ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/AnyEvent/lib/AnyEvent.pm
(Generate patch)

Comparing AnyEvent/lib/AnyEvent.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.98 by root, Sun Apr 27 16:31:48 2008 UTC vs.
Revision 1.309 by root, Sat Dec 26 08:59:35 2009 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 # file descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 13 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
14
15 # one-shot or repeating timers
16 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
17 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...
18
19 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
20 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
21
22 # POSIX signal
23 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
24
25 # child process exit
26 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
27 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 28 ...
13 }); 29 });
14 30
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 31 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 32 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 33
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 34 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
35 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 36 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 37 # use a condvar in callback mode:
38 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
39
40=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
41
42This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
43in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
44L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
45
46=head1 SUPPORT
47
48There is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
49channel, too.
50
51See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
52Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 53
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 54=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 55
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 56Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 57nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 58
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 59Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 60policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 61
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 62First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only
32interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use in a 63interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 64pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 65the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general,
35only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent 66only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 67cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
68loops.
37 69
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 70The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event
39programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a 71programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 72religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 73module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 74model you use.
43 75
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 76For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is
45actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is 77actually doing all I/O I<synchronously>...), using them in your module is
46like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you 78like joining a cult: After you joined, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 79cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 80that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 81module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 82
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 83AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 84fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together
53with the rest: POE + IO::Async? no go. Tk + Event? no go. Again: if 85with the rest: POE + IO::Async? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 86your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it,
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 87too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 88event models it supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 89use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new event loops
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 90to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof).
59 91
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 92In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event
61model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar 93model>, AnyEvent also is free of bloat and policy: with POE or similar
62modules, you get an enourmous amount of code and strict rules you have to 94modules, you get an enormous amount of code and strict rules you have to
63follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only 95follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and up to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 96offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 97technically possible.
66 98
99Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
100of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
101non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
102such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
103platform bugs and differences.
104
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 105Now, if you I<do want> lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat
68useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event 106useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 107model, you should I<not> use this module.
70
71#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
90 108
91=head1 DESCRIPTION 109=head1 DESCRIPTION
92 110
93L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 111L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This
94allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 112allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module
98The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 116The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
99module. 117module.
100 118
101During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 119During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
102to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 120to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the
103following modules is already loaded: L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>, L<EV>, 121following modules is already loaded: L<EV>,
104L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 122L<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 123L<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 124to 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 125adaptor 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 126be 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 140starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to
123use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 141use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly...
124 142
125The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 143The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called
126C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 144C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it
127explicitly. 145explicitly and enjoy the high availability of that event loop :)
128 146
129=head1 WATCHERS 147=head1 WATCHERS
130 148
131AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 149AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that
132stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as 150stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
133the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 151the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
134 152
135These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 153These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
136creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 154creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
137callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 155callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
138is in control). 156is in control).
139 157
158Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
159potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
160callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practise in
161Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
162widely between event loops.
163
140To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 164To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
141variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 165variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
142to it). 166to it).
143 167
144All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 168All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
146Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 170Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
147example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 171example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
148 172
149An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 173An any way to achieve that is this pattern:
150 174
151 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 175 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
152 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 176 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
153 undef $w; 177 undef $w;
154 }); 178 });
155 179
156Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 180Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
157my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 181my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
158declared. 182declared.
159 183
160=head2 I/O WATCHERS 184=head2 I/O WATCHERS
161 185
186 $w = AnyEvent->io (
187 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
188 poll => <"r" or "w">,
189 cb => <callback>,
190 );
191
162You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 192You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
163with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 193with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
164 194
165C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 195C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
196for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
197handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
198non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
199most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
200or block devices.
201
166for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 202C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, which creates a
167which creates a watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, 203watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
204
168respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 205C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
169becomes ready.
170 206
171Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 207Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
172presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 208presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
173callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 209callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
174 210
178 214
179Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 215Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should
180always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 216always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
181handles. 217handles.
182 218
183Example:
184
185 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 219Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
220watcher.
221
186 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 222 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
187 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 223 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
188 warn "read: $input\n"; 224 warn "read: $input\n";
189 undef $w; 225 undef $w;
190 }); 226 });
191 227
192=head2 TIME WATCHERS 228=head2 TIME WATCHERS
193 229
230 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
231
232 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
233 after => <fractional_seconds>,
234 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
235 cb => <callback>,
236 );
237
194You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 238You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
195method with the following mandatory arguments: 239method with the following mandatory arguments:
196 240
197C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 241C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
198supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke 242supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
200 244
201Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 245Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
202presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 246presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
203callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 247callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
204 248
205The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 249The 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 250parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
207and Glib). 251callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
252seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
253false value, then it is treated as if it were missing.
208 254
209Example: 255The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
256attempt is done to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
257only approximate.
210 258
211 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 259Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
260
212 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 261 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
213 warn "timeout\n"; 262 warn "timeout\n";
214 }); 263 });
215 264
216 # to cancel the timer: 265 # to cancel the timer:
217 undef $w; 266 undef $w;
218 267
219Example 2:
220
221 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 268Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
222 my $w;
223 269
224 my $cb = sub {
225 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
226 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 270 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
271 warn "timeout\n";
227 }; 272 };
228
229 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
230 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
231 273
232=head3 TIMING ISSUES 274=head3 TIMING ISSUES
233 275
234There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 276There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
235in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 277in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
247timers. 289timers.
248 290
249AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 291AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
250AnyEvent API. 292AnyEvent API.
251 293
294AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
295
296=over 4
297
298=item AnyEvent->time
299
300This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
301seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
302return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
303
304It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
305will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
306
307=item AnyEvent->now
308
309This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
310this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
311the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
312time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
313
314I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
315function to call when you want to know the current time.>
316
317This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
318thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
319L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update it's activity timeouts).
320
321The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
322with your timing, you can skip it without bad conscience.
323
324For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
325and L<EV> and the following set-up:
326
327The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callback at
328time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
329you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
330second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
331after three seconds.
332
333With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
334both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
335be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
336
337With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
338time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
339last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
340to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
341
342In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
343regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
344callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
345higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
346
347In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
348the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
349
350In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
351can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
352difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
353account.
