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Revision 1.8 by root, Sat Oct 27 19:11:27 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.120 by root, Sun Jul 19 01:36:34 2009 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3EV - perl interface to libevent, monkey.org/~provos/libevent/ 3EV - perl interface to libev, a high performance full-featured event loop
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use EV; 7 use EV;
8 8
9 # TIMER 9 # TIMERS
10 10
11 my $w = EV::timer 2, 0, sub { 11 my $w = EV::timer 2, 0, sub {
12 warn "is called after 2s"; 12 warn "is called after 2s";
13 }; 13 };
14 14
15 my $w = EV::timer 2, 1, sub { 15 my $w = EV::timer 2, 2, sub {
16 warn "is called roughly every 2s (repeat = 1)"; 16 warn "is called roughly every 2s (repeat = 2)";
17 }; 17 };
18 18
19 undef $w; # destroy event watcher again 19 undef $w; # destroy event watcher again
20 20
21 # IO
22
23 my $w = EV::timer_abs 0, 60, sub { 21 my $w = EV::periodic 0, 60, 0, sub {
24 warn "is called every minute, on the minute, exactly"; 22 warn "is called every minute, on the minute, exactly";
25 }; 23 };
26 24
25 # IO
26
27 my $w = EV::io \*STDIN, EV::READ | EV::PERSIST, sub { 27 my $w = EV::io *STDIN, EV::READ, sub {
28 my ($w, $events) = @_; # all callbacks get the watcher object and event mask 28 my ($w, $revents) = @_; # all callbacks receive the watcher and event mask
29 if ($events & EV::TIMEOUT) {
30 warn "nothign received on stdin for 10 seconds, retrying";
31 } else {
32 warn "stdin is readable, you entered: ", <STDIN>; 29 warn "stdin is readable, you entered: ", <STDIN>;
33 } 30 };
31
32 # SIGNALS
33
34 my $w = EV::signal 'QUIT', sub {
35 warn "sigquit received\n";
34 }; 36 };
35 $w->timeout (10); 37
36 38 # CHILD/PID STATUS CHANGES
39
40 my $w = EV::child 666, 0, sub {
41 my ($w, $revents) = @_;
42 my $status = $w->rstatus;
43 };
44
45 # STAT CHANGES
46 my $w = EV::stat "/etc/passwd", 10, sub {
47 my ($w, $revents) = @_;
48 warn $w->path, " has changed somehow.\n";
49 };
50
37 # MAINLOOP 51 # MAINLOOP
38 EV::dispatch; # loop as long as watchers are active 52 EV::loop; # loop until EV::unloop is called or all watchers stop
39 EV::loop; # the same thing 53 EV::loop EV::LOOP_ONESHOT; # block until at least one event could be handled
40 EV::loop EV::LOOP_ONCE; 54 EV::loop EV::LOOP_NONBLOCK; # try to handle same events, but do not block
41 EV::loop EV::LOOP_ONSHOT;
42 55
43=head1 DESCRIPTION 56=head1 DESCRIPTION
44 57
45This module provides an interface to libevent 58This module provides an interface to libev
46(L<http://monkey.org/~provos/libevent/>). You probably should acquaint 59(L<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/libev.html>). While the documentation
47yourself with its documentation and source code to be able to use this 60below is comprehensive, one might also consult the documentation of
48module fully. 61libev itself (L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod> or
62F<perldoc EV::libev>) for more subtle details on watcher semantics or some
63discussion on the available backends, or how to force a specific backend
64with C<LIBEV_FLAGS>, or just about in any case because it has much more
65detailed information.
49 66
50Please note thta this module disables the libevent EPOLL method by 67This module is very fast and scalable. It is actually so fast that you
51default, see BUGS, below, if you need to enable it. 68can use it through the L<AnyEvent> module, stay portable to other event
69loops (if you don't rely on any watcher types not available through it)
70and still be faster than with any other event loop currently supported in
71Perl.
72
73=head2 MODULE EXPORTS
74
75This module does not export any symbols.
52 76
53=cut 77=cut
54 78
55package EV; 79package EV;
56 80
57use strict; 81use common::sense;
58 82
59BEGIN { 83BEGIN {
60 our $VERSION = '0.01'; 84 our $VERSION = '3.8';
61 use XSLoader; 85 use XSLoader;
62 XSLoader::load "EV", $VERSION; 86 XSLoader::load "EV", $VERSION;
63} 87}
64 88
89@EV::IO::ISA =
90@EV::Timer::ISA =
91@EV::Periodic::ISA =
92@EV::Signal::ISA =
93@EV::Child::ISA =
94@EV::Stat::ISA =
95@EV::Idle::ISA =
96@EV::Prepare::ISA =
97@EV::Check::ISA =
98@EV::Embed::ISA =
99@EV::Fork::ISA =
100@EV::Async::ISA =
101 "EV::Watcher";
102
103@EV::Loop::Default::ISA = "EV::Loop";
104
105=head1 EVENT LOOPS
106
107EV supports multiple event loops: There is a single "default event loop"
108that can handle everything including signals and child watchers, and any
109number of "dynamic event loops" that can use different backends (with
110various limitations), but no child and signal watchers.
111
112You do not have to do anything to create the default event loop: When
113the module is loaded a suitable backend is selected on the premise of
114selecting a working backend (which for example rules out kqueue on most
115BSDs). Modules should, unless they have "special needs" always use the
116default loop as this is fastest (perl-wise), best supported by other
117modules (e.g. AnyEvent or Coro) and most portable event loop.
118
119For specific programs you can create additional event loops dynamically.
