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Revision 1.325 by root, Thu May 20 23:56:04 2010 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt
6and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
17
18 # one-shot or repeating timers
19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
21
22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
24
25 # POSIX signal
26 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
27
28 # child process exit
29 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
30 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 31 ...
13 }); 32 });
14 33
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 34 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 35 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 36
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 37 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
38 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 40 # use a condvar in callback mode:
41 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
42
43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
44
45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
47L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
48
49=head1 SUPPORT
50
51There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
52channel, too.
53
54See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
55Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 56
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 57=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 58
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 59Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 60nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 61
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 62Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 63policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 64
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 65First 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 66interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 67pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 68the 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 69only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 70cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
71loops.
37 72
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 73The 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 74programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 75religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 76module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 77model you use.
43 78
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 79For 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 80actually 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 81like 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 82cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 83that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 84module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 85
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 86AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 87fine. 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 88with 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, 89your 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 90too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 91event 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 92use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 93to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 94
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 95In 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 96model>, 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 97modules, 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 98follow. 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 99offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 100technically possible.
66 101
102Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
103of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
104non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
105such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
106platform bugs and differences.
107
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 108Now, 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 109useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 110model, you should I<not> use this module.
70
71 111
72=head1 DESCRIPTION 112=head1 DESCRIPTION
73 113
74L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 114L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
75allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 115allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
79The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 119The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
80module. 120module.
81 121
82During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 122During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
83to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 123to 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>, 124following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
85L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 125L<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 126L<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 127to 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 128adaptor 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 129be 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 143starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
104use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
105 145
106The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 146The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
107C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 147C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
108explicitly. 148explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
109 149
110=head1 WATCHERS 150=head1 WATCHERS
111 151
112AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 152AnyEvent 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 153stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
114the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 154the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
115 155
116These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 156These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
117creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 157creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
118callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 158callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
119is in control). 159is in control).
120 160
161Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
162potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
163callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
164Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
165widely between event loops.
166
121To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 167To 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 168variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
123to it). 169to it).
124 170
125All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 171All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
127Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 173Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
128example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 174example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
129 175
130An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 176An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
131 177
132 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 178 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
133 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 179 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
134 undef $w; 180 undef $w;
135 }); 181 });
136 182
137Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 183Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
138my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 184my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
139declared. 185declared.
140 186
141=head2 I/O WATCHERS 187=head2 I/O WATCHERS
142 188
189 $w = AnyEvent->io (
190 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
191 poll => <"r" or "w">,
192 cb => <callback>,
193 );
194
143You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 195You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
144with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 196with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
145 197
146C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 198C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
199for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
200handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
201non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
202most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
203or block devices.
204
147for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 205C<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, 206watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
207
149respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 208C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
150becomes ready.
151 209
152Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 210Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
153presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 211presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
154callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 212callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
155 213
159 217
160Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 218Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
161always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 219always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
162handles. 220handles.
163 221
164Example:
165
166 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 222Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
223watcher.
224
167 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 225 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
168 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 226 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
169 warn "read: $input\n"; 227 warn "read: $input\n";
170 undef $w; 228 undef $w;
171 }); 229 });
172 230
173=head2 TIME WATCHERS 231=head2 TIME WATCHERS
174 232
233 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
234
235 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
236 after => <fractional_seconds>,
237 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
238 cb => <callback>,
239 );
240
175You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 241You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
176method with the following mandatory arguments: 242method with the following mandatory arguments:
177 243
178C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 244C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
179supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke 245supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
181 247
182Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 248Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
183presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 249presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
184callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 250callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
185 251
186The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 252The 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 253parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
188and Glib). 254callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
255seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
256false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
189 257
190Example: 258The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
259attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
260only approximate.
191 261
192 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 262Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
263
193 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 264 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
194 warn "timeout\n"; 265 warn "timeout\n";
195 }); 266 });
196 267
197 # to cancel the timer: 268 # to cancel the timer:
198 undef $w; 269 undef $w;
199 270
200Example 2:
201
202 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 271Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
203 my $w;
204 272
205 my $cb = sub {
206 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
207 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 273 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
274 warn "timeout\n";
208 }; 275 };
209
210 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
211 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
212 276
213=head3 TIMING ISSUES 277=head3 TIMING ISSUES
214 278
215There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 279There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
216in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 280in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
228timers. 292timers.
229 293
230AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 294AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
231AnyEvent API. 295AnyEvent API.
232 296
297AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
298
299=over 4
300
301=item AnyEvent->time
302
303This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
304seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
305return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
306
307It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
308will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
309
310=item AnyEvent->now
311
312This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
313this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
314the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
315time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
316
317I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
318function to call when you want to know the current time.>
319
320This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
321thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
322L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
323
324The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
325with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
326
327For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
328and L<EV> and the following set-up:
329
330The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
331time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
332you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
333second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
334after three seconds.
335
336With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
337both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
338be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
339
340With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
341time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
342last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
343to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
344
345In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
346regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
347callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
348higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
349
350In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
351the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
352
353In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
354can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
355difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
356account.
357
358=item AnyEvent->now_update
359
360Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
361the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
362AnyEvent->now >>, above).
363
364When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
365this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
366might affect timers and time-outs.
