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… …
3 3
4SYNOPSIS 4SYNOPSIS
5 use IO::AIO; 5 use IO::AIO;
6 6
7 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub { 7 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
8 my ($fh) = @_; 8 my $fh = shift
9 or die "/etc/passwd: $!";
9 ... 10 ...
10 }; 11 };
11 12
12 aio_unlink "/tmp/file", sub { }; 13 aio_unlink "/tmp/file", sub { };
13 14
… …
23 $req->cancel; # cancel request if still in queue 24 $req->cancel; # cancel request if still in queue
24 25
25 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "all stats done\n" }; 26 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "all stats done\n" };
26 add $grp aio_stat "..." for ...; 27 add $grp aio_stat "..." for ...;
27 28
29 # AnyEvent integration (EV, Event, Glib, Tk, POE, urxvt, pureperl...)
30 use AnyEvent::AIO;
31
28 # AnyEvent integration 32 # EV integration
29 open my $fh, "<&=" . IO::AIO::poll_fileno or die "$!"; 33 my $w = EV::io IO::AIO::poll_fileno, EV::READ, \&IO::AIO::poll_cb;
30 my $w = AnyEvent->io (fh => $fh, poll => 'r', cb => sub { IO::AIO::poll_cb });
31 34
32 # Event integration 35 # Event integration
33 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, 36 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
34 poll => 'r', 37 poll => 'r',
35 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb); 38 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
… …
58 but can also be used to easily do operations in parallel that are 61 but can also be used to easily do operations in parallel that are
59 normally done sequentially, e.g. stat'ing many files, which is much 62 normally done sequentially, e.g. stat'ing many files, which is much
60 faster on a RAID volume or over NFS when you do a number of stat 63 faster on a RAID volume or over NFS when you do a number of stat
61 operations concurrently. 64 operations concurrently.
62 65
63 While this works on all types of file descriptors (for example sockets), 66 While most of this works on all types of file descriptors (for example
64 using these functions on file descriptors that support nonblocking 67 sockets), using these functions on file descriptors that support
65 operation (again, sockets, pipes etc.) is very inefficient. Use an event 68 nonblocking operation (again, sockets, pipes etc.) is very inefficient.
66 loop for that (such as the Event module): IO::AIO will naturally fit 69 Use an event loop for that (such as the Event module): IO::AIO will
67 into such an event loop itself. 70 naturally fit into such an event loop itself.
68 71
69 In this version, a number of threads are started that execute your 72 In this version, a number of threads are started that execute your
70 requests and signal their completion. You don't need thread support in 73 requests and signal their completion. You don't need thread support in
71 perl, and the threads created by this module will not be visible to 74 perl, and the threads created by this module will not be visible to
72 perl. In the future, this module might make use of the native aio 75 perl. In the future, this module might make use of the native aio
… …
74 not well-supported or restricted (GNU/Linux doesn't allow them on normal 77 not well-supported or restricted (GNU/Linux doesn't allow them on normal
75 files currently, for example), and they would only support aio_read and 78 files currently, for example), and they would only support aio_read and
76 aio_write, so the remaining functionality would have to be implemented 79 aio_write, so the remaining functionality would have to be implemented
77 using threads anyway. 80 using threads anyway.
78 81
79 Although the module will work with in the presence of other (Perl-) 82 Although the module will work in the presence of other (Perl-) threads,
80 threads, it is currently not reentrant in any way, so use appropriate 83 it is currently not reentrant in any way, so use appropriate locking
81 locking yourself, always call "poll_cb" from within the same thread, or 84 yourself, always call "poll_cb" from within the same thread, or never
82 never call "poll_cb" (or other "aio_" functions) recursively. 85 call "poll_cb" (or other "aio_" functions) recursively.
83 86
84 EXAMPLE 87 EXAMPLE
85 This is a simple example that uses the Event module and loads 88 This is a simple example that uses the Event module and loads
86 /etc/passwd asynchronously: 89 /etc/passwd asynchronously:
87 90
… …
94 poll => 'r', 97 poll => 'r',
95 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb); 98 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
96 99
97 # queue the request to open /etc/passwd 100 # queue the request to open /etc/passwd
98 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub { 101 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
99 my $fh = $_[0] 102 my $fh = shift
100 or die "error while opening: $!"; 103 or die "error while opening: $!";
101 104
102 # stat'ing filehandles is generally non-blocking 105 # stat'ing filehandles is generally non-blocking
103 my $size = -s $fh; 106 my $size = -s $fh;
104 107
… …
167 the actual aio request is severed and calling its methods will 170 the actual aio request is severed and calling its methods will
168 either do nothing or result in a runtime error). 171 either do nothing or result in a runtime error).