120
121If you want to take advantage of kqueue (which often works properly for
122sockets only) even though the default loop doesn't enable it, you can
123I<embed> a kqueue loop into the default loop: running the default loop
124will then also service the kqueue loop to some extent. See the example in
125the section about embed watchers for an example on how to achieve that.
126
127=over 4
128
129=item $loop = new EV::Loop [$flags]
130
131Create a new event loop as per the specified flags. Please refer to
132the C<ev_loop_new ()> function description in the libev documentation
133(L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#GLOBAL_FUNCTIONS>,
134or locally-installed as F<EV::libev> manpage) for more info.
135
136The loop will automatically be destroyed when it is no longer referenced
137by any watcher and the loop object goes out of scope.
138
139If you are not embedding the loop, then Using C<EV::FLAG_FORKCHECK>
140is recommended, as only the default event loop is protected by this
141module. If you I<are> embedding this loop in the default loop, this is not
142necessary, as C<EV::embed> automatically does the right thing on fork.
143
144=item $loop->loop_fork
145
146Must be called after a fork in the child, before entering or continuing
147the event loop. An alternative is to use C<EV::FLAG_FORKCHECK> which calls
148this function automatically, at some performance loss (refer to the libev
149documentation).
150
151=item $loop->loop_verify
152
153Calls C<ev_verify> to make internal consistency checks (for debugging
154libev) and abort the program if any data structures were found to be
155corrupted.
156
157=item $loop = EV::default_loop [$flags]
158
159Return the default loop (which is a singleton object). Since this module
160already creates the default loop with default flags, specifying flags here
161will not have any effect unless you destroy the default loop first, which
162isn't supported. So in short: don't do it, and if you break it, you get to
163keep the pieces.
164
165=back
166
167
65=head1 BASIC INTERFACE 168=head1 BASIC INTERFACE
66 169
67=over 4 170=over 4
68 171
69=item $EV::NPRI
70
71How many priority levels are available.
72
73=item $EV::DIED 172=item $EV::DIED
74 173
75Must contain a reference to a function that is called when a callback 174Must contain a reference to a function that is called when a callback
76throws an exception (with $@ containing thr error). The default prints an 175throws an exception (with $@ containing the error). The default prints an
77informative message and continues. 176informative message and continues.
78 177
79If this callback throws an exception it will be silently ignored. 178If this callback throws an exception it will be silently ignored.
80 179
180=item $flags = EV::supported_backends
181
182=item $flags = EV::recommended_backends
183
184=item $flags = EV::embeddable_backends
185
186Returns the set (see C<EV::BACKEND_*> flags) of backends supported by this
187instance of EV, the set of recommended backends (supposed to be good) for
188this platform and the set of embeddable backends (see EMBED WATCHERS).
189
190=item EV::sleep $seconds
191
192Block the process for the given number of (fractional) seconds.
193
194=item $time = EV::time
195
196Returns the current time in (fractional) seconds since the epoch.
197
81=item $time = EV::now 198=item $time = EV::now
82 199
83Returns the time in (fractional) seconds since the epoch. 200=item $time = $loop->now
84 201
85=item $version = EV::version 202Returns the time the last event loop iteration has been started. This
203is the time that (relative) timers are based on, and referring to it is
204usually faster then calling EV::time.
86 205
87=item $method = EV::method 206=item EV::now_update
88 207
89Return version string and event polling method used. 208=item $loop->now_update
90 209
91=item EV::loop $flags # EV::LOOP_ONCE, EV::LOOP_ONESHOT 210Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the time
211returned by C<EV::now> in the progress. This is a costly operation and
212is usually done automatically within C<EV::loop>.
92 213
93=item EV::loopexit $after 214This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs for a
215very long time without entering the event loop, updating libev's idea of
216the current time is a good idea.
94 217
95Exit any active loop or dispatch after C<$after> seconds or immediately if 218=item EV::suspend
96C<$after> is missing or zero.
97 219
98=item EV::dispatch 220=item $loop->suspend
99 221
100Same as C<EV::loop 0>. 222=item EV::resume
101 223
102=item EV::event $callback 224=item $loop->resume
103 225
104Creates a new event watcher waiting for nothing, calling the given callback. 226These two functions suspend and resume a loop, for use when the loop is
227not used for a while and timeouts should not be processed.
105 228
229A typical use case would be an interactive program such as a game: When
230the user presses C<^Z> to suspend the game and resumes it an hour later it
231would be best to handle timeouts as if no time had actually passed while
232the program was suspended. This can be achieved by calling C<suspend>
233in your C<SIGTSTP> handler, sending yourself a C<SIGSTOP> and calling
234C<resume> directly afterwards to resume timer processing.
235
236Effectively, all C<timer> watchers will be delayed by the time spend
237between C<suspend> and C<resume>, and all C<periodic> watchers
238will be rescheduled (that is, they will lose any events that would have
239occured while suspended).
240
241After calling C<suspend> you B<must not> call I<any> function on the given
242loop other than C<resume>, and you B<must not> call C<resume>
243without a previous call to C<suspend>.
244
245Calling C<suspend>/C<resume> has the side effect of updating the event
246loop time (see C<now_update>).
247
248=item $backend = EV::backend
249
250=item $backend = $loop->backend
251
252Returns an integer describing the backend used by libev (EV::BACKEND_SELECT
253or EV::BACKEND_EPOLL).
254
255=item EV::loop [$flags]
256
257=item $loop->loop ([$flags])
258
259Begin checking for events and calling callbacks. It returns when a
260callback calls EV::unloop.
