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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, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
17
18 # one-shot or repeating timers
19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...);
21
22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
24
25 # POSIX signal
26 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
27
28 # child process exit
29 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
30 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 31 ...
13 }); 32 });
14 33
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 34 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 35 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 36
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 37 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
38 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 40 # use a condvar in callback mode:
41 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
42
43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
44
45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
47L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
48
49=head1 SUPPORT
50
51An FAQ document is available as L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
52
53There also is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
54channel, too.
55
56See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
57Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 58
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 59=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 60
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 61Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 62nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 63
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 64Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 65policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 66
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 67First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 68interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 69pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 70the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 71only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 72cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
73loops.
37 74
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 75The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 76programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 77religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 78module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 79model you use.
43 80
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 81For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 82actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 83like joining a cult: After you join, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 84cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 85that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 86module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 87
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 88AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 89fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if 90with the rest: POE + EV? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if your module
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 91uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, too. But if
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 92your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all event models it
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 93supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those use one of the
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 94supported event loops. It is easy to add new event loops to AnyEvent, too,
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 95so it is future-proof).
59 96
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 97In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 98model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have to 99modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 100follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 101offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 102technically possible.
66 103
104Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
105of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
106non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
107such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
108platform bugs and differences.
109
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 110Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 111useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 112model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 113
71
72=head1 DESCRIPTION 114=head1 DESCRIPTION
73 115
74L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 116L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
75allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 117allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
76users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 118module users to use a specific event loop implementation (since more
77peacefully at any one time). 119than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
78 120
79The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 121The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
80module. 122module.
81 123
82During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 124During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
83to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 125to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
84following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 126following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
85L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 127L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. The first one
86L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 128found is used. If none are detected, the module tries to load the first
87to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 129four modules in the order given; but note that if L<EV> is not
88adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 130available, the pure-perl L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> should always work, so
89be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 131the other two are not normally tried.
90found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
91very efficient, but should work everywhere.
92 132
93Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 133Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
94an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 134an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
95that model the default. For example: 135that model the default. For example:
96 136
98 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
99 139
100 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
101 141
102The 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
103starts 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,
104use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
105 146
106The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
107C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
108explicitly. 149explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
109 150
110=head1 WATCHERS 151=head1 WATCHERS
111 152
112AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 153AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
113stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 154stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
114the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 155the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
115 156
116These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 157These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
117creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 158creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
118callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
119is in control). 160is in control).
120 161
162Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
163potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
164callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practice in
165Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
166widely between event loops.
167
121To 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
122variable 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
123to it). 170to it).
124 171
125All 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.
126 173
127Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
128example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
129 176
130An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
131 178
132 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
133 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
134 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
135 }); 182 });
136 183
137Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 184Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
138my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
139declared. 186declared.
140 187
141=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
142 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
143You 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
144with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
145 198
146C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 199C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
200for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
201handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
202non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
203most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
204or block devices.
205
147for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 206C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
148which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 207watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
208
149respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 209C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
150becomes ready.
151 210
152Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 211Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
153presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 212presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
154callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 213callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
155 214
156The 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.
157You 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
158underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
159 218
160Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
161always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
162handles. 221handles.
163 222
164Example:
165
166 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 223Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
224watcher.
225
167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 226 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
168 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 227 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
169 warn "read: $input\n"; 228 warn "read: $input\n";
170 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
171 }); 230 });
172 231
173=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
174 233
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
175You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
176method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
177 244
178C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
179supported) 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
181 248
182Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
183presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
184callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
185 252
186The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 253The callback will normally be invoked only once. If you specify another
187timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 254parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
188and Glib). 255callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
256seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
257false value, then it is treated as if it were not specified at all.
189 258
190Example: 259The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
260attempt is made to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
261only approximate.
191 262
192 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
264
193 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
194 warn "timeout\n"; 266 warn "timeout\n";
195 }); 267 });
196 268
197 # to cancel the timer: 269 # to cancel the timer:
198 undef $w; 270 undef $w;
199 271
200Example 2:
201
202 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 272Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
203 my $w;
204 273
205 my $cb = sub {
206 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
207 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 274 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
275 warn "timeout\n";
208 }; 276 };
209
210 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
211 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
212 277
213=head3 TIMING ISSUES 278=head3 TIMING ISSUES
214 279
215There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 280There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
216in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 281in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
218 283
219While 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
220use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
221"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
222the 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
223fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
224 289
225AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
226about 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
227on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
228timers. 293timers.
229 294
230AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
231AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
232 297
298AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
299
300=over 4
301
302=item AnyEvent->time
303
304This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
305seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
306return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
307
308It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
309will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
310
311=item AnyEvent->now
312
313This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
314this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
315the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
316time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
317
318I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
319function to call when you want to know the current time.>
320
321This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
322thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
323L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update its activity timeouts).
324
325The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
326with your timing; you can skip it without a bad conscience.
327
328For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
329and L<EV> and the following set-up:
330
331The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callbacks at
332time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
333you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
334second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
335after three seconds.
