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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent - provide framework for multiple event loops 3AnyEvent - the DBI of event loop programming
4 4
5EV, Event, Coro::EV, Coro::Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Qt, POE - various supported event loops 5EV, Event, Glib, Tk, Perl, Event::Lib, Irssi, rxvt-unicode, IO::Async, Qt,
6FLTK and POE are various supported event loops/environments.
6 7
7=head1 SYNOPSIS 8=head1 SYNOPSIS
8 9
9 use AnyEvent; 10 use AnyEvent;
10 11
12 # if you prefer function calls, look at the AE manpage for
13 # an alternative API.
14
15 # file handle or descriptor readable
11 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r|w", cb => sub { 16 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => "r", cb => sub { ... });
17
18 # one-shot or repeating timers
19 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { ... });
20 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, interval => $seconds, cb => ...);
21
22 print AnyEvent->now; # prints current event loop time
23 print AnyEvent->time; # think Time::HiRes::time or simply CORE::time.
24
25 # POSIX signal
26 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "TERM", cb => sub { ... });
27
28 # child process exit
29 my $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
30 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
12 ... 31 ...
13 }); 32 });
14 33
15 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => $seconds, cb => sub { 34 # called when event loop idle (if applicable)
16 ... 35 my $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub { ... });
17 });
18 36
19 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged 37 my $w = AnyEvent->condvar; # stores whether a condition was flagged
38 $w->send; # wake up current and all future recv's
20 $w->wait; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->broadcast 39 $w->recv; # enters "main loop" till $condvar gets ->send
21 $w->broadcast; # wake up current and all future wait's 40 # use a condvar in callback mode:
41 $w->cb (sub { $_[0]->recv });
42
43=head1 INTRODUCTION/TUTORIAL
44
45This manpage is mainly a reference manual. If you are interested
46in a tutorial or some gentle introduction, have a look at the
47L<AnyEvent::Intro> manpage.
48
49=head1 SUPPORT
50
51An FAQ document is available as L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
52
53There also is a mailinglist for discussing all things AnyEvent, and an IRC
54channel, too.
55
56See the AnyEvent project page at the B<Schmorpforge Ta-Sa Software
57Repository>, at L<http://anyevent.schmorp.de>, for more info.
22 58
23=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT) 59=head1 WHY YOU SHOULD USE THIS MODULE (OR NOT)
24 60
25Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen 61Glib, POE, IO::Async, Event... CPAN offers event models by the dozen
26nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent? 62nowadays. So what is different about AnyEvent?
27 63
28Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of 64Executive Summary: AnyEvent is I<compatible>, AnyEvent is I<free of
29policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>. 65policy> and AnyEvent is I<small and efficient>.
30 66
31First and foremost, I<AnyEvent is not an event model> itself, it only 67First 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 68interfaces to whatever event model the main program happens to use, in a
33pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike, 69pragmatic way. For event models and certain classes of immortals alike,
34the statement "there can only be one" is a bitter reality: In general, 70the 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 71only one event loop can be active at the same time in a process. AnyEvent
36helps hiding the differences between those event loops. 72cannot change this, but it can hide the differences between those event
73loops.
37 74
38The goal of AnyEvent is to offer module authors the ability to do event 75The 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 76programming (waiting for I/O or timer events) without subscribing to a
40religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your 77religion, a way of living, and most importantly: without forcing your
41module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event 78module users into the same thing by forcing them to use the same event
42model you use. 79model you use.
43 80
44For modules like POE or IO::Async (which is a total misnomer as it is 81For 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 82actually 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 83like joining a cult: After you join, you are dependent on them and you
47cannot use anything else, as it is simply incompatible to everything that 84cannot use anything else, as they are simply incompatible to everything
48isn't itself. What's worse, all the potential users of your module are 85that isn't them. What's worse, all the potential users of your
49I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use. 86module are I<also> forced to use the same event loop you use.
50 87
51AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works 88AnyEvent is different: AnyEvent + POE works fine. AnyEvent + Glib works
52fine. AnyEvent + Tk works fine etc. etc. but none of these work together 89fine. 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 90with the rest: POE + EV? No go. Tk + Event? No go. Again: if your module
54your module uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, 91uses one of those, every user of your module has to use it, too. But if
55too. But if your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all 92your module uses AnyEvent, it works transparently with all event models it
56event models it supports (including stuff like POE and IO::Async, as long 93supports (including stuff like IO::Async, as long as those use one of the
57as those use one of the supported event loops. It is trivial to add new 94supported event loops. It is easy to add new event loops to AnyEvent, too,
58event loops to AnyEvent, too, so it is future-proof). 95so it is future-proof).
59 96
60In addition to being free of having to use I<the one and only true event 97In 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 98model>, 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 99modules, 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 100follow. AnyEvent, on the other hand, is lean and to the point, by only
64offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as 101offering the functionality that is necessary, in as thin as a wrapper as
65technically possible. 102technically possible.
66 103
104Of course, AnyEvent comes with a big (and fully optional!) toolbox
105of useful functionality, such as an asynchronous DNS resolver, 100%
106non-blocking connects (even with TLS/SSL, IPv6 and on broken platforms
107such as Windows) and lots of real-world knowledge and workarounds for
108platform bugs and differences.
109
67Of course, if you want lots of policy (this can arguably be somewhat 110Now, 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 111useful) and you want to force your users to use the one and only event
69model, you should I<not> use this module. 112model, you should I<not> use this module.
70 113
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
91=head1 DESCRIPTION 114=head1 DESCRIPTION
92 115
93L<AnyEvent> provides an identical interface to multiple event loops. This 116L<AnyEvent> provides a uniform interface to various event loops. This
94allows module authors to utilise an event loop without forcing module 117allows module authors to use event loop functionality without forcing
95users to use the same event loop (as only a single event loop can coexist 118module users to use a specific event loop implementation (since more
96peacefully at any one time). 119than one event loop cannot coexist peacefully).
97 120
98The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event> 121The interface itself is vaguely similar, but not identical to the L<Event>
99module. 122module.
100 123
101During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries 124During the first call of any watcher-creation method, the module tries
102to detect the currently loaded event loop by probing whether one of the 125to 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>, 126following modules is already loaded: L<EV>, L<AnyEvent::Loop>,
104L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, 127L<Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>. The first one
105L<POE>. The first one found is used. If none are found, the module tries 128found is used. If none are detected, the module tries to load the first
106to load these modules (excluding Tk, Event::Lib, Qt and POE as the pure perl 129four modules in the order given; but note that if L<EV> is not
107adaptor should always succeed) in the order given. The first one that can 130available, the pure-perl L<AnyEvent::Loop> should always work, so
108be successfully loaded will be used. If, after this, still none could be 131the other two are not normally tried.
109found, AnyEvent will fall back to a pure-perl event loop, which is not
110very efficient, but should work everywhere.
111 132
112Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading 133Because AnyEvent first checks for modules that are already loaded, loading
113an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make 134an event model explicitly before first using AnyEvent will likely make
114that model the default. For example: 135that model the default. For example:
115 136
117 use AnyEvent; 138 use AnyEvent;
118 139
119 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk 140 # .. AnyEvent will likely default to Tk
120 141
121The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and 142The I<likely> means that, if any module loads another event model and
122starts using it, all bets are off. Maybe you should tell their authors to 143starts using it, all bets are off - this case should be very rare though,
123use AnyEvent so their modules work together with others seamlessly... 144as very few modules hardcode event loops without announcing this very
145loudly.
124 146
125The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called 147The pure-perl implementation of AnyEvent is called C<AnyEvent::Loop>. Like
126C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>. Like other event modules you can load it 148other event modules you can load it explicitly and enjoy the high
127explicitly. 149availability of that event loop :)
128 150
129=head1 WATCHERS 151=head1 WATCHERS
130 152
131AnyEvent has the central concept of a I<watcher>, which is an object that 153AnyEvent 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 154stores relevant data for each kind of event you are waiting for, such as
133the callback to call, the filehandle to watch, etc. 155the callback to call, the file handle to watch, etc.
134 156
135These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After 157These watchers are normal Perl objects with normal Perl lifetime. After
136creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the 158creating a watcher it will immediately "watch" for events and invoke the
137callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model 159callback when the event occurs (of course, only when the event model
138is in control). 160is in control).
139 161
162Note that B<callbacks must not permanently change global variables>
163potentially in use by the event loop (such as C<$_> or C<$[>) and that B<<
164callbacks must not C<die> >>. The former is good programming practice in
165Perl and the latter stems from the fact that exception handling differs
166widely between event loops.
167
140To disable the watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the 168To disable a watcher you have to destroy it (e.g. by setting the
141variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references 169variable you store it in to C<undef> or otherwise deleting all references
142to it). 170to it).
143 171
144All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class. 172All watchers are created by calling a method on the C<AnyEvent> class.
145 173
146Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for 174Many watchers either are used with "recursion" (repeating timers for
147example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways. 175example), or need to refer to their watcher object in other ways.
148 176
149An any way to achieve that is this pattern: 177One way to achieve that is this pattern:
150 178
151 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub { 179 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->type (arg => value ..., cb => sub {
152 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it 180 # you can use $w here, for example to undef it
153 undef $w; 181 undef $w;
154 }); 182 });
155 183
156Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl, 184Note that C<my $w; $w => combination. This is necessary because in Perl,
157my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are 185my variables are only visible after the statement in which they are
158declared. 186declared.
159 187
160=head2 I/O WATCHERS 188=head2 I/O WATCHERS
161 189
190 $w = AnyEvent->io (
191 fh => <filehandle_or_fileno>,
192 poll => <"r" or "w">,
193 cb => <callback>,
194 );
195
162You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method 196You can create an I/O watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->io >> method
163with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments: 197with the following mandatory key-value pairs as arguments:
164 198
165C<fh> the Perl I<file handle> (I<not> file descriptor) to watch 199C<fh> is the Perl I<file handle> (or a naked file descriptor) to watch
200for events (AnyEvent might or might not keep a reference to this file
201handle). Note that only file handles pointing to things for which
202non-blocking operation makes sense are allowed. This includes sockets,
203most character devices, pipes, fifos and so on, but not for example files
204or block devices.
205
166for events. C<poll> must be a string that is either C<r> or C<w>, 206C<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, 207watcher waiting for "r"eadable or "w"ritable events, respectively.
208
168respectively. C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle 209C<cb> is the callback to invoke each time the file handle becomes ready.
169becomes ready.
170 210
171Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 211Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
172presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 212presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
173callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks. 213callbacks cannot use arguments passed to I/O watcher callbacks.
174 214
175The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it. 215The I/O watcher might use the underlying file descriptor or a copy of it.
176You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the 216You must not close a file handle as long as any watcher is active on the
177underlying file descriptor. 217underlying file descriptor.
178 218
179Some event loops issue spurious readyness notifications, so you should 219Some event loops issue spurious readiness notifications, so you should
180always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file 220always use non-blocking calls when reading/writing from/to your file
181handles. 221handles.
182 222
183Example:
184
185 # wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the watcher 223Example: wait for readability of STDIN, then read a line and disable the
224watcher.
225
186 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub { 226 my $w; $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
187 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); 227 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>);
188 warn "read: $input\n"; 228 warn "read: $input\n";
189 undef $w; 229 undef $w;
190 }); 230 });
191 231
192=head2 TIME WATCHERS 232=head2 TIME WATCHERS
193 233
234 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => <seconds>, cb => <callback>);
235
236 $w = AnyEvent->timer (
237 after => <fractional_seconds>,
238 interval => <fractional_seconds>,
239 cb => <callback>,
240 );
241
194You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >> 242You can create a time watcher by calling the C<< AnyEvent->timer >>
195method with the following mandatory arguments: 243method with the following mandatory arguments:
196 244
197C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are 245C<after> specifies after how many seconds (fractional values are
198supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke 246supported) the callback should be invoked. C<cb> is the callback to invoke
200 248
201Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 249Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
202presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 250presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
203callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks. 251callbacks cannot use arguments passed to time watcher callbacks.
204 252
205The timer callback will be invoked at most once: if you want a repeating 253The callback will normally be invoked only once. If you specify another
206timer you have to create a new watcher (this is a limitation by both Tk 254parameter, C<interval>, as a strictly positive number (> 0), then the
207and Glib). 255callback will be invoked regularly at that interval (in fractional
256seconds) after the first invocation. If C<interval> is specified with a
257false value, then it is treated as if it were not specified at all.
208 258
209Example: 259The callback will be rescheduled before invoking the callback, but no
260attempt is made to avoid timer drift in most backends, so the interval is
261only approximate.
210 262
211 # fire an event after 7.7 seconds 263Example: fire an event after 7.7 seconds.
264
212 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub { 265 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 7.7, cb => sub {
213 warn "timeout\n"; 266 warn "timeout\n";
214 }); 267 });
215 268
216 # to cancel the timer: 269 # to cancel the timer:
217 undef $w; 270 undef $w;
218 271
219Example 2:
220
221 # fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second 272Example 2: fire an event after 0.5 seconds, then roughly every second.
222 my $w;
223 273
224 my $cb = sub {
225 # cancel the old timer while creating a new one
226 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => $cb); 274 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, interval => 1, cb => sub {
275 warn "timeout\n";
227 }; 276 };
228
229 # start the "loop" by creating the first watcher
230 $w = AnyEvent->timer (after => 0.5, cb => $cb);
231 277
232=head3 TIMING ISSUES 278=head3 TIMING ISSUES
233 279
234There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire 280There are two ways to handle timers: based on real time (relative, "fire
235in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12 281in 10 seconds") and based on wallclock time (absolute, "fire at 12
237 283
238While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they 284While most event loops expect timers to specified in a relative way, they
239use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock 285use absolute time internally. This makes a difference when your clock
240"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from 286"jumps", for example, when ntp decides to set your clock backwards from
241the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to 287the wrong date of 2014-01-01 to 2008-01-01, a watcher that is supposed to
242fire "after" a second might actually take six years to finally fire. 288fire "after a second" might actually take six years to finally fire.
243 289
244AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious 290AnyEvent cannot compensate for this. The only event loop that is conscious
245about these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based 291of these issues is L<EV>, which offers both relative (ev_timer, based
246on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time) 292on true relative time) and absolute (ev_periodic, based on wallclock time)
247timers. 293timers.
248 294
249AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the 295AnyEvent always prefers relative timers, if available, matching the
250AnyEvent API. 296AnyEvent API.
251 297
298AnyEvent has two additional methods that return the "current time":
299
300=over 4
301
302=item AnyEvent->time
303
304This returns the "current wallclock time" as a fractional number of
305seconds since the Epoch (the same thing as C<time> or C<Time::HiRes::time>
306return, and the result is guaranteed to be compatible with those).
307
308It progresses independently of any event loop processing, i.e. each call
309will check the system clock, which usually gets updated frequently.
