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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops
6 6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 8
9 use AnyEvent; 9 use AnyEvent;
10 10
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { ... });
12
13 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
14 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
15
16 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
17 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
18
19 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
20
21 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
22 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 23 ...
13 }); 24 });
14 25
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub {
16 ...
17 });
18
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 26 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
27 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 28 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 29 # use a condvar in callback mode:
30 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
31
32=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
33
34This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
35in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
36L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
22 37
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 38=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 39
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 40Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 41nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 42
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 43Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 44policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 45
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 46First 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 47interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 48pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 49the 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 50only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 51cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
52loops.
37 53
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 54The 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 55programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 56religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 57module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 58model you use.
43 59
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 60For 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 61actually 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 62like 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 63cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 64that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 65module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 66
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 67AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 68fine. 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 69with 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, 70your 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 71too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 72event 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 73use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 74to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 75
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 76In 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 77model>, 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 78modules, 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 79follow. 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 80offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 81technically possible.
66 82
83Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
84of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
85non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
86such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
87platform bugs and differences.
88
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 89Now, 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 90useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 91model, you should I<not> use this module.
70
71#TODO#
72
73Net::IRC3
74AnyEvent::HTTPD
75AnyEvent::DNS
76IO::AnyEvent
77Net::FPing
78Net::XMPP2
79Coro
80
81AnyEvent::IRC
82AnyEvent::HTTPD
83AnyEvent::DNS
84AnyEvent::Handle
85AnyEvent::Socket
86AnyEvent::FPing
87AnyEvent::XMPP
88AnyEvent::SNMP
89Coro
90 92
91=head1 DESCRIPTION 93=head1 DESCRIPTION
92 94
93L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 95L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
94allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 96allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
98The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 100The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
99module. 101module.
100 102
101During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 103During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
102to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 104to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
103following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 105following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
104L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 106L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>,
105L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 107L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries
106to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 108to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl
107adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 109adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can
108be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 110be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be
122starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 124starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
123use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 125use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
124 126
125The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 127The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
126C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 128C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
127explicitly. 129explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
128 130
129=head1 WATCHERS 131=head1 WATCHERS
130 132
131AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 133AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
132stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 134stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
133the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 135the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
134 136
135These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 137These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
136creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 138creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
137callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 139callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
138is in control). 140is in control).
139 141
142Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
143potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
144callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
145Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
146widely between event loops.
147
140To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 148To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
141variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 149variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
142to it). 150to it).
143 151
144All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 152All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
146Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 154Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
147example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 155example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
148 156
149An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 157An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
150 158
151 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 159 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
152 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 160 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
153 undef $w; 161 undef $w;
154 }); 162 });
155 163
156Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 164Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
157my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 165my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
158declared. 166declared.
159 167
160=head2 I/O WATCHERS 168=head2 I/O WATCHERS
161 169
162You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 170You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
163with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 171with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
164 172
165C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 173C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch for events
166for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 174(AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file handle). C<poll>
167which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 175must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a watcher
168respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 176waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively. C<cb> is the
169becomes ready. 177callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
170 178
171Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 179Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
172presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 180presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
173callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 181callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
174 182
178 186
179Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 187Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
180always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 188always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
181handles. 189handles.
182 190
183Example:
184
185 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 191Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
192watcher.
193
186 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 194 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
187 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 195 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
188 warn "read: $input\n"; 196 warn "read: $input\n";
189 undef $w; 197 undef $w;
190 }); 198 });
200 208
201Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 209Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
202presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 210presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
203callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 211callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
204 212
205The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 213The callback will normally be invoked once only. If you specify another
206timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 214parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
207and Glib). 215callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
216seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
217false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
208 218
209Example: 219The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
220attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
221only approximate.
210 222
211 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 223Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
224
212 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 225 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
213 warn "timeout\n"; 226 warn "timeout\n";
214 }); 227 });
215 228
216 # to cancel the timer: 229 # to cancel the timer:
217 undef $w; 230 undef $w;
218 231
219Example 2:
220
221 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 232Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
222 my $w;
223 233
224 my $cb = sub {
225 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
226 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 234 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
235 warn "timeout\n";
227 }; 236 };
228
229 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
230 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
231 237
232=head3 TIMING ISSUES 238=head3 TIMING ISSUES
233 239
234There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 240There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
235in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 241in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
247timers. 253timers.