261
262The $flags argument can be one of the following:
263
264 0 as above
265 EV::LOOP_ONESHOT block at most once (wait, but do not loop)
266 EV::LOOP_NONBLOCK do not block at all (fetch/handle events but do not wait)
267
268=item EV::unloop [$how]
269
270=item $loop->unloop ([$how])
271
272When called with no arguments or an argument of EV::UNLOOP_ONE, makes the
273innermost call to EV::loop return.
274
275When called with an argument of EV::UNLOOP_ALL, all calls to EV::loop will return as
276fast as possible.
277
278=item $count = EV::loop_count
279
280=item $count = $loop->loop_count
281
282Return the number of times the event loop has polled for new
283events. Sometimes useful as a generation counter.
284
285=item EV::once $fh_or_undef, $events, $timeout, $cb->($revents)
286
287=item $loop->once ($fh_or_undef, $events, $timeout, $cb->($revents))
288
289This function rolls together an I/O and a timer watcher for a single
290one-shot event without the need for managing a watcher object.
291
292If C<$fh_or_undef> is a filehandle or file descriptor, then C<$events>
293must be a bitset containing either C<EV::READ>, C<EV::WRITE> or C<EV::READ
294| EV::WRITE>, indicating the type of I/O event you want to wait for. If
295you do not want to wait for some I/O event, specify C<undef> for
296C<$fh_or_undef> and C<0> for C<$events>).
297
298If timeout is C<undef> or negative, then there will be no
299timeout. Otherwise a EV::timer with this value will be started.
300
301When an error occurs or either the timeout or I/O watcher triggers, then
302the callback will be called with the received event set (in general
303you can expect it to be a combination of C<EV::ERROR>, C<EV::READ>,
304C<EV::WRITE> and C<EV::TIMEOUT>).
305
306EV::once doesn't return anything: the watchers stay active till either
307of them triggers, then they will be stopped and freed, and the callback
308invoked.
309
310=item EV::feed_fd_event ($fd, $revents)
311
312=item $loop->feed_fd_event ($fd, $revents)
313
314Feed an event on a file descriptor into EV. EV will react to this call as
315if the readyness notifications specified by C<$revents> (a combination of
316C<EV::READ> and C<EV::WRITE>) happened on the file descriptor C<$fd>.
317
318=item EV::feed_signal_event ($signal)
319
320Feed a signal event into EV. EV will react to this call as if the signal
321specified by C<$signal> had occured.
322
323=item EV::set_io_collect_interval $time
324
325=item $loop->set_io_collect_interval ($time)
326
327=item EV::set_timeout_collect_interval $time
328
329=item $loop->set_timeout_collect_interval ($time)
330
331These advanced functions set the minimum block interval when polling for I/O events and the minimum
332wait interval for timer events. See the libev documentation at
333L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#FUNCTIONS_CONTROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP>
334(locally installed as F<EV::libev>) for a more detailed discussion.
335
336=item $count = EV::pending_count
337
338=item $count = $loop->pending_count
339
340Returns the number of currently pending watchers.
341
342=item EV::invoke_pending
343
344=item $loop->invoke_pending
345
346Invoke all currently pending watchers.
347
348=back
349
350
351=head1 WATCHER OBJECTS
352
353A watcher is an object that gets created to record your interest in some
354event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to become readable, you
355would create an EV::io watcher for that:
356
357 my $watcher = EV::io *STDIN, EV::READ, sub {
358 my ($watcher, $revents) = @_;
359 warn "yeah, STDIN should now be readable without blocking!\n"
360 };
361
362All watchers can be active (waiting for events) or inactive (paused). Only
363active watchers will have their callbacks invoked. All callbacks will be
364called with at least two arguments: the watcher and a bitmask of received
365events.
366
367Each watcher type has its associated bit in revents, so you can use the
368same callback for multiple watchers. The event mask is named after the
369type, i.e. EV::child sets EV::CHILD, EV::prepare sets EV::PREPARE,
370EV::periodic sets EV::PERIODIC and so on, with the exception of I/O events
371(which can set both EV::READ and EV::WRITE bits), and EV::timer (which
372uses EV::TIMEOUT).
373
374In the rare case where one wants to create a watcher but not start it at
375the same time, each constructor has a variant with a trailing C<_ns> in
376its name, e.g. EV::io has a non-starting variant EV::io_ns and so on.
377
378Please note that a watcher will automatically be stopped when the watcher
379object is destroyed, so you I<need> to keep the watcher objects returned by
380the constructors.
381
382Also, all methods changing some aspect of a watcher (->set, ->priority,
383->fh and so on) automatically stop and start it again if it is active,
384which means pending events get lost.
385
386=head2 COMMON WATCHER METHODS
387
388This section lists methods common to all watchers.
389
390=over 4
391
392=item $w->start
393
394Starts a watcher if it isn't active already. Does nothing to an already
395active watcher. By default, all watchers start out in the active state
396(see the description of the C<_ns> variants if you need stopped watchers).
397
398=item $w->stop
399
400Stop a watcher if it is active. Also clear any pending events (events that
401have been received but that didn't yet result in a callback invocation),
402regardless of whether the watcher was active or not.
403
404=item $bool = $w->is_active
405
406Returns true if the watcher is active, false otherwise.
407
408=item $current_data = $w->data
409
410=item $old_data = $w->data ($new_data)
411
412Queries a freely usable data scalar on the watcher and optionally changes
413it. This is a way to associate custom data with a watcher:
414
415 my $w = EV::timer 60, 0, sub {
416 warn $_[0]->data;
417 };
418 $w->data ("print me!");
419
420=item $current_cb = $w->cb
421
422=item $old_cb = $w->cb ($new_cb)
423
424Queries the callback on the watcher and optionally changes it. You can do
425this at any time without the watcher restarting.