310
311=item AnyEvent->now
312
313This also returns the "current wallclock time", but unlike C<time>, above,
314this value might change only once per event loop iteration, depending on
315the event loop (most return the same time as C<time>, above). This is the
316time that AnyEvent's timers get scheduled against.
317
318I<In almost all cases (in all cases if you don't care), this is the
319function to call when you want to know the current time.>
320
321This function is also often faster then C<< AnyEvent->time >>, and
322thus the preferred method if you want some timestamp (for example,
323L<AnyEvent::Handle> uses this to update its activity timeouts).
324
325The rest of this section is only of relevance if you try to be very exact
326with your timing; you can skip it without a bad conscience.
327
328For a practical example of when these times differ, consider L<Event::Lib>
329and L<EV> and the following set-up:
330
331The event loop is running and has just invoked one of your callbacks at
332time=500 (assume no other callbacks delay processing). In your callback,
333you wait a second by executing C<sleep 1> (blocking the process for a
334second) and then (at time=501) you create a relative timer that fires
335after three seconds.
336
337With L<Event::Lib>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> will
338both return C<501>, because that is the current time, and the timer will
339be scheduled to fire at time=504 (C<501> + C<3>).
340
341With L<EV>, C<< AnyEvent->time >> returns C<501> (as that is the current
342time), but C<< AnyEvent->now >> returns C<500>, as that is the time the
343last event processing phase started. With L<EV>, your timer gets scheduled
344to run at time=503 (C<500> + C<3>).
345
346In one sense, L<Event::Lib> is more exact, as it uses the current time
347regardless of any delays introduced by event processing. However, most
348callbacks do not expect large delays in processing, so this causes a
349higher drift (and a lot more system calls to get the current time).
350
351In another sense, L<EV> is more exact, as your timer will be scheduled at
352the same time, regardless of how long event processing actually took.
353
354In either case, if you care (and in most cases, you don't), then you
355can get whatever behaviour you want with any event loop, by taking the
356difference between C<< AnyEvent->time >> and C<< AnyEvent->now >> into
357account.
358
359=item AnyEvent->now_update
360
361Some event loops (such as L<EV> or L<AnyEvent::Loop>) cache the current
362time for each loop iteration (see the discussion of L<< AnyEvent->now >>,
363above).
364
365When a callback runs for a long time (or when the process sleeps), then
366this "current" time will differ substantially from the real time, which
367might affect timers and time-outs.
368
369When this is the case, you can call this method, which will update the
370event loop's idea of "current time".
371
372A typical example would be a script in a web server (e.g. C<mod_perl>) -
373when mod_perl executes the script, then the event loop will have the wrong
374idea about the "current time" (being potentially far in the past, when the
375script ran the last time). In that case you should arrange a call to C<<
376AnyEvent->now_update >> each time the web server process wakes up again
377(e.g. at the start of your script, or in a handler).
378
379Note that updating the time I<might> cause some events to be handled.
380
381=back
382
252=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS 383=head2 SIGNAL WATCHERS
253 384
385 $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => <uppercase_signal_name>, cb => <callback>);
386
254You can watch for signals using a signal watcher, C<signal> is the signal 387You 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 388I<name> in uppercase and without any C<SIG> prefix, C<cb> is the Perl
256be invoked whenever a signal occurs. 389callback to be invoked whenever a signal occurs.
257 390
258Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and 391Although the callback might get passed parameters, their value and
259presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent 392presence is undefined and you cannot rely on them. Portable AnyEvent
260callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks. 393callbacks cannot use arguments passed to signal watcher callbacks.
261 394
262Multiple signal occurances can be clumped together into one callback 395Multiple signal occurrences can be clumped together into one callback
263invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. synchronous means 396invocation, and callback invocation will be synchronous. Synchronous means
264that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process, 397that it might take a while until the signal gets handled by the process,
265but it is guarenteed not to interrupt any other callbacks. 398but it is guaranteed not to interrupt any other callbacks.
266 399
267The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal 400The main advantage of using these watchers is that you can share a signal
268between multiple watchers. 401between multiple watchers, and AnyEvent will ensure that signals will not
402interrupt your program at bad times.
269 403
270This watcher might use C<%SIG>, so programs overwriting those signals 404This watcher might use C<%SIG> (depending on the event loop used),
271directly will likely not work correctly. 405so programs overwriting those signals directly will likely not work
406correctly.
272 407
273Example: exit on SIGINT 408Example: exit on SIGINT
274 409
275 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 }); 410 my $w = AnyEvent->signal (signal => "INT", cb => sub { exit 1 });
276 411
412=head3 Restart Behaviour
413
414While restart behaviour is up to the event loop implementation, most will
415not restart syscalls (that includes L<Async::Interrupt> and AnyEvent's
416pure perl implementation).
417
418=head3 Safe/Unsafe Signals
419
420Perl signals can be either "safe" (synchronous to opcode handling) or
421"unsafe" (asynchronous) - the former might get delayed indefinitely, the
422latter might corrupt your memory.
423
424AnyEvent signal handlers are, in addition, synchronous to the event loop,
425i.e. they will not interrupt your running perl program but will only be
426called as part of the normal event handling (just like timer, I/O etc.
427callbacks, too).
428
429=head3 Signal Races, Delays and Workarounds
430
431Many event loops (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt, IO::Async) do not support attaching
432callbacks to signals in a generic way, which is a pity, as you cannot
433do race-free signal handling in perl, requiring C libraries for
434this. AnyEvent will try to do its best, which means in some cases,
435signals will be delayed. The maximum time a signal might be delayed is
436specified in C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY> (default: 10 seconds). This
437variable can be changed only before the first signal watcher is created,
438and should be left alone otherwise. This variable determines how often
439AnyEvent polls for signals (in case a wake-up was missed). Higher values
440will cause fewer spurious wake-ups, which is better for power and CPU
441saving.
442
443All these problems can be avoided by installing the optional
444L<Async::Interrupt> module, which works with most event loops. It will not
445work with inherently broken event loops such as L<Event> or L<Event::Lib>
446(and not with L<POE> currently, as POE does its own workaround with
447one-second latency). For those, you just have to suffer the delays.
448
277=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS 449=head2 CHILD PROCESS WATCHERS
278 450
451 $w = AnyEvent->child (pid => <process id>, cb => <callback>);
452
279You can also watch on a child process exit and catch its exit status. 453You can also watch for a child process exit and catch its exit status.
280 454
281The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (if set to C<0>, it 455The child process is specified by the C<pid> argument (on some backends,
282watches for any child process exit). The watcher will trigger as often 456using 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 457croak). The watcher will be triggered only when the child process has
284signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>. The callback will be called with the pid 458finished and an exit status is available, not on any trace events
285and exit status (as returned by waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, 459(stopped/continued).
286you I<can> rely on child watcher callback arguments. 460
461The callback will be called with the pid and exit status (as returned by
462waitpid), so unlike other watcher types, you I<can> rely on child watcher
463callback arguments.
464
465This watcher type works by installing a signal handler for C<SIGCHLD>,
466and since it cannot be shared, nothing else should use SIGCHLD or reap
467random child processes (waiting for specific child processes, e.g. inside
468C<system>, is just fine).
287 469
288There is a slight catch to child watchers, however: you usually start them 470There 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 471I<after> the child process was created, and this means the process could
290have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore). 472have exited already (and no SIGCHLD will be sent anymore).
291 473
292Not all event models handle this correctly (POE doesn't), but even for 474Not all event models handle this correctly (neither POE nor IO::Async do,
475see their AnyEvent::Impl manpages for details), but even for event models
293event models that I<do> handle this correctly, they usually need to be 476that 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). 477the process exits (i.e. before you fork in the first place). AnyEvent's
478pure perl event loop handles all cases correctly regardless of when you
479start the watcher.
295 480
296This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first thing in an 481This means you cannot create a child watcher as the very first
297AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one watcher before you 482thing in an AnyEvent program, you I<have> to create at least one
298C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call C<AnyEvent::detect>). 483watcher before you C<fork> the child (alternatively, you can call
484C<AnyEvent::detect>).
485
486As most event loops do not support waiting for child events, they will be
487emulated by AnyEvent in most cases, in which case the latency and race
488problems mentioned in the description of signal watchers apply.
299 489
300Example: fork a process and wait for it 490Example: fork a process and wait for it
301 491
302 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar; 492 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
303 493
304 AnyEvent::detect; # force event module to be initialised
305
306 my $pid = fork or exit 5; 494 my $pid = fork or exit 5;
307 495
308 my $w = AnyEvent->child ( 496 my $w = AnyEvent->child (
309 pid => $pid, 497 pid => $pid,
310 cb => sub { 498 cb => sub {
311 my ($pid, $status) = @_; 499 my ($pid, $status) = @_;
312 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status"; 500 warn "pid $pid exited with status $status";
313 $done->broadcast; 501 $done->send;
314 }, 502 },
315 ); 503 );
316 504
317 # do something else, then wait for process exit 505 # do something else, then wait for process exit
318 $done->wait; 506 $done->recv;
507
508=head2 IDLE WATCHERS
509
510 $w = AnyEvent->idle (cb => <callback>);
511
512This will repeatedly invoke the callback after the process becomes idle,
513until either the watcher is destroyed or new events have been detected.
514
515Idle watchers are useful when there is a need to do something, but it
516is not so important (or wise) to do it instantly. The callback will be
517invoked only when there is "nothing better to do", which is usually
518defined as "all outstanding events have been handled and no new events
519have been detected". That means that idle watchers ideally get invoked
520when the event loop has just polled for new events but none have been
521detected. Instead of blocking to wait for more events, the idle watchers
522will be invoked.
523
524Unfortunately, most event loops do not really support idle watchers (only
525EV, Event and Glib do it in a usable fashion) - for the rest, AnyEvent
526will simply call the callback "from time to time".
527
528Example: read lines from STDIN, but only process them when the
529program is otherwise idle:
530
531 my @lines; # read data
532 my $idle_w;
533 my $io_w = AnyEvent->io (fh => \*STDIN, poll => 'r', cb => sub {
534 push @lines, scalar <STDIN>;
535
536 # start an idle watcher, if not already done
537 $idle_w ||= AnyEvent->idle (cb => sub {
538 # handle only one line, when there are lines left
539 if (my $line = shift @lines) {
540 print "handled when idle: $line";
541 } else {
542 # otherwise disable the idle watcher again
543 undef $idle_w;
544 }
545 });
546 });
319 547
320=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES 548=head2 CONDITION VARIABLES
321 549
550 $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
551
552 $cv->send (<list>);
553 my @res = $cv->recv;
554
555If you are familiar with some event loops you will know that all of them
556require you to run some blocking "loop", "run" or similar function that
557will actively watch for new events and call your callbacks.
558
559AnyEvent is slightly different: it expects somebody else to run the event
560loop and will only block when necessary (usually when told by the user).
561
562The tool to do that is called a "condition variable", so called because
563they represent a condition that must become true.
564
565Now is probably a good time to look at the examples further below.
566
322Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar >> 567Condition variables can be created by calling the C<< AnyEvent->condvar
323method without any arguments. 568>> method, usually without arguments. The only argument pair allowed is
569C<cb>, which specifies a callback to be called when the condition variable
570becomes true, with the condition variable as the first argument (but not
571the results).
324 572
325A condition variable waits for a condition - precisely that the C<< 573After creation, the condition variable is "false" until it becomes "true"
326->broadcast >> method has been called. 574by calling the C<send> method (or calling the condition variable as if it
575were a callback, read about the caveats in the description for the C<<
576->send >> method).
327 577
328They are very useful to signal that a condition has been fulfilled, for 578Since condition variables are the most complex part of the AnyEvent API, here are
579some different mental models of what they are - pick the ones you can connect to:
580
581=over 4
582
583=item * Condition variables are like callbacks - you can call them (and pass them instead
584of callbacks). Unlike callbacks however, you can also wait for them to be called.
585
586=item * Condition variables are signals - one side can emit or send them,
587the other side can wait for them, or install a handler that is called when
588the signal fires.
589
590=item * Condition variables are like "Merge Points" - points in your program
591where you merge multiple independent results/control flows into one.
592
593=item * Condition variables represent a transaction - functions that start
594some kind of transaction can return them, leaving the caller the choice
595between waiting in a blocking fashion, or setting a callback.
596
597=item * Condition variables represent future values, or promises to deliver
598some result, long before the result is available.
599
600=back
601
602Condition variables are very useful to signal that something has finished,
329example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests, 603for example, if you write a module that does asynchronous http requests,
330then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the 604then a condition variable would be the ideal candidate to signal the
331availability of results. 605availability of results. The user can either act when the callback is
606called or can synchronously C<< ->recv >> for the results.
332 607
333You can also use condition variables to block your main program until 608You can also use them to simulate traditional event loops - for example,
334an event occurs - for example, you could C<< ->wait >> in your main 609you 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<< 610could C<< ->recv >> in your main program until the user clicks the Quit
336->broadcast >> the "quit" event. 611button of your app, which would C<< ->send >> the "quit" event.
337 612
338Note that condition variables recurse into the event loop - if you have 613Note 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 614two 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 615lose. Therefore, condition variables are good to export to your caller, but
341you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks, 616you should avoid making a blocking wait yourself, at least in callbacks,
342as this asks for trouble. 617as this asks for trouble.
343 618
344This object has two methods: 619Condition variables are represented by hash refs in perl, and the keys
620used by AnyEvent itself are all named C<_ae_XXX> to make subclassing
621easy (it is often useful to build your own transaction class on top of
622AnyEvent). To subclass, use C<AnyEvent::CondVar> as base class and call
623its C<new> method in your own C<new> method.
624
625There are two "sides" to a condition variable - the "producer side" which
626eventually calls C<< -> send >>, and the "consumer side", which waits
627for the send to occur.
628
629Example: wait for a timer.
630
631 # condition: "wait till the timer is fired"
632 my $timer_fired = AnyEvent->condvar;
633
634 # create the timer - we could wait for, say
635 # a handle becomign ready, or even an
636 # AnyEvent::HTTP request to finish, but
637 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
638 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
639 after => 1,
640 cb => sub { $timer_fired->send },
641 );
642
643 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the callback
644 # calls ->send
645 $timer_fired->recv;
646
647Example: wait for a timer, but take advantage of the fact that condition
648variables are also callable directly.
649
650 my $done = AnyEvent->condvar;
651 my $delay = AnyEvent->timer (after => 5, cb => $done);
652 $done->recv;
653
654Example: Imagine an API that returns a condvar and doesn't support
655callbacks. This is how you make a synchronous call, for example from
656the main program:
657
658 use AnyEvent::CouchDB;
659
660 ...
661
662 my @info = $couchdb->info->recv;
663
664And this is how you would just set a callback to be called whenever the
665results are available:
666
667 $couchdb->info->cb (sub {
668 my @info = $_[0]->recv;
669 });
670
671=head3 METHODS FOR PRODUCERS
672
673These methods should only be used by the producing side, i.e. the
674code/module that eventually sends the signal. Note that it is also
675the producer side which creates the condvar in most cases, but it isn't
676uncommon for the consumer to create it as well.
