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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl - 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 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
45
46=head1 SUPPORT
47
48There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
49channel, too.
50
51See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
52Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 53
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 54=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 55
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 56Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 57nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 58
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 59Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 60policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 61
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 62First 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 63interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 64pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 65the 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 66only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 67cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
68loops.
37 69
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 70The 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 71programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 72religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 73module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 74model you use.
43 75
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 76For 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 77actually 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 78like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 79cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 80that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 81module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 82
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 83AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 84fine. 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 85with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 86your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 87too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 88event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 89use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 90to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 91
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 92In 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 93model>, 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 94modules, 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 95follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 96offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 97technically possible.
66 98
99Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
100of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
101non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
102such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
103platform bugs and differences.
104
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 105Now, 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 106useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 107model, you should I<not> use this module.
70
71 108
72=head1 DESCRIPTION 109=head1 DESCRIPTION
73 110
74L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 111L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
75allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 112allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
79The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 116The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
80module. 117module.
81 118
82During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 119During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
83to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 120to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
84following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 121following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
85L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>. The first one found is used. If none are found, 122L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
86the module tries to load these modules in the stated order. The first one 123L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
124to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
125adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
87that can be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none 126be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
88could be found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which 127found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
89is not very efficient, but should work everywhere. 128very efficient, but should work everywhere.
90 129
91Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 130Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
92an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 131an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
93that model the default. For example: 132that model the default. For example:
94 133
101starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 140starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
102use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 141use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
103 142
104The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 143The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
105C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 144C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
106explicitly. 145explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
107 146
108=head1 WATCHERS 147=head1 WATCHERS
109 148
110AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 149AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
111stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 150stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
112the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 151the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
113 152
114These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 153These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
115creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 154creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
116callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 155callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
117is in control). 156is in control).
118 157
158Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
159potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
160callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
161Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
162widely between event loops.
163
119To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 164To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
120variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 165variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
121to it). 166to it).
122 167
123All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 168All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
125Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 170Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
126example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 171example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
127 172
128An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 173An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
129 174
130 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 175 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
131 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 176 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
132 undef $w; 177 undef $w;
133 }); 178 });
134 179
135Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 180Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
136my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 181my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
137declared. 182declared.
138 183
139=head2 IO WATCHERS 184=head2 I/O WATCHERS
185
186 $w = AnyEvent->io (
187 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
188 poll => <"r" or "w">,
189 cb => <callback>,
190 );
140 191
141You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 192You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
142with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 193with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
143 194
144C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch for 195C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
196for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
197handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
198non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
199most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
200or block devices.
201
145events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which 202C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
146creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 203watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
204
147respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 205C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
148becomes ready.
149 206
150File handles will be kept alive, so as long as the watcher exists, the 207Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
151file handle exists, too. 208presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
209callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
152 210
211The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
153It is not allowed to close a file handle as long as any watcher is active 212You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
154on the underlying file descriptor. 213underlying file descriptor.
155 214
156Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 215Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
157always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 216always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
158handles. 217handles.
159 218
160Example:
161
162 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 219Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
220watcher.
221
163 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 222 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
164 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 223 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
165 warn "read: $input\n"; 224 warn "read: $input\n";
166 undef $w; 225 undef $w;
167 }); 226 });
168 227
169=head2 TIME WATCHERS 228=head2 TIME WATCHERS
170 229
230 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
231
232 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
233 after => <fractional_seconds>,
234 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
235 cb => <callback>,
236 );
237
171You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 238You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
172method with the following mandatory arguments: 239method with the following mandatory arguments:
173 240
174C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 241C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
175supported) should the timer activate. C<cb> the callback to invoke in that 242supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
176case. 243in that case.
177 244
178The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 245Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
179timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 246presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
180and Glib). 247callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
181 248
182Example: 249The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
250parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
251callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
252seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
253false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
183 254
255The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
256attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
257only approximate.
258
184 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 259Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
260
185 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 261 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
186 warn "timeout\n"; 262 warn "timeout\n";
187 }); 263 });
188 264
189 # to cancel the timer: 265 # to cancel the timer:
190 undef $w; 266 undef $w;
191 267
192Example 2:
193
194 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 268Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
195 my $w;
196 269
197 my $cb = sub {
198 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
199 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 270 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
271 warn "timeout\n";
200 }; 272 };
201
202 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
203 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
204 273
205=head3 TIMING ISSUES 274=head3 TIMING ISSUES
206 275
207There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 276There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
208in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 277in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
209o'clock"). 278o'clock").
210 279
211While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they use 280While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
212absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock "jumps", 281use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
213for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from the wrong 2014-01-01 to 282"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
2142008-01-01, a watcher that you created to fire "after" a second might actually take 283the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
215six years to finally fire. 284fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire.
216 285
217AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 286AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
218about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer) and 287about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
219absolute (ev_periodic) timers. 288on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
289timers.
220 290
221AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 291AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
222AnyEvent API. 292AnyEvent API.
