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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt and POE are various supported
6event loops.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
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.
22 45
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 46=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 47
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 48Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 49nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 50
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 51Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 52policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 53
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 54First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 55interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 56pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 57the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 58only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 59cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
60loops.
37 61
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 62The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 63programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 64religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 65module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 66model you use.
43 67
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 68For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 69actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 70like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 71cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 72that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 73module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 74
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 75AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 76fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if 77with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 78your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 79too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 80event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 81use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 82to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 83
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 84In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 85model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have to 86modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 87follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 88offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 89technically possible.
66 90
91Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
92of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
93non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
94such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
95platform bugs and differences.
96
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 97Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 98useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 99model, you should I<not> use this module.
70
71 100
72=head1 DESCRIPTION 101=head1 DESCRIPTION
73 102
74L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 103L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
75allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 104allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
79The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 108The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
80module. 109module.
81 110
82During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 111During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
83to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 112to 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>, 113following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
85L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 114L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
86L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 115L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
87to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 116to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
88adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 117adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
89be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 118be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
103starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 132starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
104use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 133use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
105 134
106The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 135The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
107C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 136C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
108explicitly. 137explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
109 138
110=head1 WATCHERS 139=head1 WATCHERS
111 140
112AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 141AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
113stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 142stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
114the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 143the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
115 144
116These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 145These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
117creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 146creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
118callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 147callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
119is in control). 148is in control).
120 149
150Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
151potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
152callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
153Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
154widely between event loops.
155
121To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 156To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
122variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 157variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
123to it). 158to it).
124 159
125All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 160All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
127Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 162Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
128example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 163example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
129 164
130An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 165An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
131 166
132 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
133 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 168 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
134 undef $w; 169 undef $w;
135 }); 170 });
136 171
137Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 172Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
138my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 173my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
139declared. 174declared.
140 175
141=head2 I/O WATCHERS 176=head2 I/O WATCHERS
142 177
143You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 178You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
144with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 179with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
145 180
146C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 181C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
182for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
183handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
184non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
185most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
186or block devices.
187
147for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 188C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
148which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 189watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
190
149respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 191C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
150becomes ready.
151 192
152Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 193Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
153presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 194presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
154callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 195callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
155 196
159 200
160Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 201Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
161always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 202always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
162handles. 203handles.
163 204
164Example:
165
166 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 205Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
206watcher.
207
167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 208 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
168 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 209 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
169 warn "read: $input\n"; 210 warn "read: $input\n";
170 undef $w; 211 undef $w;
171 }); 212 });
181 222
182Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 223Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
183presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 224presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
184callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 225callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
185 226
186The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 227The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
187timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 228parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
188and Glib). 229callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
230seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
231false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
189 232
190Example: 233The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
234attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
235only approximate.
191 236
192 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 237Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
238
193 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 239 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
194 warn "timeout\n"; 240 warn "timeout\n";
195 }); 241 });
196 242
197 # to cancel the timer: 243 # to cancel the timer:
198 undef $w; 244 undef $w;
199 245
200Example 2:
201
202 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 246Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
203 my $w;
204 247
205 my $cb = sub {
206 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
207 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 248 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
249 warn "timeout\n";
208 }; 250 };
209
210 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
211 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
212 251
213=head3 TIMING ISSUES 252=head3 TIMING ISSUES
214 253
215There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 254There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
216in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 255in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
228timers. 267timers.
229 268
230AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 269AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
231AnyEvent API. 270AnyEvent API.
232 271
272AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
273
274=over 4
275
276=item AnyEvent->time
277
278This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
279seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
280return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
281
282It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
283will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
284
285=item AnyEvent->now
286
287This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
288this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
289the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
290time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
291
292I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
293function to call when you want to know the current time.>
294
295This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
296thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
297L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
298
299The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
300with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
301
302For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
303and L<EV> and the following set-up:
304
305The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
306time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
307you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
308second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
309after three seconds.
310
311With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
312both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
313be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
314
315With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
316time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
317last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
318to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
319
320In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
321regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
322callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
323higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
324
325In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
326the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
327
328In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
329can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
330difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
331account.
332
333=item AnyEvent->now_update
334
335Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
336the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
337AnyEvent->now >>, above).
338
339When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
340this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
341might affect timers and time-outs.
342
343When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
344event loop's idea of "current time".
345
346Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
347
348=back
349
233=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 350=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
234 351
235You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 352You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
236I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 353I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
237be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 354callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
238 355
239Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 356Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
240presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 357presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
241callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 358callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
242 359
243Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 360Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
244invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 361invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
245that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 362that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
246but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 363but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
247 364
248The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 365The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
249between multiple watchers. 366between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
367interrupt your program at bad times.
250 368
251This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 369This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
252directly will likely not work correctly. 370so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
371correctly.