345 677
346=over 4 678=over 4
347 679
680=item $cv->send (...)
681
682Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->recv >> and all further
683calls to C<recv> will (eventually) return after this method has been
684called. If nobody is waiting the send will be remembered.
685
686If a callback has been set on the condition variable, it is called
687immediately from within send.
688
689Any arguments passed to the C<send> call will be returned by all
690future C<< ->recv >> calls.
691
692Condition variables are overloaded so one can call them directly (as if
693they were a code reference). Calling them directly is the same as calling
694C<send>.
695
696=item $cv->croak ($error)
697
698Similar to send, but causes all calls to C<< ->recv >> to invoke
699C<Carp::croak> with the given error message/object/scalar.
700
701This can be used to signal any errors to the condition variable
702user/consumer. Doing it this way instead of calling C<croak> directly
703delays the error detection, but has the overwhelming advantage that it
704diagnoses the error at the place where the result is expected, and not
705deep in some event callback with no connection to the actual code causing
706the problem.
707
708=item $cv->begin ([group callback])
709
348=item $cv->wait 710=item $cv->end
349 711
350Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been 712These two methods can be used to combine many transactions/events into
351called on c<$cv>, while servicing other watchers normally. 713one. For example, a function that pings many hosts in parallel might want
714to use a condition variable for the whole process.
352 715
716Every call to C<< ->begin >> will increment a counter, and every call to
717C<< ->end >> will decrement it. If the counter reaches C<0> in C<< ->end
718>>, the (last) callback passed to C<begin> will be executed, passing the
719condvar as first argument. That callback is I<supposed> to call C<< ->send
720>>, but that is not required. If no group callback was set, C<send> will
721be called without any arguments.
722
723You can think of C<< $cv->send >> giving you an OR condition (one call
724sends), while C<< $cv->begin >> and C<< $cv->end >> giving you an AND
725condition (all C<begin> calls must be C<end>'ed before the condvar sends).
726
727Let's start with a simple example: you have two I/O watchers (for example,
728STDOUT and STDERR for a program), and you want to wait for both streams to
729close before activating a condvar:
730
731 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
732
733 $cv->begin; # first watcher
734 my $w1 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh1, cb => sub {
735 defined sysread $fh1, my $buf, 4096
736 or $cv->end;
737 });
738
739 $cv->begin; # second watcher
740 my $w2 = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh2, cb => sub {
741 defined sysread $fh2, my $buf, 4096
742 or $cv->end;
743 });
744
745 $cv->recv;
746
747This works because for every event source (EOF on file handle), there is
748one call to C<begin>, so the condvar waits for all calls to C<end> before
749sending.
750
751The ping example mentioned above is slightly more complicated, as the
752there are results to be passwd back, and the number of tasks that are
753begun can potentially be zero:
754
755 my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar;
756
757 my %result;
758 $cv->begin (sub { shift->send (\%result) });
759
760 for my $host (@list_of_hosts) {
761 $cv->begin;
762 ping_host_then_call_callback $host, sub {
763 $result{$host} = ...;
764 $cv->end;
765 };
766 }
767
768 $cv->end;
769
770This code fragment supposedly pings a number of hosts and calls
771C<send> after results for all then have have been gathered - in any
772order. To achieve this, the code issues a call to C<begin> when it starts
773each ping request and calls C<end> when it has received some result for
774it. Since C<begin> and C<end> only maintain a counter, the order in which
775results arrive is not relevant.
776
777There is an additional bracketing call to C<begin> and C<end> outside the
778loop, which serves two important purposes: first, it sets the callback
779to be called once the counter reaches C<0>, and second, it ensures that
780C<send> is called even when C<no> hosts are being pinged (the loop
781doesn't execute once).
782
783This is the general pattern when you "fan out" into multiple (but
784potentially zero) subrequests: use an outer C<begin>/C<end> pair to set
785the callback and ensure C<end> is called at least once, and then, for each
786subrequest you start, call C<begin> and for each subrequest you finish,
787call C<end>.
788
789=back
790
791=head3 METHODS FOR CONSUMERS
792
793These methods should only be used by the consuming side, i.e. the
794code awaits the condition.
795
796=over 4
797
798=item $cv->recv
799
800Wait (blocking if necessary) until the C<< ->send >> or C<< ->croak
801>> methods have been called on C<$cv>, while servicing other watchers
802normally.
803
353You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls will return 804You can only wait once on a condition - additional calls are valid but
354immediately. 805will return immediately.
806
807If an error condition has been set by calling C<< ->croak >>, then this
808function will call C<croak>.
809
810In list context, all parameters passed to C<send> will be returned,
811in scalar context only the first one will be returned.
812
813Note that doing a blocking wait in a callback is not supported by any
814event loop, that is, recursive invocation of a blocking C<< ->recv
815>> is not allowed, and the C<recv> call will C<croak> if such a
816condition is detected. This condition can be slightly loosened by using
817L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you to do a blocking C<< ->recv >> from
818any thread that doesn't run the event loop itself.
355 819
356Not all event models support a blocking wait - some die in that case 820Not 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 821(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 822using this from a module, never require a blocking wait>. Instead, let the
359caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling 823caller decide whether the call will block or not (for example, by coupling
360condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting 824condition variables with some kind of request results and supporting
361callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block, 825callbacks so the caller knows that getting the result will not block,
362while still suppporting blocking waits if the caller so desires). 826while still supporting blocking waits if the caller so desires).
363 827
364Another reason I<never> to C<< ->wait >> in a module is that you cannot 828You can ensure that C<< ->recv >> never blocks by setting a callback and
365sensibly have two C<< ->wait >>'s in parallel, as that would require 829only calling C<< ->recv >> from within that callback (or at a later
366multiple interpreters or coroutines/threads, none of which C<AnyEvent> 830time). This will work even when the event loop does not support blocking
367can supply (the coroutine-aware backends L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV> and 831waits otherwise.
368L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent> explicitly support concurrent C<< ->wait >>'s
369from different coroutines, however).
370 832
371=item $cv->broadcast 833=item $bool = $cv->ready
372 834
373Flag the condition as ready - a running C<< ->wait >> and all further 835Returns true when the condition is "true", i.e. whether C<send> or
374calls to C<wait> will (eventually) return after this method has been 836C<croak> have been called.
375called. If nobody is waiting the broadcast will be remembered.. 837
838=item $cb = $cv->cb ($cb->($cv))
839
840This is a mutator function that returns the callback set and optionally
841replaces it before doing so.
842
843The callback will be called when the condition becomes "true", i.e. when
844C<send> or C<croak> are called, with the only argument being the
845condition variable itself. If the condition is already true, the
846callback is called immediately when it is set. Calling C<recv> inside
847the callback or at any later time is guaranteed not to block.
376 848
377=back 849=back
378 850
379Example: 851=head1 SUPPORTED EVENT LOOPS/BACKENDS
380 852
381 # wait till the result is ready 853The available backend classes are (every class has its own manpage):
382 my $result_ready = AnyEvent->condvar;
383 854
384 # do something such as adding a timer 855=over 4
385 # or socket watcher the calls $result_ready->broadcast
386 # when the "result" is ready.
387 # in this case, we simply use a timer:
388 my $w = AnyEvent->timer (
389 after => 1,
390 cb => sub { $result_ready->broadcast },
391 );
392 856
393 # this "blocks" (while handling events) till the watcher 857=item Backends that are autoprobed when no other event loop can be found.
394 # calls broadcast 858
395 $result_ready->wait; 859EV is the preferred backend when no other event loop seems to be in
860use. If EV is not installed, then AnyEvent will fall back to its own
861pure-perl implementation, which is available everywhere as it comes with
862AnyEvent itself.
863
864 AnyEvent::Impl::EV based on EV (interface to libev, best choice).
865 AnyEvent::Impl::Perl pure-perl AnyEvent::Loop, fast and portable.
866
867=item Backends that are transparently being picked up when they are used.
868
869These will be used if they are already loaded when the first watcher
870is created, in which case it is assumed that the application is using
871them. This means that AnyEvent will automatically pick the right backend
872when the main program loads an event module before anything starts to
873create watchers. Nothing special needs to be done by the main program.
874
875 AnyEvent::Impl::Event based on Event, very stable, few glitches.
876 AnyEvent::Impl::Glib based on Glib, slow but very stable.
877 AnyEvent::Impl::Tk based on Tk, very broken.
878 AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib based on Event::Lib, leaks memory and worse.
879 AnyEvent::Impl::POE based on POE, very slow, some limitations.
880 AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi used when running within irssi.
881 AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync based on IO::Async.
882 AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa based on Cocoa::EventLoop.
883 AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK based on FLTK (fltk 2 binding).
884
885=item Backends with special needs.
886
887Qt requires the Qt::Application to be instantiated first, but will
888otherwise be picked up automatically. As long as the main program
889instantiates the application before any AnyEvent watchers are created,
890everything should just work.
891
892 AnyEvent::Impl::Qt based on Qt.
893
894=item Event loops that are indirectly supported via other backends.
895
896Some event loops can be supported via other modules:
897
898There is no direct support for WxWidgets (L<Wx>) or L<Prima>.
899
900B<WxWidgets> has no support for watching file handles. However, you can
901use WxWidgets through the POE adaptor, as POE has a Wx backend that simply
902polls 20 times per second, which was considered to be too horrible to even
903consider for AnyEvent.
904
905B<Prima> is not supported as nobody seems to be using it, but it has a POE
906backend, so it can be supported through POE.
907
908AnyEvent knows about both L<Prima> and L<Wx>, however, and will try to
909load L<POE> when detecting them, in the hope that POE will pick them up,
910in which case everything will be automatic.
911
912=back
396 913
397=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS 914=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES AND FUNCTIONS
398 915
916These are not normally required to use AnyEvent, but can be useful to
917write AnyEvent extension modules.
918
399=over 4 919=over 4
400 920
401=item $AnyEvent::MODEL 921=item $AnyEvent::MODEL
402 922
403Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created. Then it 923Contains C<undef> until the first watcher is being created, before the
924backend has been autodetected.
925
404contains the event model that is being used, which is the name of the 926Afterwards it contains the event model that is being used, which is the
405Perl class implementing the model. This class is usually one of the 927name 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 928of 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>). 929case AnyEvent has been extended at runtime (e.g. in I<rxvt-unicode> it
408 930will 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.
431 931
432=item AnyEvent::detect 932=item AnyEvent::detect
433 933
434Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model 934Returns C<$AnyEvent::MODEL>, forcing autodetection of the event model
435if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would 935if necessary. You should only call this function right before you would
436have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at 936have created an AnyEvent watcher anyway, that is, as late as possible at
437runtime. 937runtime, and not e.g. during initialisation of your module.
938
939The effect of calling this function is as if a watcher had been created
940(specifically, actions that happen "when the first watcher is created"
941happen when calling detetc as well).
942
943If you need to do some initialisation before AnyEvent watchers are
944created, use C<post_detect>.
945
946=item $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }
947
948Arranges for the code block to be executed as soon as the event model is
949autodetected (or immediately if that has already happened).
950
951The block will be executed I<after> the actual backend has been detected
952(C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> is set), but I<before> any watchers have been
953created, so it is possible to e.g. patch C<@AnyEvent::ISA> or do
954other initialisations - see the sources of L<AnyEvent::Strict> or
955L<AnyEvent::AIO> to see how this is used.
956
957The most common usage is to create some global watchers, without forcing
958event module detection too early, for example, L<AnyEvent::AIO> creates
959and installs the global L<IO::AIO> watcher in a C<post_detect> block to
960avoid autodetecting the event module at load time.
961
962If called in scalar or list context, then it creates and returns an object
963that automatically removes the callback again when it is destroyed (or
964C<undef> when the hook was immediately executed). See L<AnyEvent::AIO> for
965a case where this is useful.
966
967Example: Create a watcher for the IO::AIO module and store it in
968C<$WATCHER>, but do so only do so after the event loop is initialised.
969
970 our WATCHER;
971
972 my $guard = AnyEvent::post_detect {
973 $WATCHER = AnyEvent->io (fh => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, poll => 'r', cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
974 };
975
976 # the ||= is important in case post_detect immediately runs the block,
977 # as to not clobber the newly-created watcher. assigning both watcher and
978 # post_detect guard to the same variable has the advantage of users being
979 # able to just C<undef $WATCHER> if the watcher causes them grief.
980
981 $WATCHER ||= $guard;
982
983=item @AnyEvent::post_detect
984
985If there are any code references in this array (you can C<push> to it
986before or after loading AnyEvent), then they will be called directly
987after the event loop has been chosen.
988
989You should check C<$AnyEvent::MODEL> before adding to this array, though:
990if it is defined then the event loop has already been detected, and the
991array will be ignored.
992
993Best use C<AnyEvent::post_detect { BLOCK }> when your application allows
994it, as it takes care of these details.
995
996This variable is mainly useful for modules that can do something useful
997when AnyEvent is used and thus want to know when it is initialised, but do
998not need to even load it by default. This array provides the means to hook
999into AnyEvent passively, without loading it.
1000
1001Example: To load Coro::AnyEvent whenever Coro and AnyEvent are used
1002together, you could put this into Coro (this is the actual code used by
1003Coro to accomplish this):
1004
1005 if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
1006 # AnyEvent already initialised, so load Coro::AnyEvent
1007 require Coro::AnyEvent;
1008 } else {
1009 # AnyEvent not yet initialised, so make sure to load Coro::AnyEvent
1010 # as soon as it is
1011 push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
1012 }
1013
1014=item AnyEvent::postpone { BLOCK }
1015
1016Arranges for the block to be executed as soon as possible, but not before
1017the call itself returns. In practise, the block will be executed just
1018before the event loop polls for new events, or shortly afterwards.
1019
1020This function never returns anything (to make the C<return postpone { ...
1021}> idiom more useful.
1022
1023To understand the usefulness of this function, consider a function that
1024asynchronously does something for you and returns some transaction
1025object or guard to let you cancel the operation. For example,
1026C<AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect>:
1027
1028 # start a conenction attempt unless one is active
1029 $self->{connect_guard} ||= AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect "www.example.net", 80, sub {
1030 delete $self->{connect_guard};
1031 ...
1032 };
1033
1034Imagine that this function could instantly call the callback, for
1035example, because it detects an obvious error such as a negative port
1036number. Invoking the callback before the function returns causes problems
1037however: the callback will be called and will try to delete the guard
1038object. But since the function hasn't returned yet, there is nothing to
1039delete. When the function eventually returns it will assign the guard
1040object to C<< $self->{connect_guard} >>, where it will likely never be
1041deleted, so the program thinks it is still trying to connect.
1042
1043This is where C<AnyEvent::postpone> should be used. Instead of calling the
1044callback directly on error:
1045
1046 $cb->(undef), return # signal error to callback, BAD!