367
368When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
369event loop's idea of "current time".
370
371A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
372when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
373idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
374script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
375AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
376(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
377
378Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
379
380=back
381
233=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 382=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
234 383
384 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
385
235You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 386You 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 387I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
237be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 388callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
238 389
239Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 390Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
240presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 391presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
241callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 392callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
242 393
243Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 394Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
244invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 395invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
245that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 396that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
246but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 397but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
247 398
248The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 399The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
249between multiple watchers. 400between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
401interrupt your program at bad times.
250 402
251This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 403This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
252directly will likely not work correctly. 404so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
405correctly.
253 406
254Example: exit on SIGINT 407Example: exit on SIGINT
255 408
256 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 409 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
257 410
411=head3 Restart Behaviour
412
413While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
414not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
415pure perl implementation).
416
417=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
418
419Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
420"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
421latter might corrupt your memory.
422
423AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
424i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
425called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
426callbacks, too).
427
428=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
429
430Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
431callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
432do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
433this. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, which means in some cases,
434signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
435specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
436variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
437and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
438AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
439will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
440saving.
441
442All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
443L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
444work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
445(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does it's own workaround with
446one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
447
258=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 448=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
259 449
450 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
451
260You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 452You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
261 453
262The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 454The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (one some backends,
263watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 455using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
264as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 456croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
265signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 457finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
266and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 458(stopped/continued).
267you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 459
460The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
461waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
462callback arguments.
463
464This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
465and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
466random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
467C<system>, is just fine).
268 468
269There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 469There 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 470I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
271have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 471have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
272 472
273Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 473Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
474see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
274event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 475that 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). 476the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
477pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
478start the watcher.
276 479
277This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 480This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
278AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 481thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
279C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 482watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
483C<AnyEvent::detect>).
484
485As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
486emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
487mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
280 488
281Example: fork a process and wait for it 489Example: fork a process and wait for it
282 490
283 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 491 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
284 492
285 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
286
287 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 493 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
288 494
289 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 495 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
290 pid => $pid, 496 pid => $pid,
291 cb => sub { 497 cb => sub {
292 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 498 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
293 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 499 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
294 $done->broadcast; 500 $done->send;
295 }, 501 },
296 ); 502 );
297 503
298 # do something else, then wait for process exit 504 # do something else, then wait for process exit
299 $done->wait; 505 $done->recv;
506
507=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
508
509 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
510
511Repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle, until
512either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
513
514Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
515is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
516invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
517defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
518have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
519when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
520detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
521will be invoked.
522
523Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
524EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
525will simply call the callback "from time to time".
526
527Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
528program is otherwise idle:
529
530 my @lines; # read data
531 my $idle_w;
532 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
533 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
534
535 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
536 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
537 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
538 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
539 print "handled when idle: $line";
540 } else {
541 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
542 undef $idle_w;
543 }
544 });
545 });
300 546
301=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 547=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
302 548
549 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
550
551 $cv->send (<list>);
552 my @res = $cv->recv;
553
554If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
555require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
556will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
557
558AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
559loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
560
561The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
562because they represent a condition that must become true.
563
564Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
565
303Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 566Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
304method without any arguments. 567>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
568C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
569becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
570the results).
305 571
306A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 572After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
307->broadcast >> method has been called. 573by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
574were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
575->send >> method).
308 576
309They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 577Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
578optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
579in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
580another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
581used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
582a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a promise to
583compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
584
585Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
310example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 586for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
311then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 587then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
312availability of results. 588availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
589called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
313 590
314You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 591You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
315an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 592you 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<< 593could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
317->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 594button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
318 595
319Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 596Note 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 597two 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 598lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
322you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 599you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
323as this asks for trouble. 600as this asks for trouble.
324 601
325This object has two methods: 602Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
603used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
604easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
605AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
606it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
607
608There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
609eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
610for the send to occur.
611
612Example: wait for a timer.
613
614 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
615 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
616
617 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
618 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
619 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
620 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
621 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
622 after => 1,
623 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
624 );
625
626 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
627 # calls ->send
628 $timer_fired->recv;
629
630Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
631variables are also callable directly.
632
633 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
634 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
635 $done->recv;
636
637Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
638callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
639the main program:
640
641 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
642
643 ...
644
645 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
646
647And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
648results are available:
649
650 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
651 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
652 });
653
654=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
655
656These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
657code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
658the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
659uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
326 660
327=over 4 661=over 4
328 662
663=item $cv->send (...)
664
665Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
666calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
667called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
668
669If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
670immediately from within send.
671
672Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
673future C<< ->recv >> calls.
674
675Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
676they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
677C<send>.
678
679=item $cv->croak ($error)
680
681Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
682C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
683
684This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
685user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
686delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
687diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
688deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
689the problem.
690
691=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
692
329=item $cv->wait 693=item $cv->end
330 694
331Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 695These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
696one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
697to use a condition variable for the whole process.
698
699Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
700C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
701>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
702condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
703>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
704be called without any arguments.
705
706You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
707sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
708condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
709
710Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
711STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
712close before activating a condvar:
713
714 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
715
716 $cv->begin; # first watcher
717 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
718 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
719 or $cv->end;
720 });
721
722 $cv->begin; # second watcher
723 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
724 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
725 or $cv->end;
726 });
727
728 $cv->recv;
729
730This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
731one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
732sending.
