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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
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 ->send 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->send; # 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=head1 DESCRIPTION 114=head1 DESCRIPTION
72 115
73L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 116L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
74allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 117allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
75users 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
76peacefully at any one time). 119than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
77 120
78The 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>
79module. 122module.
80 123
81During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 124During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
82to 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
83following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, 126following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
84L<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
85L<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
86to 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
87adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 130available, the pure-perl L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> should always work, so
88be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 131the other two are not normally tried.
89found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
90very efficient, but should work everywhere.
91 132
92Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 133Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
93an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 134an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
94that model the default. For example: 135that model the default. For example:
95 136
97 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
98 139
99 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
100 141
101The 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
102starts 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,
103use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
104 146
105The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
106C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
107explicitly. 149explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
108 150
109=head1 WATCHERS 151=head1 WATCHERS
110 152
111AnyEvent 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
112stores 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
113the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 155the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
114 156
115These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 157These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
116creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 158creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
117callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
118is in control). 160is in control).
119 161
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
120To 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
121variable 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
122to it). 170to it).
123 171
124All 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.
125 173
126Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
127example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
128 176
129An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
130 178
131 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
132 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
133 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
134 }); 182 });
135 183
136Note 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,
137my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
138declared. 186declared.
139 187
140=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
141 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
142You 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
143with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
144 198
145C<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
146for 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
147which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 207watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
208
148respectively. 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.
149becomes ready.
150 210
151Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 211Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
152presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 212presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
153callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 213callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
154 214
155The 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.
156You 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
157underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
158 218
159Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
160always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
161handles. 221handles.
162 222
163Example:
164
165 # 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
166 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 226 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
167 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 227 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
168 warn "read: $input\n"; 228 warn "read: $input\n";
169 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
170 }); 230 });
171 231
172=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
173 233
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
174You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
175method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
176 244
177C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
178supported) 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
180 248
181Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
182presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
183callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
184 252
185The 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
186timer 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
187and 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.
188 258
189Example: 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.
190 262
191 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
264
192 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
193 warn "timeout\n"; 266 warn "timeout\n";
194 }); 267 });
195 268
196 # to cancel the timer: 269 # to cancel the timer:
197 undef $w; 270 undef $w;
198 271
199Example 2:
200
201 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 272Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
202 my $w;
203 273
204 my $cb = sub {
205 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
206 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 274 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
275 warn "timeout\n";
207 }; 276 };
208
209 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
210 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
211 277
212=head3 TIMING ISSUES 278=head3 TIMING ISSUES
213 279
214There 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
215in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 281in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
217 283
218While 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
219use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
220"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
221the 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
222fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
223 289
224AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
225about 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
226on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
227timers. 293timers.
228 294
229AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
230AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
231 297
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
232=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
233 384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
386
234You 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
235I<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
236be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
237 390
238Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 391Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
239presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 392presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
240callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 393callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
241 394
242Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 395Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
243invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
244that 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,
245but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
246 399
247The 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
248between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
249 403
250This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
251directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
252 407
253Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
254 409
255 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
256 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$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
257=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
258 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
259You 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.
260 454
261The 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,
262watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 456using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
263as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
264signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
265and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 459(stopped/continued).
266you 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).
267 469
268There 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
269I<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
270have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
271 473
272Not 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
273event 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
274loaded 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.
275 480
276This 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
277AnyEvent 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
278C<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.
279 489
280Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
281 491
282 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
283 493
284 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
285
286 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 494 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
287 495
288 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 496 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
289 pid => $pid, 497 pid => $pid,
290 cb => sub { 498 cb => sub {
291 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 499 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
292 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 500 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
293 $done->send; 501 $done->send;
294 }, 502 },
295 ); 503 );
296 504
297 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
298 $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 });
299 547
300=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
301 554
302If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them 555If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
303require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that 556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
304will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks. 557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
305 558
306AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and 559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
307will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user). 560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
308 561
309The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called 562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
310because they represent a condition that must become true. 563they represent a condition that must become true.
564
565Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
311 566
312Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
313>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
314C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable 569C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
315becomes true. 570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
571the results).
316 572
317After creation, the conditon variable is "false" until it becomes "true" 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
318by calling the C<send> method. 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).
319 577
320Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can 578Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
321optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points 579some different mental models of what they are - pick the ones you can connect to:
322in time where multiple outstandign events have been processed. And yet 580
323another way to call them is transations - each condition variable can be 581=over 4
324used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers 582
325a result. 583=item * Condition variables are like callbacks - you can call them (and pass them instead
584of callbacks). Unlike callbacks however, you can also wait for them to be called.
585
586=item * Condition variables are signals - one side can emit or send them,
587the other side can wait for them, or install a handler that is called when
588the signal fires.
589
590=item * Condition variables are like "Merge Points" - points in your program
591where you merge multiple independent results/control flows into one.
592
593=item * Condition variables represent a transaction - functions that start
594some kind of transaction can return them, leaving the caller the choice
595between waiting in a blocking fashion, or setting a callback.