1047 if $some_error_condition;
1048
1049It should use C<postpone>:
1050
1051 AnyEvent::postpone { $cb->(undef) }, return # signal error to callback, later
1052 if $some_error_condition;
1053
1054=item AnyEvent::log $level, $msg[, @args]
1055
1056Log the given C<$msg> at the given C<$level>.
1057
1058If L<AnyEvent::Log> is not loaded then this function makes a simple test
1059to see whether the message will be logged. If the test succeeds it will
1060load AnyEvent::Log and call C<AnyEvent::Log::log> - consequently, look at
1061the L<AnyEvent::Log> documentation for details.
1062
1063If the test fails it will simply return. Right now this happens when a
1064numerical loglevel is used and it is larger than the level specified via
1065C<$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}>.
1066
1067If you want to sprinkle loads of logging calls around your code, consider
1068creating a logger callback with the C<AnyEvent::Log::logger> function,
1069which can reduce typing, codesize and can reduce the logging overhead
1070enourmously.
438 1071
439=back 1072=back
440 1073
441=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE 1074=head1 WHAT TO DO IN A MODULE
442 1075
446Be careful when you create watchers in the module body - AnyEvent will 1079Be 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 1080decide 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 1081by calling AnyEvent in your module body you force the user of your module
449to load the event module first. 1082to load the event module first.
450 1083
451Never call C<< ->wait >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that 1084Never call C<< ->recv >> on a condition variable unless you I<know> that
452the C<< ->broadcast >> method has been called on it already. This is 1085the C<< ->send >> method has been called on it already. This is
453because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using 1086because it will stall the whole program, and the whole point of using
454events is to stay interactive. 1087events is to stay interactive.
455 1088
456It is fine, however, to call C<< ->wait >> when the user of your module 1089It 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 1090requests 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 >> 1091called C<results> that returns the results, it may call C<< ->recv >>
459freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. always). 1092freely, as the user of your module knows what she is doing. Always).
460 1093
461=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM 1094=head1 WHAT TO DO IN THE MAIN PROGRAM
462 1095
463There will always be a single main program - the only place that should 1096There will always be a single main program - the only place that should
464dictate which event model to use. 1097dictate which event model to use.
465 1098
466If it doesn't care, it can just "use AnyEvent" and use it itself, or not 1099If the program is not event-based, it need not do anything special, even
467do anything special (it does not need to be event-based) and let AnyEvent 1100when it depends on a module that uses an AnyEvent. If the program itself
468decide which implementation to chose if some module relies on it. 1101uses AnyEvent, but does not care which event loop is used, all it needs
1102to do is C<use AnyEvent>. In either case, AnyEvent will choose the best
1103available loop implementation.
469 1104
470If the main program relies on a specific event model. For example, in 1105If 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 1106Gtk2 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 1107event module before loading AnyEvent or any module that uses it: generally
473speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that 1108speaking, you should load it as early as possible. The reason is that
474modules might create watchers when they are loaded, and AnyEvent will 1109modules 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 1110decide 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. 1111might choose the wrong one unless you load the correct one yourself.
477 1112
478You can chose to use a rather inefficient pure-perl implementation by 1113You can chose to use a pure-perl implementation by loading the
479loading the C<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> module, which gives you similar 1114C<AnyEvent::Loop> module, which gives you similar behaviour
480behaviour everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose is generally better. 1115everywhere, but letting AnyEvent chose the model is generally better.
1116
1117=head2 MAINLOOP EMULATION
1118
1119Sometimes (often for short test scripts, or even standalone programs who
1120only want to use AnyEvent), you do not want to run a specific event loop.
1121
1122In that case, you can use a condition variable like this:
1123
1124 AnyEvent->condvar->recv;
1125
1126This has the effect of entering the event loop and looping forever.
1127
1128Note that usually your program has some exit condition, in which case
1129it is better to use the "traditional" approach of storing a condition
1130variable somewhere, waiting for it, and sending it when the program should
1131exit cleanly.
1132
1133
1134=head1 OTHER MODULES
1135
1136The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional modules that use
1137AnyEvent as a client and can therefore be mixed easily with other
1138AnyEvent modules and other event loops in the same program. Some of the
1139modules come as part of AnyEvent, the others are available via CPAN (see
1140L<http://search.cpan.org/search?m=module&q=anyevent%3A%3A*> for
1141a longer non-exhaustive list), and the list is heavily biased towards
1142modules of the AnyEvent author himself :)
1143
1144=over 4
1145
1146=item L<AnyEvent::Util>
1147
1148Contains various utility functions that replace often-used blocking
1149functions such as C<inet_aton> with event/callback-based versions.
1150
1151=item L<AnyEvent::Socket>
1152
1153Provides various utility functions for (internet protocol) sockets,
1154addresses and name resolution. Also functions to create non-blocking tcp
1155connections or tcp servers, with IPv6 and SRV record support and more.
1156
1157=item L<AnyEvent::Handle>
1158
1159Provide read and write buffers, manages watchers for reads and writes,
1160supports raw and formatted I/O, I/O queued and fully transparent and
1161non-blocking SSL/TLS (via L<AnyEvent::TLS>).
1162
1163=item L<AnyEvent::DNS>
1164
1165Provides rich asynchronous DNS resolver capabilities.
1166
1167=item L<AnyEvent::HTTP>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>, L<AnyEvent::XMPP>, L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IGS>, L<AnyEvent::FCP>
1168
1169Implement event-based interfaces to the protocols of the same name (for
1170the curious, IGS is the International Go Server and FCP is the Freenet
1171Client Protocol).
1172
1173=item L<AnyEvent::AIO>
1174
1175Truly asynchronous (as opposed to non-blocking) I/O, should be in the
1176toolbox of every event programmer. AnyEvent::AIO transparently fuses
1177L<IO::AIO> and AnyEvent together, giving AnyEvent access to event-based
1178file I/O, and much more.
1179
1180=item L<AnyEvent::Filesys::Notify>
1181
1182AnyEvent is good for non-blocking stuff, but it can't detect file or
1183path changes (e.g. "watch this directory for new files", "watch this
1184file for changes"). The L<AnyEvent::Filesys::Notify> module promises to
1185do just that in a portbale fashion, supporting inotify on GNU/Linux and
1186some weird, without doubt broken, stuff on OS X to monitor files. It can
1187fall back to blocking scans at regular intervals transparently on other
1188platforms, so it's about as portable as it gets.
1189
1190(I haven't used it myself, but I haven't heard anybody complaining about
1191it yet).
1192
1193=item L<AnyEvent::DBI>
1194
1195Executes L<DBI> requests asynchronously in a proxy process for you,
1196notifying you in an event-based way when the operation is finished.
1197
1198=item L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>
1199
1200A simple embedded webserver.
1201
1202=item L<AnyEvent::FastPing>
1203
1204The fastest ping in the west.
1205
1206=item L<Coro>
1207
1208Has special support for AnyEvent via L<Coro::AnyEvent>, which allows you
1209to simply invert the flow control - don't call us, we will call you:
1210
1211 async {
1212 Coro::AnyEvent::sleep 5; # creates a 5s timer and waits for it
1213 print "5 seconds later!\n";
1214
1215 Coro::AnyEvent::readable *STDIN; # uses an I/O watcher
1216 my $line = <STDIN>; # works for ttys
1217
1218 AnyEvent::HTTP::http_get "url", Coro::rouse_cb;
1219 my ($body, $hdr) = Coro::rouse_wait;
1220 };
1221
1222=back
481 1223
482=cut 1224=cut
483 1225
484package AnyEvent; 1226package AnyEvent;
485 1227
486no warnings; 1228# basically a tuned-down version of common::sense
487use strict; 1229sub common_sense {
1230 # from common:.sense 3.4
1231 ${^WARNING_BITS} ^= ${^WARNING_BITS} ^ "\x3c\x3f\x33\x00\x0f\xf0\x0f\xc0\xf0\xfc\x33\x00";
1232 # use strict vars subs - NO UTF-8, as Util.pm doesn't like this atm. (uts46data.pl)
1233 $^H |= 0x00000600;
1234}
488 1235
1236BEGIN { AnyEvent::common_sense }
1237
489use Carp; 1238use Carp ();
490 1239
491our $VERSION = '3.3'; 1240our $VERSION = '6.02';
492our $MODEL; 1241our $MODEL;
493
494our $AUTOLOAD;
495our @ISA; 1242our @ISA;
496
497our $verbose = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1;
498
499our @REGISTRY; 1243our @REGISTRY;
1244our $VERBOSE;
1245our $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY = 10;
1246our %PROTOCOL; # (ipv4|ipv6) => (1|2), higher numbers are preferred
500 1247
1248BEGIN {
1249 require "AnyEvent/constants.pl";
1250
1251 eval "sub TAINT (){" . (${^TAINT}*1) . "}";
1252
1253 delete @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV}
1254 if ${^TAINT};
1255
1256 $ENV{"PERL_ANYEVENT_$_"} = $ENV{"AE_$_"}
1257 for grep s/^AE_// && !exists $ENV{"PERL_ANYEVENT_$_"}, keys %ENV;
1258
1259 @ENV{grep /^PERL_ANYEVENT_/, keys %ENV} = ()
1260 if ${^TAINT};
1261
1262 # $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_xxx} now valid
1263
1264 $VERBOSE = length $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE} ? $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}*1 : 4;
1265
1266 my $idx;
1267 $PROTOCOL{$_} = ++$idx
1268 for reverse split /\s*,\s*/,
1269 $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS} || "ipv4,ipv6";
1270}
1271
1272our @post_detect;
1273
1274sub post_detect(&) {
1275 my ($cb) = @_;
1276
1277 push @post_detect, $cb;
1278
1279 defined wantarray
1280 ? bless \$cb, "AnyEvent::Util::postdetect"
1281 : ()
1282}
1283
1284sub AnyEvent::Util::postdetect::DESTROY {
1285 @post_detect = grep $_ != ${$_[0]}, @post_detect;
1286}
1287
1288our $POSTPONE_W;
1289our @POSTPONE;
1290
1291sub _postpone_exec {
1292 undef $POSTPONE_W;
1293
1294 &{ shift @POSTPONE }
1295 while @POSTPONE;
1296}
1297
1298sub postpone(&) {
1299 push @POSTPONE, shift;
1300
1301 $POSTPONE_W ||= AE::timer (0, 0, \&_postpone_exec);
1302
1303 ()
1304}
1305
1306sub log($$;@) {
1307 # only load the big bloated module when we actually are about to log something
1308 if ($_[0] <= ($VERBOSE || 1)) { # also catches non-numeric levels(!) and fatal
1309 require AnyEvent::Log; # among other things, sets $VERBOSE to 9
1310 # AnyEvent::Log overwrites this function
1311 goto &log;
1312 }
1313
1314 0 # not logged
1315}
1316
1317sub logger($;$) {
1318 package AnyEvent::Log;
1319
1320 my ($level, $renabled) = @_;
1321
1322 $$renabled = $level <= $VERBOSE;
1323
1324 my $pkg = (caller)[0];
1325
1326 my $logger = [$pkg, $level, $renabled];
1327
1328 our %LOGGER;
1329 $LOGGER{$logger+0} = $logger;
1330
1331 require AnyEvent::Util;
1332 my $guard = AnyEvent::Util::guard (sub {
1333 # "clean up"
1334 delete $LOGGER{$logger+0};
1335 });
1336
1337 sub {
1338 return 0 unless $$renabled;
1339
1340 $guard if 0; # keep guard alive, but don't cause runtime overhead
1341 require AnyEvent::Log unless $AnyEvent::Log::VERSION;
1342 package AnyEvent::Log;
1343 _log ($logger->[0], $level, @_) # logger->[0] has been converted at load time
1344 }
1345}
1346
1347if (length $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG}) {
1348 require AnyEvent::Log; # AnyEvent::Log does the thing for us
1349}
1350
501my @models = ( 1351our @models = (
502 [Coro::EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV::],
503 [Coro::Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent::],
504 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::], 1352 [EV:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EV::],
1353 [AnyEvent::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::],
1354 # everything below here will not (normally) be autoprobed
1355 # as the pure perl backend should work everywhere
1356 # and is usually faster
1357 [Irssi:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Irssi::], # Irssi has a bogus "Event" package, so msut be near the top
505 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], 1358 [Event:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Event::], # slow, stable
506 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], 1359 [Glib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Glib::], # becomes extremely slow with many watchers
1360 # everything below here should not be autoloaded
1361 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy
507 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], 1362 [Tk:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Tk::], # crashes with many handles
1363 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
1364 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
508 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1365 [Wx:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
509 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], 1366 [Prima:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::],
510 [AnyEvent::Impl::Perl:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Perl::], 1367 [IO::Async::Loop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync::], # a bitch to autodetect
511 # everything below here will not be autoprobed as the pureperl backend should work everywhere 1368 [Cocoa::EventLoop:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Cocoa::],
512 [Event::Lib:: => AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib::], # too buggy 1369 [FLTK:: => AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK::],
513 [Qt:: => AnyEvent::Impl::Qt::], # requires special main program
514 [POE::Kernel:: => AnyEvent::Impl::POE::], # lasciate ogni speranza
515); 1370);
516 1371
517our %method = map +($_ => 1), qw(io timer signal child condvar broadcast wait one_event DESTROY); 1372our @isa_hook;
1373
1374sub _isa_set {
1375 my @pkg = ("AnyEvent", (map $_->[0], grep defined, @isa_hook), $MODEL);
1376
1377 @{"$pkg[$_-1]::ISA"} = $pkg[$_]
1378 for 1 .. $#pkg;
1379
1380 grep $_ && $_->[1], @isa_hook
1381 and AE::_reset ();
1382}
1383
1384# used for hooking AnyEvent::Strict and AnyEvent::Debug::Wrap into the class hierarchy
1385sub _isa_hook($$;$) {
1386 my ($i, $pkg, $reset_ae) = @_;
1387
1388 $isa_hook[$i] = $pkg ? [$pkg, $reset_ae] : undef;
1389
1390 _isa_set;
1391}
1392
1393# all autoloaded methods reserve the complete glob, not just the method slot.
1394# due to bugs in perls method cache implementation.
1395our @methods = qw(io timer time now now_update signal child idle condvar);
518 1396
519sub detect() { 1397sub detect() {
1398 return $MODEL if $MODEL; # some programs keep references to detect
1399
1400 local $!; # for good measure
1401 local $SIG{__DIE__}; # we use eval
1402
1403 # free some memory
1404 *detect = sub () { $MODEL };
1405 # undef &func doesn't correctly update the method cache. grmbl.
1406 # so we delete the whole glob. grmbl.
1407 # otoh, perl doesn't let me undef an active usb, but it lets me free
1408 # a glob with an active sub. hrm. i hope it works, but perl is
1409 # usually buggy in this department. sigh.