354
355=item AnyEvent->now_update
356
357Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) cache
358the current time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<<
359AnyEvent->now >>, above).
360
361When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
362this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
363might affect timers and time-outs.
364
365When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
366event loop's idea of "current time".
367
368A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
369when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
370idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
371script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
372AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
373(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
374
375Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
376
377=back
378
252=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 379=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
253 380
381 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
382
254You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 383You 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 384I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
256be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 385callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
257 386
258Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 387Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
259presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 388presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
260callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 389callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
261 390
262Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 391Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
263invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 392invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
264that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 393that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
265but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 394but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
266 395
267The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 396The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
268between multiple watchers. 397between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
398interrupt your program at bad times.
269 399
270This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 400This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
271directly will likely not work correctly. 401so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
402correctly.
272 403
273Example: exit on SIGINT 404Example: exit on SIGINT
274 405
275 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 406 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
276 407
408=head3 Restart Behaviour
409
410While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
411not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
412pure perl implementation).
413
414=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
415
416Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
417"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
418latter might corrupt your memory.
419
420AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
421i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
422called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
423callbacks, too).
424
425=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
426
427Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
428callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
429do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
430this. AnyEvent will try to do it's best, which means in some cases,
431signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
432specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
433variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
434and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
435AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
436will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
437saving.
438
439All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
440L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
441work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
442(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does it's own workaround with
443one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
444
277=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 445=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
278 446
447 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
448
279You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 449You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status.
280 450
281The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 451The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (one some backends,
282watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 452using C<0> watches for any child process exit, on others this will
283as status change for the child are received. This works by installing a 453croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
284signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 454finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
285and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 455(stopped/continued).
286you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 456
457The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
458waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
459callback arguments.
460
461This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
462and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
463random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
464C<system>, is just fine).
287 465
288There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 466There 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 467I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
290have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 468have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
291 469
292Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 470Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
471see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
293event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 472that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be loaded before
294loaded before the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). 473the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
474pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
475start the watcher.
295 476
296This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 477This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
297AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 478thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
298C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 479watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
480C<AnyEvent::detect>).
481
482As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
483emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which the latency and race problems
484mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
299 485
300Example: fork a process and wait for it 486Example: fork a process and wait for it
301 487
302 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 488 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
303 489
304 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
305
306 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 490 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
307 491
308 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 492 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
309 pid => $pid, 493 pid => $pid,
310 cb => sub { 494 cb => sub {
311 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 495 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
312 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 496 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
313 $done->broadcast; 497 $done->send;
314 }, 498 },
315 ); 499 );
316 500
317 # do something else, then wait for process exit 501 # do something else, then wait for process exit
318 $done->wait; 502 $done->recv;
503
504=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
505
506 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
507
508Repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle, until
509either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
510
511Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
512is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
513invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
514defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
515have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
516when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
517detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
518will be invoked.
519
520Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
521EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
522will simply call the callback "from time to time".
523
524Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
525program is otherwise idle:
526
527 my @lines; # read data
528 my $idle_w;
529 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
530 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
531
532 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
533 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
534 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
535 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
536 print "handled when idle: $line";
537 } else {
538 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
539 undef $idle_w;
540 }
541 });
542 });
319 543
320=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 544=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
321 545
546 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
547
548 $cv->send (<list>);
549 my @res = $cv->recv;
550
551If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
552require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
553will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
554
555AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
556loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
557
558The instrument to do that is called a "condition variable", so called
559because they represent a condition that must become true.
560
561Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
562
322Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 563Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
323method without any arguments. 564>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
565C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
566becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
567the results).
324 568
325A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 569After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
326->broadcast >> method has been called. 570by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
571were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
572->send >> method).
327 573
328They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 574Condition variables are similar to callbacks, except that you can
575optionally wait for them. They can also be called merge points - points
576in time where multiple outstanding events have been processed. And yet
577another way to call them is transactions - each condition variable can be
578used to represent a transaction, which finishes at some point and delivers
579a result. And yet some people know them as "futures" - a promise to
580compute/deliver something that you can wait for.
581
582Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
329example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 583for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
330then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 584then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
331availability of results. 585availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
586called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
332 587
333You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 588You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
334an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 589you 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<< 590could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
336->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 591button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
337 592
338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 593Note 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 594two 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 595lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 596you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
342as this asks for trouble. 597as this asks for trouble.
343 598
344This object has two methods: 599Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
600used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
601easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
602AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
603it's C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
345 604
346=over 4 605There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
606eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
607for the send to occur.
347 608
348=item $cv->wait 609Example: wait for a timer.
349
350Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been
351called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally.
352
353You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return
354immediately.
355
356Not 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
358using 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
360condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
361callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
362while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
363
364Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot
365sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require
366multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent>
367can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and
368L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
369from different coroutines, however).
370
371=item $cv->broadcast
372
373Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further
374calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been
375called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered..
376
377=back
378
379Example:
380 610
381 # wait till the result is ready 611 # wait till the result is ready
382 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar; 612 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
383 613
384 # do something such as adding a timer 614 # do something such as adding a timer
385 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast 615 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->send
386 # when the "result" is ready. 616 # when the "result" is ready.
387 # in this case, we simply use a timer: 617 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
388 my $w = AnyEvent->timer ( 618 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
389 after => 1, 619 after => 1,
390 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast }, 620 cb => sub { $result_ready->send },
391 ); 621 );
392 622
393 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 623 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
394 # calls broadcast 624 # calls ->send
395 $result_ready->wait; 625 $result_ready->recv;
626
627Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
628variables are also callable directly.
629
630 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
631 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
632 $done->recv;
633
634Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
635callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
636the main program:
637
638 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
639
640 ...
641
642 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
643
644And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
645results are available:
646
647 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
648 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
649 });
650
651=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
652
653These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
654code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
655the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
656uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
657
658=over 4
659
660=item $cv->send (...)
661
662Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
663calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
664called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
665
666If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
667immediately from within send.
668
669Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
670future C<< ->recv >> calls.
671
672Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
673they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
674C<send>.