596
597=item * Condition variables represent future values, or promises to deliver
598some result, long before the result is available.
599
600=back
326 601
327Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished, 602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
328for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
329then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
330availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
331called or can synchronously C<< ->wait >> for the results. 606called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
332 607
333You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example, 608You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
334you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you 609you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
335could C<< ->wait >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit 610could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
336button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event. 611button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
337 612
338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 613Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
339two pieces 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
340lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 615lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 616you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
342as this asks for trouble. 617as this asks for trouble.
343 618
344Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
345used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing 620used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
346easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of 621easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
347AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call 622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
348it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method. 623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
349 624
350There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which 625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
351eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits 626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
352for the send to occur. 627for the send to occur.
353 628
354Example: 629Example: wait for a timer.
355 630
356 # wait till the result is ready 631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
357 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
358 633
359 # do something such as adding a timer 634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
360 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send 635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
361 # when the "result" is ready. 636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
362 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
363 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
364 after => 1, 639 after => 1,
365 cb => sub { $result_ready->send }, 640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
366 ); 641 );
367 642
368 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback 643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
369 # calls send 644 # calls ->send
370 $result_ready->wait; 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 });
371 670
372=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS 671=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
373 672
374These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the 673These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
375code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also 674code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
378 677
379=over 4 678=over 4
380 679
381=item $cv->send (...) 680=item $cv->send (...)
382 681
383Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 682Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
384calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 683calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
385called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered. 684called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
386 685
387If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called 686If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
388immediately from within send. 687immediately from within send.
389 688
390Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all 689Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
391future C<< ->wait >> calls. 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>.
392 695
393=item $cv->croak ($error) 696=item $cv->croak ($error)
394 697
395Similar to send, but causes all call's wait C<< ->wait >> to invoke 698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
396C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar. 699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
397 700
398This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable 701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
399user/consumer. 702user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
703delays the error detection, but has the overwhelming advantage that it
704diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
705deep in some event callback with no connection to the actual code causing
706the problem.
400 707
401=item $cv->begin ([group callback]) 708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
402 709
403=item $cv->end 710=item $cv->end
404 711
406one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want 713one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
407to use a condition variable for the whole process. 714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
408 715
409Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to 716Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
410C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end 717C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
411>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback 718>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
412is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no 719condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
413callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments. 720>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
721be called without any arguments.
414 722
415Let's clarify this with the ping example: 723You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
724sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
725condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
726
727Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
728STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
729close before activating a condvar:
416 730
417 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar; 731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
418 732
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
419 my %result; 757 my %result;
420 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) }); 758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
421 759
422 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) { 760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
423 $cv->begin; 761 $cv->begin;
424 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub { 762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
425 $result{$host} = ...; 763 $result{$host} = ...;
440loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback 778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
441to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that 779to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
442C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop 780C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
443doesn't execute once). 781doesn't execute once).
444 782
445This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests: 783This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
446use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end> 784potentially zero) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
447is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call 785the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
448C<begin> and for eahc subrequest you finish, call C<end>. 786subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
787call C<end>.
449 788
450=back 789=back
451 790
452=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS 791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
453 792
454These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the 793These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
455code awaits the condition. 794code awaits the condition.
456 795
457=over 4 796=over 4
458 797
459=item $cv->wait 798=item $cv->recv
460 799
461Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak 800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
462>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers 801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
463normally. 802normally.
464 803
465You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but 804You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
466will return immediately. 805will return immediately.
467 806
469function will call C<croak>. 808function will call C<croak>.
470 809
471In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned, 810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
472in scalar context only the first one will be returned. 811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
473 812
813Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
814event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
815>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
816condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
817L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
818any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
819
474Not 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
475(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
476using 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
477caller 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
478condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
479callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
480while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
481 827
482Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot
483sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require
484multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
485can supply.
486
487The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
488fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
489versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
490C<< ->wait >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
491coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
492
493You can ensure that C<< -wait >> never blocks by setting a callback and 828You can ensure that C<< ->recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
494only calling C<< ->wait >> from within that callback (or at a later 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
495time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking 830time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
496waits otherwise. 831waits otherwise.
497 832
498=item $bool = $cv->ready 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
499 834
500Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or 835Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
501C<croak> have been called. 836C<croak> have been called.
502 837
503=item $cb = $cv->cb ([new callback]) 838=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
504 839
505This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally 840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
506replaces it before doing so. 841replaces it before doing so.
507 842
508The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when 843The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
509C<send> or C<croak> are called. Calling C<wait> inside the callback 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
510or at any later time is guaranteed not to block. 847the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
511 848
512=back 849=back
513 850
851=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
852
853The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
854
855=over 4
856
857=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
858
859EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
860use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
861pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
862AnyEvent itself.
863
864 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
865 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
866
867=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
868
869These will be used if they are already loaded when the first watcher
870is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
871them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
872when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
873create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
874
875 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
876 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
877 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
878 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
879 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
880 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
881 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async.
882 AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa based on Cocoa::EventLoop.
883 AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK based on FLTK.
884
885=item Backends with special needs.