372
373Also note that many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not
374support attaching callbacks to signals, which is a pity, as you cannot do
375race-free signal handling in perl. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, but
376in some cases, signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might
377be delayed is specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10
378seconds). This variable can be changed only before the first signal
379watcher is created, and should be left alone otherwise. Higher values
380will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
381saving. All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
382L<Async::Interrupt> module.
253 383
254Example: exit on SIGINT 384Example: exit on SIGINT
255 385
256 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 386 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
257 387
258=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 388=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
259 389
260You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 390You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
261 391
262The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 392The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
263watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 393watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
264as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 394the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
265signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 395any trace events (stopped/continued).
266and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 396
267you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 397The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
398waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
399callback arguments.
400
401This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
402and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
403random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
404C<system>, is just fine).
268 405
269There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 406There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
270I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 407I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
271have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 408have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
272 409
273Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 410Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
411see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
274event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 412that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
275loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 413the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
414pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
415start the watcher.
276 416
277This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 417This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
278AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 418thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
279C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 419watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
420C<AnyEvent::detect>).
421
422As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
423emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
424mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
280 425
281Example: fork a process and wait for it 426Example: fork a process and wait for it
282 427
283 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 428 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
284 429
285 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
286
287 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 430 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
288 431
289 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 432 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
290 pid => $pid, 433 pid => $pid,
291 cb => sub { 434 cb => sub {
292 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 435 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
293 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 436 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
294 $done->broadcast; 437 $done->send;
295 }, 438 },
296 ); 439 );
297 440
298 # do something else, then wait for process exit 441 # do something else, then wait for process exit
299 $done->wait; 442 $done->recv;
443
444=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
445
446Sometimes there is a need to do something, but it is not so important
447to do it instantly, but only when there is nothing better to do. This
448"nothing better to do" is usually defined to be "no other events need
449attention by the event loop".
450
451Idle watchers ideally get invoked when the event loop has nothing
452better to do, just before it would block the process to wait for new
453events. Instead of blocking, the idle watcher is invoked.
454
455Most event loops unfortunately do not really support idle watchers (only
456EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
457will simply call the callback "from time to time".
458
459Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
460program is otherwise idle:
461
462 my @lines; # read data
463 my $idle_w;
464 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
465 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
466
467 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
468 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
469 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
470 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
471 print "handled when idle: $line";
472 } else {
473 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
474 undef $idle_w;
475 }
476 });
477 });
300 478
301=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 479=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
302 480
481If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
482require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
483will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
484
485AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
486loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
487
488The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
489because they represent a condition that must become true.
490
491Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
492
303Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 493Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
304method without any arguments. 494>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
495C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
496becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
497the results).
305 498
306A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 499After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
307->broadcast >> method has been called. 500by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
501were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
502->send >> method).
308 503
309They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 504Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
505optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
506in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
507another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
508used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
509a result.
510
511Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
310example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 512for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
311then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 513then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
312availability of results. 514availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
515called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
313 516
314You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 517You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
315an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 518you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
316program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 519could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
317->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 520button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
318 521
319Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 522Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
320two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 523two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
321lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 524lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
322you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 525you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
323as this asks for trouble. 526as this asks for trouble.
324 527
325This object has two methods: 528Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
529used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
530easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
531AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
532it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
326 533
327=over 4 534There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
535eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
536for the send to occur.
328 537
329=item $cv->wait 538Example: wait for a timer.
330
331Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been
332called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally.
333
334You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return
335immediately.
336
337Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
338(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
339using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
340caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
341condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
342callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
343while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
344
345Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot
346sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require
347multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
348can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and
349L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
350from different coroutines, however).
351
352=item $cv->broadcast
353
354Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further
355calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been
356called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..
357
358=back
359
360Example:
361 539
362 # wait till the result is ready 540 # wait till the result is ready
363 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 541 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
364 542
365 # do something such as adding a timer 543 # do something such as adding a timer
366 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 544 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
367 # when the "result" is ready. 545 # when the "result" is ready.
368 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 546 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
369 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 547 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
370 after => 1, 548 after => 1,
371 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast }, 549 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
372 ); 550 );
373 551
374 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 552 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
375 # calls broadcast 553 # calls -<send
376 $result_ready->wait; 554 $result_ready->recv;
555
556Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
557variables are also callable directly.
558
559 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
560 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
561 $done->recv;
562
563Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
564callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
565the main program:
566
567 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
568
569 ...
570
571 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
572
573And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
574results are available:
575
576 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
577 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
578 });
579
580=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
581
582These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
583code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
584the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
585uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
586
587=over 4
588
589=item $cv->send (...)
590
591Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
592calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
593called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
594
595If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
596immediately from within send.
597
598Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
599future C<< ->recv >> calls.