336
337With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
338both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
339be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
340
341With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
342time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
343last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
344to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
345
346In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
347regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
348callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
349higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
350
351In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
352the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
353
354In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
355can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
356difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
357account.
358
359=item AnyEvent->now_update
360
361Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
362the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
363AnyEvent->now >>, above).
364
365When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
366this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
367might affect timers and time-outs.
368
369When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
370event loop's idea of "current time".
371
372A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
373when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
374idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
375script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
376AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
377(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
378
379Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
380
381=back
382
233=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
234 384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
386
235You 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
236I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 388I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
237be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
238 390
239Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 391Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
240presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 392presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
241callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 393callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
242 394
243Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 395Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
244invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
245that 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,
246but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
247 399
248The 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
249between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
250 403
251This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
252directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
253 407
254Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
255 409
256 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
257 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$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
258=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
259 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
260You 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.
261 454
262The 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,
263watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 456using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
264as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
265signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
266and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 459(stopped/continued).
267you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 460
461The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
462waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
463callback arguments.
464
465This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
466and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
467random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
468C<system>, is just fine).
268 469
269There 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
270I<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
271have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
272 473
273Not 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
274event 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
275loaded 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.
276 480
277This 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
278AnyEvent 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
279C<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.
280 489
281Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
282 491
283 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
284 493
285 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
286
287 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 494 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
288 495
289 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 496 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
290 pid => $pid, 497 pid => $pid,
291 cb => sub { 498 cb => sub {
292 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 499 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
293 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 500 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
294 $done->broadcast; 501 $done->send;
295 }, 502 },
296 ); 503 );
297 504
298 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
299 $done->wait; 506 $done->recv;
507
508=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
509
510 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
511
512This will repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle,
513until either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
514
515Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
516is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
517invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
518defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
519have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
520when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
521detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
522will be invoked.
523
524Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
525EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
526will simply call the callback "from time to time".
527
528Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
529program is otherwise idle:
530
531 my @lines; # read data
532 my $idle_w;
533 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
534 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
535
536 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
537 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
538 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
539 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
540 print "handled when idle: $line";
541 } else {
542 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
543 undef $idle_w;
544 }
545 });
546 });
300 547
301=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
302 549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
554
555If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
558
559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
561
562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
563they represent a condition that must become true.
564
565Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
566
303Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
304method without any arguments. 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
569C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
571the results).
305 572
306A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
307->broadcast >> method has been called. 574by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
575were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
576->send >> method).
308 577
309They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 578Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
579some different mental models of what they are - pick the ones you can connect to:
580
581=over 4
582
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
601
602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
310example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
311then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
312availability of results. 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
606called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
313 607
314You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 608You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
315an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 609you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
316program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 610could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
317->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 611button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
318 612
319Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 613Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
320two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 614two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
321lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 615lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
322you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 616you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
323as this asks for trouble. 617as this asks for trouble.
324 618
325This object has two methods: 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
620used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
621easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
624
625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
627for the send to occur.
628
629Example: wait for a timer.
630
631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
633
634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
639 after => 1,
640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
641 );
642
643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
644 # calls ->send
645 $timer_fired->recv;
646
647Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
648variables are also callable directly.
649
650 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
651 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
652 $done->recv;
653
654Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
655callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
656the main program:
657
658 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
659
660 ...
661
662 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
663
664And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
665results are available:
666
667 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
668 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
669 });
670
671=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
672
673These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
674code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
675the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
676uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
326 677
327=over 4 678=over 4
328 679
680=item $cv->send (...)
681
682Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
683calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
684called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
685
686If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
687immediately from within send.
688
689Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
690future C<< ->recv >> calls.
691
692Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
693they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
694C<send>.
695
696=item $cv->croak ($error)
697
698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
700
701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
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.
707
708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
709
329=item $cv->wait 710=item $cv->end
330 711
331Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 712These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
332called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 713one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
333 715
716Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
717C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
718>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
719condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
720>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
721be called without any arguments.
722
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:
730
731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
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
757 my %result;
758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
759
760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
761 $cv->begin;
762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
763 $result{$host} = ...;
764 $cv->end;
765 };
766 }
767
768 $cv->end;
769
770This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
771C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
772order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
773each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
774it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
775results arrive is not relevant.
776
777There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
779to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
780C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
781doesn't execute once).
782
783This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
784potentially zero) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
785the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
786subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
787call C<end>.
788
789=back
790
791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
792
793These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
794code awaits the condition.
795
796=over 4
797
798=item $cv->recv
799
800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
802normally.
803
334You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 804You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
335immediately. 805will return immediately.
806
807If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
808function will call C<croak>.
809
810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
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.
336 819
337Not 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
338(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
339using 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
340caller 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
341condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
342callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
343while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
344 827
345Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 828You can ensure that C<< ->recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
346sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
347multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 830time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
348can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 831waits otherwise.
349L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
350from different coroutines, however).
351 832
352=item $cv->broadcast 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
353 834
354Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 835Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
355calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 836C<croak> have been called.