886
887Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
888otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
889instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
890everything should just work.
891
892 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
893
894=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
895
896Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
897
898There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
899
900B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
901use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
902polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
903consider for AnyEvent.
904
905B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
906backend, so it can be supported through POE.
907
908AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
909load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
910in which case everything will be automatic.
911
912=back
913
514=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 914=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
515 915
916These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
917write AnyEvent extension modules.
918
516=over 4 919=over 4
517 920
518=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 921=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
519 922
520Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 923Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
924backend has been autodetected.
925
521contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 926Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
522Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 927name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
523C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 928of the C<AnyEvent::Impl::xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
524AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 929case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
525 930will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
526The known classes so far are:
527
528 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
529 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
530 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
531 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
532 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
533 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
534 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
535 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
536
537There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
538watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
539POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
540second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
541AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
542it's adaptor.
543
544AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
545autodetecting them.
546 931
547=item AnyEvent::detect 932=item AnyEvent::detect
548 933
549Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 934Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
550if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 935if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
551have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 936have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
552runtime. 937runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
938
939If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
940created, use C<post_detect>.
553 941
554=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK } 942=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
555 943
556Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is 944Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
557autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened). 945autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
946
947The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
948(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
949created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
950other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
951L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
952
953The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
954event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
955and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
956avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
558 957
559If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object 958If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
560that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See 959that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
960C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
561L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful. 961a case where this is useful.
962
963Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
964C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
965
966 our WATCHER;
967
968 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
969 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
970 };
971
972 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
973 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
974 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
975 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
976
977 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
562 978
563=item @AnyEvent::post_detect 979=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
564 980
565If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it 981If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
566before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after 982before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
567the event loop has been chosen. 983after the event loop has been chosen.
568 984
569You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though: 985You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
570if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected, 986if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
571and the array will be ignored. 987array will be ignored.
572 988
573Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead. 989Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
990it, as it takes care of these details.
991
992This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
993when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
994not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
995into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
996
997Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
998together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
999Coro to accomplish this):
1000
1001 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1002 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1003 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1004 } else {
1005 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1006 # as soon as it is
1007 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1008 }
574 1009
575=back 1010=back
576 1011
577=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1012=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
578 1013
582Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 1017Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
583decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 1018decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
584by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 1019by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
585to load the event module first. 1020to load the event module first.
586 1021
587Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 1022Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
588the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is 1023the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
589because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1024because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
590events is to stay interactive. 1025events is to stay interactive.
591 1026
592It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 1027It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
593requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 1028requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
594called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 1029called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
595freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1030freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
596 1031
597=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1032=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
598 1033
599There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1034There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
600dictate which event model to use. 1035dictate which event model to use.
601 1036
602If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1037If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
603do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1038when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
604decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1039uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1040to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1041available loop implementation.
605 1042
606If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 1043If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
607Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 1044Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
608event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 1045event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
609speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1046speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
610modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1047modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
611decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 1048decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
612might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 1049might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
613 1050
614You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 1051You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
615loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 1052C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
616behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 1053everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
1054
1055=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
1056
1057Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
1058only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1059
1060In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1061
1062 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1063
1064This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1065
1066Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1067it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1068variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1069exit cleanly.
1070
617 1071
618=head1 OTHER MODULES 1072=head1 OTHER MODULES
619 1073
620The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use 1074The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
621AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules 1075AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
622in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are 1076modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
623available via CPAN. 1077come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
624 1078
625=over 4 1079=over 4
626 1080
627=item L<AnyEvent::Util> 1081=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
628 1082
629Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking 1083Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
630functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions. 1084functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
1085
1086=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1087
1088Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1089addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1090connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
631 1091
632=item L<AnyEvent::Handle> 1092=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
633 1093
634Provide read and write buffers and manages watchers for reads and writes. 1094Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1095supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1096non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
1097
1098=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1099
1100Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1101
1102=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1103
1104Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1105the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1106Client Protocol).
1107
1108=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1109
1110Here be danger!
1111
1112As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1113there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1114its use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1115the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1116
1117It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1118confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1119fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1120with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1121packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1122support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1123wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1124
1125=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1126
1127Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1128notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1129
1130=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1131
1132Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1133toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1134L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1135file I/O, and much more.
635 1136
636=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> 1137=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
637 1138
638Provides a simple web application server framework. 1139A simple embedded webserver.
639
640=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
641
642Provides asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities, beyond what
643L<AnyEvent::Util> offers.
644 1140
645=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing> 1141=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
646 1142
647The fastest ping in the west. 1143The fastest ping in the west.
648 1144
649=item L<Net::IRC3>
650
651AnyEvent based IRC client module family.
652
653=item L<Net::XMPP2>
654
655AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
656
657=item L<Net::FCP>
658
659AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
660of AnyEvent.
661
662=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
663
664High level API for event-based execution flow control.
665
666=item L<Coro> 1145=item L<Coro>
667 1146
668Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>. 1147Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
669 1148
670=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>, L<IO::AIO>
671
672Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
673programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses IO::AIO and AnyEvent
674together.