426
427=item $current_priority = $w->priority
428
429=item $old_priority = $w->priority ($new_priority)
430
431Queries the priority on the watcher and optionally changes it. Pending
432watchers with higher priority will be invoked first. The valid range of
433priorities lies between EV::MAXPRI (default 2) and EV::MINPRI (default
434-2). If the priority is outside this range it will automatically be
435normalised to the nearest valid priority.
436
437The default priority of any newly-created watcher is 0.
438
439Note that the priority semantics have not yet been fleshed out and are
440subject to almost certain change.
441
442=item $w->invoke ($revents)
443
444Call the callback *now* with the given event mask.
445
446=item $w->feed_event ($revents)
447
448Feed some events on this watcher into EV. EV will react to this call as if
449the watcher had received the given C<$revents> mask.
450
451=item $revents = $w->clear_pending
452
453If the watcher is pending, this function clears its pending status and
454returns its C<$revents> bitset (as if its callback was invoked). If the
455watcher isn't pending it does nothing and returns C<0>.
456
457=item $previous_state = $w->keepalive ($bool)
458
459Normally, C<EV::loop> will return when there are no active watchers
460(which is a "deadlock" because no progress can be made anymore). This is
461convinient because it allows you to start your watchers (and your jobs),
462call C<EV::loop> once and when it returns you know that all your jobs are
463finished (or they forgot to register some watchers for their task :).
464
465Sometimes, however, this gets in your way, for example when the module
466that calls C<EV::loop> (usually the main program) is not the same module
467as a long-living watcher (for example a DNS client module written by
468somebody else even). Then you might want any outstanding requests to be
469handled, but you would not want to keep C<EV::loop> from returning just
470because you happen to have this long-running UDP port watcher.
471
472In this case you can clear the keepalive status, which means that even
473though your watcher is active, it won't keep C<EV::loop> from returning.
474
475The initial value for keepalive is true (enabled), and you can change it
476any time.
477
478Example: Register an I/O watcher for some UDP socket but do not keep the
479event loop from running just because of that watcher.
480
481 my $udp_socket = ...
482 my $udp_watcher = EV::io $udp_socket, EV::READ, sub { ... };
483 $udp_watcher->keepalive (0);
484
485=item $loop = $w->loop
486
487Return the loop that this watcher is attached to.
488
489=back
490
491
492=head1 WATCHER TYPES
493
494Each of the following subsections describes a single watcher type.
495
496=head3 I/O WATCHERS - is this file descriptor readable or writable?
497
498=over 4
499
106=item my $w = EV::io $fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback 500=item $w = EV::io $fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback
107 501
108=item my $w = EV::io_ns $fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback 502=item $w = EV::io_ns $fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback
503
504=item $w = $loop->io ($fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback)
505
506=item $w = $loop->io_ns ($fileno_or_fh, $eventmask, $callback)
109 507
110As long as the returned watcher object is alive, call the C<$callback> 508As long as the returned watcher object is alive, call the C<$callback>
111when the events specified in C<$eventmask> happen. Initially, the timeout 509when at least one of events specified in C<$eventmask> occurs.
112is disabled.
113 510
114Youc an additionall set a timeout to occur on the watcher, but note that
115this timeout will not be reset when you get an I/O event in the EV::PERSIST
116case, and reaching a timeout will always stop the watcher even in the
117EV::PERSIST case.
118
119If you want a timeout to occur only after a specific time of inactivity, set
120a repeating timeout and do NOT use EV::PERSIST.
121
122Eventmask can be one or more of these constants ORed together: 511The $eventmask can be one or more of these constants ORed together:
123 512
124 EV::READ wait until read() wouldn't block anymore 513 EV::READ wait until read() wouldn't block anymore
125 EV::WRITE wait until write() wouldn't block anymore 514 EV::WRITE wait until write() wouldn't block anymore
126 EV::PERSIST stay active after a (non-timeout) event occured
127 515
128The C<io_ns> variant doesn't add/start the newly created watcher. 516The C<io_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
129 517
518=item $w->set ($fileno_or_fh, $eventmask)
519
520Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be
521called at any time.
522
523=item $current_fh = $w->fh
524
525=item $old_fh = $w->fh ($new_fh)
526
527Returns the previously set filehandle and optionally set a new one.
528
529=item $current_eventmask = $w->events
530
531=item $old_eventmask = $w->events ($new_eventmask)
532
533Returns the previously set event mask and optionally set a new one.
534
535=back
536
537
538=head3 TIMER WATCHERS - relative and optionally repeating timeouts
539
540=over 4
541
130=item my $w = EV::timer $after, $repeat, $callback 542=item $w = EV::timer $after, $repeat, $callback
131 543
132=item my $w = EV::timer_ns $after, $repeat, $callback 544=item $w = EV::timer_ns $after, $repeat, $callback
133 545
134Calls the callback after C<$after> seconds. If C<$repeat> is true, the 546=item $w = $loop->timer ($after, $repeat, $callback)
135timer will be restarted after the callback returns. This means that the
136callback would be called roughly every C<$after> seconds, prolonged by the
137time the callback takes.
138 547
548=item $w = $loop->timer_ns ($after, $repeat, $callback)
549
550Calls the callback after C<$after> seconds (which may be fractional). If
551C<$repeat> is non-zero, the timer will be restarted (with the $repeat
552value as $after) after the callback returns.
553
554This means that the callback would be called roughly after C<$after>
555seconds, and then every C<$repeat> seconds. The timer does his best not
556to drift, but it will not invoke the timer more often then once per event
557loop iteration, and might drift in other cases. If that isn't acceptable,
558look at EV::periodic, which can provide long-term stable timers.