223 293
294AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
295
296=over 4
297
298=item AnyEvent->time
299
300This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
301seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
302return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
303
304It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
305will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
306
307=item AnyEvent->now
308
309This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
310this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
311the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
312time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
313
314I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
315function to call when you want to know the current time.>
316
317This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
318thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
319L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
320
321The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
322with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
323
324For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
325and L<EV> and the following set-up:
326
327The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
328time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
329you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
330second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
331after three seconds.
332
333With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
334both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
335be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
336
337With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
338time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
339last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
340to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
341
342In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
343regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
344callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
345higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
346
347In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
348the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
349
350In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
351can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
352difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
353account.
354
355=item AnyEvent->now_update
356
357Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
358the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
359AnyEvent->now >>, above).
360
361When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
362this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
363might affect timers and time-outs.
364
365When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
366event loop's idea of "current time".
367
368Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
369
370=back
371
224=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 372=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
225 373
374 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
375
226You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 376You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
227I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 377I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
228be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 378callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
229 379
380Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
381presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
382callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
383
230Multiple signals occurances can be clumped together into one callback 384Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
231invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 385invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
232that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 386that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
233but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 387but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
234 388
235The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 389The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
236between multiple watchers. 390between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
391interrupt your program at bad times.
237 392
238This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 393This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
239directly will likely not work correctly. 394so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
395correctly.
240 396
241Example: exit on SIGINT 397Example: exit on SIGINT
242 398
243 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 399 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
244 400
401=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
402
403Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
404callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
405do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
406this. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, which means in some cases,
407signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
408specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
409variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
410and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
411AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
412will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
413saving.
414
415All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
416L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
417work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
418(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does it's own workaround with
419one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
420
245=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 421=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
246 422
423 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
424
247You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 425You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
248 426
249The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 427The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (one some backends,
250watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 428using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
251as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 429croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
252signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 430finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
253and exit status (as returned by waitpid). 431(stopped/continued).
254 432
255Example: wait for pid 1333 433The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
434waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
435callback arguments.
256 436
437This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
438and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
439random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
440C<system>, is just fine).
441
442There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
443I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
444have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
445
446Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
447see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
448that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
449the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
450pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
451start the watcher.
452
453This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
454thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
455watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
456C<AnyEvent::detect>).
457
458As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
459emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
460mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
461
462Example: fork a process and wait for it
463
464 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
465
466 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
467
257 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 468 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
258 pid => 1333, 469 pid => $pid,
259 cb => sub { 470 cb => sub {
260 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 471 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
261 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 472 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
473 $done->send;
262 }, 474 },
263 ); 475 );
476
477 # do something else, then wait for process exit
478 $done->recv;
479
480=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
481
482 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
483
484Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
485to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
486"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
487attention by the event loop".
488
489Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
490better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
491events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
492
493Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
494EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
495will simply call the callback "from time to time".
496
497Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
498program is otherwise idle:
499
500 my @lines; # read data
501 my $idle_w;
502 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
503 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
504
505 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
506 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
507 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
508 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
509 print "handled when idle: $line";
510 } else {
511 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
512 undef $idle_w;
513 }
514 });
515 });
264 516
265=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 517=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
266 518
519 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
520
521 $cv->send (<list>);
522 my @res = $cv->recv;
523
524If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
525require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
526will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
527
528AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
529loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
530
531The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
532because they represent a condition that must become true.
533
534Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
535
267Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 536Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
268method without any arguments. 537>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
538C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
539becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
540the results).
269 541
270A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 542After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
271->broadcast >> method has been called. 543by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
544were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
545->send >> method).
272 546
273They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 547Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
548optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
549in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
550another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
551used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
552a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a promise to
553compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
554
555Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
274example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 556for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
275then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 557then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
276availability of results. 558availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
559called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
277 560
278You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 561You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
279an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 562you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
280program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 563could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
281->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 564button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
282 565
283Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 566Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
284two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 567two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
285lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 568lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
286you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 569you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
287as this asks for trouble. 570as this asks for trouble.
288 571
289This object has two methods: 572Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
573used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
574easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
575AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
576it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
290 577
291=over 4 578There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
579eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
580for the send to occur.
292 581
293=item $cv->wait 582Example: wait for a timer.
294
295Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been
296called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally.
297
298You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return
299immediately.
300
301Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
302(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
303using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
304caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
305condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
306callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
307while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
308
309Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot
310sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require
311multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
312can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and
313L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
314from different coroutines, however).
315
316=item $cv->broadcast
317
318Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further
319calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been
320called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..
321
322=back
323
324Example:
325 583
326 # wait till the result is ready 584 # wait till the result is ready
327 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 585 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
328 586
329 # do something such as adding a timer 587 # do something such as adding a timer
330 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 588 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
331 # when the "result" is ready. 589 # when the "result" is ready.
332 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 590 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
333 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 591 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
334 after => 1, 592 after => 1,
335 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast }, 593 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
336 ); 594 );
337 595
338 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 596 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
339 # calls broadcast 597 # calls -<send
340 $result_ready->wait; 598 $result_ready->recv;
599
600Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
601variables are also callable directly.