675
676=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>, L<BDB>
677
678Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
679IO::AIO and AnyEvent together.
680
681=item L<IO::Lambda>
682
683The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
684
685=back 1149=back
686 1150
687=cut 1151=cut
688 1152
689package AnyEvent; 1153package AnyEvent;
690 1154
691no warnings; 1155# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
692use strict; 1156sub common_sense {
1157 # from common:.sense 3.4
1158 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS} ^ "\x3c\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf0\x0f\xc0\xf0\xfc\x33\x00";
1159 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1160 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1161}
693 1162
1163BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1164
694use Carp; 1165use Carp ();
695 1166
696our $VERSION = '3.4'; 1167our $VERSION = '5.34';
697our $MODEL; 1168our $MODEL;
698 1169
699our $AUTOLOAD; 1170our $AUTOLOAD;
700our @ISA; 1171our @ISA;
701 1172
702our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
703
704our @REGISTRY; 1173our @REGISTRY;
705 1174
1175our $VERBOSE;
1176
1177BEGIN {
1178 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1179
1180 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1181
1182 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1183 if ${^TAINT};
1184
1185 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1186
1187}
1188
1189our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1190
1191our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1192
1193{
1194 my $idx;
1195 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1196 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1197 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1198}
1199
706my @models = ( 1200my @models = (
707 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1201 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
1202 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1203 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1204 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1205 # and is usually faster
708 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1206 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
1207 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1208 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1209 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
709 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1210 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1211 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1212 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
710 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1213 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
711 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1214 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
712 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1215 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::],
713 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1216 [Cocoa::EventLoop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa::],
714 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1217 [FLTK:: => AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK::],
715 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
716 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
717 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
718); 1218);
719 1219
720our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar one_event DESTROY); 1220our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1221 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar DESTROY);
721 1222
722our @post_detect; 1223our @post_detect;
723 1224
724sub post_detect(&) { 1225sub post_detect(&) {
725 my ($cb) = @_; 1226 my ($cb) = @_;
726 1227
727 if ($MODEL) {
728 $cb->();
729
730 1
731 } else {
732 push @post_detect, $cb; 1228 push @post_detect, $cb;
733 1229
734 defined wantarray 1230 defined wantarray
735 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::Guard" 1231 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
736 : () 1232 : ()
1233}
1234
1235sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1236 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1237}
1238
1239sub detect() {
1240 # free some memory
1241 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1242
1243 local $!; # for good measure
1244 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1245
1246 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1247 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1248 if (eval "require $model") {
1249 $MODEL = $model;
1250 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1251 } else {
1252 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1253 }
737 } 1254 }
738}
739 1255
740sub AnyEvent::Util::Guard::DESTROY { 1256 # check for already loaded models
741 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
742}
743
744sub detect() {
745 unless ($MODEL) { 1257 unless ($MODEL) {
746 no strict 'refs'; 1258 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
747 1259 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
748 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1260 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
749 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
750 if (eval "require $model") { 1261 if (eval "require $model") {
751 $MODEL = $model; 1262 $MODEL = $model;
752 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1263 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
753 } else { 1264 last;
754 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1265 }
755 } 1266 }
756 } 1267 }
757 1268
758 # check for already loaded models
759 unless ($MODEL) { 1269 unless ($MODEL) {
1270 # try to autoload a model
760 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1271 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
761 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1272 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1273 if (
1274 $autoload
1275 and eval "require $package"
762 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1276 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
763 if (eval "require $model") { 1277 and eval "require $model"
1278 ) {
764 $MODEL = $model; 1279 $MODEL = $model;
765 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1280 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
766 last; 1281 last;
767 }
768 } 1282 }
769 } 1283 }
770 1284
771 unless ($MODEL) {
772 # try to load a model
773
774 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
775 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
776 if (eval "require $package"
777 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
778 and eval "require $model") {
779 $MODEL = $model;
780 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
781 last;
782 }
783 }
784
785 $MODEL 1285 $MODEL
786 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib."; 1286 or die "AnyEvent: backend autodetection failed - did you properly install AnyEvent?\n";
787 }
788 } 1287 }
789
790 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
791 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
792
793 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
794 } 1288 }
1289
1290 @models = (); # free probe data
1291
1292 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1293 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1294
1295 # now nuke some methods that are overridden by the backend.
1296 # SUPER is not allowed.