675
676=item $cv->croak ($error)
677
678Similar to send, but causes all call's to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
679C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
680
681This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
682user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
683delays the error detetcion, but has the overwhelmign advantage that it
684diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
685deep in some event clalback without connection to the actual code causing
686the problem.
687
688=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
689
690=item $cv->end
691
692These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
693one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
694to use a condition variable for the whole process.
695
696Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
697C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
698>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
699condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
700>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
701be called without any arguments.
702
703You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
704sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
705condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
706
707Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
708STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
709close before activating a condvar:
710
711 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
712
713 $cv->begin; # first watcher
714 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
715 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
716 or $cv->end;
717 });
718
719 $cv->begin; # second watcher
720 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
721 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
722 or $cv->end;
723 });
724
725 $cv->recv;
726
727This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
728one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
729sending.
730
731The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
732there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
733begung can potentially be zero:
734
735 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
736
737 my %result;
738 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
739
740 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
741 $cv->begin;
742 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
743 $result{$host} = ...;
744 $cv->end;
745 };
746 }
747
748 $cv->end;
749
750This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
751C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
752order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
753each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
754it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
755results arrive is not relevant.
756
757There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
758loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
759to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
760C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
761doesn't execute once).
762
763This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
764potentially none) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
765the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
766subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
767call C<end>.
768
769=back
770
771=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
772
773These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
774code awaits the condition.
775
776=over 4
777
778=item $cv->recv
779
780Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
781>> methods have been called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
782normally.
783
784You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
785will return immediately.
786
787If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
788function will call C<croak>.
789
790In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
791in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
792
793Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
794event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
795>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
796condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
797L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
798any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
799
800Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case
801(programs might want to do that to stay interactive), so I<if you are
802using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
803caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
804condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
805callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
806while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
807
808You can ensure that C<< -recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
809only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
810time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
811waits otherwise.
812
813=item $bool = $cv->ready
814
815Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
816C<croak> have been called.
817
818=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
819
820This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
821replaces it before doing so.
822
823The callback will be called when the condition becomes (or already was)
824"true", i.e. when C<send> or C<croak> are called (or were called), with
825the only argument being the condition variable itself. Calling C<recv>
826inside the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
827
828=back
829
830=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
831
832The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
833
834=over 4
835
836=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
837
838EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
839use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
840pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
841AnyEvent itself.
842
843 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
844 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl implementation, fast and portable.
845
846=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
847
848These will be used when they are currently loaded when the first watcher
849is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
850them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
851when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
852create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
853
854 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
855 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
856 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
857 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
858 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
859 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
860
861=item Backends with special needs.
862
863Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
864otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
865instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
866everything should just work.
867
868 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
869
870Support for IO::Async can only be partial, as it is too broken and
871architecturally limited to even support the AnyEvent API. It also
872is the only event loop that needs the loop to be set explicitly, so
873it can only be used by a main program knowing about AnyEvent. See
874L<AnyEvent::Impl::Async> for the gory details.
875
876 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async, cannot be autoprobed.
877
878=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
879
880Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
881
882There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
883
884B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
885use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
886polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
887consider for AnyEvent.
888
889B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
890backend, so it can be supported through POE.
891
892AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
893load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
894in which case everything will be automatic.
895
896=back
396 897
397=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 898=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
398 899
900These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
901write AnyEvent extension modules.
902
399=over 4 903=over 4
400 904
401=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 905=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
402 906
403Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 907Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
908backend has been autodetected.
909
404contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 910Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
405Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 911name of the Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one
406C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the case 912of the C<AnyEvent::Impl:xxx> modules, but can be any other class in the
407AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode>). 913case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
408 914will be C<urxvt::anyevent>).
409The known classes so far are:
410
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).
414 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, second best choice.
415 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.
418 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt, cannot be autoprobed (see its docs).
419 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
420 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, not generic enough for full support.
421
422There is no support for WxWidgets, as WxWidgets has no support for
423watching file handles. However, you can use WxWidgets through the
424POE Adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply polls 20 times per
425second, which was considered to be too horrible to even consider for
426AnyEvent. Likewise, other POE backends can be used by AnyEvent by using
427it's adaptor.
428
429AnyEvent knows about L<Prima> and L<Wx> and will try to use L<POE> when
430autodetecting them.
431 915
432=item AnyEvent::detect 916=item AnyEvent::detect
433 917
434Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 918Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
435if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 919if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
436have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 920have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
437runtime. 921runtime, and not e.g. while initialising of your module.
922
923If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
924created, use C<post_detect>.
925
926=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
927
928Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
929autodetected (or immediately if this has already happened).
930
931The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
932(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
933created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
934other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
935L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
936
937The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
938event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
939and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
940avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
941
942If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
943that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
944C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
945a case where this is useful.
946
947Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
948C<$WATCHER>. Only do so after the event loop is initialised, though.
949
950 our WATCHER;
951
952 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
953 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
954 };
955
956 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
957 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
958 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
959 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
960
961 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
962
963=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
964
965If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
966before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will called directly after
967the event loop has been chosen.
968
969You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
970if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
971array will be ignored.
972
973Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
974it, as it takes care of these details.
975
976This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
977when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
978not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
979into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
980
981Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
982together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
983Coro to accomplish this):
984
985 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
986 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
987 require Coro::AnyEvent;
988 } else {
989 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
990 # as soon as it is
991 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
992 }
438 993
439=back 994=back
440 995
441=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 996=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
442 997
446Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 1001Be 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 1002decide 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 1003by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
449to load the event module first. 1004to load the event module first.
450 1005
451Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 1006Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
452the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 1007the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
453because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1008because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
454events is to stay interactive. 1009events is to stay interactive.
455 1010
456It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 1011It 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 1012requests 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 >> 1013called C<results> that returns the results, it should call C<< ->recv >>
459freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1014freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always).
460 1015
461=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1016=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
462 1017
463There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1018There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
465 1020
466If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1021If 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 1022do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent
468decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1023decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it.
469 1024
470If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 1025If 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 1026Gtk2 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 1027event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
473speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1028speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
474modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1029modules 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 1030decide 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. 1031might chose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
477 1032
478You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 1033You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
479loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 1034C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar behaviour
480behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 1035everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
1036
1037=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
1038
1039Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
1040only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1041
1042In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1043
1044 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1045
1046This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1047
1048Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1049it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1050variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1051exit cleanly.