600
601Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
602they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
603C<send>.
604
605=item $cv->croak ($error)
606
607Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
608C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
609
610This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
611user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
612delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
613diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
614deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
615the problem.
616
617=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
618
619=item $cv->end
620
621These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
622one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
623to use a condition variable for the whole process.
624
625Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
626C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
627>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
628is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
629callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
630
631You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
632sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
633condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
634
635Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
636STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
637close before activating a condvar:
638
639 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
640
641 $cv->begin; # first watcher
642 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
643 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
644 or $cv->end;
645 });
646
647 $cv->begin; # second watcher
648 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
649 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
650 or $cv->end;
651 });
652
653 $cv->recv;
654
655This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
656one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
657sending.
658
659The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
660there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
661begung can potentially be zero:
662
663 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
664
665 my %result;
666 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
667
668 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
669 $cv->begin;
670 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
671 $result{$host} = ...;
672 $cv->end;
673 };
674 }
675
676 $cv->end;
677
678This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
679C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
680order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
681each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
682it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
683results arrive is not relevant.
684
685There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
686loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
687to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
688C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
689doesn't execute once).
690
691This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
692potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
693the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
694subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
695call C<end>.
696
697=back
698
699=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
700
701These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
702code awaits the condition.
703
704=over 4
705
706=item $cv->recv
707
708Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
709>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
710normally.
711
712You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
713will return immediately.
714
715If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
716function will call C<croak>.
717
718In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
719in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
720
721Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
722event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
723>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
724condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
725L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
726any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
727
728Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
729(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
730using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
731caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
732condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
733callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
734while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
735
736You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
737only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
738time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
739waits otherwise.
740
741=item $bool = $cv->ready
742
743Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
744C<croak> have been called.
745
746=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
747
748This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
749replaces it before doing so.
750
751The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
752C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
753variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
754is guaranteed not to block.
755
756=back
757
758=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
759
760The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
761
762=over 4
763
764=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
765
766EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
767use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will try Event, and, failing
768that, will fall back to its own pure-perl implementation, which is
769available everywhere as it comes with AnyEvent itself.
770
771 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
772 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
773 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
774
775=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
776
777These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
778is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
779them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
780when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
781create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
782
783 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
784 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
785 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
786 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
787
788=item Backends with special needs.
789
790Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
791otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
792instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
793everything should just work.
794
795 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
796
797Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
798architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
799is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
800it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
801L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
802
803 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
804
805=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
806
807Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
808
809There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
810
811B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
812use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
813polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
814consider for AnyEvent.
815
816B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
817backend, so it can be supported through POE.
818
819AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
820load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
821in which case everything will be automatic.
822
823=back
377 824
378=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 825=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
379 826
827These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
828write AnyEvent extension modules.
829
380=over 4 830=over 4
381 831
382=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 832=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
383 833
384Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 834Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
835backend has been autodetected.
836
385contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 837Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
386Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 838name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
387C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 839of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
388AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 840case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
389 841will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
390The known classes so far are:
391
392 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
393 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
394 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
395 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
396 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
397 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
398 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
399 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
400 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
401 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
402
403There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
404watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
405POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
406second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
407AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
408it's adaptor.
409
410AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
411autodetecting them.
412 842
413=item AnyEvent::detect 843=item AnyEvent::detect
414 844
415Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 845Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
416if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 846if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
417have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 847have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
418runtime. 848runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
849
850If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
851created, use C<post_detect>.
852
853=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
854
855Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
856autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
857
858The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
859(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
860created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
861other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
862L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
863
864The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
865event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
866and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
867avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
868
869If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
870that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
871L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
872
873=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
874
875If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
876before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
877the event loop has been chosen.
878
879You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
880if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
881array will be ignored.
882
883Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
884it,as it takes care of these details.
885
886This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
887when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
888not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
889into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
419 890
420=back 891=back
421 892
422=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 893=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
423 894
427Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 898Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
428decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 899decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
429by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 900by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
430to load the event module first. 901to load the event module first.
431 902
432Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 903Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
433the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 904the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
434because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 905because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
435events is to stay interactive. 906events is to stay interactive.
436 907
437It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 908It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
438requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 909requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
439called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 910called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
440freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 911freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
441 912
442=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 913=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
443 914
444There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 915There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
446 917
447If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 918If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
448do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 919do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
449decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 920decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
450 921
451If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 922If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
452Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 923Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
453event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 924event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
454speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 925speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
455modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 926modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
456decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 927decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
457might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 928might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
458 929
459You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 930You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
460loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 931C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
461behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 932everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
933
934=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
935
936Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
937only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
938
939In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
940
941 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
942
943This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
944
945Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
946it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
947variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
948exit cleanly.