1297 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1298 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1299 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1300 }
1301
1302 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}) {
1303 eval { require AnyEvent::Strict };
1304 warn "AnyEvent: cannot load AnyEvent::Strict: $@"
1305 if $@ && $VERBOSE;
1306 }
1307
1308 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1309
1310 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1311 shift->();
1312
1313 undef
1314 };
795 1315
796 $MODEL 1316 $MODEL
797} 1317}
798 1318
799sub AUTOLOAD { 1319sub AUTOLOAD {
800 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1320 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
801 1321
802 $method{$func} 1322 $method{$func}
803 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1323 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
804 1324
805 detect unless $MODEL; 1325 detect;
806 1326
807 my $class = shift; 1327 my $class = shift;
808 $class->$func (@_); 1328 $class->$func (@_);
809} 1329}
810 1330
1331# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1332# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1333# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1334sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1335 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1336
1337 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1338 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1339
1340 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1341 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1342
1343 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1344
1345 ($fh2, $rw)
1346}
1347
1348=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1349
1350Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1351simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1352overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1353
1354See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1355
1356=cut
1357
1358package AE;
1359
1360our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1361
1362# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1363# implementations can overwrite these.
1364
1365sub io($$$) {
1366 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1367}
1368
1369sub timer($$$) {
1370 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1371}
1372
1373sub signal($$) {
1374 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1375}
1376
1377sub child($$) {
1378 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1379}
1380
1381sub idle($) {
1382 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1383}
1384
1385sub cv(;&) {
1386 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1387}
1388
1389sub now() {
1390 AnyEvent->now
1391}
1392
1393sub now_update() {
1394 AnyEvent->now_update
1395}
1396
1397sub time() {
1398 AnyEvent->time
1399}
1400
811package AnyEvent::Base; 1401package AnyEvent::Base;
812 1402
1403# default implementations for many methods
1404
1405sub time {
1406 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1407 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1408 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1409 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1410 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1411 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1412 } else {
1413 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1414 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1415 }
1416
1417 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1418 };
1419 die if $@;
1420
1421 &time
1422}
1423
1424*now = \&time;
1425
1426sub now_update { }
1427
813# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1428# default implementation for ->condvar
814 1429
815sub condvar { 1430sub condvar {
816 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1431 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
817} 1432 *condvar = sub {
1433 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1434 };
818 1435
819sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast { 1436 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
820 ${$_[0]}++; 1437 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
821} 1438 };
1439 };
1440 die if $@;
822 1441
823sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait { 1442 &condvar
824 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
825} 1443}
826 1444
827# default implementation for ->signal 1445# default implementation for ->signal
828 1446
829our %SIG_CB; 1447our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1448
1449sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1450 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1451 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1452 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1453
1454 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1455}
1456
1457our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1458our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1459our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1460
1461# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1462# used by Impls
1463sub _sig_add() {
1464 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1465 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1466 my $NOW = AE::now;
1467
1468 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1469 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1470 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1471 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1472 ;
1473 }
1474}
1475
1476sub _sig_del {
1477 undef $SIG_TW
1478 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1479}
1480
1481our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1482 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1483 undef $_sig_name_init;
1484
1485 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1486 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1487 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1488 } else {
1489 require Config;
1490
1491 my %signame2num;
1492 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1493 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1494
1495 my @signum2name;
1496 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1497
1498 *sig2num = sub($) {
1499 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1500 };
1501 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1502 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1503 };
1504 }
1505 };
1506 die if $@;
1507};
1508
1509sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1510sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
830 1511
831sub signal { 1512sub signal {
1513 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1514 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1515 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1516 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1517
1518 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1519 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1520
1521 } else {
1522 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1523
1524 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1525 require AnyEvent::Util;
1526
1527 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1528 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1529 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1530 } else {
1531 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1532 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1533 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1534
1535 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1536 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1537 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1538 }
1539
1540 $SIGPIPE_R
1541 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1542
1543 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1544 }
1545
1546 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1547 ? sub {
832 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1548 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
833 1549
1550 # async::interrupt
834 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1551 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
835 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
836
837 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1552 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1553
1554 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1555 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1556 signal => $signal,
1557 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1558 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1559 ;
1560
1561 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1562 }
1563 : sub {
1564 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1565
1566 # pure perl
1567 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1568 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1569
838 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1570 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1571 local $!;
1572 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1573 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1574 };
1575
1576 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1577 # so limit the signal latency.
1578 _sig_add;
1579
1580 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1581 }
1582 ;
1583
1584 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1585 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1586
1587 _sig_del;
1588
1589 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1590
1591 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1592 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1593 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1594 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1595 # instead of getting the default action.
1596 undef $SIG{$signal}
1597 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1598 };
1599
1600 *_signal_exec = sub {
1601 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1602 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1603 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1604
1605 while (%SIG_EV) {
1606 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1607 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
839 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1608 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1609 }
1610 }
1611 };
840 }; 1612 };
1613 die if $@;
841 1614
842 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1615 &signal
843}
844
845sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
846 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
847
848 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
849
850 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
851} 1616}
852 1617
853# default implementation for ->child 1618# default implementation for ->child
854 1619
855our %PID_CB; 1620our %PID_CB;
856our $CHLD_W; 1621our $CHLD_W;
857our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1622our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
858our $PID_IDLE;
859our $WNOHANG;
860 1623
861sub _child_wait { 1624# used by many Impl's
862 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1625sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1626 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1627
1628 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
863 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1629 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
864 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1630 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1631}
1632
1633sub child {
1634 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1635 *_sigchld = sub {
1636 my $pid;
1637
1638 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1639 while ($pid = waitpid -1, WNOHANG) > 0;
1640 };
1641
1642 *child = sub {
1643 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1644
1645 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
1646 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
1647
1648 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1649
1650 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1651 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
1652 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1653 &_sigchld;
1654 }
1655
1656 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1657 };
1658
1659 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
1660 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1661
1662 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
1663 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1664
1665 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1666 };
1667 };
1668 die if $@;
1669
1670 &child
1671}
1672
1673# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1674# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1675# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1676sub idle {
1677 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1678 *idle = sub {
1679 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1680
1681 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1682
1683 $rcb = sub {
1684 if ($cb) {
1685 $w = _time;
1686 &$cb;
1687 $w = _time - $w;
1688
1689 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1690 # within some limits
1691 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1692 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1693
1694 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1695 } else {
1696 # clean up...