356called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 837
838=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
839
840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
841replaces it before doing so.
842
843The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
844C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the
845condition variable itself. If the condition is already true, the
846callback is called immediately when it is set. Calling C<recv> inside
847the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
357 848
358=back 849=back
359 850
360Example: 851=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
361 852
362 # wait till the result is ready 853The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
363 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
364 854
365 # do something such as adding a timer 855=over 4
366 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
367 # when the "result" is ready.
368 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
369 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
370 after => 1,
371 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
372 );
373 856
374 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 857=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
375 # calls broadcast 858
376 $result_ready->wait; 859EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
860use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
861pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
862AnyEvent itself.
863
864 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
865 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
866
867=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
868
869These will be used if they are already loaded when the first watcher
870is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
871them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
872when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
873create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
874
875 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
876 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
877 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
878 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
879 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
880 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
881 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async.
882 AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa based on Cocoa::EventLoop.
883
884=item Backends with special needs.
885
886Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
887otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
888instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
889everything should just work.
890
891 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
892
893=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
894
895Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
896
897There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
898
899B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
900use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
901polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
902consider for AnyEvent.
903
904B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
905backend, so it can be supported through POE.
906
907AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
908load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
909in which case everything will be automatic.
910
911=back
377 912
378=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 913=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
379 914
915These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
916write AnyEvent extension modules.
917
380=over 4 918=over 4
381 919
382=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 920=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
383 921
384Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 922Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
923backend has been autodetected.
924
385contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 925Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
386Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 926name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
387C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 927of the C<AnyEvent::Impl::xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
388AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 928case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
389 929will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
390The known classes so far are:
391
392 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
393 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
394 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
395 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
396 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
397 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
398 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
399 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
400 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
401 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
402
403There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
404watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
405POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
406second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
407AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
408it's adaptor.
409
410AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
411autodetecting them.
412 930
413=item AnyEvent::detect 931=item AnyEvent::detect
414 932
415Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 933Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
416if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 934if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
417have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 935have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
418runtime. 936runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
937
938If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
939created, use C<post_detect>.
940
941=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
942
943Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
944autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
945
946The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
947(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
948created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
949other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
950L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
951
952The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
953event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
954and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
955avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
956
957If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
958that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
959C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
960a case where this is useful.
961
962Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
963C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
964
965 our WATCHER;
966
967 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
968 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
969 };
970
971 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
972 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
973 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
974 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
975
976 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
977
978=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
979
980If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
981before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
982after the event loop has been chosen.
983
984You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
985if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
986array will be ignored.
987
988Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
989it, as it takes care of these details.
990
991This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
992when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
993not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
994into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
995
996Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
997together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
998Coro to accomplish this):
999
1000 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1001 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1002 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1003 } else {
1004 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1005 # as soon as it is
1006 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1007 }
419 1008
420=back 1009=back
421 1010
422=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1011=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
423 1012
427Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 1016Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
428decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 1017decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
429by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 1018by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
430to load the event module first. 1019to load the event module first.
431 1020
432Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 1021Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
433the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 1022the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
434because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1023because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
435events is to stay interactive. 1024events is to stay interactive.
436 1025
437It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 1026It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
438requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 1027requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
439called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 1028called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
440freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1029freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
441 1030
442=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1031=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
443 1032
444There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1033There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
445dictate which event model to use. 1034dictate which event model to use.
446 1035
447If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1036If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
448do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1037when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
449decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1038uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1039to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1040available loop implementation.
450 1041
451If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 1042If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
452Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 1043Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
453event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 1044event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
454speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1045speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
455modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1046modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
456decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 1047decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
457might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 1048might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
458 1049
459You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 1050You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
460loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 1051C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
461behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 1052everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
1053
1054=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
1055
1056Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
1057only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1058
1059In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1060
1061 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1062
1063This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1064
1065Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1066it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1067variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1068exit cleanly.
1069
1070
1071=head1 OTHER MODULES
1072
1073The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
1074AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
1075modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
1076come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
1077
1078=over 4
1079
1080=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
1081
1082Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
1083functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
1084
1085=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1086
1087Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1088addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1089connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1090
1091=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1092
1093Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1094supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1095non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
1096
1097=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1098
1099Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1100
1101=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1102
1103Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1104the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1105Client Protocol).
1106
1107=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1108
1109Here be danger!
1110
1111As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1112there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1113its use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1114the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1115
1116It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1117confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1118fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1119with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1120packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1121support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1122wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1123
1124=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1125
1126Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1127notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1128
1129=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1130
1131Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1132toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1133L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1134file I/O, and much more.
1135
1136=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1137
1138A simple embedded webserver.
1139
1140=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1141
1142The fastest ping in the west.