949
950
951=head1 OTHER MODULES
952
953The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
954AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
955modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
956come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
957
958=over 4
959
960=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
961
962Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
963functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
964
965=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
966
967Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
968addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
969connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
970
971=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
972
973Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
974supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
975non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
976
977=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
978
979Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
980
981=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
982
983A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
984HTTP requests.
985
986=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
987
988Provides a simple web application server framework.
989
990=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
991
992The fastest ping in the west.
993
994=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
995
996Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
997
998=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
999
1000Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
1001programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
1002together.
1003
1004=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
1005
1006Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
1007L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
1008
1009=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
1010
1011A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
1012
1013=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
1014
1015AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
1016
1017=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
1018
1019AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1020Net::XMPP2>.
1021
1022=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1023
1024A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1025L<App::IGS>).
1026
1027=item L<Net::FCP>
1028
1029AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
1030of AnyEvent.
1031
1032=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
1033
1034High level API for event-based execution flow control.
1035
1036=item L<Coro>
1037
1038Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1039
1040=back
462 1041
463=cut 1042=cut
464 1043
465package AnyEvent; 1044package AnyEvent;
466 1045
1046# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
1047sub common_sense {
467no warnings; 1048 # no warnings
468use strict; 1049 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS};
1050 # use strict vars subs
1051 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1052}
469 1053
1054BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1055
470use Carp; 1056use Carp ();
471 1057
472our $VERSION = '3.3'; 1058our $VERSION = 4.85;
473our $MODEL; 1059our $MODEL;
474 1060
475our $AUTOLOAD; 1061our $AUTOLOAD;
476our @ISA; 1062our @ISA;
477 1063
478our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
479
480our @REGISTRY; 1064our @REGISTRY;
481 1065
1066our $WIN32;
1067
1068our $VERBOSE;
1069
1070BEGIN {
1071 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
1072 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1073
1074 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1075 if ${^TAINT};
1076
1077 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1078
1079}
1080
1081our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1082
1083our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1084
1085{
1086 my $idx;
1087 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1088 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1089 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1090}
1091
482my @models = ( 1092my @models = (
483 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
484 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
485 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1093 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
486 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1094 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
487 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1095 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
1096 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
1097 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1098 # and is usually faster
1099 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1100 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
488 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1101 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1102 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1103 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
489 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1104 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
490 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1105 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
491 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1106 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
492 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1107 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
493 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1108 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1109 # obvious default class.
494 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1110# [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
495 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1111# [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1112# [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
496); 1113);
497 1114
498our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 1115our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1116 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1117
1118our @post_detect;
1119
1120sub post_detect(&) {
1121 my ($cb) = @_;
1122
1123 if ($MODEL) {
1124 $cb->();
1125
1126 1
1127 } else {
1128 push @post_detect, $cb;
1129
1130 defined wantarray
1131 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1132 : ()
1133 }
1134}
1135
1136sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1137 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1138}
499 1139
500sub detect() { 1140sub detect() {
501 unless ($MODEL) { 1141 unless ($MODEL) {
502 no strict 'refs'; 1142 local $SIG{__DIE__};
503 1143
504 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1144 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
505 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1145 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
506 if (eval "require $model") { 1146 if (eval "require $model") {
507 $MODEL = $model; 1147 $MODEL = $model;
508 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1148 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
509 } else { 1149 } else {
510 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1150 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
511 } 1151 }
512 } 1152 }
513 1153
514 # check for already loaded models 1154 # check for already loaded models
515 unless ($MODEL) { 1155 unless ($MODEL) {
516 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1156 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
517 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1157 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
518 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1158 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
519 if (eval "require $model") { 1159 if (eval "require $model") {
520 $MODEL = $model; 1160 $MODEL = $model;
521 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1161 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
522 last; 1162 last;
523 } 1163 }
524 } 1164 }
525 } 1165 }
526 1166
531 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1171 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
532 if (eval "require $package" 1172 if (eval "require $package"
533 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 1173 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
534 and eval "require $model") { 1174 and eval "require $model") {
535 $MODEL = $model; 1175 $MODEL = $model;
536 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1176 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
537 last; 1177 last;
538 } 1178 }
539 } 1179 }
540 1180
541 $MODEL 1181 $MODEL
542 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event) or Glib."; 1182 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
543 } 1183 }
544 } 1184 }
545 1185
1186 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1187
546 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1188 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
547 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1189
1190 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1191
1192 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
548 } 1193 }
549 1194
550 $MODEL 1195 $MODEL
551} 1196}
552 1197
553sub AUTOLOAD { 1198sub AUTOLOAD {
554 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1199 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
555 1200
556 $method{$func} 1201 $method{$func}
557 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1202 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
558 1203
559 detect unless $MODEL; 1204 detect unless $MODEL;
560 1205
561 my $class = shift; 1206 my $class = shift;
562 $class->$func (@_); 1207 $class->$func (@_);
563} 1208}
564 1209
1210# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1211# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1212# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1213sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1214 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1215