1052
1053
1054=head1 OTHER MODULES
1055
1056The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
1057AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other AnyEvent
1058modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the modules
1059come with AnyEvent, most are available via CPAN.
1060
1061=over 4
1062
1063=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
1064
1065Contains various utility functions that replace often-used but blocking
1066functions such as C<inet_aton> by event-/callback-based versions.
1067
1068=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1069
1070Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1071addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1072connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1073
1074=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1075
1076Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1077supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1078non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
1079
1080=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1081
1082Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1083
1084=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>
1085
1086A simple-to-use HTTP library that is capable of making a lot of concurrent
1087HTTP requests.
1088
1089=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1090
1091Provides a simple web application server framework.
1092
1093=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1094
1095The fastest ping in the west.
1096
1097=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1098
1099Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process.
1100
1101=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1102
1103Truly asynchronous I/O, should be in the toolbox of every event
1104programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent
1105together.
1106
1107=item L<AnyEvent::BDB>
1108
1109Truly asynchronous Berkeley DB access. AnyEvent::BDB transparently fuses
1110L<BDB> and AnyEvent together.
1111
1112=item L<AnyEvent::GPSD>
1113
1114A non-blocking interface to gpsd, a daemon delivering GPS information.
1115
1116=item L<AnyEvent::IRC>
1117
1118AnyEvent based IRC client module family (replacing the older Net::IRC3).
1119
1120=item L<AnyEvent::XMPP>
1121
1122AnyEvent based XMPP (Jabber protocol) module family (replacing the older
1123Net::XMPP2>.
1124
1125=item L<AnyEvent::IGS>
1126
1127A non-blocking interface to the Internet Go Server protocol (used by
1128L<App::IGS>).
1129
1130=item L<Net::FCP>
1131
1132AnyEvent-based implementation of the Freenet Client Protocol, birthplace
1133of AnyEvent.
1134
1135=item L<Event::ExecFlow>
1136
1137High level API for event-based execution flow control.
1138
1139=item L<Coro>
1140
1141Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>.
1142
1143=back
481 1144
482=cut 1145=cut
483 1146
484package AnyEvent; 1147package AnyEvent;
485 1148
486no warnings; 1149# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
487use strict; 1150sub common_sense {
1151 # from common:.sense 1.0
1152 ${^WARNING_BITS} = "\xfc\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf3\xcf\xc0\xf3\xfc\x33\x00";
1153 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1154 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1155}
488 1156
1157BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1158
489use Carp; 1159use Carp ();
490 1160
491our $VERSION = '3.3'; 1161our $VERSION = '5.23';
492our $MODEL; 1162our $MODEL;
493 1163
494our $AUTOLOAD; 1164our $AUTOLOAD;
495our @ISA; 1165our @ISA;
496 1166
497our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
498
499our @REGISTRY; 1167our @REGISTRY;
500 1168
1169our $VERBOSE;
1170
1171BEGIN {
1172 eval "sub WIN32(){ " . (($^O =~ /mswin32/i)*1) ." }";
1173 eval "sub TAINT(){ " . (${^TAINT}*1) . " }";
1174
1175 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1176 if ${^TAINT};
1177
1178 $VERBOSE = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
1179
1180}
1181
1182our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1183
1184our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
1185
1186{
1187 my $idx;
1188 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1189 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1190 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1191}
1192
501my @models = ( 1193my @models = (
502 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
503 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
504 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1194 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV:: , 1],
1195 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: , 1],
1196 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1197 # as the pureperl backend should work everywhere
1198 # and is usually faster
505 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1199 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::, 1],
506 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1200 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib:: , 1], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1201 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
1202 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package
507 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1203 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1204 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1205 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
508 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1206 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
509 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1207 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
510 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1208 # IO::Async is just too broken - we would need workarounds for its
511 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1209 # byzantine signal and broken child handling, among others.
512 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1210 # IO::Async is rather hard to detect, as it doesn't have any
1211 # obvious default class.
513 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program 1212 [IO::Async:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
514 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza 1213 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1214 [IO::Async::Notifier:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
1215 [AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # requires special main program
515); 1216);
516 1217
517our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 1218our %method = map +($_ => 1),
1219 qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar one_event DESTROY);
1220
1221our @post_detect;
1222
1223sub post_detect(&) {
1224 my ($cb) = @_;
1225
1226 if ($MODEL) {
1227 $cb->();
1228
1229 undef
1230 } else {
1231 push @post_detect, $cb;
1232
1233 defined wantarray
1234 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1235 : ()
1236 }
1237}
1238
1239sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1240 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1241}
518 1242
519sub detect() { 1243sub detect() {
520 unless ($MODEL) { 1244 unless ($MODEL) {
521 no strict 'refs'; 1245 local $SIG{__DIE__};
522 1246
523 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1247 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) {
524 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1"; 1248 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
525 if (eval "require $model") { 1249 if (eval "require $model") {
526 $MODEL = $model; 1250 $MODEL = $model;
527 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1251 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
528 } else { 1252 } else {
529 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose; 1253 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@" if $VERBOSE;
530 } 1254 }
531 } 1255 }
532 1256
533 # check for already loaded models 1257 # check for already loaded models
534 unless ($MODEL) { 1258 unless ($MODEL) {
535 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1259 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
536 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1260 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
537 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1261 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
538 if (eval "require $model") { 1262 if (eval "require $model") {
539 $MODEL = $model; 1263 $MODEL = $model;
540 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1264 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
541 last; 1265 last;
542 } 1266 }
543 } 1267 }
544 } 1268 }
545 1269
546 unless ($MODEL) { 1270 unless ($MODEL) {
547 # try to load a model 1271 # try to autoload a model
548
549 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1272 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
550 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1273 my ($package, $model, $autoload) = @$_;
1274 if (
1275 $autoload
551 if (eval "require $package" 1276 and eval "require $package"
552 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 1277 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
553 and eval "require $model") { 1278 and eval "require $model"
1279 ) {
554 $MODEL = $model; 1280 $MODEL = $model;
555 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1281 warn "AnyEvent: autoloaded model '$model', using it.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 2;
556 last; 1282 last;
557 } 1283 }
558 } 1284 }
559 1285
560 $MODEL 1286 $MODEL
561 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV (or Coro+EV), Event (or Coro+Event) or Glib."; 1287 or die "No event module selected for AnyEvent and autodetect failed. Install any one of these modules: EV, Event or Glib.\n";
562 } 1288 }
563 } 1289 }
564 1290
1291 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
1292
565 unshift @ISA, $MODEL; 1293 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
566 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base"; 1294
1295 require AnyEvent::Strict if $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT};
1296
1297 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
567 } 1298 }
568 1299
569 $MODEL 1300 $MODEL
570} 1301}
571 1302
572sub AUTOLOAD { 1303sub AUTOLOAD {
573 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://; 1304 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
574 1305
575 $method{$func} 1306 $method{$func}
576 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects"; 1307 or Carp::croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
577 1308
578 detect unless $MODEL; 1309 detect unless $MODEL;
579 1310
580 my $class = shift; 1311 my $class = shift;
581 $class->$func (@_); 1312 $class->$func (@_);
582} 1313}
583 1314
1315# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1316# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1317# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1318sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1319 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1320
1321 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1322 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1323
1324 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1325 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1326
1327 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1328
1329 ($fh2, $rw)
1330}
1331
1332=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1333
1334Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1335simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1336overhead.