733
734The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
735there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
736begung can potentially be zero:
737
738 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
739
740 my %result;
741 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
742
743 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
744 $cv->begin;
745 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
746 $result{$host} = ...;
747 $cv->end;
748 };
749 }
750
751 $cv->end;
752
753This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
754C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
755order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
756each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
757it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
758results arrive is not relevant.
759
760There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
761loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
762to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
763C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
764doesn't execute once).
765
766This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
767potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
768the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
769subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
770call C<end>.
771
772=back
773
774=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
775
776These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
777code awaits the condition.
778
779=over 4
780
781=item $cv->recv
782
783Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
332called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 784>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
785normally.
333 786
334You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 787You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
335immediately. 788will return immediately.
789
790If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
791function will call C<croak>.
792
793In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
794in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
795
796Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
797event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
798>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
799condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
800L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
801any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
336 802
337Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 803Not 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 804(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 805using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
340caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 806caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
341condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 807condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
342callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 808callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
343while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 809while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
344 810
345Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 811You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
346sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 812only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
347multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 813time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
348can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 814waits otherwise.
349L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
350from different coroutines, however).
351 815
352=item $cv->broadcast 816=item $bool = $cv->ready
353 817
354Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 818Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
355calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 819C<croak> have been called.
356called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 820
821=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
822
823This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
824replaces it before doing so.
825
826The callback will be called when the condition becomes (or already was)
827"true", i.e. when C<send> or C<croak> are called (or were called), with
828the only argument being the condition variable itself. Calling C<recv>
829inside the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
357 830
358=back 831=back
359 832
360Example: 833=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
361 834
362 # wait till the result is ready 835The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
363 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
364 836
365 # do something such as adding a timer 837=over 4
366 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
367 # when the "result" is ready.
368 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
369 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
370 after => 1,
371 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
372 );
373 838
374 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 839=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
375 # calls broadcast 840
376 $result_ready->wait; 841EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
842use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
843pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
844AnyEvent itself.
845
846 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
847 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
848
849=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
850
851These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
852is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
853them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
854when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
855create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
856
857 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
858 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
859 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
860 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
861 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
862 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
863
864=item Backends with special needs.
865
866Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
867otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
868instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
869everything should just work.
870
871 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
872
873Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
874architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
875is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
876it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
877L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
878
879 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
880
881=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
882
883Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
884
885There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
886
887B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
888use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
889polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
890consider for AnyEvent.
891
892B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
893backend, so it can be supported through POE.
894
895AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
896load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
897in which case everything will be automatic.
898
899=back
377 900
378=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 901=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
379 902
903These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
904write AnyEvent extension modules.
905
380=over 4 906=over 4
381 907
382=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 908=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
383 909
384Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 910Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
911backend has been autodetected.
912
385contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 913Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
386Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 914name 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 915of 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>). 916case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
389 917will 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.
412 918
413=item AnyEvent::detect 919=item AnyEvent::detect
414 920
415Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 921Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
416if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 922if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
417have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 923have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
418runtime. 924runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
925
926If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
927created, use C<post_detect>.
928
929=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
930
931Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
932autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
933
934The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
935(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
936created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
937other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
938L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
939
940The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
941event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
942and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
943avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
944
945If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
946that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
947C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
948a case where this is useful.
949
950Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
951C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
952
953 our WATCHER;
954
955 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
956 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
957 };
958
959 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
960 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
961 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
962 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
963
964 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
965
966=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
967
968If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
969before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
970the event loop has been chosen.
971
972You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
973if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
974array will be ignored.
975
976Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
977it, as it takes care of these details.
978
979This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
980when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
981not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
982into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
983
984Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
985together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
986Coro to accomplish this):
987
988 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
989 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
990 require Coro::AnyEvent;
991 } else {
992 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
993 # as soon as it is
994 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
995 }
419 996
420=back 997=back
421 998
422=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 999=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
423 1000
427Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 1004Be 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 1005decide 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 1006by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
430to load the event module first. 1007to load the event module first.
431 1008
432Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 1009Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
433the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 1010the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
434because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1011because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
435events is to stay interactive. 1012events is to stay interactive.
436 1013
437It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 1014It 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 1015requests 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 >> 1016called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
440freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1017freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
441 1018
442=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1019=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
443 1020
444There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1021There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
446 1023
447If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1024If 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 1025do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
449decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1026decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
450 1027
451If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 1028If 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 1029Gtk2 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 1030event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
454speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1031speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
455modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1032modules 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 1033decide 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. 1034might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
458 1035
459You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 1036You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
460loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 1037C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
461behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 1038everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
1039
1040=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
1041
1042Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
1043only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1044
1045In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1046
1047 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1048
1049This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1050
1051Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1052it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1053variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1054exit cleanly.
1055
1056
1057=head1 OTHER MODULES
1058
1059The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
1060AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
1061modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
1062come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN.
1063
1064=over 4
1065
1066=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
1067
1068Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
1069functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
1070
1071=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1072
1073Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1074addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1075connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1076
1077=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1078
1079Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1080supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1081non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1082
1083=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1084
1085Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1086
1087=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1088
1089Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1090the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1091Client Protocol).