248 254
249AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 255AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
250AnyEvent API. 256AnyEvent API.
251 257
258AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
259
260=over 4
261
262=item AnyEvent->time
263
264This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
265seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
266return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
267
268It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
269will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
270
271=item AnyEvent->now
272
273This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
274this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
275the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
276time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
277
278I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
279function to call when you want to know the current time.>
280
281This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
282thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
283L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
284
285The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
286with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
287
288For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
289and L<EV> and the following set-up:
290
291The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
292time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
293you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
294second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
295after three seconds.
296
297With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
298both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
299be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
300
301With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
302time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
303last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
304to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
305
306In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
307regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
308callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
309higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
310
311In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
312the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
313
314In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
315can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
316difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
317account.
318
319=back
320
252=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 321=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
253 322
254You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 323You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal
255I<name> without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl callback to 324I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
256be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 325callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
257 326
258Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 327Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
259presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 328presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
260callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 329callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
261 330
262Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 331Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
263invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 332invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
264that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 333that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
265but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 334but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
266 335
267The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 336The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
268between multiple watchers. 337between multiple watchers.
269 338
270This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 339This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals
277=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 346=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
278 347
279You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 348You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
280 349
281The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 350The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it
282watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 351watches for any child process exit). The watcher will triggered only when
283as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 352the child process has finished and an exit status is available, not on
284signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 353any trace events (stopped/continued).
285and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 354
286you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 355The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
356waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
357callback arguments.
358
359This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
360and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
361random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
362C<system>, is just fine).
287 363
288There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 364There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them
289I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could 365I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
290have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 366have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
291 367
297AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 373AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you
298C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 374C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>).
299 375
300Example: fork a process and wait for it 376Example: fork a process and wait for it
301 377
302 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 378 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
303 379
304 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
305
306 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 380 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
307 381
308 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 382 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
309 pid => $pid, 383 pid => $pid,
310 cb => sub { 384 cb => sub {
311 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 385 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
312 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 386 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
313 $done->broadcast; 387 $done->send;
314 }, 388 },
315 ); 389 );
316 390
317 # do something else, then wait for process exit 391 # do something else, then wait for process exit
318 $done->wait; 392 $done->recv;
319 393
320=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 394=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
321 395
396If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
397require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
398will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
399
400AnyEvent is different, it expects somebody else to run the event loop and
401will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
402
403The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
404because they represent a condition that must become true.
405
322Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 406Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
323method without any arguments. 407>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
324 408
325A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 409C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
326->broadcast >> method has been called. 410becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
411the results).
327 412
328They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 413After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
414by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
415were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
416->send >> method).
417
418Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
419optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
420in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
421another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
422used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
423a result.
424
425Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
329example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 426for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
330then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 427then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
331availability of results. 428availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
429called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
332 430
333You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 431You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
334an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 432you can block your main program until an event occurs - for example, you
335program until the user clicks the Quit button in your app, which would C<< 433could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
336->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 434button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
337 435
338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 436Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have
339two pirces of code that call C<< ->wait >> in a round-robbin fashion, you 437two pieces of code that call C<< ->recv >> in a round-robin fashion, you
340lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but 438lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 439you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
342as this asks for trouble. 440as this asks for trouble.
343 441
344This object has two methods: 442Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
443used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
444easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
445AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
446it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
447
448There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
449eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
450for the send to occur.
451
452Example: wait for a timer.
453
454 # wait till the result is ready
455 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
456
457 # do something such as adding a timer
458 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
459 # when the "result" is ready.
460 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
461 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
462 after => 1,
463 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
464 );
465
466 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
467 # calls send
468 $result_ready->recv;
469
470Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that
471condition variables are also code references.
472
473 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
474 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
475 $done->recv;
476
477Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
478callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
479the main program:
480
481 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
482
483 ...