602
603 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
604 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
605 $done->recv;
606
607Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
608callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
609the main program:
610
611 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
612
613 ...
614
615 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
616
617And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
618results are available:
619
620 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
621 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
622 });
623
624=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
625
626These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
627code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
628the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
629uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
630
631=over 4
632
633=item $cv->send (...)
634
635Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
636calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
637called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
638
639If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
640immediately from within send.
641
642Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
643future C<< ->recv >> calls.
644
645Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
646they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
647C<send>.
648
649=item $cv->croak ($error)
650
651Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
652C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
653
654This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
655user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
656delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
657diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
658deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
659the problem.
660
661=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
662
663=item $cv->end
664
665These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
666one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
667to use a condition variable for the whole process.
668
669Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
670C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
671>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
672is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
673callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
674
675You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
676sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
677condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
678
679Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
680STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
681close before activating a condvar:
682
683 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
684
685 $cv->begin; # first watcher
686 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
687 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
688 or $cv->end;
689 });
690
691 $cv->begin; # second watcher
692 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
693 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
694 or $cv->end;
695 });
696
697 $cv->recv;
698
699This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
700one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
701sending.
702
703The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
704there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
705begung can potentially be zero:
706
707 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
708
709 my %result;
710 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
711
712 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
713 $cv->begin;
714 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
715 $result{$host} = ...;
716 $cv->end;
717 };
718 }
719
720 $cv->end;
721
722This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
723C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
724order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
725each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
726it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
727results arrive is not relevant.
728
729There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
730loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
731to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
732C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
733doesn't execute once).
734
735This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
736potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
737the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
738subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
739call C<end>.
740
741=back
742
743=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
744
745These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
746code awaits the condition.
747
748=over 4
749
750=item $cv->recv
751
752Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
753>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
754normally.
755
756You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
757will return immediately.
758
759If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
760function will call C<croak>.
761
762In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
763in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
764
765Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
766event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
767>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
768condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
769L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
770any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
771
772Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
773(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
774using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
775caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
776condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
777callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
778while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
779
780You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
781only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
782time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
783waits otherwise.
784
785=item $bool = $cv->ready
786
787Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
788C<croak> have been called.
789
790=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
791
792This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
793replaces it before doing so.
794
795The callback will be called when the condition becomes (or already was)
796"true", i.e. when C<send> or C<croak> are called (or were called), with
797the only argument being the condition variable itself. Calling C<recv>
798inside the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
799
800=back
801
802=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
803
804The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
805
806=over 4
807
808=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
809
810EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
811use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
812that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
813available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
814
815 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
816 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
817 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
818
819=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
820
821These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
822is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
823them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
824when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
825create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
826
827 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
828 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
829 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
830 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
831 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
832
833=item Backends with special needs.
834
835Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
836otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
837instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
838everything should just work.
839
840 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
841
842Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
843architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
844is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
845it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
846L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
847
848 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
849
850=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
851
852Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
853
854There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
855
856B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
857use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
858polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
859consider for AnyEvent.
860
861B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
862backend, so it can be supported through POE.
863
864AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
865load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
866in which case everything will be automatic.
867
868=back
341 869
342=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 870=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
343 871
872These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
873write AnyEvent extension modules.
874
344=over 4 875=over 4
345 876
346=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 877=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
347 878
348Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 879Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
880backend has been autodetected.
881
349contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 882Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
350Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 883name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
351C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 884of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
352AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 885case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
353 886will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
354The known classes so far are:
355
356 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
357 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
358 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, also best choice).
359 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, also second best choice :)
360 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
361 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
362 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
363 887
364=item AnyEvent::detect 888=item AnyEvent::detect
365 889
366Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 890Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
367if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 891if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
368have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 892have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
369runtime. 893runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
894
895If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
896created, use C<post_detect>.
897
898=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
899
900Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
901autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
902
903The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
904(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
905created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
906other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
907L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
908
909The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
910event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
911and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
912avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
913
914If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
915that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
916C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
917a case where this is useful.
918
919Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
920C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
921
922 our WATCHER;
923
924 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
925 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
926 };
927
928 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
929 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
930 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
931 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
932
933 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
934
935=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
936
937If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
938before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
939the event loop has been chosen.
940
941You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
942if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
943array will be ignored.
944
945Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
946it,as it takes care of these details.
947
948This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
949when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
950not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
951into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
370 952
371=back 953=back
372 954
373=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 955=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
374 956
378Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 960Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
379decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 961decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
380by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 962by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
381to load the event module first. 963to load the event module first.
382 964
383Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 965Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
384the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 966the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
385because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 967because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
386events is to stay interactive. 968events is to stay interactive.