1092
1093=item L<AnyEvent::Handle::UDP>
1094
1095Here be danger!
1096
1097As Pauli would put it, "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!" -
1098there are so many things wrong with AnyEvent::Handle::UDP, most notably
1099it's use of a stream-based API with a protocol that isn't streamable, that
1100the only way to improve it is to delete it.
1101
1102It features data corruption (but typically only under load) and general
1103confusion. On top, the author is not only clueless about UDP but also
1104fact-resistant - some gems of his understanding: "connect doesn't work
1105with UDP", "UDP packets are not IP packets", "UDP only has datagrams, not
1106packets", "I don't need to implement proper error checking as UDP doesn't
1107support error checking" and so on - he doesn't even understand what's
1108wrong with his module when it is explained to him.
1109
1110=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1111
1112Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1113notifying you in an event-bnased way when the operation is finished.
1114
1115=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1116
1117Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1118toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1119L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1120file I/O, and much more.
1121
1122=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1123
1124A simple embedded webserver.
1125
1126=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1127
1128The fastest ping in the west.
1129
1130=item L<Coro>
1131
1132Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1133
1134=back
462 1135
463=cut 1136=cut
464 1137
465package AnyEvent; 1138package AnyEvent;
466 1139
467no warnings; 1140# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
468use strict; 1141sub common_sense {
1142 # from common:.sense 1.0
1143 ${^WARNING_BITS} = "\xfc\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\xcf\xc0\xf3\xfc\x33\x00";
1144 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1145 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1146}
469 1147
1148BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1149
470use Carp; 1150use Carp ();
471 1151
472our $VERSION = '3.3'; 1152our $VERSION = '5.261';
473our $MODEL; 1153our $MODEL;
474 1154
475our $AUTOLOAD; 1155our $AUTOLOAD;
476our @ISA; 1156our @ISA;
477 1157
478our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
479
480our @REGISTRY; 1158our @REGISTRY;
481 1159
1160our $VERBOSE;
1161
1162BEGIN {
1163 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1164
1165 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1166
1167 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1168 if ${^TAINT};
1169
1170 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1171
1172}
1173
1174our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1175
1176our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1177
1178{
1179 my $idx;
1180 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1181 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1182 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1183}
1184
482my @models = ( 1185my @models = (
483 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
484 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
485 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1186 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
1187 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1188 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1189 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1190 # and is usually faster
486 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1191 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
487 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1192 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1193 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1194 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
488 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1195 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1196 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1197 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
489 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1198 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
490 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1199 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
491 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1200 # 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 1201 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
493 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1202 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1203 # obvious default class.
494 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1204 [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
495 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1205 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1206 [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1207 [AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
496); 1208);
497 1209
498our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 1210our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1211 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1212
1213our @post_detect;
1214
1215sub post_detect(&) {
1216 my ($cb) = @_;
1217
1218 push @post_detect, $cb;
1219
1220 defined wantarray
1221 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1222 : ()
1223}
1224
1225sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1226 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1227}
499 1228
500sub detect() { 1229sub detect() {
1230 # free some memory
1231 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1232
1233 local $!; # for good measure
1234 local $SIG{__DIE__};
1235
1236 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
1237 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
1238 if (eval "require $model") {
1239 $MODEL = $model;
1240 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
1241 } else {
1242 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
1243 }
1244 }
1245
1246 # check for already loaded models
501 unless ($MODEL) { 1247 unless ($MODEL) {
502 no strict 'refs'; 1248 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
503 1249 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
504 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1250 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
505 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
506 if (eval "require $model") { 1251 if (eval "require $model") {
507 $MODEL = $model; 1252 $MODEL = $model;
508 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1253 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
509 } else { 1254 last;
510 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1255 }
511 } 1256 }
512 } 1257 }
513 1258
514 # check for already loaded models
515 unless ($MODEL) { 1259 unless ($MODEL) {
1260 # try to autoload a model
516 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1261 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
517 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1262 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1263 if (
1264 $autoload
1265 and eval "require $package"
518 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1266 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
519 if (eval "require $model") { 1267 and eval "require $model"
1268 ) {
520 $MODEL = $model; 1269 $MODEL = $model;
521 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1270 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
522 last; 1271 last;
523 }
524 } 1272 }
525 } 1273 }
526 1274
527 unless ($MODEL) {
528 # try to load a model
529
530 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
531 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
532 if (eval "require $package"
533 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
534 and eval "require $model") {
535 $MODEL = $model;
536 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
537 last;
538 }
539 }
540
541 $MODEL 1275 $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."; 1276 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
543 }
544 } 1277 }
545
546 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
547 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
548 } 1278 }
1279
1280 @models = (); # free probe data
1281
1282 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1283 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
1284
1285 # now nuke some methods that are overriden by the backend.
1286 # SUPER is not allowed.