484
485 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
486
487And this is how you would just ste a callback to be called whenever the
488results are available:
489
490 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
491 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
492 });
493
494=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
495
496These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
497code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
498the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
499uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
345 500
346=over 4 501=over 4
347 502
503=item $cv->send (...)
504
505Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
506calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
507called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
508
509If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
510immediately from within send.
511
512Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
513future C<< ->recv >> calls.
514
515Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly
516(as a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
517C<send>. Note, however, that many C-based event loops do not handle
518overloading, so as tempting as it may be, passing a condition variable
519instead of a callback does not work. Both the pure perl and EV loops
520support overloading, however, as well as all functions that use perl to
521invoke a callback (as in L<AnyEvent::Socket> and L<AnyEvent::DNS> for
522example).
523
524=item $cv->croak ($error)
525
526Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
527C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
528
529This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
530user/consumer.
531
532=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
533
348=item $cv->wait 534=item $cv->end
349 535
350Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 536These two methods are EXPERIMENTAL and MIGHT CHANGE.
537
538These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
539one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
540to use a condition variable for the whole process.
541
542Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
543C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
544>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed. That callback
545is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send >>, but that is not required. If no
546callback was set, C<send> will be called without any arguments.
547
548Let's clarify this with the ping example:
549
550 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 my %result;
553 $cv->begin (sub { $cv->send (\%result) });
554
555 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
556 $cv->begin;
557 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
558 $result{$host} = ...;
559 $cv->end;
560 };
561 }
562
563 $cv->end;
564
565This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
566C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
567order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
568each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
569it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
570results arrive is not relevant.
571
572There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
573loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
574to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
575C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
576doesn't execute once).
577
578This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple subrequests:
579use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set the callback and ensure C<end>
580is called at least once, and then, for each subrequest you start, call
581C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish, call C<end>.
582
583=back
584
585=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
586
587These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
588code awaits the condition.
589
590=over 4
591
592=item $cv->recv
593
594Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
351called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 595>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
596normally.
352 597
353You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 598You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
354immediately. 599will return immediately.
600
601If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
602function will call C<croak>.
603
604In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
605in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
355 606
356Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 607Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
357(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are 608(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
358using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the 609using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>, but let the
359caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 610caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
360condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 611condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
361callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 612callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
362while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 613while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
363 614
364Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 615Another reason I<never> to C<< ->recv >> in a module is that you cannot
365sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 616sensibly have two C<< ->recv >>'s in parallel, as that would require
366multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 617multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
367can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 618can supply.
368L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
369from different coroutines, however).
370 619
371=item $cv->broadcast 620The L<Coro> module, however, I<can> and I<does> supply coroutines and, in
621fact, L<Coro::AnyEvent> replaces AnyEvent's condvars by coroutine-safe
622versions and also integrates coroutines into AnyEvent, making blocking
623C<< ->recv >> calls perfectly safe as long as they are done from another
624coroutine (one that doesn't run the event loop).
372 625
373Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 626You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
374calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 627only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
375called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 628time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
629waits otherwise.
630
631=item $bool = $cv->ready
632
633Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
634C<croak> have been called.
635
636=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
637
638This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
639replaces it before doing so.
640
641The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
642C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the condition
643variable itself. Calling C<recv> inside the callback or at any later time
644is guaranteed not to block.
376 645
377=back 646=back
378
379Example:
380
381 # wait till the result is ready
382 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
383
384 # do something such as adding a timer
385 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
386 # when the "result" is ready.
387 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
388 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
389 after => 1,
390 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
391 );
392
393 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher
394 # calls broadcast
395 $result_ready->wait;
396 647
397=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 648=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
398 649
399=over 4 650=over 4
400 651
406C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 657C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case
407AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 658AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>).
408 659
409The known classes so far are: 660The known classes so far are:
410 661
411 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV based on Coro::EV, best choice.
412 AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent based on Coro::Event, second best choice.
413 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice). 662 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (an interface to libev, best choice).
414 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice. 663 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
664 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
415 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice. 665 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, third-best choice.
416 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, inefficient but portable.
