 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2205 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1574 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2206 http://home.schmorp.de/
1575 2207
1576=cut 2208=cut
1577 2209
15781 22101
1579 2211

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