169 172
170FUNCTIONS 173FUNCTIONS
171 AIO REQUEST FUNCTIONS 174 AIO REQUEST FUNCTIONS
172 All the "aio_*" calls are more or less thin wrappers around the 175 All the "aio_*" calls are more or less thin wrappers around the syscall
173 syscall with the same name (sans "aio_"). The arguments are similar 176 with the same name (sans "aio_"). The arguments are similar or
174 or identical, and they all accept an additional (and optional) 177 identical, and they all accept an additional (and optional) $callback
175 $callback argument which must be a code reference. This code 178 argument which must be a code reference. This code reference will get
176 reference will get called with the syscall return code (e.g. most 179 called with the syscall return code (e.g. most syscalls return -1 on
177 syscalls return -1 on error, unlike perl, which usually delivers 180 error, unlike perl, which usually delivers "false") as its sole argument
178 "false") as it's sole argument when the given syscall has been 181 after the given syscall has been executed asynchronously.
179 executed asynchronously.
180 182
181 All functions expecting a filehandle keep a copy of the filehandle 183 All functions expecting a filehandle keep a copy of the filehandle
182 internally until the request has finished. 184 internally until the request has finished.
183 185
184 All functions return request objects of type IO::AIO::REQ that allow 186 All functions return request objects of type IO::AIO::REQ that allow
185 further manipulation of those requests while they are in-flight. 187 further manipulation of those requests while they are in-flight.
186 188
187 The pathnames you pass to these routines *must* be absolute and 189 The pathnames you pass to these routines *must* be absolute and encoded
188 encoded as octets. The reason for the former is that at the time the 190 as octets. The reason for the former is that at the time the request is
189 request is being executed, the current working directory could have 191 being executed, the current working directory could have changed.
190 changed. Alternatively, you can make sure that you never change the 192 Alternatively, you can make sure that you never change the current
191 current working directory anywhere in the program and then use 193 working directory anywhere in the program and then use relative paths.
192 relative paths.
193 194
194 To encode pathnames as octets, either make sure you either: a) 195 To encode pathnames as octets, either make sure you either: a) always
195 always pass in filenames you got from outside (command line, readdir 196 pass in filenames you got from outside (command line, readdir etc.)
196 etc.) without tinkering, b) are ASCII or ISO 8859-1, c) use the 197 without tinkering, b) are ASCII or ISO 8859-1, c) use the Encode module
197 Encode module and encode your pathnames to the locale (or other) 198 and encode your pathnames to the locale (or other) encoding in effect in
198 encoding in effect in the user environment, d) use 199 the user environment, d) use Glib::filename_from_unicode on unicode
199 Glib::filename_from_unicode on unicode filenames or e) use something 200 filenames or e) use something else to ensure your scalar has the correct
200 else to ensure your scalar has the correct contents. 201 contents.
201 202
202 This works, btw. independent of the internal UTF-8 bit, which 203 This works, btw. independent of the internal UTF-8 bit, which IO::AIO
203 IO::AIO handles correctly wether it is set or not. 204 handles correctly whether it is set or not.
204 205
205 $prev_pri = aioreq_pri [$pri] 206 $prev_pri = aioreq_pri [$pri]
206 Returns the priority value that would be used for the next 207 Returns the priority value that would be used for the next request
207 request and, if $pri is given, sets the priority for the next 208 and, if $pri is given, sets the priority for the next aio request.
208 aio request.
209 209
210 The default priority is 0, the minimum and maximum priorities 210 The default priority is 0, the minimum and maximum priorities are -4
211 are -4 and 4, respectively. Requests with higher priority will 211 and 4, respectively. Requests with higher priority will be serviced
212 be serviced first. 212 first.
213 213
214 The priority will be reset to 0 after each call to one of the 214 The priority will be reset to 0 after each call to one of the
215 "aio_*" functions. 215 "aio_*" functions.