417 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice. 666 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very bad choice.
418 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs). 667 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
419 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse. 668 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
420 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support. 669 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
421 670
434Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 683Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
435if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 684if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
436have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 685have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
437runtime. 686runtime.
438 687
688=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
689
690Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
691autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
692
693If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
694that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed. See
695L<Coro::BDB> for a case where this is useful.
696
697=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
698
699If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
700before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
701the event loop has been chosen.
702
703You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
704if it contains a true value then the event loop has already been detected,
705and the array will be ignored.
706
707Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> instead.
708
439=back 709=back
440 710
441=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 711=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
442 712
443As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods 713As a module author, you should C<use AnyEvent> and call AnyEvent methods
446Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 716Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will
447decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so 717decide which event module to use as soon as the first method is called, so
448by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module 718by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
449to load the event module first. 719to load the event module first.
450 720
451Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 721Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
452the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 722the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
453because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 723because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
454events is to stay interactive. 724events is to stay interactive.
455 725
456It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 726It is fine, however, to call C<< ->recv >> when the user of your module
457requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method 727requests it (i.e. if you create a http request object ad have a method
458called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->wait >> 728called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
459freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 729freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
460 730
461=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 731=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
462 732
463There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 733There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
465 735
466If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 736If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not
467do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 737do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
468decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 738decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
469 739
470If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 740If the main program relies on a specific event model - for example, in
471Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module. You should load the 741Gtk2 programs you have to rely on the Glib module - you should load the
472event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally 742event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
473speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 743speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
474modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 744modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will
475decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it 745decide on the event model to use as soon as it creates watchers, and it
476might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself. 746might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
477 747
478You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 748You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
479loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 749C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
480behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 750everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
751
752=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
753
754Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
755only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
756
757In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
758
759 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
760
761This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
762
763Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
764it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
765variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
766exit cleanly.
767
768
769=head1 OTHER MODULES
770
771The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
772AnyEvent and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent modules
773in the same program. Some of the modules come with AnyEvent, some are
774available via CPAN.
775
776=over 4
777
778=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
779
780Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
781functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
782
783=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
784
785Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
786addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
787connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
788
789=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
790
791Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
792supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
793non-blocking SSL/TLS.
794
795=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
796
797Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
798
799=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
800
801A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
802HTTP requests.
803
804=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
805
806Provides a simple web application server framework.
807
808=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
809
810The fastest ping in the west.
811
812=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
813
814Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
815
816=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
817
818Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
819programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
820together.
821
822=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
823
824Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
825L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
826
827=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
828
829A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
830
831=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
832
833A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
834L<App::IGS>).
835
836=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
837
838AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
839
840=item L<Net::XMPP2>
841
842AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family.
843
844=item L<Net::FCP>
845
846AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
847of AnyEvent.
848
849=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
850
851High level API for event-based execution flow control.
852
853=item L<Coro>
854
855Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
856
857=item L<IO::Lambda>
858
859The lambda approach to I/O - don't ask, look there. Can use AnyEvent.