559
560The timer is based on a monotonic clock, that is, if somebody is sitting
561in front of the machine while the timer is running and changes the system
562clock, the timer will nevertheless run (roughly) the same time.
563
139The C<timer_ns> variant doesn't add/start the newly created watcher. 564The C<timer_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
140 565
141=item my $w = EV::timer_abs $at, $interval, $callback 566=item $w->set ($after, $repeat)
142 567
143=item my $w = EV::timer_abs_ns $at, $interval, $callback 568Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be called at
569any time.
144 570
145Similar to EV::timer, but the time is given as an absolute point in time 571=item $w->again
146(C<$at>), plus an optional C<$interval>.
147 572
148If the C<$interval> is zero, then the callback will be called at the time 573Similar to the C<start> method, but has special semantics for repeating timers:
149C<$at> if that is in the future, or as soon as possible if its in the
150past. It will not automatically repeat.
151 574
152If the C<$interval> is nonzero, then the watcher will always be scheduled 575If the timer is active and non-repeating, it will be stopped.
153to time out at the next C<$at + integer * $interval> time.
154 576
155This can be used to schedule a callback to run at very regular intervals, 577If the timer is active and repeating, reset the timeout to occur
156as long as the processing time is less then the interval (otherwise 578C<$repeat> seconds after now.
157obviously events will be skipped). 579
580If the timer is inactive and repeating, start it using the repeat value.
581
582Otherwise do nothing.
583
584This behaviour is useful when you have a timeout for some IO
585operation. You create a timer object with the same value for C<$after> and
586C<$repeat>, and then, in the read/write watcher, run the C<again> method
587on the timeout.
588
589=back
590
591
592=head3 PERIODIC WATCHERS - to cron or not to cron?
593
594=over 4
595
596=item $w = EV::periodic $at, $interval, $reschedule_cb, $callback
597
598=item $w = EV::periodic_ns $at, $interval, $reschedule_cb, $callback
599
600=item $w = $loop->periodic ($at, $interval, $reschedule_cb, $callback)
601
602=item $w = $loop->periodic_ns ($at, $interval, $reschedule_cb, $callback)
603
604Similar to EV::timer, but is not based on relative timeouts but on
605absolute times. Apart from creating "simple" timers that trigger "at" the
606specified time, it can also be used for non-drifting absolute timers and
607more complex, cron-like, setups that are not adversely affected by time
608jumps (i.e. when the system clock is changed by explicit date -s or other
609means such as ntpd). It is also the most complex watcher type in EV.
610
611It has three distinct "modes":
612
613=over 4
614
615=item * absolute timer ($interval = $reschedule_cb = 0)
616
617This time simply fires at the wallclock time C<$at> and doesn't repeat. It
618will not adjust when a time jump occurs, that is, if it is to be run
619at January 1st 2011 then it will run when the system time reaches or
620surpasses this time.
621
622=item * repeating interval timer ($interval > 0, $reschedule_cb = 0)
623
624In this mode the watcher will always be scheduled to time out at the
625next C<$at + N * $interval> time (for some integer N) and then repeat,
626regardless of any time jumps.
627
628This can be used to create timers that do not drift with respect to system
629time:
630
631 my $hourly = EV::periodic 0, 3600, 0, sub { print "once/hour\n" };
632
633That doesn't mean there will always be 3600 seconds in between triggers,
634but only that the the clalback will be called when the system time shows a
635full hour (UTC).
158 636
159Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that 637Another way to think about it (for the mathematically inclined) is that
160C<timer_abs> will try to tun the callback at the next possible time where 638EV::periodic will try to run the callback in this mode at the next
161C<$time = $at (mod $interval)>, regardless of any time jumps. 639possible time where C<$time = $at (mod $interval)>, regardless of any time
640jumps.
162 641
642=item * manual reschedule mode ($reschedule_cb = coderef)
643
644In this mode $interval and $at are both being ignored. Instead, each
645time the periodic watcher gets scheduled, the reschedule callback
646($reschedule_cb) will be called with the watcher as first, and the current
647time as second argument.
648
649I<This callback MUST NOT stop or destroy this or any other periodic
650watcher, ever, and MUST NOT call any event loop functions or methods>. If
651you need to stop it, return 1e30 and stop it afterwards. You may create
652and start a C<EV::prepare> watcher for this task.
653
654It must return the next time to trigger, based on the passed time value
655(that is, the lowest time value larger than or equal to to the second
656argument). It will usually be called just before the callback will be
657triggered, but might be called at other times, too.
658
659This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer that
660triggers on each midnight, local time (actually 24 hours after the last
661midnight, to keep the example simple. If you know a way to do it correctly
662in about the same space (without requiring elaborate modules), drop me a
663note :):
664
665 my $daily = EV::periodic 0, 0, sub {
666 my ($w, $now) = @_;
667
668 use Time::Local ();
669 my (undef, undef, undef, $d, $m, $y) = localtime $now;
670 86400 + Time::Local::timelocal 0, 0, 0, $d, $m, $y
671 }, sub {
672 print "it's midnight or likely shortly after, now\n";
673 };
674
675=back
676
163The C<timer_abs_ns> variant doesn't add/start the newly created watcher. 677The C<periodic_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
164 678
679=item $w->set ($at, $interval, $reschedule_cb)
680
681Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be called at
682any time.
683
684=item $w->again
685
686Simply stops and starts the watcher again.
687
688=item $time = $w->at
689
690Return the time that the watcher is expected to trigger next.