216 216
217 Example: open a file with low priority, then read something from 217 Example: open a file with low priority, then read something from it
218 it with higher priority so the read request is serviced before 218 with higher priority so the read request is serviced before other
219 other low priority open requests (potentially spamming the 219 low priority open requests (potentially spamming the cache):
220 cache):
221 220
221 aioreq_pri -3;
222 aio_open ..., sub {
223 return unless $_[0];
224
222 aioreq_pri -3; 225 aioreq_pri -2;
223 aio_open ..., sub {
224 return unless $_[0];
225
226 aioreq_pri -2;
227 aio_read $_[0], ..., sub { 226 aio_read $_[0], ..., sub {
228 ...
229 };
230 };
231
232 aioreq_nice $pri_adjust
233 Similar to "aioreq_pri", but subtracts the given value from the
234 current priority, so the effect is cumulative.
235
236 aio_open $pathname, $flags, $mode, $callback->($fh)
237 Asynchronously open or create a file and call the callback with
238 a newly created filehandle for the file.
239
240 The pathname passed to "aio_open" must be absolute. See API
241 NOTES, above, for an explanation.
242
243 The $flags argument is a bitmask. See the "Fcntl" module for a
244 list. They are the same as used by "sysopen".
245
246 Likewise, $mode specifies the mode of the newly created file, if
247 it didn't exist and "O_CREAT" has been given, just like perl's
248 "sysopen", except that it is mandatory (i.e. use 0 if you don't
249 create new files, and 0666 or 0777 if you do).
250
251 Example:
252
253 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
254 if ($_[0]) {
255 print "open successful, fh is $_[0]\n";
256 ...
257 } else {
258 die "open failed: $!\n";
259 }
260 };
261
262 aio_close $fh, $callback->($status)
263 Asynchronously close a file and call the callback with the
264 result code. *WARNING:* although accepted, you should not pass
265 in a perl filehandle here, as perl will likely close the file
266 descriptor another time when the filehandle is destroyed.
267 Normally, you can safely call perls "close" or just let
268 filehandles go out of scope.
269
270 This is supposed to be a bug in the API, so that might change.
271 It's therefore best to avoid this function.
272
273 aio_read $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset,
274 $callback->($retval)
275 aio_write $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset,
276 $callback->($retval)
277 Reads or writes "length" bytes from the specified "fh" and
278 "offset" into the scalar given by "data" and offset "dataoffset"
279 and calls the callback without the actual number of bytes read
280 (or -1 on error, just like the syscall).
281
282 The $data scalar *MUST NOT* be modified in any way while the
283 request is outstanding. Modifying it can result in segfaults or
284 WW3 (if the necessary/optional hardware is installed).
285
286 Example: Read 15 bytes at offset 7 into scalar $buffer, starting
287 at offset 0 within the scalar:
288
289 aio_read $fh, 7, 15, $buffer, 0, sub {
290 $_[0] > 0 or die "read error: $!";
291 print "read $_[0] bytes: <$buffer>\n";
292 };
293
294 aio_sendfile $out_fh, $in_fh, $in_offset, $length,
295 $callback->($retval)
296 Tries to copy $length bytes from $in_fh to $out_fh. It starts
297 reading at byte offset $in_offset, and starts writing at the
298 current file offset of $out_fh. Because of that, it is not safe
299 to issue more than one "aio_sendfile" per $out_fh, as they will
300 interfere with each other.
301
302 This call tries to make use of a native "sendfile" syscall to
303 provide zero-copy operation. For this to work, $out_fh should
304 refer to a socket, and $in_fh should refer to mmap'able file.
305
306 If the native sendfile call fails or is not implemented, it will
307 be emulated, so you can call "aio_sendfile" on any type of
308 filehandle regardless of the limitations of the operating
309 system.
310
311 Please note, however, that "aio_sendfile" can read more bytes
312 from $in_fh than are written, and there is no way to find out
313 how many bytes have been read from "aio_sendfile" alone, as
314 "aio_sendfile" only provides the number of bytes written to
315 $out_fh. Only if the result value equals $length one can assume
316 that $length bytes have been read.
317
318 aio_readahead $fh,$offset,$length, $callback->($retval)
319 "aio_readahead" populates the page cache with data from a file
320 so that subsequent reads from that file will not block on disk
321 I/O. The $offset argument specifies the starting point from
322 which data is to be read and $length specifies the number of
323 bytes to be read. I/O is performed in whole pages, so that
324 offset is effectively rounded down to a page boundary and bytes
325 are read up to the next page boundary greater than or equal to
326 (off-set+length). "aio_readahead" does not read beyond the end
327 of the file. The current file offset of the file is left
328 unchanged.