1287 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1288 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1289 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1290 }
1291
1292 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1293
1294 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1295
1296 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1297 shift->();
1298
1299 undef
1300 };
549 1301
550 $MODEL 1302 $MODEL
551} 1303}
552 1304
553sub AUTOLOAD { 1305sub AUTOLOAD {
554 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1306 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
555 1307
556 $method{$func} 1308 $method{$func}
557 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1309 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid AnyEvent class method";
558 1310
559 detect unless $MODEL; 1311 detect;
560 1312
561 my $class = shift; 1313 my $class = shift;
562 $class->$func (@_); 1314 $class->$func (@_);
563} 1315}
564 1316
1317# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1318# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1319# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1320sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1321 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1322
1323 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1324 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1325
1326 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1327 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1328
1329 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1330
1331 ($fh2, $rw)
1332}
1333
1334=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1335
1336Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1337simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1338overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1339
1340See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1341
1342=cut
1343
1344package AE;
1345
1346our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1347
1348# fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1349# implementations can overwrite these.
1350
1351sub io($$$) {
1352 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1353}
1354
1355sub timer($$$) {
1356 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1357}
1358
1359sub signal($$) {
1360 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1361}
1362
1363sub child($$) {
1364 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1365}
1366
1367sub idle($) {
1368 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1369}
1370
1371sub cv(;&) {
1372 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1373}
1374
1375sub now() {
1376 AnyEvent->now
1377}
1378
1379sub now_update() {
1380 AnyEvent->now_update
1381}
1382
1383sub time() {
1384 AnyEvent->time
1385}
1386
565package AnyEvent::Base; 1387package AnyEvent::Base;
566 1388
1389# default implementations for many methods
1390
1391sub time {
1392 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1393 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1394 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1395 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1396 *AE::time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1397 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1398 } else {
1399 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1400 *AE::time = sub (){ time }; # epic fail
1401 }
1402
1403 *time = sub { AE::time }; # different prototypes
1404 };
1405 die if $@;
1406
1407 &time
1408}
1409
1410*now = \&time;
1411
1412sub now_update { }
1413
567# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1414# default implementation for ->condvar
568 1415
569sub condvar { 1416sub condvar {
570 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1417 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
571} 1418 *condvar = sub {
1419 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1420 };
572 1421
573sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast { 1422 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
574 ${$_[0]}++; 1423 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
575} 1424 };
1425 };
1426 die if $@;
576 1427
577sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait { 1428 &condvar
578 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
579} 1429}
580 1430
581# default implementation for ->signal 1431# default implementation for ->signal
582 1432
583our %SIG_CB; 1433our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1434
1435sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1436 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1437 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1438 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1439
1440 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1441}
1442
1443our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1444our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1445our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1446
1447# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1448# used by Impls
1449sub _sig_add() {
1450 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1451 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1452 my $NOW = AE::now;
1453
1454 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1455 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1456 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1457 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1458 ;
1459 }
1460}
1461
1462sub _sig_del {
1463 undef $SIG_TW
1464 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1465}
1466
1467our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1468 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1469 undef $_sig_name_init;
1470
1471 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1472 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1473 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1474 } else {
1475 require Config;
1476
1477 my %signame2num;
1478 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1479 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1480
1481 my @signum2name;
1482 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1483
1484 *sig2num = sub($) {
1485 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1486 };
1487 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1488 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1489 };
1490 }
1491 };
1492 die if $@;
1493};
1494
1495sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1496sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
584 1497
585sub signal { 1498sub signal {
1499 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1500 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1501 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1502 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1503
1504 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1505 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1506
1507 } else {
1508 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1509
1510 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1511 require AnyEvent::Util;
1512
1513 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1514 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1515 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1516 } else {
1517 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1518 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1519 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1520
1521 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1522 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1523 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1524 }
1525
1526 $SIGPIPE_R
1527 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1528
1529 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1530 }
1531
1532 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1533 ? sub {
586 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1534 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
587 1535
1536 # async::interrupt
588 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1537 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
589 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
590
591 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1538 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1539
1540 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1541 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1542 signal => $signal,
1543 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1544 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1545 ;
1546
1547 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1548 }
1549 : sub {
1550 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1551
1552 # pure perl
1553 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1554 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1555
592 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1556 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
1557 local $!;
1558 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1559 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1560 };
1561
1562 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1563 # so limit the signal latency.
1564 _sig_add;
1565
1566 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1567 }
1568 ;
1569
1570 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1571 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1572
1573 _sig_del;
1574
1575 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1576
1577 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1578 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1579 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1580 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1581 # instead of getting the default action.
1582 undef $SIG{$signal}
1583 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1584 };
1585
1586 *_signal_exec = sub {
1587 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1588 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1589 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1590
1591 while (%SIG_EV) {
1592 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1593 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
593 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1594 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1595 }
1596 }
1597 };
594 }; 1598 };
1599 die if $@;
595 1600
596 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1601 &signal
597}
598
599sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
600 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
601
602 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
603
604 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
605} 1602}
606 1603
607# default implementation for ->child 1604# default implementation for ->child
608 1605
609our %PID_CB; 1606our %PID_CB;
610our $CHLD_W; 1607our $CHLD_W;
611our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1608our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
612our $PID_IDLE;
613our $WNOHANG; 1609our $WNOHANG;
614 1610
615sub _child_wait { 1611# used by many Impl's
616 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1612sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1613 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1614
1615 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
617 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1616 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
618 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1617 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
619 }
620
621 undef $PID_IDLE;
622}
623
624sub _sigchld {
625 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop.