860
861=back
481 862
482=cut 863=cut
483 864
484package AnyEvent; 865package AnyEvent;
485 866
486no warnings; 867no warnings;
487use strict; 868use strict qw(vars subs);
488 869
489use Carp; 870use Carp;
490 871
491our $VERSION = '3.3'; 872our $VERSION = 4.341;
492our $MODEL; 873our $MODEL;
493 874
494our $AUTOLOAD; 875our $AUTOLOAD;
495our @ISA; 876our @ISA;
496 877
878our @REGISTRY;
879
880our $WIN32;
881
882BEGIN {
883 my $win32 = ! ! ($^O =~ /mswin32/i);
884 eval "sub WIN32(){ $win32 }";
885}
886
497our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1; 887our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
498 888
499our @REGISTRY; 889our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
890
891{
892 my $idx;
893 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
894 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
895 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
896}
500 897
501my @models = ( 898my @models = (
502 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
503 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
504 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 899 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
505 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 900 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::],
506 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::],
507 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::],
508 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
509 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
510 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 901 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
511 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 902 # everything below here will not be autoprobed
903 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
904 # and is usually faster
905 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
906 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
512 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 907 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
513 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 908 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
514 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 909 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
910 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
911 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
515); 912);
516 913
517our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 914our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer time now signal child condvar one_event DESTROY);
915
916our @post_detect;
917
918sub post_detect(&) {
919 my ($cb) = @_;
920
921 if ($MODEL) {
922 $cb->();
923
924 1
925 } else {
926 push @post_detect, $cb;
927
928 defined wantarray
929 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect"
930 : ()
931 }
932}
933
934sub AnyEvent::Util::PostDetect::DESTROY {
935 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
936}
518 937
519sub detect() { 938sub detect() {
520 unless ($MODEL) { 939 unless ($MODEL) {
521 no strict 'refs'; 940 no strict 'refs';
941 local $SIG{__DIE__};
522 942
523 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 943 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
524 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 944 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
525 if (eval "require $model") { 945 if (eval "require $model") {
526 $MODEL = $model; 946 $MODEL = $model;
556 last; 976 last;
557 } 977 }
558 } 978 }
559 979
560 $MODEL 980 $MODEL
561 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event) or Glib."; 981 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.";
562 } 982 }
563 } 983 }
564 984
985 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
986
565 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 987 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
566 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 988
989 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
990
991 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
567 } 992 }
568 993
569 $MODEL 994 $MODEL
570} 995}
571 996
579 1004
580 my $class = shift; 1005 my $class = shift;
581 $class->$func (@_); 1006 $class->$func (@_);
582} 1007}
583 1008
1009# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1010# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1011# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1012sub _dupfh($$$$) {
1013 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1014
1015 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1016 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<")
1017 : $poll eq "w" ? ($w, ">")
1018 : Carp::croak "AnyEvent->io requires poll set to either 'r' or 'w'";
1019
1020 open my $fh2, "$mode&" . fileno $fh
1021 or die "cannot dup() filehandle: $!";
1022
1023 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1024
1025 ($fh2, $rw)
1026}
1027
584package AnyEvent::Base; 1028package AnyEvent::Base;
585 1029
1030# default implementation for now and time
1031
1032BEGIN {
1033 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); time (); 1") {
1034 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1035 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1036 } else {
1037 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1038 }
1039}
1040
1041sub time { _time }
1042sub now { _time }
1043
586# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1044# default implementation for ->condvar
587 1045
588sub condvar { 1046sub condvar {
589 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1047 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, AnyEvent::CondVar::
590}
591
592sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
593 ${$_[0]}++;
594}
595
596sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
597 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
598} 1048}
599 1049
600# default implementation for ->signal 1050# default implementation for ->signal
601 1051
602our %SIG_CB; 1052our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1053
1054sub _signal_exec {
1055 while (%SIG_EV) {
1056 sysread $SIGPIPE_R, my $dummy, 4;
1057 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1058 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1059 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1060 }
1061 }
1062}
603 1063
604sub signal { 1064sub signal {
605 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1065 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
606 1066
1067 unless ($SIGPIPE_R) {
1068 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1069 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1070 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1071 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1072 } else {
1073 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1074 require Fcntl;
1075 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1076 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1077 }
1078
1079 $SIGPIPE_R
1080 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1081
1082 $SIG_IO = AnyEvent->io (fh => $SIGPIPE_R, poll => "r", cb => \&_signal_exec);
1083 }
1084
607 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1085 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
608 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1086 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
609 1087
610 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1088 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
611 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1089 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
612 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1090 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1091 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
613 }; 1092 };
614 1093
615 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1094 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal"
616} 1095}
617 1096
618sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY { 1097sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
619 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1098 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
620 1099
621 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb}; 1100 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
622 1101
623 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} }; 1102 delete $SIG{$signal} unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
624} 1103}
625 1104
626# default implementation for ->child 1105# default implementation for ->child
627 1106
628our %PID_CB; 1107our %PID_CB;
655 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1134 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
656 1135
657 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1136 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
658 1137
659 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1138 unless ($WNOHANG) {
660 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1139 $WNOHANG = eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
661 } 1140 }
662 1141
663 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1142 unless ($CHLD_W) {
664 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1143 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
665 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1144 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
675 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1154 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
676 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1155 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
677 1156
678 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1157 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
679} 1158}
1159
1160package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1161
1162our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1163
1164package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1165
1166use overload
1167 '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1168 fallback => 1;
1169
1170sub _send {
1171 # nop
1172}
1173
1174sub send {
1175 my $cv = shift;
1176 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1177 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1178 $cv->_send;
1179}
1180
1181sub croak {
1182 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1183 $_[0]->send;
1184}
1185
1186sub ready {
1187 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1188}
1189
1190sub _wait {
1191 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1192}
1193
1194sub recv {
1195 $_[0]->_wait;
1196
1197 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1198 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1199}
1200
1201sub cb {
1202 $_[0]{_ae_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1203 $_[0]{_ae_cb}
1204}
1205
1206sub begin {
1207 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1208 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1209}
1210
1211sub end {
1212 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1213 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1214}
1215
1216# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1217*broadcast = \&send;
1218*wait = \&_wait;
1219
1220=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1221
1222In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1223caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1224the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1225checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1226development.