1216 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1217 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1218
1219 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1220 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1221
1222 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1223
1224 ($fh2, $rw)
1225}
1226
565package AnyEvent::Base; 1227package AnyEvent::Base;
566 1228
1229# default implementations for many methods
1230
1231sub _time {
1232 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1233 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1234 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1235 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1236 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1237 } else {
1238 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1239 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1240 }
1241
1242 &_time
1243}
1244
1245sub time { _time }
1246sub now { _time }
1247sub now_update { }
1248
567# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1249# default implementation for ->condvar
568 1250
569sub condvar { 1251sub condvar {
570 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1252 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
571}
572
573sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
574 ${$_[0]}++;
575}
576
577sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
578 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
579} 1253}
580 1254
581# default implementation for ->signal 1255# default implementation for ->signal
582 1256
583our %SIG_CB; 1257our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1258our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1259our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1260our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
584 1261
1262sub _signal_exec {
1263 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1264 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1265 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 9;
1266
1267 while (%SIG_EV) {
1268 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1269 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1270 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1271 }
1272 }
1273}
1274
585sub signal { 1275sub _signal {
586 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1276 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
587 1277
588 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1278 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
589 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1279 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
590 1280
591 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1281 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1282
1283 if ($HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT) {
1284 # async::interrupt
1285
1286 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= do {
1287 my $asy = new Async::Interrupt
1288 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1289 signal => $signal,
1290 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1291 ;
1292 $asy->pipe_autodrain (0);
1293
1294 $asy
1295 };
1296
1297 } else {
1298 # pure perl
1299
592 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1300 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
593 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1301 local $!;
1302 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1303 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1304 };
1305
1306 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1307 # so limit the signal latency.
1308 ++$SIG_COUNT;
1309 $SIG_TW ||= AnyEvent->timer (
1310 after => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1311 interval => $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1312 cb => sub { }, # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1313 );
594 }; 1314 }
595 1315
596 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1316 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
597} 1317}
598 1318
1319sub signal {
1320 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1321 if (!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT} && eval "use Async::Interrupt 0.6 (); 1") {
1322 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1323
1324 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1;
1325 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1326 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1327
1328 } else {
1329 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1330
1331 require Fcntl;
1332
1333 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1334 require AnyEvent::Util;
1335
1336 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1337 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1338 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1339 } else {
1340 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1341 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1342 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1343
1344 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1345 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1346 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1347 }
1348
1349 $SIGPIPE_R
1350 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1351
1352 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1353 }
1354
1355 *signal = \&_signal;
1356 &signal
1357}
1358
599sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1359sub AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY {
600 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1360 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
601 1361
1362 undef $SIG_TW
1363 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1364
602 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1365 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
603 1366
604 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1367 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1368 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1369 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1370 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1371 # instead of getting the default action.
1372 undef $SIG{$signal}
1373 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
605} 1374}
606 1375
607# default implementation for ->child 1376# default implementation for ->child
608 1377
609our %PID_CB; 1378our %PID_CB;
610our $CHLD_W; 1379our $CHLD_W;
611our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1380our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
612our $PID_IDLE;
613our $WNOHANG; 1381our $WNOHANG;
614 1382
615sub _child_wait { 1383sub _sigchld {
616 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1384 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) {
1385 $_->($pid, $?)
617 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1386 for values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} },
618 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1387 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
619 } 1388 }
620
621 undef $PID_IDLE;
622}
623
624sub _sigchld {
625 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
626 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
627 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
628 &_child_wait;
629 });
630} 1389}
631 1390
632sub child { 1391sub child {
633 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1392 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
634 1393
635 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1394 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
636 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1395 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
637 1396
638 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1397 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
639 1398
640 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1399 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
641 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1400 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
642 } 1401 ? 1
1402 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
643 1403
644 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1404 unless ($CHLD_W) {
645 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1405 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
646 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1406 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
647 &_sigchld; 1407 &_sigchld;
648 } 1408 }
649 1409
650 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1410 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
651} 1411}
652 1412
653sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1413sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
654 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1414 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
655 1415
656 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1416 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
657 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1417 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
658 1418
659 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1419 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
660} 1420}
1421
1422# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1423# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1424# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1425sub idle {
1426 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1427
1428 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1429
1430 $rcb = sub {
1431 if ($cb) {
1432 $w = _time;
1433 &$cb;
1434 $w = _time - $w;
1435
1436 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1437 # within some limits
1438 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1439 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1440
1441 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $w, cb => $rcb);
1442 } else {
1443 # clean up...