626 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub {
627 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
628 &_child_wait;
629 });
630} 1618}
631 1619
632sub child { 1620sub child {
1621 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1622 *_sigchld = sub {
1623 my $pid;
1624
1625 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1626 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
1627 };
1628
1629 *child = sub {
633 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1630 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
634 1631
635 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1632 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
636 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1633 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
637 1634
638 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1635 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
639 1636
640 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1637 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
641 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1638 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
642 } 1639 ? 1
1640 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
643 1641
644 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1642 unless ($CHLD_W) {
645 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1643 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
646 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1644 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
647 &_sigchld; 1645 &_sigchld;
648 } 1646 }
649 1647
650 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1648 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
651} 1649 };
652 1650
653sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1651 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
654 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1652 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
655 1653
656 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1654 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
657 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1655 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
658 1656
659 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1657 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1658 };
1659 };
1660 die if $@;
1661
1662 &child
660} 1663}
1664
1665# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1666# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1667# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1668sub idle {
1669 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1670 *idle = sub {
1671 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1672
1673 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1674
1675 $rcb = sub {
1676 if ($cb) {
1677 $w = _time;
1678 &$cb;
1679 $w = _time - $w;
1680
1681 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1682 # within some limits
1683 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1684 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1685
1686 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1687 } else {
1688 # clean up...
1689 undef $w;
1690 undef $rcb;
1691 }
1692 };
1693
1694 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1695
1696 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1697 };
1698
1699 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1700 undef $${$_[0]};
1701 };
1702 };
1703 die if $@;
1704
1705 &idle
1706}
1707
1708package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1709
1710our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1711
1712package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1713
1714#use overload
1715# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1716# fallback => 1;
1717
1718# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1719${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1720*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1721*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1722${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1723
1724our $WAITING;
1725
1726sub _send {
1727 # nop
1728}
1729
1730sub send {
1731 my $cv = shift;
1732 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1733 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1734 $cv->_send;
1735}
1736
1737sub croak {
1738 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1739 $_[0]->send;
1740}
1741
1742sub ready {
1743 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1744}
1745
1746sub _wait {
1747 $WAITING
1748 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1749 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1750
1751 local $WAITING = 1;
1752 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1753}
1754
1755sub recv {
1756 $_[0]->_wait;
1757
1758 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1759 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1760}
1761
1762sub cb {
1763 my $cv = shift;
1764
1765 @_
1766 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1767 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1768 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1769
1770 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1771}
1772
1773sub begin {
1774 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1775 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1776}
1777
1778sub end {
1779 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1780 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1781}
1782
1783# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1784*broadcast = \&send;
1785*wait = \&_wait;
1786
1787=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1788
1789In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1790caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1791the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1792checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1793development.
1794
1795As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1796executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1797also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1798program.
1799
1800The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1801within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1802$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1803so on.
1804
1805=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1806
1807The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1808submodules.
1809
1810Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1811C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1812enabled.
1813
1814=over 4
1815
1816=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1817
1818By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1819conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1820talkative.
1821
1822When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1823conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1824C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1825
1826When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1827model it chooses.
1828
1829When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1830which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1831
1832=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1833
1834AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1835argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1836will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1837check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1838it will croak.
1839
1840In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1841
1842Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1843>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1844C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1845can be very useful, however.
1846
1847=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1848
1849This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1850auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1851entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1852and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1853used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1854auto detection and -probing.
1855
1856This functionality might change in future versions.
1857
1858For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1859could start your program like this:
1860
1861 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1862
1863=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1864
1865Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1866for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1867of auto probing).
1868
1869Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1870current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1871used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1872list.
1873
1874This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1875against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1876small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1877
1878Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1879but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1880- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1881addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1882IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1883
1884=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1885
1886Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1887for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1888some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1889default.
1890
1891Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1892EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1893
1894=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1895
1896The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1897will create in parallel.
1898
1899=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1900
1901The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1902resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1903sent to the DNS server.
1904
1905=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1906
1907The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1908configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1909default config will be used.
1910
1911=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1912
1913When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1914L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1915variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1916instead of a system-dependent default.
1917
1918=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1919
1920When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1921loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1922
1923=back
661 1924
662=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1925=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
663 1926
664This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1927This 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 1928a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
699 1962
700I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1963I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
701condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1964condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
702C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1965C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
703not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1966not 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 1967
742=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1968=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
743 1969
744The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1970The 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 1971to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
754 poll => 'r', 1980 poll => 'r',
755 cb => sub { 1981 cb => sub {
756 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1982 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
757 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1983 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
758 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1984 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
759 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1985 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
760 }, 1986 },
761 ); 1987 );
762 1988
763 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
764
765 sub new_timer {
766 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1989 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
767 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 1990 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
768 &new_timer; # and restart the time
769 }); 1991 });
770 }
771 1992
772 new_timer; # create first timer
773
774 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1993 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
775 1994
776=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1995=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
777 1996
778Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1997Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
779API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1998API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
829 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 2048 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
830 or die "connection or write error"; 2049 or die "connection or write error";
831 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 2050 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
832 2051
833Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 2052Again, 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: 2053result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
835 2054
836 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 2055 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
837 2056
838 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 2057 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
839 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 2058 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
840 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 2059 $txn->{finished}->send;
841 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 2060 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
842 } 2061 }
843 2062
844The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 2063The 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 2064request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
846data: 2065data:
847 2066
848 $txn->{finished}->wait; 2067 $txn->{finished}->recv;
849 return $txn->{result}; 2068 return $txn->{result};
850 2069
851The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2070The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
852that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2071that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
853whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2072whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
854and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2073and 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 2074problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
856random callback. 2075random callback.