1227
1228As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1229executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1230also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1231program.
1232
1233The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1234within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1235$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1236so on.
1237
1238=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1239
1240The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1241submodules:
1242
1243=over 4
1244
1245=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1246
1247By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1248conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1249talkative.
1250
1251When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1252conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1253C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1254
1255When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1256model it chooses.
1257
1258=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1259
1260AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1261argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1262will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1263check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems
1264it will croak.
1265
1266In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1267
1268Unlike C<use strict>, it is definitely recommended ot keep it off in
1269production. Keeping C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while
1270developing programs can be very useful, however.
1271
1272=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1273
1274This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1275auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1276entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1277and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1278used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1279auto detection and -probing.
1280
1281This functionality might change in future versions.
1282
1283For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1284could start your program like this:
1285
1286 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1287
1288=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1289
1290Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1291for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1292of auto probing).
1293
1294Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1295current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1296used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1297list.
1298
1299This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1300against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1301small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1302
1303Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1304but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1305- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1306addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1307IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1308
1309=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1310
1311Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1312for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1313some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1314default.
1315
1316Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1317EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1318
1319=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1320
1321The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1322will create in parallel.
1323
1324=back
680 1325
681=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1326=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
682 1327
683This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1328This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in
684a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to 1329a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
718 1363
719I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1364I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
720condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1365condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
721C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1366C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
722not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1367not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense.
723
724=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
725
726The following environment variables are used by this module:
727
728=over 4
729
730=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
731
732By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
733conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
734talkative.
735
736When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
737conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
738C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
739
740When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
741model it chooses.
742
743=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
744
745This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
746autodetection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
747entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
748and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
749used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
750autodetection and -probing.
751
752This functionality might change in future versions.
753
754For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
755could start your program like this:
756
757 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
758
759=back
760 1368
761=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1369=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
762 1370
763The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1371The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer
764to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the 1372to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
773 poll => 'r', 1381 poll => 'r',
774 cb => sub { 1382 cb => sub {
775 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1383 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
776 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1384 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
777 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1385 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
778 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1386 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
779 }, 1387 },
780 ); 1388 );
781 1389
782 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once 1390 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
783 1391
788 }); 1396 });
789 } 1397 }
790 1398
791 new_timer; # create first timer 1399 new_timer; # create first timer
792 1400
793 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1401 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
794 1402
795=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1403=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
796 1404
797Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1405Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
798API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1406API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
848 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 1456 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
849 or die "connection or write error"; 1457 or die "connection or write error";
850 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 1458 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
851 1459
852Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 1460Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the
853result and signals any possible waiters that the request ahs finished: 1461result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
854 1462
855 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 1463 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
856 1464
857 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 1465 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
858 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 1466 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
859 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 1467 $txn->{finished}->send;
860 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 1468 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
861 } 1469 }
862 1470
863The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 1471The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the
864request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the 1472request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
865data: 1473data:
866 1474
867 $txn->{finished}->wait; 1475 $txn->{finished}->recv;
868 return $txn->{result}; 1476 return $txn->{result};
869 1477
870The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 1478The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
871that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 1479that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
872whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 1480whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
873and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 1481and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other
874problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a 1482problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
875random callback. 1483random callback.