1143
1144=item L<Coro>
1145
1146Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1147
1148=back
462 1149
463=cut 1150=cut
464 1151
465package AnyEvent; 1152package AnyEvent;
466 1153
467no warnings; 1154# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
468use strict; 1155sub common_sense {
1156 # from common:.sense 3.3
1157 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS} ^ "\x3c\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\x0f\xc0\xf0\xfc\x33\x00";
1158 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1159 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1160}
469 1161
1162BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1163
470use Carp; 1164use Carp ();
471 1165
472our $VERSION = '3.3'; 1166our $VERSION = '5.3';
473our $MODEL; 1167our $MODEL;
474 1168
475our $AUTOLOAD; 1169our $AUTOLOAD;
476our @ISA; 1170our @ISA;
477 1171
478our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
479
480our @REGISTRY; 1172our @REGISTRY;
481 1173
1174our $VERBOSE;
1175
1176BEGIN {
1177 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1178
1179 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1180
1181 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1182 if ${^TAINT};
1183
1184 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1185
1186}
1187
1188our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1189
1190our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1191
1192{
1193 my $idx;
1194 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1195 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1196 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1197}
1198
482my @models = ( 1199my @models = (
483 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
484 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
485 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1200 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
1201 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1202 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1203 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1204 # and is usually faster
486 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1205 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
487 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1206 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1207 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1208 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
488 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1209 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1210 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1211 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
489 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1212 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
490 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1213 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
491 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1214 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::],
492 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1215 [Cocoa::EventLoop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa::],
493 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
494 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
495 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
496); 1216);
497 1217
498our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 1218our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1219 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1220
1221our @post_detect;
1222
1223sub post_detect(&) {
1224 my ($cb) = @_;
1225
1226 push @post_detect, $cb;
1227
1228 defined wantarray
1229 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1230 : ()
1231}
1232
1233sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1234 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1235}
499 1236
500sub detect() { 1237sub detect() {
1238 # free some memory
1239 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1240
1241 local $!; # for good measure
1242 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1243
1244 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1245 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1246 if (eval "require $model") {
1247 $MODEL = $model;
1248 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1249 } else {
1250 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1251 }
1252 }
1253
1254 # check for already loaded models
501 unless ($MODEL) { 1255 unless ($MODEL) {
502 no strict 'refs'; 1256 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
503 1257 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
504 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1258 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
505 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
506 if (eval "require $model") { 1259 if (eval "require $model") {
507 $MODEL = $model; 1260 $MODEL = $model;
508 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1261 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
509 } else { 1262 last;
510 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1263 }
511 } 1264 }
512 } 1265 }
513 1266
514 # check for already loaded models
515 unless ($MODEL) { 1267 unless ($MODEL) {
1268 # try to autoload a model
516 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1269 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
517 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1270 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1271 if (
1272 $autoload
1273 and eval "require $package"
518 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1274 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
519 if (eval "require $model") { 1275 and eval "require $model"
1276 ) {
520 $MODEL = $model; 1277 $MODEL = $model;
521 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1278 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
522 last; 1279 last;
523 }
524 } 1280 }
525 } 1281 }
526 1282
527 unless ($MODEL) {
528 # try to load a model
529
530 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
531 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
532 if (eval "require $package"
533 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
534 and eval "require $model") {
535 $MODEL = $model;
536 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
537 last;
538 }
539 }
540
541 $MODEL 1283 $MODEL
542 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event) or Glib."; 1284 or die "AnyEvent: backend autodetection failed - did you properly install AnyEvent?\n";
543 }
544 } 1285 }
545
546 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
547 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
548 } 1286 }
1287
1288 @models = (); # free probe data
1289
1290 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1291 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1292
1293 # now nuke some methods that are overridden by the backend.
1294 # SUPER is not allowed.
1295 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1296 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1297 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1298 }
1299
1300 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}) {
1301 eval { require AnyEvent::Strict };
1302 warn "AnyEvent: cannot load AnyEvent::Strict: $@"
1303 if $@ && $VERBOSE;
1304 }
1305
1306 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1307
1308 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1309 shift->();
1310
1311 undef
1312 };
549 1313
550 $MODEL 1314 $MODEL
551} 1315}
552 1316
553sub AUTOLOAD { 1317sub AUTOLOAD {
554 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1318 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
555 1319
556 $method{$func} 1320 $method{$func}
557 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1321 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
558 1322
559 detect unless $MODEL; 1323 detect;
560 1324
561 my $class = shift; 1325 my $class = shift;
562 $class->$func (@_); 1326 $class->$func (@_);
563} 1327}
564 1328
1329# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1330# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1331# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1332sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1333 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1334
1335 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1336 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1337
1338 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1339 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1340
1341 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1342
1343 ($fh2, $rw)
1344}
1345
1346=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1347
1348Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1349simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1350overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1351
1352See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1353
1354=cut
1355
1356package AE;
1357
1358our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1359
1360# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1361# implementations can overwrite these.