1337
1338See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1339
1340=cut
1341
1342package AE;
1343
1344our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1345
1346sub io($$$) {
1347 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1348}
1349
1350sub timer($$$) {
1351 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1352}
1353
1354sub signal($$) {
1355 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1356}
1357
1358sub child($$) {
1359 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1360}
1361
1362sub idle($) {
1363 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0])
1364}
1365
1366sub cv(;&) {
1367 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1368}
1369
1370sub now() {
1371 AnyEvent->now
1372}
1373
1374sub now_update() {
1375 AnyEvent->now_update
1376}
1377
1378sub time() {
1379 AnyEvent->time
1380}
1381
584package AnyEvent::Base; 1382package AnyEvent::Base;
585 1383
1384# default implementations for many methods
1385
1386sub _time() {
1387 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1388 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1389 warn "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1390 *_time = \&Time::HiRes::time;
1391 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1392 } else {
1393 warn "AnyEvent: using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!\n" if $VERBOSE;
1394 *_time = sub { time }; # epic fail
1395 }
1396
1397 &_time
1398}
1399
1400sub time { _time }
1401sub now { _time }
1402sub now_update { }
1403
586# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast 1404# default implementation for ->condvar
587 1405
588sub condvar { 1406sub condvar {
589 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar" 1407 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} 1408}
599 1409
600# default implementation for ->signal 1410# default implementation for ->signal
601 1411
602our %SIG_CB; 1412our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1413
1414sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1415 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1416 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1417 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1418
1419 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1420}
1421
1422our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1423our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1424our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1425
1426sub _signal_exec {
1427 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1428 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1429 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1430
1431 while (%SIG_EV) {
1432 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1433 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1434 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
1435 }
1436 }
1437}
1438
1439# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1440sub _sig_add() {
1441 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1442 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1443 my $NOW = AE::now;
1444
1445 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1446 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1447 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1448 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1449 ;
1450 }
1451}
1452
1453sub _sig_del {
1454 undef $SIG_TW
1455 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1456}
1457
1458our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1459 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading
1460 undef $_sig_name_init;
1461
1462 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1463 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1464 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1465 } else {
1466 require Config;
1467
1468 my %signame2num;
1469 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1470 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1471
1472 my @signum2name;
1473 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1474
1475 *sig2num = sub($) {
1476 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1477 };
1478 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1479 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1480 };
1481 }
1482 };
1483 die if $@;
1484};
1485
1486sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1487sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
603 1488
604sub signal { 1489sub signal {
1490 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1491 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1492 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1493 warn "AnyEvent: using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1494
1495 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1496 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1497
1498 } else {
1499 warn "AnyEvent: using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.\n" if $VERBOSE >= 8;
1500
1501 require Fcntl;
1502
1503 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1504 require AnyEvent::Util;
1505
1506 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1507 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1508 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1509 } else {
1510 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1511 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1512 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFL, &Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1513
1514 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1515 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1516 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, &Fcntl::F_SETFD, &Fcntl::FD_CLOEXEC;
1517 }
1518
1519 $SIGPIPE_R
1520 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1521
1522 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1523 }
1524
1525 *signal = sub {
605 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1526 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
606 1527
607 my $signal = uc $arg{signal} 1528 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
608 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing"; 1529 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
609 1530
1531 if ($HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT) {
1532 # async::interrupt
1533
1534 $signal = sig2num $signal;
610 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1535 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1536
1537 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1538 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1539 signal => $signal,
1540 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1541 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1542 ;
1543
1544 } else {
1545 # pure perl
1546
1547 # AE::Util has been loaded in signal
1548 $signal = sig2name $signal;
1549 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1550
611 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub { 1551 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
612 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} }; 1552 local $!;
1553 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1554 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
1555 };
1556
1557 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1558 # so limit the signal latency.
1559 _sig_add;
1560 }
1561
1562 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1563 };
1564
1565 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1566 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1567
1568 _sig_del;
1569
1570 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1571
1572 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1573 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1574 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1575 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1576 # instead of getting the default action.