1697 undef $w;
1698 undef $rcb;
1699 }
1700 };
1701
1702 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1703
1704 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1705 };
1706
1707 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1708 undef $${$_[0]};
1709 };
1710 };
1711 die if $@;
1712
1713 &idle
1714}
1715
1716package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1717
1718our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1719
1720# only to be used for subclassing
1721sub new {
1722 my $class = shift;
1723 bless AnyEvent->condvar (@_), $class
1724}
1725
1726package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1727
1728#use overload
1729# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1730# fallback => 1;
1731
1732# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1733${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1734*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1735*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1736${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1737
1738our $WAITING;
1739
1740sub _send {
1741 # nop
1742}
1743
1744sub _wait {
1745 Carp::croak "$AnyEvent::MODEL does not support blocking waits. Caught";
1746}
1747
1748sub send {
1749 my $cv = shift;
1750 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1751 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1752 $cv->_send;
1753}
1754
1755sub croak {
1756 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1757 $_[0]->send;
1758}
1759
1760sub ready {
1761 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1762}
1763
1764sub recv {
1765 unless ($_[0]{_ae_sent}) {
1766 $WAITING
1767 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1768
1769 local $WAITING = 1;
1770 $_[0]->_wait;
865 } 1771 }
866 1772
867 undef $PID_IDLE; 1773 $_[0]{_ae_croak}
868} 1774 and Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak};
869 1775
870sub _sigchld { 1776 wantarray
871 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop. 1777 ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} }
872 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub { 1778 : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
873 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
874 &_child_wait;
875 });
876} 1779}
877 1780
878sub child { 1781sub cb {
879 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1782 my $cv = shift;
880 1783
881 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1784 @_
882 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1785 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1786 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1787 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
883 1788
884 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1789 $cv->{_ae_cb}
885
886 unless ($WNOHANG) {
887 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
888 }
889
890 unless ($CHLD_W) {
891 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
892 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
893 &_sigchld;
894 }
895
896 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child"
897} 1790}
898 1791
899sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1792sub begin {
900 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1793 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
901 1794 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
902 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
903 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
904
905 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
906} 1795}
1796
1797sub end {
1798 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1799 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1800}
1801
1802# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1803*broadcast = \&send;
1804*wait = \&recv;
1805
1806=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1807
1808In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1809caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1810the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1811checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1812development.
1813
1814As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1815executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1816also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1817program.
1818
1819The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1820within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1821$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1822so on.
1823
1824=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1825
1826The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1827submodules.
1828
1829Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1830C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1831enabled.
1832
1833=over 4
1834
1835=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1836
1837By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1838conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1839talkative.
1840
1841When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1842conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1843C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1844
1845When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1846model it chooses.
1847
1848When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1849which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1850
1851=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1852
1853AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1854argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1855will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1856check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1857it will croak.
1858
1859In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1860
1861Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1862>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1863C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1864can be very useful, however.
1865
1866=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1867
1868This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1869auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1870entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1871and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1872used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1873auto detection and -probing.
1874
1875This functionality might change in future versions.
1876
1877For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1878could start your program like this:
1879
1880 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1881
1882=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1883
1884Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1885for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1886of auto probing).
1887
1888Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1889current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1890used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1891list.
1892
1893This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1894against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1895small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1896
1897Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1898but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1899- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1900addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1901IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1902
1903=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1904
1905Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1906for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1907some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1908default.
1909
1910Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1911EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1912
1913=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1914
1915The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1916will create in parallel.
1917
1918=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1919
1920The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1921resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1922sent to the DNS server.
1923
1924=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1925
1926The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1927configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1928default config will be used.
1929
1930=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1931
1932When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1933L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1934variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1935instead of a system-dependent default.
1936
1937=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1938
1939When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1940loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1941
1942=back
907 1943
908=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1944=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
909 1945
910This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1946This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
911a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1947a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
945 1981
946I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1982I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
947condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1983condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
948C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1984C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
949not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1985not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
950
951=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
952
953The following environment variables are used by this module:
954
955=over 4
956
957=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
958
959By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
960conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
961talkative.
962
963When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
964conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
965C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
966
967When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
968model it chooses.