1410 delete @{"AnyEvent::"}{@methods};
1411 undef @methods;
1412
1413 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z0-9:]+)$/) {
1414 my $model = $1;
1415 $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$model" unless $model =~ s/::$//;
1416 if (eval "require $model") {
1417 AnyEvent::log 7 => "loaded model '$model' (forced by \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}), using it.";
1418 $MODEL = $model;
1419 } else {
1420 AnyEvent::log 4 => "unable to load model '$model' (from \$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL}):\n$@";
1421 }
1422 }
1423
1424 # check for already loaded models
520 unless ($MODEL) { 1425 unless ($MODEL) {
521 no strict 'refs'; 1426 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
522 1427 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
523 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} =~ /^([a-zA-Z]+)$/) { 1428 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) {
524 my $model = "AnyEvent::Impl::$1";
525 if (eval "require $model") { 1429 if (eval "require $model") {
1430 AnyEvent::log 7 => "autodetected model '$model', using it.";
526 $MODEL = $model; 1431 $MODEL = $model;
527 warn "AnyEvent: loaded model '$model' (forced by \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1432 last;
528 } else { 1433 }
529 warn "AnyEvent: unable to load model '$model' (from \$PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL):\n$@" if $verbose;
530 } 1434 }
531 } 1435 }
532 1436
533 # check for already loaded models
534 unless ($MODEL) { 1437 unless ($MODEL) {
1438 # try to autoload a model
535 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1439 for (@REGISTRY, @models) {
536 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1440 my ($package, $model) = @$_;
1441 if (
1442 eval "require $package"
537 if (${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0) { 1443 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0
538 if (eval "require $model") { 1444 and eval "require $model"
1445 ) {
1446 AnyEvent::log 7 => "autoloaded model '$model', using it.";
539 $MODEL = $model; 1447 $MODEL = $model;
540 warn "AnyEvent: autodetected model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1;
541 last; 1448 last;
542 }
543 } 1449 }
544 } 1450 }
545 1451
546 unless ($MODEL) { 1452 $MODEL
547 # try to load a model 1453 or AnyEvent::log fatal => "AnyEvent: backend autodetection failed - did you properly install AnyEvent?";
1454 }
1455 }
548 1456
549 for (@REGISTRY, @models) { 1457 # free memory only needed for probing
550 my ($package, $model) = @$_; 1458 undef @models;
551 if (eval "require $package" 1459 undef @REGISTRY;
552 and ${"$package\::VERSION"} > 0 1460
553 and eval "require $model") { 1461 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
554 $MODEL = $model; 1462
555 warn "AnyEvent: autoprobed model '$model', using it.\n" if $verbose > 1; 1463 # now nuke some methods that are overridden by the backend.
1464 # SUPER usage is not allowed in these.
1465 for (qw(time signal child idle)) {
1466 undef &{"AnyEvent::Base::$_"}
1467 if defined &{"$MODEL\::$_"};
1468 }
1469
1470 _isa_set;
1471
1472 # we're officially open!
1473
1474 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}) {
1475 require AnyEvent::Strict;
1476 }
1477
1478 if ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP}) {
1479 require AnyEvent::Debug;
1480 AnyEvent::Debug::wrap ($ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP});
1481 }
1482
1483 if (length $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL}) {
1484 require AnyEvent::Socket;
1485 require AnyEvent::Debug;
1486
1487 my $shell = $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL};
1488 $shell =~ s/\$\$/$$/g;
1489
1490 my ($host, $service) = AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport ($shell);
1491 $AnyEvent::Debug::SHELL = AnyEvent::Debug::shell ($host, $service);
1492 }
1493
1494 # now the anyevent environment is set up as the user told us to, so
1495 # call the actual user code - post detects
1496
1497 (shift @post_detect)->() while @post_detect;
1498 undef @post_detect;
1499
1500 *post_detect = sub(&) {
1501 shift->();
1502
1503 undef
1504 };
1505
1506 $MODEL
1507}
1508
1509for my $name (@methods) {
1510 *$name = sub {
1511 detect;
1512 # we use goto because
1513 # a) it makes the thunk more transparent
1514 # b) it allows us to delete the thunk later
1515 goto &{ UNIVERSAL::can AnyEvent => "SUPER::$name" }
1516 };
1517}
1518
1519# utility function to dup a filehandle. this is used by many backends
1520# to support binding more than one watcher per filehandle (they usually
1521# allow only one watcher per fd, so we dup it to get a different one).
1522sub _dupfh($$;$$) {
1523 my ($poll, $fh, $r, $w) = @_;
1524
1525 # cygwin requires the fh mode to be matching, unix doesn't
1526 my ($rw, $mode) = $poll eq "r" ? ($r, "<&") : ($w, ">&");
1527
1528 open my $fh2, $mode, $fh
1529 or die "AnyEvent->io: cannot dup() filehandle in mode '$poll': $!,";
1530
1531 # we assume CLOEXEC is already set by perl in all important cases
1532
1533 ($fh2, $rw)
1534}
1535
1536=head1 SIMPLIFIED AE API
1537
1538Starting with version 5.0, AnyEvent officially supports a second, much
1539simpler, API that is designed to reduce the calling, typing and memory
1540overhead by using function call syntax and a fixed number of parameters.
1541
1542See the L<AE> manpage for details.
1543
1544=cut
1545
1546package AE;
1547
1548our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::VERSION;
1549
1550sub _reset() {
1551 eval q{
1552 # fall back to the main API by default - backends and AnyEvent::Base
1553 # implementations can overwrite these.
1554
1555 sub io($$$) {
1556 AnyEvent->io (fh => $_[0], poll => $_[1] ? "w" : "r", cb => $_[2])
1557 }
1558
1559 sub timer($$$) {
1560 AnyEvent->timer (after => $_[0], interval => $_[1], cb => $_[2])
1561 }
1562
1563 sub signal($$) {
1564 AnyEvent->signal (signal => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1565 }
1566
1567 sub child($$) {
1568 AnyEvent->child (pid => $_[0], cb => $_[1])
1569 }
1570
1571 sub idle($) {
1572 AnyEvent->idle (cb => $_[0]);
1573 }
1574
1575 sub cv(;&) {
1576 AnyEvent->condvar (@_ ? (cb => $_[0]) : ())
1577 }
1578
1579 sub now() {
1580 AnyEvent->now
1581 }
1582
1583 sub now_update() {
1584 AnyEvent->now_update
1585 }
1586
1587 sub time() {
1588 AnyEvent->time
1589 }
1590
1591 *postpone = \&AnyEvent::postpone;
1592 *log = \&AnyEvent::log;
1593 };
1594 die if $@;
1595}
1596
1597BEGIN { _reset }
1598
1599package AnyEvent::Base;
1600
1601# default implementations for many methods
1602
1603sub time {
1604 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1605 # probe for availability of Time::HiRes
1606 if (eval "use Time::HiRes (); Time::HiRes::time (); 1") {
1607 *time = sub { Time::HiRes::time () };
1608 *AE::time = \& Time::HiRes::time ;
1609 *now = \&time;
1610 AnyEvent::log 8 => "AnyEvent: using Time::HiRes for sub-second timing accuracy.";
1611 # if (eval "use POSIX (); (POSIX::times())...
1612 } else {
1613 *time = sub { CORE::time };
1614 *AE::time = sub (){ CORE::time };
1615 *now = \&time;
1616 AnyEvent::log 3 => "using built-in time(), WARNING, no sub-second resolution!";
1617 }
1618 };
1619 die if $@;
1620
1621 &time
1622}
1623
1624*now = \&time;
1625sub now_update { }
1626
1627sub _poll {
1628 Carp::croak "$AnyEvent::MODEL does not support blocking waits. Caught";
1629}
1630
1631# default implementation for ->condvar
1632# in fact, the default should not be overwritten
1633
1634sub condvar {
1635 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1636 *condvar = sub {
1637 bless { @_ == 3 ? (_ae_cb => $_[2]) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1638 };
1639
1640 *AE::cv = sub (;&) {
1641 bless { @_ ? (_ae_cb => shift) : () }, "AnyEvent::CondVar"
1642 };
1643 };
1644 die if $@;
1645
1646 &condvar
1647}
1648
1649# default implementation for ->signal
1650
1651our $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1652
1653sub _have_async_interrupt() {
1654 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT = 1*(!$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT}
1655 && eval "use Async::Interrupt 1.02 (); 1")
1656 unless defined $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT;
1657
1658 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1659}
1660
1661our ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W, %SIG_CB, %SIG_EV, $SIG_IO);
1662our (%SIG_ASY, %SIG_ASY_W);
1663our ($SIG_COUNT, $SIG_TW);
1664
1665# install a dummy wakeup watcher to reduce signal catching latency
1666# used by Impls
1667sub _sig_add() {
1668 unless ($SIG_COUNT++) {
1669 # try to align timer on a full-second boundary, if possible
1670 my $NOW = AE::now;
1671
1672 $SIG_TW = AE::timer
1673 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY - ($NOW - int $NOW),
1674 $MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY,
1675 sub { } # just for the PERL_ASYNC_CHECK
1676 ;
1677 }
1678}
1679
1680sub _sig_del {
1681 undef $SIG_TW
1682 unless --$SIG_COUNT;
1683}
1684
1685our $_sig_name_init; $_sig_name_init = sub {
1686 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1687 undef $_sig_name_init;
1688
1689 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1690 *sig2num = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2num;
1691 *sig2name = \&Async::Interrupt::sig2name;
1692 } else {
1693 require Config;
1694
1695 my %signame2num;
1696 @signame2num{ split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_name} }
1697 = split ' ', $Config::Config{sig_num};
1698
1699 my @signum2name;
1700 @signum2name[values %signame2num] = keys %signame2num;
1701
1702 *sig2num = sub($) {
1703 $_[0] > 0 ? shift : $signame2num{+shift}
1704 };
1705 *sig2name = sub ($) {
1706 $_[0] > 0 ? $signum2name[+shift] : shift
1707 };
1708 }
1709 };
1710 die if $@;
1711};
1712
1713sub sig2num ($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2num }
1714sub sig2name($) { &$_sig_name_init; &sig2name }
1715
1716sub signal {
1717 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1718 # probe for availability of Async::Interrupt
1719 if (_have_async_interrupt) {
1720 AnyEvent::log 8 => "using Async::Interrupt for race-free signal handling.";
1721
1722 $SIGPIPE_R = new Async::Interrupt::EventPipe;
1723 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R->fileno, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1724
1725 } else {
1726 AnyEvent::log 8 => "using emulated perl signal handling with latency timer.";
1727
1728 if (AnyEvent::WIN32) {
1729 require AnyEvent::Util;
1730
1731 ($SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_pipe ();
1732 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_R, 1) if $SIGPIPE_R;
1733 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking ($SIGPIPE_W, 1) if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1734 } else {
1735 pipe $SIGPIPE_R, $SIGPIPE_W;
1736 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_R;
1737 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFL, AnyEvent::O_NONBLOCK if $SIGPIPE_W; # just in case
1738
1739 # not strictly required, as $^F is normally 2, but let's make sure...
1740 fcntl $SIGPIPE_R, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1741 fcntl $SIGPIPE_W, AnyEvent::F_SETFD, AnyEvent::FD_CLOEXEC;
1742 }
1743
1744 $SIGPIPE_R
1745 or Carp::croak "AnyEvent: unable to create a signal reporting pipe: $!\n";
1746
1747 $SIG_IO = AE::io $SIGPIPE_R, 0, \&_signal_exec;
1748 }
1749
1750 *signal = $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1751 ? sub {
1752 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1753
1754 # async::interrupt
1755 my $signal = sig2num $arg{signal};
1756 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1757
1758 $SIG_ASY{$signal} ||= new Async::Interrupt
1759 cb => sub { undef $SIG_EV{$signal} },
1760 signal => $signal,
1761 pipe => [$SIGPIPE_R->filenos],
1762 pipe_autodrain => 0,
1763 ;
1764
1765 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1766 }
1767 : sub {
1768 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1769
1770 # pure perl
1771 my $signal = sig2name $arg{signal};
1772 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
1773
1774 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
556 last; 1775 local $!;
1776 syswrite $SIGPIPE_W, "\x00", 1 unless %SIG_EV;
1777 undef $SIG_EV{$signal};
557 } 1778 };
1779
1780 # can't do signal processing without introducing races in pure perl,
1781 # so limit the signal latency.
1782 _sig_add;
1783
1784 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::signal"
1785 }
1786 ;
1787
1788 *AnyEvent::Base::signal::DESTROY = sub {
1789 my ($signal, $cb) = @{$_[0]};
1790
1791 _sig_del;
1792
1793 delete $SIG_CB{$signal}{$cb};
1794
1795 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1796 ? delete $SIG_ASY{$signal}
1797 : # delete doesn't work with older perls - they then
1798 # print weird messages, or just unconditionally exit
1799 # instead of getting the default action.
1800 undef $SIG{$signal}
1801 unless keys %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} };
1802 };
1803
1804 *_signal_exec = sub {
1805 $HAVE_ASYNC_INTERRUPT
1806 ? $SIGPIPE_R->drain
1807 : sysread $SIGPIPE_R, (my $dummy), 9;
1808
1809 while (%SIG_EV) {
1810 for (keys %SIG_EV) {
1811 delete $SIG_EV{$_};
1812 &$_ for values %{ $SIG_CB{$_} || {} };
558 } 1813 }
559
560 $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.";
562 } 1814 }
563 } 1815 };
564
565 unshift @ISA, $MODEL;
566 push @{"$MODEL\::ISA"}, "AnyEvent::Base";
567 }
568
569 $MODEL
570}
571
572sub AUTOLOAD {
573 (my $func = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*://;
574
575 $method{$func}
576 or croak "$func: not a valid method for AnyEvent objects";
577
578 detect unless $MODEL;
579
580 my $class = shift;
581 $class->$func (@_);
582}
583
584package AnyEvent::Base;
585
586# default implementation for ->condvar, ->wait, ->broadcast
587
588sub condvar {
589 bless \my $flag, "AnyEvent::Base::CondVar"
590}
591
592sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::broadcast {
593 ${$_[0]}++;
594}
595
596sub AnyEvent::Base::CondVar::wait {
597 AnyEvent->one_event while !${$_[0]};
598}
599
600# default implementation for ->signal
601
602our %SIG_CB;
603
604sub signal {
605 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
606
607 my $signal = uc $arg{signal}
608 or Carp::croak "required option 'signal' is missing";
609
610 $SIG_CB{$signal}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb};
611 $SIG{$signal} ||= sub {
612 $_->() for values %{ $SIG_CB{$signal} || {} };
613 }; 1816 };
1817 die if $@;
614 1818
615 bless [$signal, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Signal" 1819 &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} 1820}
625 1821
626# default implementation for ->child 1822# default implementation for ->child
627 1823
628our %PID_CB; 1824our %PID_CB;
629our $CHLD_W; 1825our $CHLD_W;
630our $CHLD_DELAY_W; 1826our $CHLD_DELAY_W;
631our $PID_IDLE;
632our $WNOHANG;
633 1827
634sub _child_wait { 1828# used by many Impl's
635 while (0 < (my $pid = waitpid -1, $WNOHANG)) { 1829sub _emit_childstatus($$) {
1830 my (undef, $rpid, $rstatus) = @_;
1831
1832 $_->($rpid, $rstatus)
636 $_->($pid, $?) for (values %{ $PID_CB{$pid} || {} }), 1833 for values %{ $PID_CB{$rpid} || {} },
637 (values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} }); 1834 values %{ $PID_CB{0} || {} };
1835}
1836
1837sub child {
1838 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1839 *_sigchld = sub {
1840 my $pid;
1841
1842 AnyEvent->_emit_childstatus ($pid, $?)
1843 while ($pid = waitpid -1, WNOHANG) > 0;
1844 };
1845
1846 *child = sub {
1847 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1848
1849 my $pid = $arg{pid};
1850 my $cb = $arg{cb};
1851
1852 $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb+0} = $cb;
1853
1854 unless ($CHLD_W) {
1855 $CHLD_W = AE::signal CHLD => \&_sigchld;
1856 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
1857 &_sigchld;
1858 }
1859
1860 bless [$pid, $cb+0], "AnyEvent::Base::child"
1861 };
1862
1863 *AnyEvent::Base::child::DESTROY = sub {
1864 my ($pid, $icb) = @{$_[0]};
1865
1866 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$icb};
1867 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
1868
1869 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
1870 };
1871 };
1872 die if $@;
1873
1874 &child
1875}
1876
1877# idle emulation is done by simply using a timer, regardless
1878# of whether the process is idle or not, and not letting
1879# the callback use more than 50% of the time.