1362
1363sub io($$$) {
1364 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1365}
1366
1367sub timer($$$) {
1368 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1369}
1370
1371sub signal($$) {
1372 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1373}
1374
1375sub child($$) {
1376 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1377}
1378
1379sub idle($) {
1380 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1381}
1382
1383sub cv(;&) {
1384 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1385}
1386
1387sub now() {
1388 AnyEvent->now
1389}
1390
1391sub now_update() {
1392 AnyEvent->now_update
1393}
1394
1395sub time() {
1396 AnyEvent->time
1397}
1398
565package AnyEvent::Base; 1399package AnyEvent::Base;
566 1400
1401# default implementations for many methods
1402
1403sub time {
1404 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1405 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1406 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1407 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1408 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1409 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1410 } else {
1411 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1412 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1413 }
1414
1415 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1416 };
1417 die if $@;
1418
1419 &time
1420}
1421
1422*now = \&time;
1423
1424sub now_update { }
1425
567# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1426# default implementation for ->condvar
568 1427
569sub condvar { 1428sub condvar {
570 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1429 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
571} 1430 *condvar = sub {
1431 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1432 };
572 1433
573sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast { 1434 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
574 ${$_[0]}++; 1435 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
575} 1436 };
1437 };
1438 die if $@;
576 1439
577sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait { 1440 &condvar
578 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
579} 1441}
580 1442
581# default implementation for ->signal 1443# default implementation for ->signal
582 1444
583our %SIG_CB; 1445our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1446
1447sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1448 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1449 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1450 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1451
1452 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1453}
1454
1455our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1456our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1457our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1458
1459# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1460# used by Impls
1461sub _sig_add() {
1462 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1463 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1464 my $NOW = AE::now;
1465
1466 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1467 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1468 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1469 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1470 ;
1471 }
1472}
1473
1474sub _sig_del {
1475 undef $SIG_TW
1476 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1477}
1478
1479our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1480 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1481 undef $_sig_name_init;
1482
1483 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1484 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1485 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1486 } else {
1487 require Config;
1488
1489 my %signame2num;
1490 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1491 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1492
1493 my @signum2name;
1494 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1495
1496 *sig2num = sub($) {
1497 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1498 };
1499 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1500 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1501 };
1502 }
1503 };
1504 die if $@;
1505};
1506
1507sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1508sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
584 1509
585sub signal { 1510sub signal {
1511 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1512 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1513 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1514 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1515
1516 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1517 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1518
1519 } else {
1520 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1521
1522 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1523 require AnyEvent::Util;
1524
1525 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1526 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1527 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1528 } else {
1529 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1530 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1531 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1532
1533 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1534 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1535 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1536 }
1537
1538 $SIGPIPE_R
1539 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1540
1541 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1542 }
1543
1544 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1545 ? sub {
586 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1546 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
587 1547
1548 # async::interrupt
588 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1549 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
589 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
590
591 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1550 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1551
1552 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1553 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1554 signal => $signal,
1555 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1556 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1557 ;
1558
1559 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1560 }
1561 : sub {
1562 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1563
1564 # pure perl
1565 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1566 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1567
592 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1568 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1569 local $!;
1570 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1571 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1572 };
1573
1574 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1575 # so limit the signal latency.
1576 _sig_add;
1577
1578 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1579 }
1580 ;
1581
1582 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1583 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1584
1585 _sig_del;
1586
1587 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1588
1589 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1590 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1591 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1592 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1593 # instead of getting the default action.
1594 undef $SIG{$signal}
1595 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1596 };
1597
1598 *_signal_exec = sub {
1599 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1600 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1601 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1602
1603 while (%SIG_EV) {
1604 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1605 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
593 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1606 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1607 }
1608 }
1609 };
594 }; 1610 };
1611 die if $@;
595 1612
596 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1613 &signal
597}
598
599sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
600 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
601
602 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
603
604 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
605} 1614}
606 1615
607# default implementation for ->child 1616# default implementation for ->child
608 1617
609our %PID_CB; 1618our %PID_CB;
610our $CHLD_W; 1619our $CHLD_W;
611our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1620our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
612our $PID_IDLE;
613our $WNOHANG;
614 1621
615sub _child_wait { 1622# used by many Impl's
616 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1623sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1624 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1625
1626 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
617 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1627 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
618 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1628 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
619 }
620
621 undef $PID_IDLE;
622}
623
624sub _sigchld {
625 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
626 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
627 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
628 &_child_wait;
629 });
630} 1629}
631 1630
632sub child { 1631sub child {
1632 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1633 *_sigchld = sub {
1634 my $pid;
1635
1636 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1637 while ($pid = waitpid -1, WNOHANG) > 0;
1638 };
1639
1640 *child = sub {
633 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1641 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
634 1642
635 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1643 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
636 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1644 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
637 1645
638 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1646 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
639 1647
640 unless ($WNOHANG) {
641 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
642 }
643
644 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1648 unless ($CHLD_W) {
645 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1649 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
646 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1650 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
647 &_sigchld; 1651 &_sigchld;
648 } 1652 }
649 1653
650 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1654 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
651} 1655 };
652 1656
653sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1657 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
654 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1658 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
655 1659
656 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1660 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
657 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1661 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
658 1662
659 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1663 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1664 };
1665 };
1666 die if $@;
1667
1668 &child
660} 1669}
1670
1671# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1672# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1673# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1674sub idle {
1675 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1676 *idle = sub {
1677 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1678
1679 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1680
1681 $rcb = sub {
1682 if ($cb) {
1683 $w = _time;
1684 &$cb;
1685 $w = _time - $w;
1686
1687 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1688 # within some limits
1689 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1690 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1691
1692 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1693 } else {
1694 # clean up...