1577 undef $SIG{$signal}
1578 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1579 };
613 }; 1580 };
614 1581 die if $@;
615 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1582 &signal
616}
617
618sub AnyEvent::Base::Signal::DESTROY {
619 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
620
621 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
622
623 $SIG{$signal} = 'DEFAULT' unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
624} 1583}
625 1584
626# default implementation for ->child 1585# default implementation for ->child
627 1586
628our %PID_CB; 1587our %PID_CB;
629our $CHLD_W; 1588our $CHLD_W;
630our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1589our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
631our $PID_IDLE;
632our $WNOHANG; 1590our $WNOHANG;
633 1591
634sub _child_wait { 1592sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
635 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1593 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1594
1595 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
636 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1596 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
637 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1597 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
638 }
639
640 undef $PID_IDLE;
641} 1598}
642 1599
643sub _sigchld { 1600sub _sigchld {
644 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop. 1601 my $pid;
645 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub { 1602
646 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1603 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
647 &_child_wait; 1604 while ($pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG) > 0;
648 });
649} 1605}
650 1606
651sub child { 1607sub child {
652 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1608 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
653 1609
654 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1610 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0)
655 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1611 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing";
656 1612
657 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1613 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
658 1614
659 unless ($WNOHANG) { 1615 # WNOHANG is almost cetrainly 1 everywhere
660 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1; 1616 $WNOHANG ||= $^O =~ /^(?:openbsd|netbsd|linux|freebsd|cygwin|MSWin32)$/
661 } 1617 ? 1
1618 : eval { local $SIG{__DIE__}; require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
662 1619
663 unless ($CHLD_W) { 1620 unless ($CHLD_W) {
664 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld); 1621 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
665 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round 1622 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
666 &_sigchld; 1623 &_sigchld;
667 } 1624 }
668 1625
669 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child" 1626 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
670} 1627}
671 1628
672sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1629sub AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY {
673 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1630 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
674 1631
675 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb}; 1632 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
676 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} }; 1633 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
677 1634
678 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB; 1635 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
679} 1636}
1637
1638# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1639# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1640# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1641sub idle {
1642 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1643
1644 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1645
1646 $rcb = sub {
1647 if ($cb) {
1648 $w = _time;
1649 &$cb;
1650 $w = _time - $w;
1651
1652 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1653 # within some limits
1654 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1655 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1656
1657 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1658 } else {
1659 # clean up...
1660 undef $w;
1661 undef $rcb;
1662 }
1663 };
1664
1665 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1666
1667 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1668}
1669
1670sub AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY {
1671 undef $${$_[0]};
1672}
1673
1674package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1675
1676our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1677
1678package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1679
1680#use overload
1681# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1682# fallback => 1;
1683
1684# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1685${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1686*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1687*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1688${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1689
1690our $WAITING;
1691
1692sub _send {
1693 # nop
1694}
1695
1696sub send {
1697 my $cv = shift;
1698 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1699 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1700 $cv->_send;
1701}
1702
1703sub croak {
1704 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1705 $_[0]->send;
1706}
1707
1708sub ready {
1709 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1710}
1711
1712sub _wait {
1713 $WAITING
1714 and !$_[0]{_ae_sent}
1715 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait detected";
1716
1717 local $WAITING = 1;
1718 AnyEvent->one_event while !$_[0]{_ae_sent};
1719}
1720
1721sub recv {
1722 $_[0]->_wait;
1723
1724 Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak} if $_[0]{_ae_croak};
1725 wantarray ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} } : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
1726}
1727
1728sub cb {
1729 my $cv = shift;
1730
1731 @_
1732 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1733 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1734 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
1735
1736 $cv->{_ae_cb}
1737}
1738
1739sub begin {
1740 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1741 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
1742}
1743
1744sub end {
1745 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
1746 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
1747}
1748
1749# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
1750*broadcast = \&send;
1751*wait = \&_wait;
1752
1753=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
1754
1755In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
1756caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
1757the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
1758checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
1759development.
1760
1761As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
1762executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
1763also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
1764program.
1765
1766The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
1767within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
1768$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
1769so on.
1770
1771=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
1772
1773The following environment variables are used by this module or its
1774submodules.
1775
1776Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
1777C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
1778enabled.
1779
1780=over 4
1781
1782=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
1783
1784By default, AnyEvent will be completely silent except in fatal
1785conditions. You can set this environment variable to make AnyEvent more
1786talkative.
1787
1788When set to C<1> or higher, causes AnyEvent to warn about unexpected
1789conditions, such as not being able to load the event model specified by
1790C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>.
1791
1792When set to C<2> or higher, cause AnyEvent to report to STDERR which event
1793model it chooses.
1794
1795When set to C<8> or higher, then AnyEvent will report extra information on
1796which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
1797
1798=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
1799
1800AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
1801argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
1802will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
1803check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
1804it will croak.
1805
1806In other words, enables "strict" mode.
1807
1808Unlike C<use strict> (or it's modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
1809>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
1810C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
1811can be very useful, however.
1812
1813=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
1814
1815This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
1816auto detection and -probing kicks in. It must be a string consisting
1817entirely of ASCII letters. The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended
1818and the resulting module name is loaded and if the load was successful,
1819used as event model. If it fails to load AnyEvent will proceed with
1820auto detection and -probing.
1821
1822This functionality might change in future versions.
1823
1824For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) you
1825could start your program like this:
1826
1827 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
1828
1829=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
1830
1831Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
1832for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
1833of auto probing).
1834
1835Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
1836current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
1837used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
1838list.
1839
1840This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
1841against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
1842small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
1843
1844Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
1845but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
1846- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
1847addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
1848IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
1849
1850=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
1851
1852Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension
1853for DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, but
1854some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS packets, which is why it is off by
1855default.
1856
1857Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
1858EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
1859
1860=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
1861
1862The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
1863will create in parallel.
1864
1865=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
1866
1867The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
1868resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
1869sent to the DNS server.
1870
1871=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
1872
1873The file to use instead of F</etc/resolv.conf> (or OS-specific
1874configuration) in the default resolver. When set to the empty string, no
1875default config will be used.
1876
1877=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
1878
1879When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
1880L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
1881variables exist, they will be used to specify CA certificate locations
1882instead of a system-dependent default.