1444 undef $w;
1445 undef $rcb;
1446 }
1447 };
1448
1449 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.05, cb => $rcb);
1450
1451 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1452}
1453
1454sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1455 undef $${$_[0]};
1456}
1457
1458package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1459
1460our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1461
1462package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1463
1464#use overload
1465# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1466# fallback => 1;
1467
1468# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1469${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1470*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1471*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1472${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1473
1474our $WAITING;
1475
1476sub _send {
1477 # nop
1478}
1479
1480sub send {
1481 my $cv = shift;
1482 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1483 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1484 $cv->_send;
1485}
1486
1487sub croak {
1488 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1489 $_[0]->send;
1490}
1491
1492sub ready {
1493 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1494}
1495
1496sub _wait {
1497 $WAITING
1498 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1499 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1500
1501 local $WAITING = 1;
1502 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1503}
1504
1505sub recv {
1506 $_[0]->_wait;
1507
1508 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1509 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1510}
1511
1512sub cb {
1513 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1514 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
1515}
1516
1517sub begin {
1518 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1519 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1520}
1521
1522sub end {
1523 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1524 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1525}
1526
1527# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1528*broadcast = \&send;
1529*wait = \&_wait;
1530
1531=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1532
1533In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1534caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1535the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1536checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1537development.
1538
1539As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1540executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1541also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1542program.
1543
1544The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1545within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1546$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1547so on.
1548
1549=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1550
1551The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1552submodules.
1553
1554Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1555C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1556enabled.
1557
1558=over 4
1559
1560=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1561
1562By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1563conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1564talkative.
1565
1566When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1567conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1568C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1569
1570When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1571model it chooses.
1572
1573When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1574which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1575
1576=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1577
1578AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1579argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1580will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1581check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1582it will croak.
1583
1584In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1585
1586Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1587>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1588C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1589can be very useful, however.
1590
1591=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1592
1593This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1594auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1595entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1596and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1597used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1598auto detection and -probing.
1599
1600This functionality might change in future versions.
1601
1602For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1603could start your program like this:
1604
1605 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1606
1607=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1608
1609Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1610for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1611of auto probing).
1612
1613Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1614current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1615used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1616list.
1617
1618This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1619against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1620small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1621
1622Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1623but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1624- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1625addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1626IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1627
1628=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1629
1630Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1631for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1632some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1633default.
1634
1635Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1636EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1637
1638=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1639
1640The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1641will create in parallel.
1642
1643=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1644
1645The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1646resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1647sent to the DNS server.
1648
1649=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1650
1651The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1652configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1653default config will be used.
1654
1655=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1656
1657When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1658L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1659variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1660instead of a system-dependent default.
1661
1662=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1663
1664When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1665loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1666
1667=back
661 1668
662=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1669=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
663 1670
664This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1671This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
665a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1672a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
699 1706
700I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1707I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
701condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1708condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
702C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1709C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
703not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1710not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
704
705=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
706
707The following environment variables are used by this module:
708
709=over 4
710
711=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
712
713By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
714conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
715talkative.
716
717When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
718conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
719C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
720
721When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
722model it chooses.
723
724=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
725
726This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
727autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
728entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
729and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
730used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
731autodetection and -probing.
732
733This functionality might change in future versions.
734
735For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
736could start your program like this:
737
738 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
739
740=back
741 1711
742=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1712=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
743 1713
744The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1714The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
745to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1715to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
754 poll => 'r', 1724 poll => 'r',
755 cb => sub { 1725 cb => sub {
756 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1726 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
757 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1727 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
758 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1728 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
759 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1729 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
760 }, 1730 },
761 ); 1731 );
762 1732
763 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1733 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
764 1734
769 }); 1739 });
770 } 1740 }
771 1741
772 new_timer; # create first timer 1742 new_timer; # create first timer
773 1743
774 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1744 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
775 1745
776=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1746=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
777 1747
778Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1748Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
779API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1749API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
829 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1799 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
830 or die "connection or write error"; 1800 or die "connection or write error";
831 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1801 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
832 1802
833Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1803Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
834result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1804result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
835 1805
836 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1806 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
837 1807
838 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1808 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
839 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1809 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
840 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1810 $txn->{finished}->send;
841 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1811 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
842 } 1812 }
843 1813
844The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1814The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
845request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1815request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
846data: 1816data:
847 1817
848 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1818 $txn->{finished}->recv;
849 return $txn->{result}; 1819 return $txn->{result};
850 1820
851The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1821The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
852that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1822that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
853whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1823whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
854and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1824and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
855problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1825problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
856random callback. 1826random callback.
857 1827
888 1858
889 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1859 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
890 1860
891 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1861 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
892 ... 1862 ...