876 1484
907 1515
908 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 1516 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
909 1517
910 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 1518 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
911 ... 1519 ...
912 $quit->broadcast; 1520 $quit->send;
913 }); 1521 });
914 1522
915 $quit->wait; 1523 $quit->recv;
916 1524
917 1525
918=head1 BENCHMARKS 1526=head1 BENCHMARKS
919 1527
920To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 1528To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
922of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 1530of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
923 1531
924=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 1532=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
925 1533
926Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 1534Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
927through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 1535through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
928timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 1536timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
929which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 1537which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
930 1538
931Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 1539Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
932distribution. 1540distribution.
949all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 1557all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
950and memory usage is not included in the figures. 1558and memory usage is not included in the figures.
951 1559
952I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 1560I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
953callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 1561callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
954invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 1562invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
955signal the end of this phase. 1563signal the end of this phase.
956 1564
957I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 1565I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
958watcher. 1566watcher.
959 1567
960=head3 Results 1568=head3 Results
961 1569
962 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 1570 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
963 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 1571 EV/EV 400000 224 0.47 0.35 0.27 EV native interface
964 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 1572 EV/Any 100000 224 2.88 0.34 0.27 EV + AnyEvent watchers
965 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 1573 CoroEV/Any 100000 224 2.85 0.35 0.28 coroutines + Coro::Signal
966 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 1574 Perl/Any 100000 452 4.13 0.73 0.95 pure perl implementation
967 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 1575 Event/Event 16000 517 32.20 31.80 0.81 Event native interface
968 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 1576 Event/Any 16000 590 35.85 31.55 1.06 Event + AnyEvent watchers
969 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 1577 Glib/Any 16000 1357 102.33 12.31 51.00 quadratic behaviour
970 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 1578 Tk/Any 2000 1860 27.20 66.31 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
971 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 1579 POE/Event 2000 6328 109.99 751.67 14.02 via POE::Loop::Event
972 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 1580 POE/Select 2000 6027 94.54 809.13 579.80 via POE::Loop::Select
973 1581
974=head3 Discussion 1582=head3 Discussion
975 1583
976The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 1584The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very
977well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one) 1585well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
1019file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 1627file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup()
1020employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a 1628employed by some adaptors is not a big performance issue (it does incur a
1021hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures 1629hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1022above). 1630above).
1023 1631
1024C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 1632C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1025perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 1633select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1026couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 1634be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1027and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 1635memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1028EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 1636as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1029requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 1637requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1030invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 1638invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
1639implementation.
1640
1031implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 1641The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1032really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 1642for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1033to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 1643small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1034L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 1644optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
1645using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
1646memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
1647design).
1035 1648
1036=head3 Summary 1649=head3 Summary
1037 1650
1038=over 4 1651=over 4
1039 1652
1050 1663
1051=back 1664=back
1052 1665
1053=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 1666=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1054 1667
1055This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 1668This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1056creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 1669creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socket pair, a
1057timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O 1670timeout watcher that gets reset on activity (but never fires), and an I/O
1058watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket 1671watcher waiting for input on one side of the socket. Each time the socket
1059watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server". 1672watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1060 1673
1061The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 1674The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which
1062are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active 1675are active at any one point (so there is a constant number of active
1063fds for each loop iterstaion, but which fds these are is random). The 1676fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1064timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 1677timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1065most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 1678most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1066 1679
1067In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 1680In this benchmark, we use 10000 socket pairs (20000 sockets), of which 100
1068(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many 1681(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1069connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 1682connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1070 1683
1071Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 1684Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1072distribution. 1685distribution.
1074=head3 Explanation of the columns 1687=head3 Explanation of the columns
1075 1688
1076I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 1689I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1077each server has a read and write socket end). 1690each server has a read and write socket end).