691
692=back
693
694
695=head3 SIGNAL WATCHERS - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
696
697=over 4
698
165=item my $w = EV::signal $signum, $callback 699=item $w = EV::signal $signal, $callback
166 700
167=item my $w = EV::signal_ns $signum, $callback 701=item $w = EV::signal_ns $signal, $callback
168 702
169Call the callback when signal $signum is received. 703Call the callback when $signal is received (the signal can be specified by
704number or by name, just as with C<kill> or C<%SIG>).
170 705
706EV will grab the signal for the process (the kernel only allows one
707component to receive a signal at a time) when you start a signal watcher,
708and removes it again when you stop it. Perl does the same when you
709add/remove callbacks to C<%SIG>, so watch out.
710
711You can have as many signal watchers per signal as you want.
712
171The C<signal_ns> variant doesn't add/start the newly created watcher. 713The C<signal_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
172 714
173=back 715=item $w->set ($signal)
174 716
175=head1 THE EV::Event CLASS 717Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be
718called at any time.
176 719
177All EV functions creating an event watcher (designated by C<my $w => 720=item $current_signum = $w->signal
178above) support the following methods on the returned watcher object:
179 721
180=over 4 722=item $old_signum = $w->signal ($new_signal)
181 723
182=item $w->add ($timeout) 724Returns the previously set signal (always as a number not name) and
725optionally set a new one.
183 726
184Stops and (re-)starts the event watcher, setting the optional timeout to 727=back
185the given value, or clearing the timeout if none is given.
186 728
729
730=head3 CHILD WATCHERS - watch out for process status changes
731
732=over 4
733
734=item $w = EV::child $pid, $trace, $callback
735
736=item $w = EV::child_ns $pid, $trace, $callback
737
738=item $w = $loop->child ($pid, $trace, $callback)
739
740=item $w = $loop->child_ns ($pid, $trace, $callback)
741
742Call the callback when a status change for pid C<$pid> (or any pid
743if C<$pid> is 0) has been received (a status change happens when the
744process terminates or is killed, or, when trace is true, additionally when
745it is stopped or continued). More precisely: when the process receives
746a C<SIGCHLD>, EV will fetch the outstanding exit/wait status for all
747changed/zombie children and call the callback.
748
749It is valid (and fully supported) to install a child watcher after a child
750has exited but before the event loop has started its next iteration (for
751example, first you C<fork>, then the new child process might exit, and
752only then do you install a child watcher in the parent for the new pid).
753
754You can access both exit (or tracing) status and pid by using the
755C<rstatus> and C<rpid> methods on the watcher object.
756
757You can have as many pid watchers per pid as you want, they will all be
758called.
759
760The C<child_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
761
762=item $w->set ($pid, $trace)
763
764Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be called at
765any time.
766
767=item $current_pid = $w->pid
768
769Returns the previously set process id and optionally set a new one.
770
771=item $exit_status = $w->rstatus
772
773Return the exit/wait status (as returned by waitpid, see the waitpid entry
774in perlfunc).
775
776=item $pid = $w->rpid
777
778Return the pid of the awaited child (useful when you have installed a
779watcher for all pids).
780
781=back
782
783
784=head3 STAT WATCHERS - did the file attributes just change?
785
786=over 4
787
788=item $w = EV::stat $path, $interval, $callback
789
790=item $w = EV::stat_ns $path, $interval, $callback
791
792=item $w = $loop->stat ($path, $interval, $callback)
793
794=item $w = $loop->stat_ns ($path, $interval, $callback)
795
796Call the callback when a file status change has been detected on
797C<$path>. The C<$path> does not need to exist, changing from "path exists"
798to "path does not exist" is a status change like any other.
799
800The C<$interval> is a recommended polling interval for systems where
801OS-supported change notifications don't exist or are not supported. If
802you use C<0> then an unspecified default is used (which is highly
803recommended!), which is to be expected to be around five seconds usually.
804
805This watcher type is not meant for massive numbers of stat watchers,
806as even with OS-supported change notifications, this can be
807resource-intensive.
808
809The C<stat_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
810
187=item $w->start 811=item ... = $w->stat
188 812
189Stops and (re-)starts the event watcher without touching the timeout. 813This call is very similar to the perl C<stat> built-in: It stats (using
814C<lstat>) the path specified in the watcher and sets perls stat cache (as
815well as EV's idea of the current stat values) to the values found.
190 816
191=item $w->del 817In scalar context, a boolean is return indicating success or failure of
818the stat. In list context, the same 13-value list as with stat is returned
819(except that the blksize and blocks fields are not reliable).
192 820
193=item $w->stop 821In the case of an error, errno is set to C<ENOENT> (regardless of the
822actual error value) and the C<nlink> value is forced to zero (if the stat
823was successful then nlink is guaranteed to be non-zero).
194 824
195Stop the event watcher if it was started. 825See also the next two entries for more info.
196 826
197=item $current_callback = $w->cb 827=item ... = $w->attr
198 828
199=item $old_callback = $w->cb ($new_callback) 829Just like C<< $w->stat >>, but without the initial stat'ing: this returns
830the values most recently detected by EV. See the next entry for more info.
200 831
832=item ... = $w->prev
833
834Just like C<< $w->stat >>, but without the initial stat'ing: this returns
835the previous set of values, before the change.
836
837That is, when the watcher callback is invoked, C<< $w->prev >> will be set
838to the values found I<before> a change was detected, while C<< $w->attr >>
839returns the values found leading to the change detection. The difference (if any)
840between C<prev> and C<attr> is what triggered the callback.
841
842If you did something to the filesystem object and do not want to trigger
843yet another change, you can call C<stat> to update EV's idea of what the
844current attributes are.