387 969
388It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 970It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
389requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 971requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
390called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 972called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
391freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 973freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
392 974
393=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 975=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
394 976
395There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 977There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
397 979
398If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 980If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
399do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 981do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
400decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 982decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
401 983
402If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 984If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
403Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 985Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
404event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 986event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
405speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 987speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
406modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 988modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
407decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 989decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
408might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 990might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
409 991
410You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 992You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
411loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 993C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
412behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 994everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
995
996=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
997
998Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
999only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1000
1001In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1002
1003 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1004
1005This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1006
1007Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1008it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1009variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1010exit cleanly.
1011
1012
1013=head1 OTHER MODULES
1014
1015The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
1016AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
1017modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
1018come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
1019
1020=over 4
1021
1022=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
1023
1024Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
1025functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
1026
1027=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1028
1029Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1030addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1031connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1032
1033=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1034
1035Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1036supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1037non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1038
1039=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1040
1041Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1042
1043=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
1044
1045A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
1046HTTP requests.
1047
1048=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1049
1050Provides a simple web application server framework.
1051
1052=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1053
1054The fastest ping in the west.
1055
1056=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1057
1058Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
1059
1060=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1061
1062Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
1063programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
1064together.
1065
1066=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
1067
1068Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
1069L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
1070
1071=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
1072
1073A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
1074
1075=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
1076
1077AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
1078
1079=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
1080
1081AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1082Net::XMPP2>.
1083
1084=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1085
1086A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1087L<App::IGS>).
1088
1089=item L<Net::FCP>
1090
1091AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
1092of AnyEvent.
1093
1094=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
1095
1096High level API for event-based execution flow control.
1097
1098=item L<Coro>
1099
1100Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1101
1102=back
413 1103
414=cut 1104=cut
415 1105
416package AnyEvent; 1106package AnyEvent;
417 1107
1108# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
1109sub common_sense {
418no warnings; 1110 # no warnings
419use strict; 1111 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS};
1112 # use strict vars subs
1113 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1114}
420 1115
1116BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1117
421use Carp; 1118use Carp ();
422 1119
423our $VERSION = '3.11'; 1120our $VERSION = 4.901;
424our $MODEL; 1121our $MODEL;
425 1122
426our $AUTOLOAD; 1123our $AUTOLOAD;
427our @ISA; 1124our @ISA;
428 1125
429our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
430
431our @REGISTRY; 1126our @REGISTRY;
432 1127
1128our $WIN32;
1129
1130our $VERBOSE;
1131
1132BEGIN {
1133 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
1134 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1135
1136 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1137 if ${^TAINT};
1138
1139 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1140
1141}
1142
1143our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1144
1145our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1146
1147{
1148 my $idx;
1149 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1150 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1151 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1152}
1153
433my @models = ( 1154my @models = (
434 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
435 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
436 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1155 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
437 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1156 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
438 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
439 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
440 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1157 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1158 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1159 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1160 # and is usually faster
1161 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1162 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1163 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
1164 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1165 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1166 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
1167 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1168 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
1169 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
1170 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
1171 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1172 # obvious default class.
1173# [0, IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1174# [0, IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1175# [0, IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
441); 1176);
442 1177
443our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer condvar broadcast wait signal one_event DESTROY); 1178our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1179 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1180
1181our @post_detect;
1182
1183sub post_detect(&) {
1184 my ($cb) = @_;
1185
1186 if ($MODEL) {
1187 $cb->();
1188
1189 undef
1190 } else {
1191 push @post_detect, $cb;
1192
1193 defined wantarray
1194 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1195 : ()
1196 }
1197}
1198
1199sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1200 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1201}
444 1202
445sub detect() { 1203sub detect() {
446 unless ($MODEL) { 1204 unless ($MODEL) {
447 no strict 'refs'; 1205 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1206
1207 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1208 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1209 if (eval "require $model") {
1210 $MODEL = $model;
1211 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1212 } else {
1213 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1214 }
1215 }
448 1216
449 # check for already loaded models 1217 # check for already loaded models
1218 unless ($MODEL) {
450 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1219 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
451 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1220 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
452 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1221 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
453 if (eval "require $model") { 1222 if (eval "require $model") {
454 $MODEL = $model; 1223 $MODEL = $model;
455 warn "AnyEvent: found model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1224 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
456 last; 1225 last;
1226 }
457 } 1227 }
458 } 1228 }
1229
1230 unless ($MODEL) {
1231 # try to autoload a model
1232 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
1233 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1234 if (
1235 $autoload
1236 and eval "require $package"
1237 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
1238 and eval "require $model"
1239 ) {
1240 $MODEL = $model;
1241 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1242 last;
1243 }
1244 }
1245
1246 $MODEL
1247 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
1248 }
459 } 1249 }
460 1250
461 unless ($MODEL) { 1251 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
462 # try to load a model
463
464 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
465 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
466 if (eval "require $package"
467 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
468 and eval "require $model") {
469 $MODEL = $model;
470 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed and loaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
471 last;
472 }
473 }
474
475 $MODEL
476 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event), Glib or Tk.";
477 }
478 1252
479 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1253 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
480 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1254
1255 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1256
1257 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
481 } 1258 }
482 1259
483 $MODEL 1260 $MODEL
484} 1261}
485 1262
486sub AUTOLOAD { 1263sub AUTOLOAD {
487 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1264 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
488 1265
489 $method{$func} 1266 $method{$func}