1880sub idle {
1881 eval q{ # poor man's autoloading {}
1882 *idle = sub {
1883 my (undef, %arg) = @_;
1884
1885 my ($cb, $w, $rcb) = $arg{cb};
1886
1887 $rcb = sub {
1888 if ($cb) {
1889 $w = AE::time;
1890 &$cb;
1891 $w = AE::time - $w;
1892
1893 # never use more then 50% of the time for the idle watcher,
1894 # within some limits
1895 $w = 0.0001 if $w < 0.0001;
1896 $w = 5 if $w > 5;
1897
1898 $w = AE::timer $w, 0, $rcb;
1899 } else {
1900 # clean up...
1901 undef $w;
1902 undef $rcb;
1903 }
1904 };
1905
1906 $w = AE::timer 0.05, 0, $rcb;
1907
1908 bless \\$cb, "AnyEvent::Base::idle"
1909 };
1910
1911 *AnyEvent::Base::idle::DESTROY = sub {
1912 undef $${$_[0]};
1913 };
1914 };
1915 die if $@;
1916
1917 &idle
1918}
1919
1920package AnyEvent::CondVar;
1921
1922our @ISA = AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::;
1923
1924# only to be used for subclassing
1925sub new {
1926 my $class = shift;
1927 bless AnyEvent->condvar (@_), $class
1928}
1929
1930package AnyEvent::CondVar::Base;
1931
1932#use overload
1933# '&{}' => sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } },
1934# fallback => 1;
1935
1936# save 300+ kilobytes by dirtily hardcoding overloading
1937${"AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::OVERLOAD"}{dummy}++; # Register with magic by touching.
1938*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = sub { }; # "Make it findable via fetchmethod."
1939*{'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::(&{}'} = sub { my $self = shift; sub { $self->send (@_) } }; # &{}
1940${'AnyEvent::CondVar::Base::()'} = 1; # fallback
1941
1942our $WAITING;
1943
1944sub _send {
1945 # nop
1946}
1947
1948sub _wait {
1949 AnyEvent->_poll until $_[0]{_ae_sent};
1950}
1951
1952sub send {
1953 my $cv = shift;
1954 $cv->{_ae_sent} = [@_];
1955 (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv) if $cv->{_ae_cb};
1956 $cv->_send;
1957}
1958
1959sub croak {
1960 $_[0]{_ae_croak} = $_[1];
1961 $_[0]->send;
1962}
1963
1964sub ready {
1965 $_[0]{_ae_sent}
1966}
1967
1968sub recv {
1969 unless ($_[0]{_ae_sent}) {
1970 $WAITING
1971 and Carp::croak "AnyEvent::CondVar: recursive blocking wait attempted";
1972
1973 local $WAITING = 1;
1974 $_[0]->_wait;
638 } 1975 }
639 1976
640 undef $PID_IDLE; 1977 $_[0]{_ae_croak}
641} 1978 and Carp::croak $_[0]{_ae_croak};
642 1979
643sub _sigchld { 1980 wantarray
644 # make sure we deliver these changes "synchronous" with the event loop. 1981 ? @{ $_[0]{_ae_sent} }
645 $CHLD_DELAY_W ||= AnyEvent->timer (after => 0, cb => sub { 1982 : $_[0]{_ae_sent}[0]
646 undef $CHLD_DELAY_W;
647 &_child_wait;
648 });
649} 1983}
650 1984
651sub child { 1985sub cb {
652 my (undef, %arg) = @_; 1986 my $cv = shift;
653 1987
654 defined (my $pid = $arg{pid} + 0) 1988 @_
655 or Carp::croak "required option 'pid' is missing"; 1989 and $cv->{_ae_cb} = shift
1990 and $cv->{_ae_sent}
1991 and (delete $cv->{_ae_cb})->($cv);
656 1992
657 $PID_CB{$pid}{$arg{cb}} = $arg{cb}; 1993 $cv->{_ae_cb}
658
659 unless ($WNOHANG) {
660 $WNOHANG = eval { require POSIX; &POSIX::WNOHANG } || 1;
661 }
662
663 unless ($CHLD_W) {
664 $CHLD_W = AnyEvent->signal (signal => 'CHLD', cb => \&_sigchld);
665 # child could be a zombie already, so make at least one round
666 &_sigchld;
667 }
668
669 bless [$pid, $arg{cb}], "AnyEvent::Base::Child"
670} 1994}
671 1995
672sub AnyEvent::Base::Child::DESTROY { 1996sub begin {
673 my ($pid, $cb) = @{$_[0]}; 1997 ++$_[0]{_ae_counter};
674 1998 $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
675 delete $PID_CB{$pid}{$cb};
676 delete $PID_CB{$pid} unless keys %{ $PID_CB{$pid} };
677
678 undef $CHLD_W unless keys %PID_CB;
679} 1999}
2000
2001sub end {
2002 return if --$_[0]{_ae_counter};
2003 &{ $_[0]{_ae_end_cb} || sub { $_[0]->send } };
2004}
2005
2006# undocumented/compatibility with pre-3.4
2007*broadcast = \&send;
2008*wait = \&recv;
2009
2010=head1 ERROR AND EXCEPTION HANDLING
2011
2012In general, AnyEvent does not do any error handling - it relies on the
2013caller to do that if required. The L<AnyEvent::Strict> module (see also
2014the C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT> environment variable, below) provides strict
2015checking of all AnyEvent methods, however, which is highly useful during
2016development.
2017
2018As for exception handling (i.e. runtime errors and exceptions thrown while
2019executing a callback), this is not only highly event-loop specific, but
2020also not in any way wrapped by this module, as this is the job of the main
2021program.
2022
2023The pure perl event loop simply re-throws the exception (usually
2024within C<< condvar->recv >>), the L<Event> and L<EV> modules call C<<
2025$Event/EV::DIED->() >>, L<Glib> uses C<< install_exception_handler >> and
2026so on.
2027
2028=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
2029
2030AnyEvent supports a number of environment variables that tune the
2031runtime behaviour. They are usually evaluated when AnyEvent is
2032loaded, initialised, or a submodule that uses them is loaded. Many of
2033them also cause AnyEvent to load additional modules - for example,
2034C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP> causes the L<AnyEvent::Debug> module to be
2035loaded.
2036
2037All the environment variables documented here start with
2038C<PERL_ANYEVENT_>, which is what AnyEvent considers its own
2039namespace. Other modules are encouraged (but by no means required) to use
2040C<PERL_ANYEVENT_SUBMODULE> if they have registered the AnyEvent::Submodule
2041namespace on CPAN, for any submodule. For example, L<AnyEvent::HTTP> could
2042be expected to use C<PERL_ANYEVENT_HTTP_PROXY> (it should not access env
2043variables starting with C<AE_>, see below).
2044
2045All variables can also be set via the C<AE_> prefix, that is, instead
2046of setting C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> you can also set C<AE_VERBOSE>. In
2047case there is a clash btween anyevent and another program that uses
2048C<AE_something> you can set the corresponding C<PERL_ANYEVENT_something>
2049variable to the empty string, as those variables take precedence.
2050
2051When AnyEvent is first loaded, it copies all C<AE_xxx> env variables
2052to their C<PERL_ANYEVENT_xxx> counterpart unless that variable already
2053exists. If taint mode is on, then AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment
2054variables starting with C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> (or replace them
2055with C<undef> or the empty string, if the corresaponding C<AE_> variable
2056is set).
2057
2058The exact algorithm is currently:
2059
2060 1. if taint mode enabled, delete all PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz variables from %ENV
2061 2. copy over AE_xyz to PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz unless the latter alraedy exists
2062 3. if taint mode enabled, set all PERL_ANYEVENT_xyz variables to undef.
2063
2064This ensures that child processes will not see the C<AE_> variables.
2065
2066The following environment variables are currently known to AnyEvent:
2067
2068=over 4
2069
2070=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE>
2071
2072By default, AnyEvent will only log messages with loglevel C<3>
2073(C<critical>) or higher (see L<AnyEvent::Log>). You can set this
2074environment variable to a numerical loglevel to make AnyEvent more (or
2075less) talkative.
2076
2077If you want to do more than just set the global logging level
2078you should have a look at C<PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG>, which allows much more
2079complex specifications.
2080
2081When set to C<0> (C<off>), then no messages whatsoever will be logged with
2082the default logging settings.
2083
2084When set to C<5> or higher (C<warn>), causes AnyEvent to warn about
2085unexpected conditions, such as not being able to load the event model
2086specified by C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>, or a guard callback throwing an
2087exception - this is the minimum recommended level.
2088
2089When set to C<7> or higher (info), cause AnyEvent to report which event model it
2090chooses.
2091
2092When set to C<8> or higher (debug), then AnyEvent will report extra information on
2093which optional modules it loads and how it implements certain features.
2094
2095=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG>
2096
2097Accepts rather complex logging specifications. For example, you could log
2098all C<debug> messages of some module to stderr, warnings and above to
2099stderr, and errors and above to syslog, with:
2100
2101 PERL_ANYEVENT_LOG=Some::Module=debug,+log:filter=warn,+%syslog:%syslog=error,syslog
2102
2103For the rather extensive details, see L<AnyEvent::Log>.
2104
2105This variable is evaluated when AnyEvent (or L<AnyEvent::Log>) is loaded,
2106so will take effect even before AnyEvent has initialised itself.
2107
2108Note that specifying this environment variable causes the L<AnyEvent::Log>
2109module to be loaded, while C<PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE> does not, so only
2110using the latter saves a few hundred kB of memory until the first message
2111is being logged.
2112
2113=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT>
2114
2115AnyEvent does not do much argument checking by default, as thorough
2116argument checking is very costly. Setting this variable to a true value
2117will cause AnyEvent to load C<AnyEvent::Strict> and then to thoroughly
2118check the arguments passed to most method calls. If it finds any problems,
2119it will croak.
2120
2121In other words, enables "strict" mode.
2122
2123Unlike C<use strict> (or its modern cousin, C<< use L<common::sense>
2124>>, it is definitely recommended to keep it off in production. Keeping
2125C<PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT=1> in your environment while developing programs
2126can be very useful, however.
2127
2128=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL>
2129
2130If this env variable is nonempty, then its contents will be interpreted by
2131C<AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport> and C<AnyEvent::Debug::shell> (after
2132replacing every occurance of C<$$> by the process pid). The shell object
2133is saved in C<$AnyEvent::Debug::SHELL>.
2134
2135This happens when the first watcher is created.
2136
2137For example, to bind a debug shell on a unix domain socket in
2138F<< /tmp/debug<pid>.sock >>, you could use this:
2139
2140 PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL=/tmp/debug\$\$.sock perlprog
2141 # connect with e.g.: socat readline /tmp/debug123.sock
2142
2143Or to bind to tcp port 4545 on localhost:
2144
2145 PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_SHELL=127.0.0.1:4545 perlprog
2146 # connect with e.g.: telnet localhost 4545
2147
2148Note that creating sockets in F</tmp> or on localhost is very unsafe on
2149multiuser systems.
2150
2151=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_DEBUG_WRAP>
2152
2153Can be set to C<0>, C<1> or C<2> and enables wrapping of all watchers for
2154debugging purposes. See C<AnyEvent::Debug::wrap> for details.
2155
2156=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL>
2157
2158This can be used to specify the event model to be used by AnyEvent, before
2159auto detection and -probing kicks in.
2160
2161It normally is a string consisting entirely of ASCII letters (e.g. C<EV>
2162or C<IOAsync>). The string C<AnyEvent::Impl::> gets prepended and the
2163resulting module name is loaded and - if the load was successful - used as
2164event model backend. If it fails to load then AnyEvent will proceed with
2165auto detection and -probing.
2166
2167If the string ends with C<::> instead (e.g. C<AnyEvent::Impl::EV::>) then
2168nothing gets prepended and the module name is used as-is (hint: C<::> at
2169the end of a string designates a module name and quotes it appropriately).
2170
2171For example, to force the pure perl model (L<AnyEvent::Loop::Perl>) you
2172could start your program like this:
2173
2174 PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL=Perl perl ...
2175
2176=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS>
2177
2178Used by both L<AnyEvent::DNS> and L<AnyEvent::Socket> to determine preferences
2179for IPv4 or IPv6. The default is unspecified (and might change, or be the result
2180of auto probing).
2181
2182Must be set to a comma-separated list of protocols or address families,
2183current supported: C<ipv4> and C<ipv6>. Only protocols mentioned will be
2184used, and preference will be given to protocols mentioned earlier in the
2185list.
2186
2187This variable can effectively be used for denial-of-service attacks
2188against local programs (e.g. when setuid), although the impact is likely
2189small, as the program has to handle conenction and other failures anyways.
2190
2191Examples: C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4,ipv6> - prefer IPv4 over IPv6,
2192but support both and try to use both. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv4>
2193- only support IPv4, never try to resolve or contact IPv6
2194addresses. C<PERL_ANYEVENT_PROTOCOLS=ipv6,ipv4> support either IPv4 or
2195IPv6, but prefer IPv6 over IPv4.
2196
2197=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_HOSTS>
2198
2199This variable, if specified, overrides the F</etc/hosts> file used by
2200L<AnyEvent::Socket>C<::resolve_sockaddr>, i.e. hosts aliases will be read
2201from that file instead.