1883
1884=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
1885
1886When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
1887loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
1888
1889=back
680 1890
681=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 1891=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
682 1892
683This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 1893This 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 1894a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
718 1928
719I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 1929I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
720condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 1930condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
721C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 1931C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
722not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 1932not 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 1933
761=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 1934=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
762 1935
763The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 1936The 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 1937to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
773 poll => 'r', 1946 poll => 'r',
774 cb => sub { 1947 cb => sub {
775 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 1948 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
776 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 1949 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
777 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 1950 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
778 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 1951 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
779 }, 1952 },
780 ); 1953 );
781 1954
782 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
783
784 sub new_timer {
785 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 1955 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
786 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 1956 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
787 &new_timer; # and restart the time
788 }); 1957 });
789 }
790 1958
791 new_timer; # create first timer
792
793 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 1959 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
794 1960
795=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 1961=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
796 1962
797Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 1963Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
798API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 1964API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
848 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 2014 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
849 or die "connection or write error"; 2015 or die "connection or write error";
850 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 2016 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
851 2017
852Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 2018Again, 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: 2019result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
854 2020
855 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 2021 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
856 2022
857 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 2023 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
858 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 2024 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
859 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 2025 $txn->{finished}->send;
860 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 2026 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
861 } 2027 }
862 2028
863The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 2029The 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 2030request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
865data: 2031data:
866 2032
867 $txn->{finished}->wait; 2033 $txn->{finished}->recv;
868 return $txn->{result}; 2034 return $txn->{result};
869 2035
870The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2036The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
871that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2037that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
872whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2038whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
873and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2039and 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 2040problems get reported tot he code that tries to use the result, not in a
875random callback. 2041random callback.
876 2042
907 2073
908 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2074 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
909 2075
910 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2076 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
911 ... 2077 ...
912 $quit->broadcast; 2078 $quit->send;
913 }); 2079 });
914 2080
915 $quit->wait; 2081 $quit->recv;
916 2082
917 2083
918=head1 BENCHMARKS 2084=head1 BENCHMARKS
919 2085
920To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 2086To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
922of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 2088of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
923 2089
924=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 2090=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
925 2091
926Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 2092Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
927through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2093through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
928timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2094timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
929which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2095which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
930 2096
931Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2097Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
932distribution. 2098distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2099for the EV and Perl backends only.
933 2100
934=head3 Explanation of the columns 2101=head3 Explanation of the columns
935 2102
936I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2103I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
937different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2104different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
949all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 2116all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
950and memory usage is not included in the figures. 2117and memory usage is not included in the figures.
951 2118
952I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 2119I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
953callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 2120callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
954invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 2121invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
955signal the end of this phase. 2122signal the end of this phase.
956 2123
957I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 2124I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
958watcher. 2125watcher.
959 2126
960=head3 Results 2127=head3 Results
961 2128
962 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2129 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
963 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2130 EV/EV 100000 223 0.47 0.43 0.27 EV native interface
964 EV/Any 100000 244 2.50 0.46 0.29 EV + AnyEvent watchers 2131 EV/Any 100000 223 0.48 0.42 0.26 EV + AnyEvent watchers
965 CoroEV/Any 100000 244 2.49 0.44 0.29 coroutines + Coro::Signal 2132 Coro::EV/Any 100000 223 0.47 0.42 0.26 coroutines + Coro::Signal
966 Perl/Any 100000 513 4.92 0.87 1.12 pure perl implementation 2133 Perl/Any 100000 431 2.70 0.74 0.92 pure perl implementation
967 Event/Event 16000 516 31.88 31.30 0.85 Event native interface 2134 Event/Event 16000 516 31.16 31.84 0.82 Event native interface
968 Event/Any 16000 590 35.75 31.42 1.08 Event + AnyEvent watchers 2135 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2136 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2137 IOAsync/Any 16000 1726 40.69 26.37 15.25 via IO::Async::Loop::Epoll
969 Glib/Any 16000 1357 98.22 12.41 54.00 quadratic behaviour 2138 Glib/Any 16000 1118 89.00 12.57 51.17 quadratic behaviour
970 Tk/Any 2000 1860 26.97 67.98 14.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers 2139 Tk/Any 2000 1346 20.96 10.75 8.00 SEGV with >> 2000 watchers
971 POE/Event 2000 6644 108.64 736.02 14.73 via POE::Loop::Event 2140 POE/Any 2000 6951 108.97 795.32 14.24 via POE::Loop::Event
972 POE/Select 2000 6343 94.13 809.12 565.96 via POE::Loop::Select 2141 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
973 2142
974=head3 Discussion 2143=head3 Discussion
975 2144
976The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2145The 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) 2146well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
989benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2158benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
990EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2159EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
991cycles with POE. 2160cycles with POE.
992 2161
993C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2162C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
994maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2163maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2164overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2165slower, with other times being equal, so still uses far less memory than
995far less memory than any other event loop and is still faster than Event 2166any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
996natively.
997 2167
998The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2168The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the
999constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl 2169constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1000interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2170interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1001adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2171adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1002performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2172performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1003them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2173them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1004 2174
1005The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2175The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1006cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2176cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2177
2178C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2179when using its pure perl backend.
1007 2180
1008C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2181C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a
1009faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as 2182faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1010C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2183C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1011watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2184watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1019file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 2192file 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 2193employed 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 2194hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1022above). 2195above).
1023 2196
1024C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 2197C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1025perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 2198select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1026couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 2199be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1027and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 2200memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1028EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 2201as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1029requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 2202requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1030invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 2203invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2204implementation.
2205
1031implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 2206The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1032really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 2207for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1033to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 2208small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1034L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 2209optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2210using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2211memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2212design).
1035 2213
1036=head3 Summary 2214=head3 Summary
1037 2215
1038=over 4 2216=over 4
1039 2217
1050 2228
1051=back 2229=back
1052 2230
1053=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 2231=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1054 2232
1055This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 2233This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1056creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 2234creating 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 2235timeout 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 2236watcher 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". 2237watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1060 2238
1061The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 2239The 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 2240are 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 2241fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1064timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 2242timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1065most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 2243most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1066 2244
1067In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2245In 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 2246(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1069connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2247connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1070 2248
1071Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2249Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1072distribution. 2250distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2251for the EV and Perl backends only.
1073 2252
1074=head3 Explanation of the columns 2253=head3 Explanation of the columns
1075 2254
1076I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2255I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1077each server has a read and write socket end). 2256each server has a read and write socket end).