1695 undef $w;
1696 undef $rcb;
1697 }
1698 };
1699
1700 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1701
1702 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1703 };
1704
1705 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1706 undef $${$_[0]};
1707 };
1708 };
1709 die if $@;
1710
1711 &idle
1712}
1713
1714package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1715
1716our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1717
1718# only to be used for subclassing
1719sub new {
1720 my $class = shift;
1721 bless AnyEvent->condvar (@_), $class
1722}
1723
1724package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1725
1726#use overload
1727# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1728# fallback => 1;
1729
1730# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1731${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1732*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1733*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1734${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1735
1736our $WAITING;
1737
1738sub _send {
1739 # nop
1740}
1741
1742sub send {
1743 my $cv = shift;
1744 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1745 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1746 $cv->_send;
1747}
1748
1749sub croak {
1750 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1751 $_[0]->send;
1752}
1753
1754sub ready {
1755 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1756}
1757
1758sub _wait {
1759 $WAITING
1760 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1761 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1762
1763 local $WAITING = 1;
1764 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1765}
1766
1767sub recv {
1768 $_[0]->_wait;
1769
1770 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1771 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1772}
1773
1774sub cb {
1775 my $cv = shift;
1776
1777 @_
1778 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1779 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1780 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1781
1782 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1783}
1784
1785sub begin {
1786 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1787 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1788}
1789
1790sub end {
1791 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1792 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1793}
1794
1795# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1796*broadcast = \&send;
1797*wait = \&_wait;
1798
1799=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1800
1801In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1802caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1803the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1804checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1805development.
1806
1807As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1808executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1809also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1810program.
1811
1812The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1813within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1814$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1815so on.
1816
1817=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1818
1819The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1820submodules.
1821
1822Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1823C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1824enabled.
1825
1826=over 4
1827
1828=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1829
1830By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1831conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1832talkative.
1833
1834When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1835conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1836C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1837
1838When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1839model it chooses.
1840
1841When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1842which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1843
1844=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1845
1846AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1847argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1848will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1849check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1850it will croak.
1851
1852In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1853
1854Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1855>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1856C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1857can be very useful, however.
1858
1859=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1860
1861This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1862auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1863entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1864and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1865used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1866auto detection and -probing.
1867
1868This functionality might change in future versions.
1869
1870For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1871could start your program like this:
1872
1873 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1874
1875=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1876
1877Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1878for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1879of auto probing).
1880
1881Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1882current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1883used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1884list.
1885
1886This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1887against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1888small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1889
1890Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1891but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1892- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1893addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1894IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1895
1896=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1897
1898Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1899for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1900some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1901default.
1902
1903Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1904EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1905
1906=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1907
1908The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1909will create in parallel.
1910
1911=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1912
1913The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1914resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1915sent to the DNS server.
1916
1917=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1918
1919The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1920configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1921default config will be used.
1922
1923=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1924
1925When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1926L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1927variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1928instead of a system-dependent default.
1929
1930=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1931
1932When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1933loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1934
1935=back
661 1936
662=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1937=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
663 1938
664This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1939This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
665a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1940a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
699 1974
700I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1975I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
701condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1976condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
702C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1977C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
703not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1978not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
704
705=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
706
707The following environment variables are used by this module:
708
709=over 4
710
711=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
712
713By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
714conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
715talkative.
716
717When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
718conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
719C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
720
721When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
722model it chooses.
723
724=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
725
726This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
727autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
728entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
729and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
730used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
731autodetection and -probing.
732
733This functionality might change in future versions.
734
735For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
736could start your program like this:
737
738 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
739
740=back
741 1979
742=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1980=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
743 1981
744The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1982The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
745to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1983to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
754 poll => 'r', 1992 poll => 'r',
755 cb => sub { 1993 cb => sub {
756 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1994 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
757 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1995 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
758 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1996 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
759 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1997 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
760 }, 1998 },
761 ); 1999 );
762 2000
763 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
764
765 sub new_timer {
766 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2001 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
767 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2002 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
768 &new_timer; # and restart the time
769 }); 2003 });
770 }
771 2004
772 new_timer; # create first timer
773
774 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2005 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
775 2006
776=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2007=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
777 2008
778Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 2009Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
779API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 2010API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
829 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 2060 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
830 or die "connection or write error"; 2061 or die "connection or write error";
831 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 2062 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
832 2063
833Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 2064Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
834result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 2065result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
835 2066
836 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 2067 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
837 2068
838 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 2069 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
839 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 2070 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
840 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 2071 $txn->{finished}->send;
841 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 2072 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
842 } 2073 }
843 2074
844The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 2075The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
845request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 2076request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
846data: 2077data:
847 2078
848 $txn->{finished}->wait; 2079 $txn->{finished}->recv;
849 return $txn->{result}; 2080 return $txn->{result};
850 2081
851The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2082The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
852that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2083that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
853whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2084whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
854and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2085and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
855problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 2086problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
856random callback. 2087random callback.