490 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1267 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
491 1268
492 detect unless $MODEL; 1269 detect unless $MODEL;
493 1270
494 my $class = shift; 1271 my $class = shift;
495 $class->$func (@_); 1272 $class->$func (@_);
496} 1273}
497 1274
1275# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1276# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1277# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1278sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1279 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1280
1281 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1282 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1283
1284 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1285 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1286
1287 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1288
1289 ($fh2, $rw)
1290}
1291
498package AnyEvent::Base; 1292package AnyEvent::Base;
499 1293
1294# default implementations for many methods
1295
1296sub _time {
1297 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1298 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1299 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1300 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1301 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1302 } else {
1303 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1304 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1305 }
1306
1307 &_time
1308}
1309
1310sub time { _time }
1311sub now { _time }
1312sub now_update { }
1313
500# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1314# default implementation for ->condvar
501 1315
502sub condvar { 1316sub condvar {
503 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1317 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
504}
505
506sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
507 ${$_[0]}++;
508}
509
510sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
511 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
512} 1318}
513 1319
514# default implementation for ->signal 1320# default implementation for ->signal
515 1321
516our %SIG_CB; 1322our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1323
1324sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1325 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1326 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.0 (); 1")
1327 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1328
1329 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1330}
1331
1332our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1333our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1334our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1335
1336sub _signal_exec {
1337 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1338 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1339 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 9;
1340
1341 while (%SIG_EV) {
1342 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1343 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1344 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1345 }
1346 }
1347}
1348
1349# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1350sub _sig_add() {
1351 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1352 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1353 my $NOW = AnyEvent->now;
1354
1355 $SIG_TW = AnyEvent->timer (
1356 after => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1357 interval => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1358 cb => sub { }, # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1359 );
1360 }
1361}
1362
1363sub _sig_del {
1364 undef $SIG_TW
1365 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1366}
1367
1368our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1369 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading
1370 undef $_sig_name_init;
1371
1372 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1373 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1374 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1375 } else {
1376 require Config;
1377
1378 my %signame2num;
1379 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1380 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1381
1382 my @signum2name;
1383 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1384
1385 *sig2num = sub($) {
1386 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1387 };
1388 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1389 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1390 };
1391 }
1392 };
1393 die if $@;
1394};
1395
1396sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1397sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
517 1398
518sub signal { 1399sub signal {
1400 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1401 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1402 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1403 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1404
1405 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1406 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1407
1408 } else {
1409 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1410
1411 require Fcntl;
1412
1413 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1414 require AnyEvent::Util;
1415
1416 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1417 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1418 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1419 } else {
1420 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1421 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1422 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1423
1424 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1425 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1426 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1427 }
1428
1429 $SIGPIPE_R
1430 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1431
1432 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1433 }
1434
1435 *signal = sub {
519 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1436 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
520 1437
521 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1438 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
522 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1439 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
523 1440
1441 if ($HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT) {
1442 # async::interrupt
1443
1444 $signal = sig2num $signal;
524 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1445 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1446
1447 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1448 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1449 signal => $signal,
1450 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1451 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1452 ;
1453
1454 } else {
1455 # pure perl
1456
1457 # AE::Util has been loaded in signal
1458 $signal = sig2name $signal;
1459 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1460
525 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1461 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
526 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1462 local $!;
1463 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1464 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1465 };
1466
1467 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1468 # so limit the signal latency.
1469 _sig_add;
1470 }
1471
1472 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1473 };
1474
1475 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1476 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1477
1478 _sig_del;
1479
1480 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1481
1482 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1483 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1484 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1485 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1486 # instead of getting the default action.
1487 undef $SIG{$signal}
1488 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1489 };
527 }; 1490 };
528 1491 die if $@;
529 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1492 &signal
530}
531
532sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
533 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
534
535 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
536
537 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
538} 1493}
539 1494
540# default implementation for ->child 1495# default implementation for ->child
541 1496
542our %PID_CB; 1497our %PID_CB;
543our $CHLD_W; 1498our $CHLD_W;
544our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1499our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
545our $PID_IDLE;
546our $WNOHANG; 1500our $WNOHANG;
547 1501
548sub _child_wait { 1502sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
549 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1503 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1504
1505 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
550 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1506 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
551 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1507 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
552 }
553
554 undef $PID_IDLE;
555} 1508}
556 1509
557sub _sigchld { 1510sub _sigchld {
558 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop. 1511 my $pid;
559 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub { 1512
560 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1513 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
561 &_child_wait; 1514 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
562 });
563} 1515}
564 1516
565sub child { 1517sub child {
566 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1518 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
567 1519
568 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1520 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
569 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1521 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
570 1522
571 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1523 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
572 1524
573 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1525 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
574 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1526 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
575 } 1527 ? 1
1528 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
576 1529
577 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1530 unless ($CHLD_W) {
578 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1531 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
579 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1532 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
580 &_sigchld; 1533 &_sigchld;
581 } 1534 }
582 1535
583 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1536 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
584} 1537}
585 1538
586sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1539sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
587 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1540 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
588 1541
589 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1542 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
590 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1543 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
591 1544
592 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1545 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
593} 1546}
1547
1548# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1549# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1550# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1551sub idle {
1552 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1553
1554 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1555
1556 $rcb = sub {
1557 if ($cb) {
1558 $w = _time;
1559 &$cb;
1560 $w = _time - $w;
1561
1562 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1563 # within some limits
1564 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1565 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1566
1567 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1568 } else {
1569 # clean up...