857 2076
858All of this enables the following usage styles: 2077All of this enables the following usage styles:
859 2078
8601. Blocking: 20791. Blocking:
888 2107
889 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2108 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
890 2109
891 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2110 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
892 ... 2111 ...
893 $quit->broadcast; 2112 $quit->send;
894 }); 2113 });
895 2114
896 $quit->wait; 2115 $quit->recv;
897 2116
898 2117
899=head1 BENCHMARKS 2118=head1 BENCHMARKS
900 2119
901To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 2120To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
903of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 2122of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
904 2123
905=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 2124=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
906 2125
907Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 2126Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
908through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2127through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
909timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2128timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
910which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2129which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
911 2130
912Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2131Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
913distribution. 2132distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2133for the EV and Perl backends only.
914 2134
915=head3 Explanation of the columns 2135=head3 Explanation of the columns
916 2136
917I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2137I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
918different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2138different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
930all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 2150all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
931and memory usage is not included in the figures. 2151and memory usage is not included in the figures.
932 2152
933I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 2153I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
934callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 2154callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
935invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 2155invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
936signal the end of this phase. 2156signal the end of this phase.
937 2157
938I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 2158I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
939watcher. 2159watcher.
940 2160
941=head3 Results 2161=head3 Results
942 2162
943 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2163 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
944 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2164 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
945 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2165 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
946 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2166 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
947 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 2167 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
948 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 2168 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
949 Event/Any 16000 936 39.17 33.63 1.43 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2169 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2170 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2171 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
950 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 2172 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
951 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2173 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
952 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 2174 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
953 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 2175 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
954 2176
955=head3 Discussion 2177=head3 Discussion
956 2178
957The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2179The 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) 2180well. 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 2181can 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 2182file descriptors grows high. In this benchmark, all events become ready at
961the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed 2183the same time, so select/poll-based implementations get an unnatural speed
962boost. 2184boost.
963 2185
2186Also, note that the number of watchers usually has a nonlinear effect on
2187overall speed, that is, creating twice as many watchers doesn't take twice
2188the time - usually it takes longer. This puts event loops tested with a
2189higher number of watchers at a disadvantage.
2190
2191To put the range of results into perspective, consider that on the
2192benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
2193EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
2194cycles with POE.
2195
964C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2196C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
965maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2197maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2198overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2199slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
966far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2200any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
967natively.
968 2201
969The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2202The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
970constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2203constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
971interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2204interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
972adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2205adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
973performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2206performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
974them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2207them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
975 2208
976The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2209The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
977cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2210cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2211
2212C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2213when using its pure perl backend.
978 2214
979C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2215C<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 2216faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
981C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2217C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
982watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2218watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
990file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 2226file 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 2227employed 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 2228hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
993above). 2229above).
994 2230
995C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 2231C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
996perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 2232select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
997couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 2233be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
998and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 2234memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
999EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 2235as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1000requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 2236requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1001invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 2237invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2238implementation.
2239
1002implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 2240The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1003really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 2241for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1004to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 2242small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1005L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 2243optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2244using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2245memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2246design).
1006 2247
1007=head3 Summary 2248=head3 Summary
1008 2249
1009=over 4 2250=over 4
1010 2251
1021 2262
1022=back 2263=back
1023 2264
1024=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 2265=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1025 2266
1026This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 2267This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1027creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 2268creating 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 2269timeout 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 2270watcher 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". 2271watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1031 2272
1032The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 2273The 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 2274are 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 2275fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1035timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 2276timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1036most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 2277most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1037 2278
1038In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2279In 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 2280(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1040connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2281connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1041 2282
1042Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2283Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1043distribution. 2284distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2285for the EV and Perl backends only.
1044 2286
1045=head3 Explanation of the columns 2287=head3 Explanation of the columns
1046 2288
1047I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2289I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1048each server has a read and write socket end). 2290each server has a read and write socket end).
1049 2291
1050I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 2292I<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. 2293nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1052 2294
1053I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 2295I<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 2296single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1055it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2297it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1056a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2298a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1057 2299
1058=head3 Results 2300=head3 Results
1059 2301
1060 name sockets create request 2302 name sockets create request
1061 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2303 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1062 Perl 20000 75.28 112.76 2304 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1063 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2305 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1064 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2306 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2307 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2308 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1065 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2309 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1066 2310
1067=head3 Discussion 2311=head3 Discussion
1068 2312
1069This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2313This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1070particular event loop. 2314particular event loop.
1072EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2316EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1073is relatively high, though. 2317is relatively high, though.
1074 2318
1075Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2319Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1076loops Event and Glib. 2320loops Event and Glib.