329
330 If that syscall doesn't exist (likely if your OS isn't Linux) it
331 will be emulated by simply reading the data, which would have a
332 similar effect.
333
334 aio_stat $fh_or_path, $callback->($status)
335 aio_lstat $fh, $callback->($status)
336 Works like perl's "stat" or "lstat" in void context. The
337 callback will be called after the stat and the results will be
338 available using "stat _" or "-s _" etc...
339
340 The pathname passed to "aio_stat" must be absolute. See API
341 NOTES, above, for an explanation.
342
343 Currently, the stats are always 64-bit-stats, i.e. instead of
344 returning an error when stat'ing a large file, the results will
345 be silently truncated unless perl itself is compiled with large
346 file support.
347
348 Example: Print the length of /etc/passwd:
349
350 aio_stat "/etc/passwd", sub {
351 $_[0] and die "stat failed: $!";
352 print "size is ", -s _, "\n";
353 };
354
355 aio_unlink $pathname, $callback->($status)
356 Asynchronously unlink (delete) a file and call the callback with
357 the result code.
358
359 aio_mknod $path, $mode, $dev, $callback->($status)
360 [EXPERIMENTAL]
361
362 Asynchronously create a device node (or fifo). See mknod(2).
363
364 The only (POSIX-) portable way of calling this function is:
365
366 aio_mknod $path, IO::AIO::S_IFIFO | $mode, 0, sub { ...
367
368 aio_link $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
369 Asynchronously create a new link to the existing object at
370 $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the
371 result code.
372
373 aio_symlink $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
374 Asynchronously create a new symbolic link to the existing object
375 at $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the
376 result code.
377
378 aio_rename $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
379 Asynchronously rename the object at $srcpath to $dstpath, just
380 as rename(2) and call the callback with the result code.
381
382 aio_rmdir $pathname, $callback->($status)
383 Asynchronously rmdir (delete) a directory and call the callback
384 with the result code.
385
386 aio_readdir $pathname, $callback->($entries)
387 Unlike the POSIX call of the same name, "aio_readdir" reads an
388 entire directory (i.e. opendir + readdir + closedir). The
389 entries will not be sorted, and will NOT include the "." and
390 ".." entries.
391
392 The callback a single argument which is either "undef" or an
393 array-ref with the filenames.
394
395 aio_copy $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
396 Try to copy the *file* (directories not supported as either
397 source or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the
398 callback with the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
399
400 This is a composite request that it creates the destination file
401 with mode 0200 and copies the contents of the source file into
402 it using "aio_sendfile", followed by restoring atime, mtime,
403 access mode and uid/gid, in that order.
404
405 If an error occurs, the partial destination file will be
406 unlinked, if possible, except when setting atime, mtime, access
407 mode and uid/gid, where errors are being ignored.
408
409 aio_move $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
410 Try to move the *file* (directories not supported as either
411 source or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the
412 callback with the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
413
414 This is a composite request that tries to rename(2) the file
415 first. If rename files with "EXDEV", it copies the file with
416 "aio_copy" and, if that is successful, unlinking the $srcpath.
417
418 aio_scandir $path, $maxreq, $callback->($dirs, $nondirs)
419 Scans a directory (similar to "aio_readdir") but additionally
420 tries to efficiently separate the entries of directory $path
421 into two sets of names, directories you can recurse into
422 (directories), and ones you cannot recurse into (everything
423 else, including symlinks to directories).
424
425 "aio_scandir" is a composite request that creates of many sub
426 requests_ $maxreq specifies the maximum number of outstanding
427 aio requests that this function generates. If it is "<= 0", then
428 a suitable default will be chosen (currently 4).
429
430 On error, the callback is called without arguments, otherwise it
431 receives two array-refs with path-relative entry names.
432
433 Example:
434
435 aio_scandir $dir, 0, sub {
436 my ($dirs, $nondirs) = @_;
437 print "real directories: @$dirs\n";
438 print "everything else: @$nondirs\n";
439 };
440
441 Implementation notes.
442
443 The "aio_readdir" cannot be avoided, but "stat()"'ing every
444 entry can.
445
446 After reading the directory, the modification time, size etc. of
447 the directory before and after the readdir is checked, and if
448 they match (and isn't the current time), the link count will be
449 used to decide how many entries are directories (if >= 2).
450 Otherwise, no knowledge of the number of subdirectories will be
451 assumed.