1570 undef $w;
1571 undef $rcb;
1572 }
1573 };
1574
1575 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1576
1577 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1578}
1579
1580sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1581 undef $${$_[0]};
1582}
1583
1584package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1585
1586our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1587
1588package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1589
1590#use overload
1591# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1592# fallback => 1;
1593
1594# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1595${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1596*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1597*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1598${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1599
1600our $WAITING;
1601
1602sub _send {
1603 # nop
1604}
1605
1606sub send {
1607 my $cv = shift;
1608 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1609 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1610 $cv->_send;
1611}
1612
1613sub croak {
1614 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1615 $_[0]->send;
1616}
1617
1618sub ready {
1619 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1620}
1621
1622sub _wait {
1623 $WAITING
1624 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1625 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1626
1627 local $WAITING = 1;
1628 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1629}
1630
1631sub recv {
1632 $_[0]->_wait;
1633
1634 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1635 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1636}
1637
1638sub cb {
1639 my $cv = shift;
1640
1641 @_
1642 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1643 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1644 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1645
1646 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1647}
1648
1649sub begin {
1650 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1651 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1652}
1653
1654sub end {
1655 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1656 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1657}
1658
1659# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1660*broadcast = \&send;
1661*wait = \&_wait;
1662
1663#############################################################################
1664# "new" API, currently only emulation of it
1665#############################################################################
1666
1667package AE;
1668
1669sub io($$$) {
1670 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1671}
1672
1673sub timer($$$) {
1674 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2]);
1675}
1676
1677sub signal($$) {
1678 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1]);
1679}
1680
1681sub child($$) {
1682 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1]);
1683}
1684
1685sub idle($) {
1686 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0]);
1687}
1688
1689sub cv() {
1690 AnyEvent->condvar
1691}
1692
1693sub now() {
1694 AnyEvent->now
1695}
1696
1697sub now_update() {
1698 AnyEvent->now_update
1699}
1700
1701sub time() {
1702 AnyEvent->time
1703}
1704
1705=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1706
1707In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1708caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1709the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1710checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1711development.
1712
1713As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1714executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1715also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1716program.
1717
1718The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1719within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1720$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1721so on.
1722
1723=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1724
1725The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1726submodules.
1727
1728Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1729C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1730enabled.
1731
1732=over 4
1733
1734=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1735
1736By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1737conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1738talkative.
1739
1740When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1741conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1742C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1743
1744When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1745model it chooses.
1746
1747When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1748which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1749
1750=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1751
1752AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1753argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1754will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1755check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1756it will croak.
1757
1758In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1759
1760Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1761>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1762C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1763can be very useful, however.
1764
1765=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1766
1767This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1768auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1769entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1770and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1771used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1772auto detection and -probing.
1773
1774This functionality might change in future versions.
1775
1776For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1777could start your program like this:
1778
1779 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1780
1781=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1782
1783Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1784for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1785of auto probing).
1786
1787Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1788current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1789used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1790list.
1791
1792This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1793against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1794small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1795
1796Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1797but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1798- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1799addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1800IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1801
1802=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1803
1804Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1805for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1806some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1807default.
1808
1809Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1810EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1811
1812=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1813
1814The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1815will create in parallel.
1816
1817=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1818
1819The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1820resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1821sent to the DNS server.
1822
1823=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1824
1825The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1826configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1827default config will be used.
1828
1829=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1830
1831When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1832L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1833variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1834instead of a system-dependent default.
1835
1836=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1837
1838When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1839loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1840
1841=back
594 1842
595=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1843=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
596 1844
597This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1845This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
598a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1846a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
633I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1881I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
634condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1882condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
635C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1883C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
636not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1884not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
637 1885
638=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
639
640The following environment variables are used by this module:
641
642C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> when set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to
643report to STDERR which event model it chooses.