845
846=item $w->set ($path, $interval)
847
848Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can be
849called at any time.
850
851=item $current_path = $w->path
852
853=item $old_path = $w->path ($new_path)
854
201Return the previously set callback and optionally set a new one. 855Returns the previously set path and optionally set a new one.
202 856
203=item $current_fh = $w->fh 857=item $current_interval = $w->interval
204 858
205=item $old_fh = $w->fh ($new_fh) 859=item $old_interval = $w->interval ($new_interval)
206 860
207Returns the previously set filehandle and optionally set a new one.
208
209=item $current_eventmask = $w->events
210
211=item $old_eventmask = $w->events ($new_eventmask)
212
213Returns the previously set event mask and optionally set a new one. 861Returns the previously set interval and optionally set a new one. Can be
862used to query the actual interval used.
214 863
215=item $w->timeout ($after, $repeat)
216
217Resets the timeout (see C<EV::timer> for details).
218
219=item $w->timeout_abs ($at, $interval)
220
221Resets the timeout (see C<EV::timer_abs> for details).
222
223=item $w->priority_set ($priority)
224
225Set the priority of the watcher to C<$priority> (0 <= $priority < $EV::NPRI).
226
227=back 864=back
228 865
229=head1 BUGS
230 866
231Lots. Libevent itself isn't well tested and rather buggy, and this module 867=head3 IDLE WATCHERS - when you've got nothing better to do...
232is quite new at the moment.
233 868
234Please note that the epoll method is not, in general, reliable in programs 869=over 4
235that use fork (even if no libveent calls are being made in the forked
236process). If your program behaves erratically, try setting the environment
237variable C<EVENT_NOEPOLL> first when running the program.
238 870
239In general, if you fork, then you can only use the EV module in one of the 871=item $w = EV::idle $callback
240children. 872
873=item $w = EV::idle_ns $callback
874
875=item $w = $loop->idle ($callback)
876
877=item $w = $loop->idle_ns ($callback)
878
879Call the callback when there are no other pending watchers of the same or
880higher priority (excluding check, prepare and other idle watchers of the
881same or lower priority, of course). They are called idle watchers because
882when the watcher is the highest priority pending event in the process, the
883process is considered to be idle at that priority.
884
885If you want a watcher that is only ever called when I<no> other events are
886outstanding you have to set the priority to C<EV::MINPRI>.
887
888The process will not block as long as any idle watchers are active, and
889they will be called repeatedly until stopped.
890
891For example, if you have idle watchers at priority C<0> and C<1>, and
892an I/O watcher at priority C<0>, then the idle watcher at priority C<1>
893and the I/O watcher will always run when ready. Only when the idle watcher
894at priority C<1> is stopped and the I/O watcher at priority C<0> is not
895pending with the C<0>-priority idle watcher be invoked.
896
897The C<idle_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
898
899=back
900
901
902=head3 PREPARE WATCHERS - customise your event loop!
903
904=over 4
905
906=item $w = EV::prepare $callback
907
908=item $w = EV::prepare_ns $callback
909
910=item $w = $loop->prepare ($callback)
911
912=item $w = $loop->prepare_ns ($callback)
913
914Call the callback just before the process would block. You can still
915create/modify any watchers at this point.
916
917See the EV::check watcher, below, for explanations and an example.
918
919The C<prepare_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
920
921=back
922
923
924=head3 CHECK WATCHERS - customise your event loop even more!
925
926=over 4
927
928=item $w = EV::check $callback
929
930=item $w = EV::check_ns $callback
931
932=item $w = $loop->check ($callback)
933
934=item $w = $loop->check_ns ($callback)
935
936Call the callback just after the process wakes up again (after it has
937gathered events), but before any other callbacks have been invoked.
938
939This is used to integrate other event-based software into the EV
940mainloop: You register a prepare callback and in there, you create io and
941timer watchers as required by the other software. Here is a real-world
942example of integrating Net::SNMP (with some details left out):
943
944 our @snmp_watcher;
945
946 our $snmp_prepare = EV::prepare sub {
947 # do nothing unless active
948 $dispatcher->{_event_queue_h}
949 or return;
950
951 # make the dispatcher handle any outstanding stuff
952 ... not shown
953
954 # create an I/O watcher for each and every socket
955 @snmp_watcher = (
956 (map { EV::io $_, EV::READ, sub { } }
957 keys %{ $dispatcher->{_descriptors} }),
958
959 EV::timer +($event->[Net::SNMP::Dispatcher::_ACTIVE]
960 ? $event->[Net::SNMP::Dispatcher::_TIME] - EV::now : 0),
961 0, sub { },
962 );
963 };
964
965The callbacks are irrelevant (and are not even being called), the
966only purpose of those watchers is to wake up the process as soon as
967one of those events occurs (socket readable, or timer timed out). The
968corresponding EV::check watcher will then clean up:
969
970 our $snmp_check = EV::check sub {
971 # destroy all watchers
972 @snmp_watcher = ();
973
974 # make the dispatcher handle any new stuff
975 ... not shown
976 };
977
978The callbacks of the created watchers will not be called as the watchers
979are destroyed before this can happen (remember EV::check gets called
980first).
981
982The C<check_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
983
984=back
985
986
987=head3 FORK WATCHERS - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
988
989Fork watchers are called when a C<fork ()> was detected. The invocation
990is done before the event loop blocks next and before C<check> watchers
991are being called, and only in the child after the fork.
992
993=over 4
994
995=item $w = EV::fork $callback
996
997=item $w = EV::fork_ns $callback
998
999=item $w = $loop->fork ($callback)
1000
1001=item $w = $loop->fork_ns ($callback)
1002
1003Call the callback before the event loop is resumed in the child process
1004after a fork.