857 2088
858All of this enables the following usage styles: 2089All of this enables the following usage styles:
859 2090
8601. Blocking: 20911. Blocking:
888 2119
889 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2120 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
890 2121
891 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2122 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
892 ... 2123 ...
893 $quit->broadcast; 2124 $quit->send;
894 }); 2125 });
895 2126
896 $quit->wait; 2127 $quit->recv;
897 2128
898 2129
899=head1 BENCHMARK 2130=head1 BENCHMARKS
900 2131
901To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 2132To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
902over the event loops themselves (and to give you an impression of the 2133over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
903speed of various event loops), here is a benchmark of various supported 2134of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
904event models natively and with anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of 2135
905timers (with a zero timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to 2136=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
2137
2138Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
2139through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
2140timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
906become writable, which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys 2141which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
907them again.
908 2142
909Rewriting the benchmark to use many different sockets instead of using 2143Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
910the same filehandle for all I/O watchers results in a much longer runtime 2144distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
911(socket creation is expensive), but qualitatively the same figures, so it 2145for the EV and Perl backends only.
912was not used.
913 2146
914=head2 Explanation of the columns 2147=head3 Explanation of the columns
915 2148
916I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2149I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
917different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2150different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
918loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable 2151loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
919and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib 2152and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
929all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 2162all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
930and memory usage is not included in the figures. 2163and memory usage is not included in the figures.
931 2164
932I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 2165I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
933callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 2166callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
934invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 2167invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
935signal the end of this phase. 2168signal the end of this phase.
936 2169
937I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 2170I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
938watcher. 2171watcher.
939 2172
940=head2 Results 2173=head3 Results
941 2174
942 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2175 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
943 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2176 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
944 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2177 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
945 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2178 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
946 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 2179 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
947 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 2180 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
948 Event/Any 16000 936 39.17 33.63 1.43 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2181 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2182 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2183 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
949 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 2184 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
950 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2185 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
951 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 2186 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
952 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 2187 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
953 2188
954=head2 Discussion 2189=head3 Discussion
955 2190
956The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2191The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
957well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 2192well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
958can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of 2193can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
959file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at 2194file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
960the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed 2195the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
961boost. 2196boost.
962 2197
2198Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
2199overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
2200the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
2201higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
2202
2203To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
2204benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
2205EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
2206cycles with POE.
2207
963C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2208C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
964maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2209maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2210overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2211slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
965far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2212any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
966natively.
967 2213
968The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2214The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
969constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2215constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
970interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2216interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
971adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2217adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
972performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2218performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
973them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2219them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
974 2220
975The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation cost, 2221The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
976but overall scores on the third place. 2222cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
977 2223
2224C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2225when using its pure perl backend.
2226
978C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit bit higher, but it features a 2227C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
979faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2228faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
980C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2229C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
981watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2230watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
982making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers 2231making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
983(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so 2232(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
989file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 2238file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
990employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a 2239employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
991hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures 2240hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
992above). 2241above).
993 2242
994C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 2243C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
995perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 2244select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
996couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 2245be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
997and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 2246memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
998EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 2247as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
999requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 2248requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1000invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 2249invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2250implementation.
2251
1001implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 2252The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1002really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 2253for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1003to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 2254small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1004L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 2255optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2256using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2257memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2258design).
1005 2259
1006=head2 Summary 2260=head3 Summary
1007 2261
1008=over 4 2262=over 4
1009 2263
1010=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop, but most 2264=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
1011event loops have acceptable performance with or without AnyEvent. 2265(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
2266performance with or without AnyEvent.
1012 2267
1013=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of 2268=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1014the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as the EV 2269the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1015adds AnyEvent significant overhead. 2270adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
1016 2271
1017=item * And you should simply avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or 2272=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1018reasonable memory usage. 2273reasonable memory usage.
1019 2274
1020=back 2275=back
1021 2276
2277=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
2278
2279This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
2280creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
2281timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
2282watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
2283watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
2284
2285The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
2286are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
2287fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
2288timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
2289most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
2290
2291In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
2292(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
2293connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
2294
2295Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
2296distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2297for the EV and Perl backends only.
2298
2299=head3 Explanation of the columns
2300
2301I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
2302each server has a read and write socket end).
2303
2304I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
2305nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
2306
2307I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
2308single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
2309it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
2310a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
2311
2312=head3 Results
2313
2314 name sockets create request
2315 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
2316 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
2317 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
2318 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2319 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2320 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
2321 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
2322
2323=head3 Discussion
2324
2325This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
2326particular event loop.