644
645=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1886=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
646 1887
647The following program uses an IO watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1888The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
648to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1889to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
649program when the user enters quit: 1890program when the user enters quit:
650 1891
651 use AnyEvent; 1892 use AnyEvent;
652 1893
657 poll => 'r', 1898 poll => 'r',
658 cb => sub { 1899 cb => sub {
659 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1900 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
660 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1901 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
661 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1902 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
662 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1903 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
663 }, 1904 },
664 ); 1905 );
665 1906
666 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1907 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
667 1908
672 }); 1913 });
673 } 1914 }
674 1915
675 new_timer; # create first timer 1916 new_timer; # create first timer
676 1917
677 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1918 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
678 1919
679=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1920=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
680 1921
681Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1922Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
682API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1923API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
732 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1973 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
733 or die "connection or write error"; 1974 or die "connection or write error";
734 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1975 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
735 1976
736Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1977Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
737result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1978result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
738 1979
739 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1980 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
740 1981
741 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1982 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
742 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1983 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
743 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1984 $txn->{finished}->send;
744 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1985 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
745 } 1986 }
746 1987
747The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1988The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
748request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1989request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
749data: 1990data:
750 1991
751 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1992 $txn->{finished}->recv;
752 return $txn->{result}; 1993 return $txn->{result};
753 1994
754The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1995The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
755that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1996that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
756whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1997whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
757and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1998and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
758problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1999problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
759random callback. 2000random callback.
760 2001
791 2032
792 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2033 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
793 2034
794 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2035 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
795 ... 2036 ...
796 $quit->broadcast; 2037 $quit->send;
797 }); 2038 });
798 2039
799 $quit->wait; 2040 $quit->recv;
2041
2042
2043=head1 BENCHMARKS
2044
2045To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
2046over the event loops themselves and to give you an impression of the speed
2047of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
2048
2049=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
2050
2051Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
2052through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
2053timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
2054which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
2055
2056Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
2057distribution.
2058
2059=head3 Explanation of the columns
2060
2061I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
2062different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
2063loop was given a number of watchers so that overall runtime is acceptable
2064and similar between tested event loop (and keep them from crashing): Glib
2065would probably take thousands of years if asked to process the same number
2066of watchers as EV in this benchmark.
2067
2068I<bytes> is the number of bytes (as measured by the resident set size,
2069RSS) consumed by each watcher. This method of measuring captures both C
2070and Perl-based overheads.
2071
2072I<create> is the time, in microseconds (millionths of seconds), that it
2073takes to create a single watcher. The callback is a closure shared between
2074all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
2075and memory usage is not included in the figures.
2076
2077I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
2078callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
2079invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
2080signal the end of this phase.
2081
2082I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
2083watcher.
2084
2085=head3 Results
2086
2087 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
2088 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
2089 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
2090 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
2091 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
2092 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
2093 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2094 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2095 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
2096 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
2097 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
2098 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
2099 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
2100
2101=head3 Discussion
2102
2103The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
2104well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
2105can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
2106file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
2107the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
2108boost.
2109
2110Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
2111overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
2112the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
2113higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
2114
2115To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
2116benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
2117EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
2118cycles with POE.
2119
2120C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
2121maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
2122far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
2123natively.
2124
2125The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
2126constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
2127interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
2128adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
2129performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
2130them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
2131
2132The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
2133cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2134
2135C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2136when using its pure perl backend.
2137
2138C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
2139faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
2140C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
2141watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
2142making it completely unusable when using larger numbers of watchers
2143(note that only a single file descriptor was used in the benchmark, so
2144inefficiencies of C<poll> do not account for this).
2145
2146The C<Tk> adaptor works relatively well. The fact that it crashes with
2147more than 2000 watchers is a big setback, however, as correctness takes
2148precedence over speed. Nevertheless, its performance is surprising, as the
2149file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
2150employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
2151hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
2152above).
2153
2154C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
2155select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
2156be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
2157memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
2158as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
2159requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
2160invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2161implementation.
2162
2163The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
2164for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
2165small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
2166optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2167using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2168memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2169design).
2170
2171=head3 Summary
2172
2173=over 4
2174
2175=item * Using EV through AnyEvent is faster than any other event loop
2176(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
2177performance with or without AnyEvent.
2178
2179=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
2180the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
2181adds AnyEvent significant overhead.
2182
2183=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
2184reasonable memory usage.
2185
2186=back
2187
2188=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
2189
2190This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
2191creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
2192timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
2193watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
2194watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
2195
2196The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
2197are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
2198fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
2199timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
2200most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
2201
2202In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
2203(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
2204connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
2205
2206Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
2207distribution.
2208
2209=head3 Explanation of the columns
2210
2211I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
2212each server has a read and write socket end).
2213
2214I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
2215nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
2216
2217I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
2218single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
2219it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
2220a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
2221
2222=head3 Results
2223
2224 name sockets create request
2225 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
2226 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
2227 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
2228 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
2229 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
2230 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
2231 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
2232
2233=head3 Discussion
2234
2235This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
2236particular event loop.
2237
2238EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
2239is relatively high, though.
2240
2241Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
2242loops Event and Glib.
2243
2244IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2245good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
2246
2247Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
2248understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
2249the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
2250uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
2251
2252Glib is hit hard by its quadratic behaviour w.r.t. many watchers. It
2253clearly fails to perform with many filehandles or in busy servers.