969
970=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
971
972This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
973autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
974entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
975and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
976used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
977autodetection and -probing.
978
979This functionality might change in future versions.
980
981For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
982could start your program like this:
983
984 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
985
986=back
987 1986
988=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1987=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
989 1988
990The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1989The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
991to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1990to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
1000 poll => 'r', 1999 poll => 'r',
1001 cb => sub { 2000 cb => sub {
1002 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 2001 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
1003 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 2002 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
1004 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 2003 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
1005 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 2004 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
1006 }, 2005 },
1007 ); 2006 );
1008 2007
1009 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
1010
1011 sub new_timer {
1012 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2008 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
1013 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2009 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
1014 &new_timer; # and restart the time
1015 }); 2010 });
1016 }
1017 2011
1018 new_timer; # create first timer
1019
1020 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2012 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
1021 2013
1022=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2014=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
1023 2015
1024Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 2016Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
1025API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 2017API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
1075 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 2067 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
1076 or die "connection or write error"; 2068 or die "connection or write error";
1077 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 2069 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
1078 2070
1079Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 2071Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
1080result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 2072result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
1081 2073
1082 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 2074 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
1083 2075
1084 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 2076 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
1085 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 2077 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
1086 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 2078 $txn->{finished}->send;
1087 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 2079 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
1088 } 2080 }
1089 2081
1090The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 2082The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
1091request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 2083request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
1092data: 2084data:
1093 2085
1094 $txn->{finished}->wait; 2086 $txn->{finished}->recv;
1095 return $txn->{result}; 2087 return $txn->{result};
1096 2088
1097The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2089The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
1098that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2090that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
1099whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2091whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
1100and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2092and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
1101problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 2093problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
1102random callback. 2094random callback.
1103 2095
1104All of this enables the following usage styles: 2096All of this enables the following usage styles:
1105 2097
11061. Blocking: 20981. Blocking:
1134 2126
1135 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2127 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
1136 2128
1137 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2129 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
1138 ... 2130 ...
1139 $quit->broadcast; 2131 $quit->send;
1140 }); 2132 });
1141 2133
1142 $quit->wait; 2134 $quit->recv;
1143 2135
1144 2136
1145=head1 BENCHMARKS 2137=head1 BENCHMARKS
1146 2138
1147To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 2139To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
1149of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 2141of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
1150 2142
1151=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 2143=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
1152 2144
1153Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 2145Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
1154through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2146through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
1155timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2147timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
1156which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2148which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
1157 2149
1158Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2150Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
1159distribution. 2151distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2152for the EV and Perl backends only.
1160 2153
1161=head3 Explanation of the columns 2154=head3 Explanation of the columns
1162 2155
1163I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2156I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
1164different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2157different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
1176all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 2169all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
1177and memory usage is not included in the figures. 2170and memory usage is not included in the figures.
1178 2171
1179I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 2172I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
1180callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 2173callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
1181invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 2174invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
1182signal the end of this phase. 2175signal the end of this phase.
1183 2176
1184I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 2177I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
1185watcher. 2178watcher.
1186 2179
1187=head3 Results 2180=head3 Results
1188 2181
1189 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2182 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
1190 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2183 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
1191 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2184 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
1192 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2185 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
1193 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 2186 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
1194 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 2187 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
1195 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2188 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2189 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2190 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
1196 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 2191 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
1197 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2192 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
1198 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 2193 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
1199 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 2194 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
1200 2195
1201=head3 Discussion 2196=head3 Discussion
1202 2197
1203The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2198The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
1204well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 2199well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1216benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2211benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1217EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2212EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1218cycles with POE. 2213cycles with POE.
1219 2214
1220C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2215C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
1221maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2216maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2217overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2218slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
1222far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2219any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
1223natively.
1224 2220
1225The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2221The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
1226constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2222constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1227interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2223interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1228adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2224adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1229performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2225performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1230them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2226them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1231 2227
1232The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2228The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1233cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2229cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2230
2231C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2232when using its pure perl backend.
1234 2233
1235C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2234C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1236faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2235faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1237C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2236C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1238watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2237watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1282 2281
1283=back 2282=back
1284 2283
1285=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 2284=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1286 2285
1287This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 2286This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1288creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 2287creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1289timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O 2288timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1290watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket 2289watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1291watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server". 2290watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1292 2291
1293The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 2292The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1294are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active 2293are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1295fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The 2294fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1296timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 2295timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1297most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 2296most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1298 2297
1299In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2298In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1300(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 2299(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1301connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2300connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1302 2301
1303Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2302Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1304distribution. 2303distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2304for the EV and Perl backends only.
1305 2305
1306=head3 Explanation of the columns 2306=head3 Explanation of the columns
1307 2307
1308I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2308I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1309each server has a read and write socket end). 2309each server has a read and write socket end).