1005
1006The C<fork_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
1007
1008=back
1009
1010
1011=head3 EMBED WATCHERS - when one backend isn't enough...
1012
1013This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event loop
1014into another (currently only IO events are supported in the embedded
1015loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or incorrect
1016fashion and must not be used).
1017
1018See the libev documentation at
1019L<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#code_ev_embed_code_when_one_backend_>
1020(locally installed as F<EV::libev>) for more details.
1021
1022In short, this watcher is most useful on BSD systems without working
1023kqueue to still be able to handle a large number of sockets:
1024
1025 my $socket_loop;
1026
1027 # check wether we use SELECT or POLL _and_ KQUEUE is supported
1028 if (
1029 (EV::backend & (EV::BACKEND_POLL | EV::BACKEND_SELECT))
1030 && (EV::supported_backends & EV::embeddable_backends & EV::BACKEND_KQUEUE)
1031 ) {
1032 # use kqueue for sockets
1033 $socket_loop = new EV::Loop EV::BACKEND_KQUEUE | EV::FLAG_NOENV;
1034 }
1035
1036 # use the default loop otherwise
1037 $socket_loop ||= EV::default_loop;
1038
1039=over 4
1040
1041=item $w = EV::embed $otherloop[, $callback]
1042
1043=item $w = EV::embed_ns $otherloop[, $callback]
1044
1045=item $w = $loop->embed ($otherloop[, $callback])
1046
1047=item $w = $loop->embed_ns ($otherloop[, $callback])
1048
1049Call the callback when the embedded event loop (C<$otherloop>) has any
1050I/O activity. The C<$callback> is optional: if it is missing, then the
1051embedded event loop will be managed automatically (which is recommended),
1052otherwise you have to invoke C<sweep> yourself.
1053
1054The C<embed_ns> variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created watcher.
1055
1056=back
1057
1058=head3 ASYNC WATCHERS - how to wake up another event loop
1059
1060Async watchers are provided by EV, but have little use in perl directly,
1061as perl neither supports threads running in parallel nor direct access to
1062signal handlers or other contexts where they could be of value.
1063
1064It is, however, possible to use them from the XS level.
1065
1066Please see the libev documentation for further details.
1067
1068=over 4
1069
1070=item $w = EV::async $callback
1071
1072=item $w = EV::async_ns $callback
1073
1074=item $w->send
1075
1076=item $bool = $w->async_pending
1077
1078=back
1079
1080
1081=head1 PERL SIGNALS
1082
1083While Perl signal handling (C<%SIG>) is not affected by EV, the behaviour
1084with EV is as the same as any other C library: Perl-signals will only be
1085handled when Perl runs, which means your signal handler might be invoked
1086only the next time an event callback is invoked.
1087
1088The solution is to use EV signal watchers (see C<EV::signal>), which will
1089ensure proper operations with regards to other event watchers.
1090
1091If you cannot do this for whatever reason, you can also force a watcher
1092to be called on every event loop iteration by installing a C<EV::check>
1093watcher:
1094
1095 my $async_check = EV::check sub { };
1096
1097This ensures that perl gets into control for a short time to handle any
1098pending signals, and also ensures (slightly) slower overall operation.
1099
1100=head1 ITHREADS
1101
1102Ithreads are not supported by this module in any way. Perl pseudo-threads
1103is evil stuff and must die. Real threads as provided by Coro are fully
1104supported (and enhanced support is available via L<Coro::EV>).
1105
1106=head1 FORK
1107
1108Most of the "improved" event delivering mechanisms of modern operating
1109systems have quite a few problems with fork(2) (to put it bluntly: it is
1110not supported and usually destructive). Libev makes it possible to work
1111around this by having a function that recreates the kernel state after
1112fork in the child.
1113
1114On non-win32 platforms, this module requires the pthread_atfork
1115functionality to do this automatically for you. This function is quite
1116buggy on most BSDs, though, so YMMV. The overhead for this is quite
1117negligible, because everything the function currently does is set a flag
1118that is checked only when the event loop gets used the next time, so when
1119you do fork but not use EV, the overhead is minimal.
1120
1121On win32, there is no notion of fork so all this doesn't apply, of course.
241 1122
242=cut 1123=cut
243 1124
244our $DIED = sub { 1125our $DIED = sub {
245 warn "EV: error in callback (ignoring): $@"; 1126 warn "EV: error in callback (ignoring): $@";
246}; 1127};
247 1128
248our $NPRI = 4; 1129default_loop
249our $BASE = init; 1130 or die 'EV: cannot initialise libev backend. bad $ENV{LIBEV_FLAGS}?';
250priority_init $NPRI;
251
252push @AnyEvent::REGISTRY, [EV => "EV::AnyEvent"];
253 1131
2541; 11321;
255 1133
256=head1 SEE ALSO 1134=head1 SEE ALSO
257 1135
258 L<EV::DNS>, L<event(3)>, L<event.h>, L<evdns.h>. 1136L<EV::ADNS> (asynchronous DNS), L<Glib::EV> (makes Glib/Gtk2 use EV as
259 L<EV::AnyEvent>. 1137event loop), L<EV::Glib> (embed Glib into EV), L<Coro::EV> (efficient
1138coroutines with EV), L<Net::SNMP::EV> (asynchronous SNMP), L<AnyEvent> for
1139event-loop agnostic and portable event driven programming.
260 1140
261=head1 AUTHOR 1141=head1 AUTHOR
262 1142
263 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1143 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
264 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1144 http://home.schmorp.de/
265 1145
266=cut 1146=cut
267 1147

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