2321
2322IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2323good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1077 2324
1078Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2325Event 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 2326understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1080the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2327the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1081uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2328uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1089 2336
1090=head3 Summary 2337=head3 Summary
1091 2338
1092=over 4 2339=over 4
1093 2340
1094=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 2341=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1095that it uses select.
1096 2342
1097=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 2343=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1098 2344
1099=back 2345=back
1100 2346
1113 2359
1114=head3 Results 2360=head3 Results
1115 2361
1116 name sockets create request 2362 name sockets create request
1117 EV 16 20.00 6.54 2363 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2364 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1118 Event 16 81.27 35.86 2365 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1119 Glib 16 32.63 15.48 2366 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1120 Perl 16 24.62 162.37
1121 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event 2367 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1122 2368
1123=head3 Discussion 2369=head3 Discussion
1124 2370
1125The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small 2371The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1126server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep 2372server. While knowing how various event loops perform is interesting, keep
1127in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due 2373in mind that their overhead in this case is usually not as important, due
1128to the small absolute number of watchers. 2374to the small absolute number of watchers (that is, you need efficiency and
2375speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
2376them).
1129 2377
1130EV is again fastest. 2378EV is again fastest.
1131 2379
1132The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 2380Perl 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 2381loops 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 2382matter.
1135high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1136 2383
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 2384POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1140others. 2385others.
1141 2386
1142=head3 Summary 2387=head3 Summary
1143 2388
1144=over 4 2389=over 4
1146=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2391=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1147watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2392watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1148 2393
1149=back 2394=back
1150 2395
2396=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2397
2398Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2399could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2400simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2401shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2402fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2403very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2404baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2405
2406The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2407connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2408creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2409test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2410benchmark nevertheless.
2411
2412 name runtime
2413 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2414 + optimized 0.122 sec
2415 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2416 + optimized 0.138 sec
2417 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2418 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2419 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2420 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2421
2422 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2423 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2424 +state machine 0.134 sec
2425
2426The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2427benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2428defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2429written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2430AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2431resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2432generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2433connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2434
2435The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2436offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2437Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2438non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2439
2440As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2441hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2442backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2443
2444And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2445slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2446higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2447it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2448
2449The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2450F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2451part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2452
2453
2454=head1 SIGNALS
2455
2456AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2457
2458=over 4
2459
2460=item SIGCHLD
2461
2462A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2463emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2464event loops install a similar handler.
2465
2466Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2467AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2468
2469=item SIGPIPE
2470
2471A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2472when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2473
2474The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2475on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2476badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2477program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2478some random socket.
2479
2480The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2481that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2482
2483Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2484
2485=back
2486
2487=cut
2488
2489undef $SIG{CHLD}
2490 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2491
2492$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2493 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2494
2495=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2496
2497One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2498it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2499
2500That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2501modules if they are installed.
2502
2503This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2504affect AnyEvent's operation.
2505
2506=over 4
2507
2508=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2509
2510This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2511my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2512signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2513delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2514catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2515C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2516
2517If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2518catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2519will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2520battery life on laptops).
2521
2522This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2523that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2524
2525Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2526and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2527(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2528does nothing for those backends.
2529
2530=item L<EV>
2531
2532This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2533event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2534loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2535the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2536automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2537can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2538C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2539L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2540
2541If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2542then this module will do nothing for you.
2543
2544=item L<Guard>
2545
2546The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2547C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2548lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2549purely used for performance.
2550
2551=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2552
2553One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2554via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2555advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2556
2557=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2558
2559Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2560worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2561the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2562
2563=item L<Time::HiRes>
2564
2565This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2566chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2567pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2568try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2569
2570=back
2571
1151 2572
1152=head1 FORK 2573=head1 FORK
1153 2574
1154Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2575Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1155because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2576because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
2577- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2578are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2579one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2580continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2581what you are doing).
2582
2583This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2584the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2585usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2586is loaded).
1156 2587
1157If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2588If 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. 2589watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2590something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2591
2592The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2593is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2594fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2595watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2596parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2597to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2598preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2599to have another binary.
1159 2600
1160 2601
1161=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2602=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1162 2603
1163AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2604AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1168specified in the variable. 2609specified in the variable.
1169 2610
1170You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2611You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1171before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2612before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1172 2613
1173 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2614 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1174 2615
1175 use AnyEvent; 2616 use AnyEvent;
2617
2618Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2619be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2620probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2621$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2622
2623Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2624C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2625enabled.
2626
2627
2628=head1 BUGS
2629
2630Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2631to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2632and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2633memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2634pronounced).
1176 2635
1177 2636
1178=head1 SEE ALSO 2637=head1 SEE ALSO
1179 2638
1180Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2639Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1181L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 2640
2641Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1182L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2642L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1183 2643
1184Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2644Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2645L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2646L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1185L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2647L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1186L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>,
1187L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1188 2648
2649Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2650servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2651
2652Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2653
2654Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2655L<Coro::Event>,
2656
1189Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2657Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2658L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1190 2659
1191 2660
1192=head1 AUTHOR 2661=head1 AUTHOR
1193 2662
1194 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2663 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1195 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2664 http://home.schmorp.de/
1196 2665
1197=cut 2666=cut
1198 2667
11991 26681
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