1078 2257
1079I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 2258I<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. 2259nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1081 2260
1082I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 2261I<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 2262single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1084it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2263it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1085a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2264a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1086 2265
1087=head3 Results 2266=head3 Results
1088 2267
1089 name sockets create request 2268 name sockets create request
1090 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2269 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1091 Perl 20000 75.28 112.76 2270 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1092 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2271 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1093 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2272 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2273 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2274 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1094 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2275 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1095 2276
1096=head3 Discussion 2277=head3 Discussion
1097 2278
1098This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2279This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1099particular event loop. 2280particular event loop.
1101EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2282EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1102is relatively high, though. 2283is relatively high, though.
1103 2284
1104Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2285Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1105loops Event and Glib. 2286loops Event and Glib.
2287
2288IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2289good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1106 2290
1107Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2291Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will
1108understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to 2292understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1109the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2293the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1110uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2294uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1118 2302
1119=head3 Summary 2303=head3 Summary
1120 2304
1121=over 4 2305=over 4
1122 2306
1123=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 2307=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1124that it uses select.
1125 2308
1126=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 2309=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1127 2310
1128=back 2311=back
1129 2312
1142 2325
1143=head3 Results 2326=head3 Results
1144 2327
1145 name sockets create request 2328 name sockets create request
1146 EV 16 20.00 6.54 2329 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2330 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1147 Event 16 81.27 35.86 2331 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1148 Glib 16 32.63 15.48 2332 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1149 Perl 16 24.62 162.37
1150 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event 2333 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1151 2334
1152=head3 Discussion 2335=head3 Discussion
1153 2336
1154The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small 2337The 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 2341speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1159them). 2342them).
1160 2343
1161EV is again fastest. 2344EV is again fastest.
1162 2345
1163The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 2346Perl 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 2347loops 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 2348matter.
1166high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1167
1168The pure perl event loop is much slower, but still competitive.
1169 2349
1170POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the 2350POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1171others. 2351others.
1172 2352
1173=head3 Summary 2353=head3 Summary
1177=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2357=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1178watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2358watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1179 2359
1180=back 2360=back
1181 2361
2362=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2363
2364Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2365could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2366simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2367shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2368fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2369very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2370baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2371
2372The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2373connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2374creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2375test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2376benchmark nevertheless.
2377
2378 name runtime
2379 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2380 + optimized 0.122 sec
2381 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2382 + optimized 0.138 sec
2383 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2384 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2385 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2386 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2387
2388 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2389 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2390 +state machine 0.134 sec
2391
2392The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2393benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2394defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2395written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2396AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2397resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2398generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2399connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2400
2401The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2402offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2403Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2404non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2405
2406As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2407hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2408backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2409
2410And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2411slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2412higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2413it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2414
2415The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2416F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2417part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2418
2419
2420=head1 SIGNALS
2421
2422AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2423
2424=over 4
2425
2426=item SIGCHLD
2427
2428A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2429emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2430event loops install a similar handler.
2431
2432Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2433AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2434
2435=item SIGPIPE
2436
2437A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2438when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2439
2440The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2441on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2442badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2443program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2444some random socket.
2445
2446The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2447that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2448
2449Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2450
2451=back
2452
2453=cut
2454
2455undef $SIG{CHLD}
2456 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2457
2458$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2459 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2460
2461=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2462
2463One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2464it's built-in modules) are required to use it.
2465
2466That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2467modules if they are installed.
2468
2469This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2470affect AnyEvent's operation.
2471
2472=over 4
2473
2474=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2475
2476This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2477my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2478signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2479delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2480catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2481C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2482
2483If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2484catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2485will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2486battery life on laptops).
2487
2488This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2489that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2490
2491Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2492and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2493(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2494does nothing for those backends.
2495
2496=item L<EV>
2497
2498This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2499event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2500loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2501the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2502automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2503can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2504C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2505L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2506
2507=item L<Guard>
2508
2509The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2510C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2511lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2512purely used for performance.
2513
2514=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2515
2516One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2517via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. It is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2518advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2519
2520In fact, L<AnyEvent::Handle> will use L<JSON::XS> by default if it is
2521installed.
2522
2523=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2524
2525Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2526worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2527the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2528
2529=item L<Time::HiRes>
2530
2531This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2532chosen event library does not come with a timing source on it's own. The
2533pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>) will additionally use it to
2534try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2535
2536=back
2537
1182 2538
1183=head1 FORK 2539=head1 FORK
1184 2540
1185Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2541Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1186because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2542because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
2543- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2544are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2545one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2546continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2547what you are doing).
2548
2549This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2550the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2551usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2552is loaded).
1187 2553
1188If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2554If 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. 2555watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2556something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2557
2558The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2559is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2560fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2561watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2562parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2563to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2564preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2565to have another binary.
1190 2566
1191 2567
1192=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2568=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1193 2569
1194AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2570AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1199specified in the variable. 2575specified in the variable.
1200 2576
1201You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2577You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1202before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2578before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1203 2579
1204 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2580 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1205 2581
1206 use AnyEvent; 2582 use AnyEvent;
2583
2584Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2585be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2586probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2587$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2588
2589Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2590C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2591enabled.
2592
2593
2594=head1 BUGS
2595
2596Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2597to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2598and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2599memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2600pronounced).
1207 2601
1208 2602
1209=head1 SEE ALSO 2603=head1 SEE ALSO
1210 2604
1211Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2605Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util>.
1212L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>, 2606
2607Event modules: L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>,
1213L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. 2608L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1214 2609
1215Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2610Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2611L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2612L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1216L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2613L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>.
1217L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>,
1218L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1219 2614
2615Non-blocking file handles, sockets, TCP clients and
2616servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2617
2618Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2619
2620Coroutine support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>,
2621L<Coro::Event>,
2622
1220Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2623Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>,
2624L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1221 2625
1222 2626
1223=head1 AUTHOR 2627=head1 AUTHOR
1224 2628
1225 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2629 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1226 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2630 http://home.schmorp.de/
1227 2631
1228=cut 2632=cut
1229 2633
12301 26341
1231 2635

Diff Legend

Removed lines
+ Added lines
< Changed lines
> Changed lines