2254
2255POE is still completely out of the picture, taking over 1000 times as long
2256as EV, and over 100 times as long as the Perl implementation, even though
2257it uses a C-based event loop in this case.
2258
2259=head3 Summary
2260
2261=over 4
2262
2263=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
2264
2265=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
2266
2267=back
2268
2269=head2 BENCHMARKING SMALL SERVERS
2270
2271While event loops should scale (and select-based ones do not...) even to
2272large servers, most programs we (or I :) actually write have only a few
2273I/O watchers.
2274
2275In this benchmark, I use the same benchmark program as in the large server
2276case, but it uses only eight "servers", of which three are active at any
2277one time. This should reflect performance for a small server relatively
2278well.
2279
2280The columns are identical to the previous table.
2281
2282=head3 Results
2283
2284 name sockets create request
2285 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2286 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
2287 Event 16 81.27 35.86
2288 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
2289 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
2290
2291=head3 Discussion
2292
2293The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
2294server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
2295in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
2296to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
2297speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
2298them).
2299
2300EV is again fastest.
2301
2302Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
2303loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
2304matter.
2305
2306POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
2307others.
2308
2309=head3 Summary
2310
2311=over 4
2312
2313=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
2314watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
2315
2316=back
2317
2318=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2319
2320Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2321could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2322simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2323shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2324fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2325very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2326baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2327
2328The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2329connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2330creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2331test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2332benchmark nevertheless.
2333
2334 name runtime
2335 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2336 + optimized 0.122 sec
2337 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2338 + optimized 0.138 sec
2339 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2340 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2341 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2342 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2343
2344 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2345 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2346 +state machine 0.134 sec
2347
2348The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2349benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2350defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2351written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2352AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2353resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2354generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2355connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2356
2357The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2358offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2359Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2360non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2361
2362As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2363hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2364backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2365
2366And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2367slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2368large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2369in a non-blocking way.
2370
2371The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2372F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2373part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2374
2375
2376=head1 SIGNALS
2377
2378AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2379
2380=over 4
2381
2382=item SIGCHLD
2383
2384A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2385emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2386event loops install a similar handler.
2387
2388Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2389AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2390
2391=item SIGPIPE
2392
2393A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2394when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2395
2396The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2397on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2398badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2399program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2400some random socket.
2401
2402The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2403that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2404
2405Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2406
2407=back
2408
2409=cut
2410
2411undef $SIG{CHLD}
2412 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2413
2414$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2415 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2416
2417=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2418
2419One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2420it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2421
2422That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2423modules if they are installed.
2424
2425This section epxlains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2426affect AnyEvent's operetion.
2427
2428=over 4
2429
2430=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2431
2432This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2433my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2434signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2435delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2436catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2437C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2438
2439If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2440catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2441will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (And good for
2442battery life on laptops).
2443
2444This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2445that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2446
2447Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2448and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2449(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2450does nothing for those backends.
2451
2452=item L<EV>
2453
2454This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2455event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2456loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2457the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2458automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2459can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2460C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2461L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2462
2463=item L<Guard>
2464
2465The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2466C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2467lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2468purely used for performance.
2469
2470=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2471
2472This module is required when you want to read or write JSON data via
2473L<AnyEvent::Handle>. It is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2474advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2475
2476In fact, L<AnyEvent::Handle> will use L<JSON::XS> by default if it is
2477installed.
2478
2479=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2480
2481Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2482worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2483the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2484
2485=item L<Time::HiRes>
2486
2487This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2488chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2489pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2490try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2491
2492=back
2493
2494
2495=head1 FORK
2496
2497Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
2498because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
2499calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
2500
2501If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
2502watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2503something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2504
2505
2506=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
2507
2508AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
2509$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}. While this cannot (to my knowledge) be used to
2510execute arbitrary code or directly gain access, it can easily be used to
2511make the program hang or malfunction in subtle ways, as AnyEvent watchers
2512will not be active when the program uses a different event model than
2513specified in the variable.
2514
2515You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
2516before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
2517
2518 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
2519
2520 use AnyEvent;
2521
2522Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2523be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2524probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2525$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2526
2527Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2528C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2529enabled.
2530
2531
2532=head1 BUGS
2533
2534Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2535to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2536and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2537memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2538pronounced).
2539
800 2540
801=head1 SEE ALSO 2541=head1 SEE ALSO
802 2542
803Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2543Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
804L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>.
805 2544
806Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2545Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
2546L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
2547
807L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, 2548Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
808L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. 2549L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2550L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
2551L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
809 2552
2553Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2554servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2555
2556Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2557
2558Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2559L<Coro::Event>,
2560
810Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2561Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2562L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
811 2563
812=head1 2564
2565=head1 AUTHOR
2566
2567 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
2568 http://home.schmorp.de/
813 2569
814=cut 2570=cut
815 2571
8161 25721
817 2573

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