1310 2310
1311I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 2311I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1312nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher. 2312nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1313 2313
1314I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 2314I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1315single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding 2315single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1316it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2316it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1317a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2317a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1318 2318
1319=head3 Results 2319=head3 Results
1320 2320
1321 name sockets create request 2321 name sockets create request
1322 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2322 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1323 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87 2323 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1324 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2324 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1325 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2325 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2326 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2327 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1326 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2328 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1327 2329
1328=head3 Discussion 2330=head3 Discussion
1329 2331
1330This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2332This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1331particular event loop. 2333particular event loop.
1333EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2335EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1334is relatively high, though. 2336is relatively high, though.
1335 2337
1336Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2338Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1337loops Event and Glib. 2339loops Event and Glib.
2340
2341IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2342good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1338 2343
1339Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2344Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1340understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2345understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1341the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2346the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1342uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2347uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1389speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of 2394speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1390them). 2395them).
1391 2396
1392EV is again fastest. 2397EV is again fastest.
1393 2398
1394Perl again comes second. It is noticably faster than the C-based event 2399Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1395loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really 2400loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1396matter. 2401matter.
1397 2402
1398POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the 2403POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1399others. 2404others.
1405=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2410=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1406watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2411watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1407 2412
1408=back 2413=back
1409 2414
2415=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2416
2417Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2418could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2419simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2420shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2421fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2422very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2423baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2424
2425The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2426connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2427creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2428test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2429benchmark nevertheless.
2430
2431 name runtime
2432 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2433 + optimized 0.122 sec
2434 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2435 + optimized 0.138 sec
2436 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2437 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2438 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2439 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2440
2441 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2442 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2443 +state machine 0.134 sec
2444
2445The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2446benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2447defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2448written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2449AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2450resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2451generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2452connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2453
2454The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2455offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2456Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2457non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2458
2459As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2460hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2461backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2462
2463And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2464slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2465higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2466it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2467
2468The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2469F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2470part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2471
2472
2473=head1 SIGNALS
2474
2475AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2476
2477=over 4
2478
2479=item SIGCHLD
2480
2481A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2482emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2483event loops install a similar handler.
2484
2485Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2486AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2487
2488=item SIGPIPE
2489
2490A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2491when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2492
2493The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2494on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2495badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2496program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2497some random socket.
2498
2499The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2500that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2501
2502Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2503
2504=back
2505
2506=cut
2507
2508undef $SIG{CHLD}
2509 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2510
2511$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2512 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2513
2514=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2515
2516One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2517its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2518
2519That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2520modules if they are installed.
2521
2522This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2523affect AnyEvent's operation.
2524
2525=over 4
2526
2527=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2528
2529This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2530my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2531signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2532delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2533catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2534C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2535
2536If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2537catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2538will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2539battery life on laptops).
2540
2541This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2542that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2543
2544Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2545and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2546(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2547does nothing for those backends.
2548
2549=item L<EV>
2550
2551This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2552event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2553loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2554the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2555automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2556can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2557C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2558L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2559
2560If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2561then this module will do nothing for you.
2562
2563=item L<Guard>
2564
2565The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2566C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2567lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2568purely used for performance.
2569
2570=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2571
2572One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2573via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2574advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2575
2576=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2577
2578Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2579worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2580the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2581
2582=item L<Time::HiRes>
2583
2584This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2585chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2586pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2587try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2588
2589=back
2590
1410 2591
1411=head1 FORK 2592=head1 FORK
1412 2593
1413Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2594Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1414because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> 2595because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
1415calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2596- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2597are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2598one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2599continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2600what you are doing).
2601
2602This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2603the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2604usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2605is loaded).
1416 2606
1417If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2607If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1418watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2608watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2609something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2610
2611The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2612is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2613fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2614watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2615parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2616to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2617preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2618to have another binary.
1419 2619
1420 2620
1421=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2621=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1422 2622
1423AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2623AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1428specified in the variable. 2628specified in the variable.
1429 2629
1430You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2630You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1431before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2631before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1432 2632
1433 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2633 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1434 2634
1435 use AnyEvent; 2635 use AnyEvent;
1436 2636
1437Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can 2637Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1438be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is 2638be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1439probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL). 2639probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2640$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2641
2642Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2643C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2644enabled.
2645
2646
2647=head1 BUGS
2648
2649Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2650to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2651and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2652memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2653pronounced).
1440 2654
1441 2655
1442=head1 SEE ALSO 2656=head1 SEE ALSO
2657
2658Tutorial/Introduction: L<AnyEvent::Intro>.
2659
2660FAQ: L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
2661
2662Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1443 2663
1444Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, 2664Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1445L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2665L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1446 2666
1447Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2667Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1448L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, 2668L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1449L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, 2669L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1450L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2670L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1451 2671
2672Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2673servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2674
2675Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2676
1452Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, 2677Thread support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
1453 2678
1454Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2679Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>,
2680L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1455 2681
1456 2682
1457=head1 AUTHOR 2683=head1 AUTHOR
1458 2684
1459 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2685 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1460 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2686 http://home.schmorp.de/
1461 2687
1462=cut 2688=cut
1463 2689
14641 26901
1465 2691

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