2327
2328EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
2329is relatively high, though.
2330
2331Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
2332loops Event and Glib.
2333
2334IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2335good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
2336
2337Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
2338understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
2339the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
2340uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
2341
2342Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
2343clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
2344
2345POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
2346as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
2347it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
2348
2349=head3 Summary
2350
2351=over 4
2352
2353=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
2354
2355=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
2356
2357=back
2358
2359=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
2360
2361While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
2362large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
2363I/O watchers.
2364
2365In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
2366case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
2367one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
2368well.
2369
2370The columns are identical to the previous table.
2371
2372=head3 Results
2373
2374 name sockets create request
2375 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2376 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
2377 Event 16 81.27 35.86
2378 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
2379 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
2380
2381=head3 Discussion
2382
2383The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
2384server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
2385in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
2386to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
2387speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
2388them).
2389
2390EV is again fastest.
2391
2392Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
2393loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
2394matter.
2395
2396POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
2397others.
2398
2399=head3 Summary
2400
2401=over 4
2402
2403=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
2404watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
2405
2406=back
2407
2408=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2409
2410Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2411could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2412simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2413shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2414fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2415very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2416baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2417
2418The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2419connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2420creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2421test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2422benchmark nevertheless.
2423
2424 name runtime
2425 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2426 + optimized 0.122 sec
2427 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2428 + optimized 0.138 sec
2429 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2430 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2431 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2432 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2433
2434 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2435 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2436 +state machine 0.134 sec
2437
2438The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2439benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2440defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2441written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2442AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2443resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2444generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2445connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2446
2447The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2448offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2449Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2450non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2451
2452As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2453hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2454backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2455
2456And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2457slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2458higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2459it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2460
2461The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2462F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2463part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2464
2465
2466=head1 SIGNALS
2467
2468AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2469
2470=over 4
2471
2472=item SIGCHLD
2473
2474A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2475emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2476event loops install a similar handler.
2477
2478Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2479AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2480
2481=item SIGPIPE
2482
2483A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2484when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2485
2486The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2487on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2488badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2489program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2490some random socket.
2491
2492The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2493that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2494
2495Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2496
2497=back
2498
2499=cut
2500
2501undef $SIG{CHLD}
2502 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2503
2504$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2505 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2506
2507=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2508
2509One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2510its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2511
2512That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2513modules if they are installed.
2514
2515This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2516affect AnyEvent's operation.
2517
2518=over 4
2519
2520=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2521
2522This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2523my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2524signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2525delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2526catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2527C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2528
2529If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2530catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2531will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2532battery life on laptops).
2533
2534This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2535that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2536
2537Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2538and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2539(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2540does nothing for those backends.
2541
2542=item L<EV>
2543
2544This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2545event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2546loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2547the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2548automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2549can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2550C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2551L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2552
2553If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2554then this module will do nothing for you.
2555
2556=item L<Guard>
2557
2558The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2559C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2560lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2561purely used for performance.
2562
2563=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2564
2565One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2566via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2567advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2568
2569=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2570
2571Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2572worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2573the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2574
2575=item L<Time::HiRes>
2576
2577This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2578chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2579pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2580try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2581
2582=back
2583
1022 2584
1023=head1 FORK 2585=head1 FORK
1024 2586
1025Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2587Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1026because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2588because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
2589- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2590are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2591one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2592continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2593what you are doing).
2594
2595This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2596the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2597usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2598is loaded).
1027 2599
1028If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2600If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1029watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2601watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2602something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2603
2604The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2605is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2606fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2607watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2608parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2609to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2610preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2611to have another binary.
1030 2612
1031 2613
1032=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2614=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1033 2615
1034AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2616AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1039specified in the variable. 2621specified in the variable.
1040 2622
1041You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2623You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1042before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2624before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1043 2625
1044 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2626 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1045 2627
1046 use AnyEvent; 2628 use AnyEvent;
2629
2630Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2631be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2632probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2633$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2634
2635Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2636C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2637enabled.
2638
2639
2640=head1 BUGS
2641
2642Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2643to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2644and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2645memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2646pronounced).
1047 2647
1048 2648
1049=head1 SEE ALSO 2649=head1 SEE ALSO
1050 2650
1051Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2651Tutorial/Introduction: L<AnyEvent::Intro>.
1052L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 2652
2653FAQ: L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
2654
2655Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
2656
2657Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1053L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2658L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1054 2659
1055Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2660Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2661L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2662L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1056L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2663L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1057L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>,
1058L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1059 2664
2665Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2666servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2667
2668Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2669
2670Thread support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
2671
1060Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2672Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>,
2673L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1061 2674
1062 2675
1063=head1 AUTHOR 2676=head1 AUTHOR
1064 2677
1065 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2678 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1066 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2679 http://home.schmorp.de/
1067 2680
1068=cut 2681=cut
1069 2682
10701 26831
1071 2684

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