2202
2203=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_EDNS0>
2204
2205Used by L<AnyEvent::DNS> to decide whether to use the EDNS0 extension for
2206DNS. This extension is generally useful to reduce DNS traffic, especially
2207when DNSSEC is involved, but some (broken) firewalls drop such DNS
2208packets, which is why it is off by default.
2209
2210Setting this variable to C<1> will cause L<AnyEvent::DNS> to announce
2211EDNS0 in its DNS requests.
2212
2213=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_FORKS>
2214
2215The maximum number of child processes that C<AnyEvent::Util::fork_call>
2216will create in parallel.
2217
2218=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MAX_OUTSTANDING_DNS>
2219
2220The default value for the C<max_outstanding> parameter for the default DNS
2221resolver - this is the maximum number of parallel DNS requests that are
2222sent to the DNS server.
2223
2224=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_RESOLV_CONF>
2225
2226The absolute path to a F<resolv.conf>-style file to use instead of
2227F</etc/resolv.conf> (or the OS-specific configuration) in the default
2228resolver, or the empty string to select the default configuration.
2229
2230=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_FILE>, C<PERL_ANYEVENT_CA_PATH>.
2231
2232When neither C<ca_file> nor C<ca_path> was specified during
2233L<AnyEvent::TLS> context creation, and either of these environment
2234variables are nonempty, they will be used to specify CA certificate
2235locations instead of a system-dependent default.
2236
2237=item C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_GUARD> and C<PERL_ANYEVENT_AVOID_ASYNC_INTERRUPT>
2238
2239When these are set to C<1>, then the respective modules are not
2240loaded. Mostly good for testing AnyEvent itself.
2241
2242=back
680 2243
681=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE 2244=head1 SUPPLYING YOUR OWN EVENT MODEL INTERFACE
682 2245
683This is an advanced topic that you do not normally need to use AnyEvent in 2246This 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 2247a module. This section is only of use to event loop authors who want to
718 2281
719I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to 2282I<rxvt-unicode> also cheats a bit by not providing blocking access to
720condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will 2283condition variables: code blocking while waiting for a condition will
721C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must 2284C<die>. This still works with most modules/usages, and blocking calls must
722not be done in an interactive application, so it makes sense. 2285not 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 2286
761=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM 2287=head1 EXAMPLE PROGRAM
762 2288
763The following program uses an I/O watcher to read data from STDIN, a timer 2289The 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 2290to display a message once per second, and a condition variable to quit the
773 poll => 'r', 2299 poll => 'r',
774 cb => sub { 2300 cb => sub {
775 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r> 2301 warn "io event <$_[0]>\n"; # will always output <r>
776 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line 2302 chomp (my $input = <STDIN>); # read a line
777 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read 2303 warn "read: $input\n"; # output what has been read
778 $cv->broadcast if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i 2304 $cv->send if $input =~ /^q/i; # quit program if /^q/i
779 }, 2305 },
780 ); 2306 );
781 2307
782 my $time_watcher; # can only be used once
783
784 sub new_timer {
785 $timer = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, cb => sub { 2308 my $time_watcher = AnyEvent->timer (after => 1, interval => 1, cb => sub {
786 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' about every second 2309 warn "timeout\n"; # print 'timeout' at most every second
787 &new_timer; # and restart the time
788 }); 2310 });
789 }
790 2311
791 new_timer; # create first timer
792
793 $cv->wait; # wait until user enters /^q/i 2312 $cv->recv; # wait until user enters /^q/i
794 2313
795=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE 2314=head1 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
796 2315
797Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following 2316Consider the L<Net::FCP> module. It features (among others) the following
798API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http: 2317API calls, which are to freenet what HTTP GET requests are to http:
848 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request} 2367 syswrite $txn->{fh}, $txn->{request}
849 or die "connection or write error"; 2368 or die "connection or write error";
850 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r }); 2369 $txn->{w} = AnyEvent->io (fh => $txn->{fh}, poll => 'r', cb => sub { $txn->fh_ready_r });
851 2370
852Again, C<fh_ready_r> waits till all data has arrived, and then stores the 2371Again, 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: 2372result and signals any possible waiters that the request has finished:
854 2373
855 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf}; 2374 sysread $txn->{fh}, $txn->{buf}, length $txn->{$buf};
856 2375
857 if (end-of-file or data complete) { 2376 if (end-of-file or data complete) {
858 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf}; 2377 $txn->{result} = $txn->{buf};
859 $txn->{finished}->broadcast; 2378 $txn->{finished}->send;
860 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback 2379 $txb->{cb}->($txn) of $txn->{cb}; # also call callback
861 } 2380 }
862 2381
863The C<result> method, finally, just waits for the finished signal (if the 2382The 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 2383request was already finished, it doesn't wait, of course, and returns the
865data: 2384data:
866 2385
867 $txn->{finished}->wait; 2386 $txn->{finished}->recv;
868 return $txn->{result}; 2387 return $txn->{result};
869 2388
870The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions) 2389The actual code goes further and collects all errors (C<die>s, exceptions)
871that occured during request processing. The C<result> method detects 2390that occurred during request processing. The C<result> method detects
872whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object) 2391whether an exception as thrown (it is stored inside the $txn object)
873and just throws the exception, which means connection errors and other 2392and 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 2393problems get reported to the code that tries to use the result, not in a
875random callback. 2394random callback.
876 2395
877All of this enables the following usage styles: 2396All of this enables the following usage styles:
878 2397
8791. Blocking: 23981. Blocking:
907 2426
908 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar; 2427 my $quit = AnyEvent->condvar;
909 2428
910 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub { 2429 $fcp->txn_client_get ($url)->cb (sub {
911 ... 2430 ...
912 $quit->broadcast; 2431 $quit->send;
913 }); 2432 });
914 2433
915 $quit->wait; 2434 $quit->recv;
916 2435
917 2436
918=head1 BENCHMARKS 2437=head1 BENCHMARKS
919 2438
920To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds 2439To give you an idea of the performance and overheads that AnyEvent adds
922of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks. 2441of various event loops I prepared some benchmarks.
923 2442
924=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD 2443=head2 BENCHMARKING ANYEVENT OVERHEAD
925 2444
926Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and 2445Here is a benchmark of various supported event models used natively and
927through anyevent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero 2446through AnyEvent. The benchmark creates a lot of timers (with a zero
928timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable, 2447timeout) and I/O watchers (watching STDOUT, a pty, to become writable,
929which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again. 2448which it is), lets them fire exactly once and destroys them again.
930 2449
931Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent 2450Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench> in the AnyEvent
932distribution. 2451distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2452for the EV and Perl backends only.
933 2453
934=head3 Explanation of the columns 2454=head3 Explanation of the columns
935 2455
936I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since 2456I<watcher> is the number of event watchers created/destroyed. Since
937different event models feature vastly different performances, each event 2457different event models feature vastly different performances, each event
949all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation 2469all watchers, to avoid adding memory overhead. That means closure creation
950and memory usage is not included in the figures. 2470and memory usage is not included in the figures.
951 2471
952I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple 2472I<invoke> is the time, in microseconds, used to invoke a simple
953callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was 2473callback. The callback simply counts down a Perl variable and after it was
954invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->broadcast >> a condvar once to 2474invoked "watcher" times, it would C<< ->send >> a condvar once to
955signal the end of this phase. 2475signal the end of this phase.
956 2476
957I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single 2477I<destroy> is the time, in microseconds, that it takes to destroy a single
958watcher. 2478watcher.
959 2479
960=head3 Results 2480=head3 Results
961 2481
962 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment 2482 name watchers bytes create invoke destroy comment
963 EV/EV 400000 244 0.56 0.46 0.31 EV native interface 2483 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 2484 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 2485 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 2486 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 2487 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 2488 Event/Any 16000 1203 42.61 34.79 1.80 Event + AnyEvent watchers
2489 IOAsync/Any 16000 1911 41.92 27.45 16.81 via IO::Async::Loop::IO_Poll
2490 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 2491 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 2492 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 2493 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 2494 POE/Any 2000 6648 94.79 774.40 575.51 via POE::Loop::Select
973 2495
974=head3 Discussion 2496=head3 Discussion
975 2497
976The benchmark does I<not> measure scalability of the event loop very 2498The 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) 2499well. For example, a select-based event loop (such as the pure perl one)
989benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with 2511benchmark machine, handling an event takes roughly 1600 CPU cycles with
990EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU 2512EV, 3100 CPU cycles with AnyEvent's pure perl loop and almost 3000000 CPU
991cycles with POE. 2513cycles with POE.
992 2514
993C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both 2515C<EV> is the sole leader regarding speed and memory use, which are both
994maximal/minimal, respectively. Even when going through AnyEvent, it uses 2516maximal/minimal, respectively. When using the L<AE> API there is zero
2517overhead (when going through the AnyEvent API create is about 5-6 times
2518slower, 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 2519any other event loop and is still faster than Event natively).
996natively.
997 2520
998The pure perl implementation is hit in a few sweet spots (both the 2521The 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 2522constant timeout and the use of a single fd hit optimisations in the perl
1000interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it 2523interpreter and the backend itself). Nevertheless this shows that it
1001adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its 2524adds very little overhead in itself. Like any select-based backend its
1002performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of 2525performance becomes really bad with lots of file descriptors (and few of
1003them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark. 2526them active), of course, but this was not subject of this benchmark.
1004 2527
1005The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation 2528The C<Event> module has a relatively high setup and callback invocation
1006cost, but overall scores in on the third place. 2529cost, but overall scores in on the third place.
2530
2531C<IO::Async> performs admirably well, about on par with C<Event>, even
2532when using its pure perl backend.
1007 2533
1008C<Glib>'s memory usage is quite a bit higher, but it features a 2534C<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 2535faster callback invocation and overall ends up in the same class as
1010C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of 2536C<Event>. However, Glib scales extremely badly, doubling the number of
1011watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four, 2537watchers increases the processing time by more than a factor of four,
1019file descriptor is dup()ed for each watcher. This shows that the dup() 2545file 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 2546employed 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 2547hidden memory cost inside the kernel which is not reflected in the figures
1022above). 2548above).
1023 2549
1024C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure 2550C<POE>, regardless of underlying event loop (whether using its pure perl
1025perl select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend 2551select-based backend or the Event module, the POE-EV backend couldn't
1026couldn't be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance 2552be tested because it wasn't working) shows abysmal performance and
1027and memory usage: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory as 2553memory usage with AnyEvent: Watchers use almost 30 times as much memory
1028EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory 2554as EV watchers, and 10 times as much memory as Event (the high memory
1029requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher 2555requirements are caused by requiring a session for each watcher). Watcher
1030invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl 2556invocation speed is almost 900 times slower than with AnyEvent's pure perl
2557implementation.
2558
1031implementation. The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not 2559The design of the POE adaptor class in AnyEvent can not really account
1032really account for this, as session creation overhead is small compared 2560for the performance issues, though, as session creation overhead is
1033to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty optimally within 2561small compared to execution of the state machine, which is coded pretty
1034L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>. POE simply seems to be abysmally slow. 2562optimally within L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE> (and while everybody agrees that
2563using multiple sessions is not a good approach, especially regarding
2564memory usage, even the author of POE could not come up with a faster
2565design).
1035 2566
1036=head3 Summary 2567=head3 Summary
1037 2568
1038=over 4 2569=over 4
1039 2570
1041(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable 2572(even when used without AnyEvent), but most event loops have acceptable
1042performance with or without AnyEvent. 2573performance with or without AnyEvent.
1043 2574
1044=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of 2575=item * The overhead AnyEvent adds is usually much smaller than the overhead of
1045the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV 2576the actual event loop, only with extremely fast event loops such as EV
1046adds AnyEvent significant overhead. 2577does AnyEvent add significant overhead.
1047 2578
1048=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or 2579=item * You should avoid POE like the plague if you want performance or
1049reasonable memory usage. 2580reasonable memory usage.
1050 2581
1051=back 2582=back
1052 2583
1053=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE 2584=head2 BENCHMARKING THE LARGE SERVER CASE
1054 2585
1055This benchmark atcually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by 2586This benchmark actually benchmarks the event loop itself. It works by
1056creating a number of "servers": each server consists of a socketpair, a 2587creating 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 2588timeout 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 2589watcher 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". 2590watcher reads a byte it will write that byte to a random other "server".
1060 2591
1061The effect is that there will be a lot of I/O watchers, only part of which 2592The 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 2593are 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 2594fds for each loop iteration, but which fds these are is random). The
1064timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how 2595timeout is reset each time something is read because that reflects how
1065most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops). 2596most timeouts work (and puts extra pressure on the event loops).
1066 2597
1067In this benchmark, we use 10000 socketpairs (20000 sockets), of which 100 2598In 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 2599(1%) are active. This mirrors the activity of large servers with many
1069connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time. 2600connections, most of which are idle at any one point in time.
1070 2601
1071Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent 2602Source code for this benchmark is found as F<eg/bench2> in the AnyEvent
1072distribution. 2603distribution. It uses the L<AE> interface, which makes a real difference
2604for the EV and Perl backends only.
1073 2605
1074=head3 Explanation of the columns 2606=head3 Explanation of the columns
1075 2607
1076I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as 2608I<sockets> is the number of sockets, and twice the number of "servers" (as
1077each server has a read and write socket end). 2609each server has a read and write socket end).
1078 2610
1079I<create> is the time it takes to create a socketpair (which is 2611I<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. 2612nontrivial) and two watchers: an I/O watcher and a timeout watcher.
1081 2613
1082I<request>, the most important value, is the time it takes to handle a 2614I<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 2615single "request", that is, reading the token from the pipe and forwarding
1084it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating 2616it to another server. This includes deleting the old timeout and creating
1085a new one that moves the timeout into the future. 2617a new one that moves the timeout into the future.
1086 2618
1087=head3 Results 2619=head3 Results
1088 2620
1089 name sockets create request 2621 name sockets create request
1090 EV 20000 69.01 11.16 2622 EV 20000 62.66 7.99
1091 Perl 20000 75.28 112.76 2623 Perl 20000 68.32 32.64
1092 Event 20000 212.62 257.32 2624 IOAsync 20000 174.06 101.15 epoll
1093 Glib 20000 651.16 1896.30 2625 IOAsync 20000 174.67 610.84 poll
2626 Event 20000 202.69 242.91
2627 Glib 20000 557.01 1689.52
1094 POE 20000 349.67 12317.24 uses POE::Loop::Event 2628 POE 20000 341.54 12086.32 uses POE::Loop::Event
1095 2629
1096=head3 Discussion 2630=head3 Discussion
1097 2631
1098This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the 2632This benchmark I<does> measure scalability and overall performance of the
1099particular event loop. 2633particular event loop.
1101EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time 2635EV is again fastest. Since it is using epoll on my system, the setup time
1102is relatively high, though. 2636is relatively high, though.
1103 2637
1104Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event 2638Perl surprisingly comes second. It is much faster than the C-based event
1105loops Event and Glib. 2639loops Event and Glib.