1078 1691
1079I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 1692I<create> is the time it takes to create a socket pair (which is
1080nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher. 1693nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1081 1694
1082I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 1695I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a
1083single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding 1696single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1084it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 1697it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1086 1699
1087=head3 Results 1700=head3 Results
1088 1701
1089 name sockets create request 1702 name sockets create request
1090 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 1703 EV 20000 69.01 11.16
1091 Perl 20000 75.28 112.76 1704 Perl 20000 73.32 35.87
1092 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 1705 Event 20000 212.62 257.32
1093 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 1706 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30
1094 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 1707 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event
1095 1708
1096=head3 Discussion 1709=head3 Discussion
1118 1731
1119=head3 Summary 1732=head3 Summary
1120 1733
1121=over 4 1734=over 4
1122 1735
1123=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 1736=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1124that it uses select.
1125 1737
1126=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 1738=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1127 1739
1128=back 1740=back
1129 1741
1142 1754
1143=head3 Results 1755=head3 Results
1144 1756
1145 name sockets create request 1757 name sockets create request
1146 EV 16 20.00 6.54 1758 EV 16 20.00 6.54
1759 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1147 Event 16 81.27 35.86 1760 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1148 Glib 16 32.63 15.48 1761 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1149 Perl 16 24.62 162.37
1150 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event 1762 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1151 1763
1152=head3 Discussion 1764=head3 Discussion
1153 1765
1154The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small 1766The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small
1158speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of 1770speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1159them). 1771them).
1160 1772
1161EV is again fastest. 1773EV is again fastest.
1162 1774
1163The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 1775Perl again comes second. It is noticeably faster than the C-based event
1164overhead of running an iteration is much smaller in C than in Perl (little 1776loops Event and Glib, although the difference is too small to really
1165code to execute in the inner loop, and perl's function calling overhead is 1777matter.
1166high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1167
1168The pure perl event loop is much slower, but still competitive.
1169 1778
1170POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the 1779POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1171others. 1780others.
1172 1781
1173=head3 Summary 1782=head3 Summary
1178watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 1787watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1179 1788
1180=back 1789=back
1181 1790
1182 1791
1792=head1 SIGNALS
1793
1794AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
1795
1796=over 4
1797
1798=item SIGCHLD
1799
1800A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
1801emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
1802event loops install a similar handler.
1803
1804=item SIGPIPE
1805
1806A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
1807when AnyEvent gets loaded.
1808
1809The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
1810on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
1811badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
1812program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
1813some random socket.
1814
1815The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
1816that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
1817
1818Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
1819
1820=back
1821
1822=cut
1823
1824$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
1825 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
1826
1827
1183=head1 FORK 1828=head1 FORK
1184 1829
1185Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 1830Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1186because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 1831because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll>
1832calls. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware.
1187 1833
1188If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 1834If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first
1189watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child. 1835watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child.
1190 1836
1191 1837
1199specified in the variable. 1845specified in the variable.
1200 1846
1201You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 1847You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1202before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 1848before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1203 1849
1204 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 1850 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1205 1851
1206 use AnyEvent; 1852 use AnyEvent;
1853
1854Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
1855be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
1856probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
1857$ENV{PERL_ANYEGENT_STRICT}.
1858
1859
1860=head1 BUGS
1861
1862Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
1863to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
1864and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
1865mamleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
1866pronounced).
1207 1867
1208 1868
1209=head1 SEE ALSO 1869=head1 SEE ALSO
1210 1870
1211Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 1871Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1212L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 1872
1873Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1213L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 1874L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1214 1875
1215Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 1876Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
1216L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 1877L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
1217L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, 1878L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1218L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. 1879L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1219 1880
1881Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
1882servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>.
1883
1884Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1885
1886Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>,
1887
1220Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 1888Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>, L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
1221 1889
1222 1890
1223=head1 AUTHOR 1891=head1 AUTHOR
1224 1892
1225 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1893 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1226 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1894 http://home.schmorp.de/
1227 1895
1228=cut 1896=cut
1229 1897
12301 18981
1231 1899

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