893 $quit->broadcast; 1863 $quit->send;
894 }); 1864 });
895 1865
896 $quit->wait; 1866 $quit->recv;
897 1867
898 1868
899=head1 BENCHMARKS 1869=head1 BENCHMARKS
900 1870
901To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 1871To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
903of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 1873of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
904 1874
905=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 1875=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
906 1876
907Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 1877Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
908through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 1878through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
909timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 1879timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
910which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 1880which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
911 1881
912Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 1882Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
913distribution. 1883distribution.
930all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 1900all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
931and memory usage is not included in the figures. 1901and memory usage is not included in the figures.
932 1902
933I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 1903I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
934callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 1904callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
935invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 1905invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
936signal the end of this phase. 1906signal the end of this phase.
937 1907
938I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 1908I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
939watcher. 1909watcher.
940 1910
941=head3 Results 1911=head3 Results
942 1912
943 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1913 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
944 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1914 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
945 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1915 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
946 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1916 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
947 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1917 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
948 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1918 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
949 Event/Any 16000 936 39.17 33.63 1.43 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1919 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
1920 IOAsync/Any 16000 989 38.10 32.77 11.13 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
1921 IOAsync/Any 16000 990 37.59 29.50 10.61 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
950 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1922 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
951 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1923 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
952 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1924 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
953 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1925 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
954 1926
955=head3 Discussion 1927=head3 Discussion
956 1928
957The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1929The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
958well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1930well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
959can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of 1931can never compete with an event loop that uses epoll when the number of
960file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at 1932file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
961the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed 1933the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
962boost. 1934boost.
963 1935
1936Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
1937overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
1938the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
1939higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
1940
1941To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
1942benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
1943EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
1944cycles with POE.
1945
964C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 1946C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
965maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 1947maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses
966far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 1948far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event
967natively. 1949natively.
968 1950
973performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 1955performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
974them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 1956them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
975 1957
976The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 1958The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
977cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 1959cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
1960
1961C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
1962when using its pure perl backend.
978 1963
979C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 1964C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
980faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 1965faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
981C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 1966C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
982watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 1967watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
990file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 1975file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
991employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a 1976employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
992hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures 1977hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
993above). 1978above).
994 1979
995C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 1980C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
996perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 1981select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
997couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 1982be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
998and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 1983memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
999EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 1984as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1000requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 1985requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1001invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 1986invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1987implementation.
1988
1002implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 1989The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1003really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 1990for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1004to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 1991small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1005L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 1992optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1993using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1994memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1995design).
1006 1996
1007=head3 Summary 1997=head3 Summary
1008 1998
1009=over 4 1999=over 4
1010 2000
1021 2011
1022=back 2012=back
1023 2013
1024=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 2014=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1025 2015
1026This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 2016This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1027creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 2017creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1028timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O 2018timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1029watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket 2019watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1030watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server". 2020watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1031 2021
1032The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 2022The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1033are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active 2023are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1034fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The 2024fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1035timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 2025timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1036most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 2026most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1037 2027
1038In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2028In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1039(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 2029(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1040connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2030connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1041 2031
1042Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2032Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1043distribution. 2033distribution.
1044 2034
1045=head3 Explanation of the columns 2035=head3 Explanation of the columns
1046 2036
1047I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2037I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1048eahc server has a read and write socket end). 2038each server has a read and write socket end).
1049 2039
1050I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 2040I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1051nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher. 2041nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1052 2042
1053I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 2043I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1054single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding 2044single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1055it to another server. This includes deleteing the old timeout and creating 2045it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1056a new one with a later timeout. 2046a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1057 2047
1058=head3 Results 2048=head3 Results
1059 2049
1060 name sockets create request 2050 name sockets create request
1061 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2051 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1062 Perl 20000 75.28 112.76 2052 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
2053 IOAsync 20000 157.00 98.14 epoll
2054 IOAsync 20000 159.31 616.06 poll
1063 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2055 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1064 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2056 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1065 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2057 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1066 2058
1067=head3 Discussion 2059=head3 Discussion
1068 2060
1069This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2061This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1070particular event loop. 2062particular event loop.
1072EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2064EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1073is relatively high, though. 2065is relatively high, though.
1074 2066
1075Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2067Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1076loops Event and Glib. 2068loops Event and Glib.
2069
2070IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2071good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1077 2072
1078Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2073Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1079understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2074understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1080the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2075the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1081uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2076uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1089 2084
1090=head3 Summary 2085=head3 Summary
1091 2086
1092=over 4 2087=over 4
1093 2088
1094=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 2089=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1095that it uses select.