2640
2641IO::Async performs very well when using its epoll backend, and still quite
2642good compared to Glib when using its pure perl backend.
1106 2643
1107Event suffers from high setup time as well (look at its code and you will 2644Event 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 2645understand why). Callback invocation also has a high overhead compared to
1109the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event 2646the C<< $_->() for .. >>-style loop that the Perl event loop uses. Event
1110uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations. 2647uses select or poll in basically all documented configurations.
1118 2655
1119=head3 Summary 2656=head3 Summary
1120 2657
1121=over 4 2658=over 4
1122 2659
1123=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well, considering 2660=item * The pure perl implementation performs extremely well.
1124that it uses select.
1125 2661
1126=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters. 2662=item * Avoid Glib or POE in large projects where performance matters.
1127 2663
1128=back 2664=back
1129 2665
1142 2678
1143=head3 Results 2679=head3 Results
1144 2680
1145 name sockets create request 2681 name sockets create request
1146 EV 16 20.00 6.54 2682 EV 16 20.00 6.54
2683 Perl 16 25.75 12.62
1147 Event 16 81.27 35.86 2684 Event 16 81.27 35.86
1148 Glib 16 32.63 15.48 2685 Glib 16 32.63 15.48
1149 Perl 16 24.62 162.37
1150 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event 2686 POE 16 261.87 276.28 uses POE::Loop::Event
1151 2687
1152=head3 Discussion 2688=head3 Discussion
1153 2689
1154The benchmark tries to test the performance of a typical small 2690The 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 2694speed most when you have lots of watchers, not when you only have a few of
1159them). 2695them).
1160 2696
1161EV is again fastest. 2697EV is again fastest.
1162 2698
1163The C-based event loops Event and Glib come in second this time, as the 2699Perl 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 2700loops 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 2701matter.
1166high, and updating all the data structures is costly).
1167
1168The pure perl event loop is much slower, but still competitive.
1169 2702
1170POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the 2703POE also performs much better in this case, but is is still far behind the
1171others. 2704others.
1172 2705
1173=head3 Summary 2706=head3 Summary
1177=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of 2710=item * C-based event loops perform very well with small number of
1178watchers, as the management overhead dominates. 2711watchers, as the management overhead dominates.
1179 2712
1180=back 2713=back
1181 2714
2715=head2 THE IO::Lambda BENCHMARK
2716
2717Recently I was told about the benchmark in the IO::Lambda manpage, which
2718could be misinterpreted to make AnyEvent look bad. In fact, the benchmark
2719simply compares IO::Lambda with POE, and IO::Lambda looks better (which
2720shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody). As such, the benchmark is
2721fine, and mostly shows that the AnyEvent backend from IO::Lambda isn't
2722very optimal. But how would AnyEvent compare when used without the extra
2723baggage? To explore this, I wrote the equivalent benchmark for AnyEvent.
2724
2725The benchmark itself creates an echo-server, and then, for 500 times,
2726connects to the echo server, sends a line, waits for the reply, and then
2727creates the next connection. This is a rather bad benchmark, as it doesn't
2728test the efficiency of the framework or much non-blocking I/O, but it is a
2729benchmark nevertheless.
2730
2731 name runtime
2732 Lambda/select 0.330 sec
2733 + optimized 0.122 sec
2734 Lambda/AnyEvent 0.327 sec
2735 + optimized 0.138 sec
2736 Raw sockets/select 0.077 sec
2737 POE/select, components 0.662 sec
2738 POE/select, raw sockets 0.226 sec
2739 POE/select, optimized 0.404 sec
2740
2741 AnyEvent/select/nb 0.085 sec
2742 AnyEvent/EV/nb 0.068 sec
2743 +state machine 0.134 sec
2744
2745The benchmark is also a bit unfair (my fault): the IO::Lambda/POE
2746benchmarks actually make blocking connects and use 100% blocking I/O,
2747defeating the purpose of an event-based solution. All of the newly
2748written AnyEvent benchmarks use 100% non-blocking connects (using
2749AnyEvent::Socket::tcp_connect and the asynchronous pure perl DNS
2750resolver), so AnyEvent is at a disadvantage here, as non-blocking connects
2751generally require a lot more bookkeeping and event handling than blocking
2752connects (which involve a single syscall only).
2753
2754The last AnyEvent benchmark additionally uses L<AnyEvent::Handle>, which
2755offers similar expressive power as POE and IO::Lambda, using conventional
2756Perl syntax. This means that both the echo server and the client are 100%
2757non-blocking, further placing it at a disadvantage.
2758
2759As you can see, the AnyEvent + EV combination even beats the
2760hand-optimised "raw sockets benchmark", while AnyEvent + its pure perl
2761backend easily beats IO::Lambda and POE.
2762
2763And even the 100% non-blocking version written using the high-level (and
2764slow :) L<AnyEvent::Handle> abstraction beats both POE and IO::Lambda
2765higher level ("unoptimised") abstractions by a large margin, even though
2766it does all of DNS, tcp-connect and socket I/O in a non-blocking way.
2767
2768The two AnyEvent benchmarks programs can be found as F<eg/ae0.pl> and
2769F<eg/ae2.pl> in the AnyEvent distribution, the remaining benchmarks are
2770part of the IO::Lambda distribution and were used without any changes.
2771
2772
2773=head1 SIGNALS
2774
2775AnyEvent currently installs handlers for these signals:
2776
2777=over 4
2778
2779=item SIGCHLD
2780
2781A handler for C<SIGCHLD> is installed by AnyEvent's child watcher
2782emulation for event loops that do not support them natively. Also, some
2783event loops install a similar handler.
2784
2785Additionally, when AnyEvent is loaded and SIGCHLD is set to IGNORE, then
2786AnyEvent will reset it to default, to avoid losing child exit statuses.
2787
2788=item SIGPIPE
2789
2790A no-op handler is installed for C<SIGPIPE> when C<$SIG{PIPE}> is C<undef>
2791when AnyEvent gets loaded.
2792
2793The rationale for this is that AnyEvent users usually do not really depend
2794on SIGPIPE delivery (which is purely an optimisation for shell use, or
2795badly-written programs), but C<SIGPIPE> can cause spurious and rare
2796program exits as a lot of people do not expect C<SIGPIPE> when writing to
2797some random socket.
2798
2799The rationale for installing a no-op handler as opposed to ignoring it is
2800that this way, the handler will be restored to defaults on exec.
2801
2802Feel free to install your own handler, or reset it to defaults.
2803
2804=back
2805
2806=cut
2807
2808undef $SIG{CHLD}
2809 if $SIG{CHLD} eq 'IGNORE';
2810
2811$SIG{PIPE} = sub { }
2812 unless defined $SIG{PIPE};
2813
2814=head1 RECOMMENDED/OPTIONAL MODULES
2815
2816One of AnyEvent's main goals is to be 100% Pure-Perl(tm): only perl (and
2817its built-in modules) are required to use it.
2818
2819That does not mean that AnyEvent won't take advantage of some additional
2820modules if they are installed.
2821
2822This section explains which additional modules will be used, and how they
2823affect AnyEvent's operation.
2824
2825=over 4
2826
2827=item L<Async::Interrupt>
2828
2829This slightly arcane module is used to implement fast signal handling: To
2830my knowledge, there is no way to do completely race-free and quick
2831signal handling in pure perl. To ensure that signals still get
2832delivered, AnyEvent will start an interval timer to wake up perl (and
2833catch the signals) with some delay (default is 10 seconds, look for
2834C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>).
2835
2836If this module is available, then it will be used to implement signal
2837catching, which means that signals will not be delayed, and the event loop
2838will not be interrupted regularly, which is more efficient (and good for
2839battery life on laptops).
2840
2841This affects not just the pure-perl event loop, but also other event loops
2842that have no signal handling on their own (e.g. Glib, Tk, Qt).
2843
2844Some event loops (POE, Event, Event::Lib) offer signal watchers natively,
2845and either employ their own workarounds (POE) or use AnyEvent's workaround
2846(using C<$AnyEvent::MAX_SIGNAL_LATENCY>). Installing L<Async::Interrupt>
2847does nothing for those backends.
2848
2849=item L<EV>
2850
2851This module isn't really "optional", as it is simply one of the backend
2852event loops that AnyEvent can use. However, it is simply the best event
2853loop available in terms of features, speed and stability: It supports
2854the AnyEvent API optimally, implements all the watcher types in XS, does
2855automatic timer adjustments even when no monotonic clock is available,
2856can take avdantage of advanced kernel interfaces such as C<epoll> and
2857C<kqueue>, and is the fastest backend I<by far>. You can even embed
2858L<Glib>/L<Gtk2> in it (or vice versa, see L<EV::Glib> and L<Glib::EV>).
2859
2860If you only use backends that rely on another event loop (e.g. C<Tk>),
2861then this module will do nothing for you.
2862
2863=item L<Guard>
2864
2865The guard module, when used, will be used to implement
2866C<AnyEvent::Util::guard>. This speeds up guards considerably (and uses a
2867lot less memory), but otherwise doesn't affect guard operation much. It is
2868purely used for performance.
2869
2870=item L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS>
2871
2872One of these modules is required when you want to read or write JSON data
2873via L<AnyEvent::Handle>. L<JSON> is also written in pure-perl, but can take
2874advantage of the ultra-high-speed L<JSON::XS> module when it is installed.
2875
2876=item L<Net::SSLeay>
2877
2878Implementing TLS/SSL in Perl is certainly interesting, but not very
2879worthwhile: If this module is installed, then L<AnyEvent::Handle> (with
2880the help of L<AnyEvent::TLS>), gains the ability to do TLS/SSL.
2881
2882=item L<Time::HiRes>
2883
2884This module is part of perl since release 5.008. It will be used when the
2885chosen event library does not come with a timing source of its own. The
2886pure-perl event loop (L<AnyEvent::Loop>) will additionally load it to
2887try to use a monotonic clock for timing stability.
2888
2889=back
2890
1182 2891
1183=head1 FORK 2892=head1 FORK
1184 2893
1185Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are 2894Most event libraries are not fork-safe. The ones who are usually are
1186because they are so inefficient. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware. 2895because they rely on inefficient but fork-safe C<select> or C<poll> calls
2896- higher performance APIs such as BSD's kqueue or the dreaded Linux epoll
2897are usually badly thought-out hacks that are incompatible with fork in
2898one way or another. Only L<EV> is fully fork-aware and ensures that you
2899continue event-processing in both parent and child (or both, if you know
2900what you are doing).
2901
2902This means that, in general, you cannot fork and do event processing in
2903the child if the event library was initialised before the fork (which
2904usually happens when the first AnyEvent watcher is created, or the library
2905is loaded).
1187 2906
1188If you have to fork, you must either do so I<before> creating your first 2907If 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. 2908watcher OR you must not use AnyEvent at all in the child OR you must do
2909something completely out of the scope of AnyEvent.
2910
2911The problem of doing event processing in the parent I<and> the child
2912is much more complicated: even for backends that I<are> fork-aware or
2913fork-safe, their behaviour is not usually what you want: fork clones all
2914watchers, that means all timers, I/O watchers etc. are active in both
2915parent and child, which is almost never what you want. USing C<exec>
2916to start worker children from some kind of manage rprocess is usually
2917preferred, because it is much easier and cleaner, at the expense of having
2918to have another binary.
1190 2919
1191 2920
1192=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 2921=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
1193 2922
1194AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via 2923AnyEvent can be forced to load any event model via
1199specified in the variable. 2928specified in the variable.
1200 2929
1201You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it 2930You can make AnyEvent completely ignore this variable by deleting it
1202before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block: 2931before the first watcher gets created, e.g. with a C<BEGIN> block:
1203 2932
1204 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} } 2933 BEGIN { delete $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL} }
1205 2934
1206 use AnyEvent; 2935 use AnyEvent;
2936
2937Similar considerations apply to $ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_VERBOSE}, as that can
2938be used to probe what backend is used and gain other information (which is
2939probably even less useful to an attacker than PERL_ANYEVENT_MODEL), and
2940$ENV{PERL_ANYEVENT_STRICT}.
2941
2942Note that AnyEvent will remove I<all> environment variables starting with
2943C<PERL_ANYEVENT_> from C<%ENV> when it is loaded while taint mode is
2944enabled.
2945
2946
2947=head1 BUGS
2948
2949Perl 5.8 has numerous memleaks that sometimes hit this module and are hard
2950to work around. If you suffer from memleaks, first upgrade to Perl 5.10
2951and check wether the leaks still show up. (Perl 5.10.0 has other annoying
2952memleaks, such as leaking on C<map> and C<grep> but it is usually not as
2953pronounced).
1207 2954
1208 2955
1209=head1 SEE ALSO 2956=head1 SEE ALSO
1210 2957
1211Event modules: L<Coro::EV>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>, L<Glib::EV>, 2958Tutorial/Introduction: L<AnyEvent::Intro>.
1212L<Coro::Event>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Coro>, L<Tk>,
1213L<Event::Lib>, L<Qt>, L<POE>.
1214 2959
1215Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, 2960FAQ: L<AnyEvent::FAQ>.
2961
2962Utility functions: L<AnyEvent::Util> (misc. grab-bag), L<AnyEvent::Log>
2963(simply logging).
2964
2965Development/Debugging: L<AnyEvent::Strict> (stricter checking),
2966L<AnyEvent::Debug> (interactive shell, watcher tracing).
2967
2968Supported event modules: L<AnyEvent::Loop>, L<EV>, L<EV::Glib>,
2969L<Glib::EV>, L<Event>, L<Glib::Event>, L<Glib>, L<Tk>, L<Event::Lib>,
2970L<Qt>, L<POE>, L<FLTK>.
2971
2972Implementations: L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>,
2973L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>,
2974L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>,
1216L<AnyEvent::Impl::CoroEvent>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Event>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Glib>, 2975L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::IOAsync>, L<Anyevent::Impl::Irssi>,
1217L<AnyEvent::Impl::Tk>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::EventLib>, 2976L<AnyEvent::Impl::FLTK>.
1218L<AnyEvent::Impl::Qt>, L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>.
1219 2977
2978Non-blocking handles, pipes, stream sockets, TCP clients and
2979servers: L<AnyEvent::Handle>, L<AnyEvent::Socket>, L<AnyEvent::TLS>.
2980
2981Asynchronous DNS: L<AnyEvent::DNS>.
2982
2983Thread support: L<Coro>, L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
2984
1220Nontrivial usage examples: L<Net::FCP>, L<Net::XMPP2>. 2985Nontrivial usage examples: L<AnyEvent::GPSD>, L<AnyEvent::IRC>,
2986L<AnyEvent::HTTP>.
1221 2987
1222 2988
1223=head1 AUTHOR 2989=head1 AUTHOR
1224 2990
1225 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 2991 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1226 http://home.schmorp.de/ 2992 http://home.schmorp.de/
1227 2993
1228=cut 2994=cut
1229 2995
12301 29961
1231 2997

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