1096 2090
1097=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 2091=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1098 2092
1099=back 2093=back
1100 2094
1113 2107
1114=head3 Results 2108=head3 Results
1115 2109
1116 name sockets create request 2110 name sockets create request
1117 EV 16 20.00 6.54 2111 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2112 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1118 Event 16 81.27 35.86 2113 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1119 Glib 16 32.63 15.48 2114 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1120 Perl 16 24.62 162.37
1121 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event 2115 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1122 2116
1123=head3 Discussion 2117=head3 Discussion
1124 2118
1125The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small 2119The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1126server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep 2120server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1127in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due 2121in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1128to the small absolute number of watchers. 2122to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
2123speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
2124them).
1129 2125
1130EV is again fastest. 2126EV is again fastest.
1131 2127
1132The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 2128Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1133overhead of running an iteration is much smaller in C than in Perl (little 2129loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1134code to execute in the inner loop, and perl's function calling overhead is 2130matter.
1135high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1136 2131
1137The pure perl event loop is much slower, but still competitive.
1138
1139POE also performs much better in this case, but is is stillf ar behind the 2132POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1140others. 2133others.
1141 2134
1142=head3 Summary 2135=head3 Summary
1143 2136
1144=over 4 2137=over 4
1146=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2139=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1147watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2140watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1148 2141
1149=back 2142=back
1150 2143
2144=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2145
2146Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2147could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2148simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2149shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2150fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2151very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2152baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2153
2154The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2155connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2156creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2157test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2158benchmark nevertheless.
2159
2160 name runtime
2161 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2162 + optimized 0.122 sec
2163 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2164 + optimized 0.138 sec
2165 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2166 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2167 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2168 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2169
2170 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2171 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2172 +state machine 0.134 sec
2173
2174The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2175benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2176defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2177written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2178AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2179resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2180generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2181connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2182
2183The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2184offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2185Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2186non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2187
2188As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2189hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2190backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2191
2192And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2193slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda by a
2194large margin, even though it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O
2195in a non-blocking way.
2196
2197The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2198F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2199part of the IO::lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2200
2201
2202=head1 SIGNALS
2203
2204AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2205
2206=over 4
2207
2208=item SIGCHLD
2209
2210A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2211emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2212event loops install a similar handler.
2213
2214Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2215AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2216
2217=item SIGPIPE
2218
2219A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2220when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2221
2222The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2223on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2224badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2225program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2226some random socket.
2227
2228The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2229that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2230
2231Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2232
2233=back
2234
2235=cut
2236
2237undef $SIG{CHLD}
2238 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2239
2240$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2241 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2242
2243=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2244
2245One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2246it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2247
2248That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2249modules if they are installed.
2250
2251This section epxlains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2252affect AnyEvent's operetion.
2253
2254=over 4
2255
2256=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2257
2258This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2259my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2260signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2261delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2262catch the signals) with soemd elay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2263C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2264
2265If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2266catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2267will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (And good for
2268battery life on laptops).
2269
2270This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2271that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2272
2273=item L<EV>
2274
2275This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2276event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2277loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2278the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2279automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2280can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2281C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2282L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2283
2284=item L<Guard>
2285
2286The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2287C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2288lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2289purely used for performance.
2290
2291=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2292
2293This module is required when you want to read or write JSON data via
2294L<AnyEvent::Handle>. It is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2295advantage of the ulta-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2296
2297In fact, L<AnyEvent::Handle> will use L<JSON::XS> by default if it is
2298installed.
2299
2300=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2301
2302Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2303worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2304the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2305
2306=item L<Time::HiRes>
2307
2308This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2309chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2310pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2311try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2312
2313=back
2314
1151 2315
1152=head1 FORK 2316=head1 FORK
1153 2317
1154Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2318Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1155because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2319because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
2320calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1156 2321
1157If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2322If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1158watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 2323watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2324something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
1159 2325
1160 2326
1161=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2327=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1162 2328
1163AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2329AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1168specified in the variable. 2334specified in the variable.
1169 2335
1170You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2336You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1171before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2337before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1172 2338
1173 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2339 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1174 2340
1175 use AnyEvent; 2341 use AnyEvent;
2342
2343Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2344be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2345probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2346$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2347
2348Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2349C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2350enabled.
2351
2352
2353=head1 BUGS
2354
2355Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2356to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2357and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2358memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2359pronounced).
1176 2360
1177 2361
1178=head1 SEE ALSO 2362=head1 SEE ALSO
1179 2363
1180Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2364Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1181L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 2365
2366Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1182L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2367L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1183 2368
1184Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2369Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1185L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2370L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1186L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, 2371L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1187L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 2372L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>.
1188 2373
2374Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2375servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2376
2377Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2378
2379Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2380L<Coro::Event>,
2381
1189Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2382Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2383L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1190 2384
1191 2385
1192=head1 AUTHOR 2386=head1 AUTHOR
1193 2387
1194 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2388 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1195 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2389 http://home.schmorp.de/
1196 2390
1197=cut 2391=cut
1198 2392
11991 23931
1200 2394

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