452
453 Then entries will be sorted into likely directories (everything
454 without a non-initial dot currently) and likely non-directories
455 (everything else). Then every entry plus an appended "/." will
456 be "stat"'ed, likely directories first. If that succeeds, it
457 assumes that the entry is a directory or a symlink to directory
458 (which will be checked seperately). This is often faster than
459 stat'ing the entry itself because filesystems might detect the
460 type of the entry without reading the inode data (e.g. ext2fs
461 filetype feature).
462
463 If the known number of directories (link count - 2) has been
464 reached, the rest of the entries is assumed to be
465 non-directories.
466
467 This only works with certainty on POSIX (= UNIX) filesystems,
468 which fortunately are the vast majority of filesystems around.
469
470 It will also likely work on non-POSIX filesystems with reduced
471 efficiency as those tend to return 0 or 1 as link counts, which
472 disables the directory counting heuristic.
473
474 aio_fsync $fh, $callback->($status)
475 Asynchronously call fsync on the given filehandle and call the
476 callback with the fsync result code.
477
478 aio_fdatasync $fh, $callback->($status)
479 Asynchronously call fdatasync on the given filehandle and call
480 the callback with the fdatasync result code.
481
482 If this call isn't available because your OS lacks it or it
483 couldn't be detected, it will be emulated by calling "fsync"
484 instead.
485
486 aio_group $callback->(...)
487 This is a very special aio request: Instead of doing something,
488 it is a container for other aio requests, which is useful if you
489 want to bundle many requests into a single, composite, request
490 with a definite callback and the ability to cancel the whole
491 request with its subrequests.
492
493 Returns an object of class IO::AIO::GRP. See its documentation
494 below for more info.
495
496 Example:
497
498 my $grp = aio_group sub {
499 print "all stats done\n";
500 };
501
502 add $grp
503 (aio_stat ...),
504 (aio_stat ...),
505 ...; 227 ...
506
507 aio_nop $callback->()
508 This is a special request - it does nothing in itself and is
509 only used for side effects, such as when you want to add a dummy
510 request to a group so that finishing the requests in the group
511 depends on executing the given code.
512
513 While this request does nothing, it still goes through the
514 execution phase and still requires a worker thread. Thus, the
515 callback will not be executed immediately but only after other
516 requests in the queue have entered their execution phase. This
517 can be used to measure request latency.
518
519 IO::AIO::aio_busy $fractional_seconds, $callback->() *NOT EXPORTED*
520 Mainly used for debugging and benchmarking, this aio request
521 puts one of the request workers to sleep for the given time.
522
523 While it is theoretically handy to have simple I/O scheduling
524 requests like sleep and file handle readable/writable, the
525 overhead this creates is immense (it blocks a thread for a long
526 time) so do not use this function except to put your application
527 under artificial I/O pressure.
528
529 IO::AIO::REQ CLASS
530 All non-aggregate "aio_*" functions return an object of this class
531 when called in non-void context.
532
533 cancel $req
534 Cancels the request, if possible. Has the effect of skipping
535 execution when entering the execute state and skipping calling
536 the callback when entering the the result state, but will leave
537 the request otherwise untouched. That means that requests that
538 currently execute will not be stopped and resources held by the
539 request will not be freed prematurely.
540
541 cb $req $callback->(...)
542 Replace (or simply set) the callback registered to the request.
543
544 IO::AIO::GRP CLASS
545 This class is a subclass of IO::AIO::REQ, so all its methods apply
546 to objects of this class, too.
547
548 A IO::AIO::GRP object is a special request that can contain multiple
549 other aio requests.
550
551 You create one by calling the "aio_group" constructing function with
552 a callback that will be called when all contained requests have
553 entered the "done" state:
554
555 my $grp = aio_group sub {
556 print "all requests are done\n";
557 };
558
559 You add requests by calling the "add" method with one or more
560 "IO::AIO::REQ" objects:
561
562 $grp->add (aio_unlink "...");
563
564 add $grp aio_stat "...", sub {
565 $_[0] or return $grp->result ("error");
566
567 # add another request dynamically, if first succeeded
568 add $grp aio_open "...", sub {
569 $grp->result ("ok");
570 }; 228 };
571 }; 229 };
572 230
231 aioreq_nice $pri_adjust
232 Similar to "aioreq_pri", but subtracts the given value from the
233 current priority, so the effect is cumulative.
234
235 aio_open $pathname, $flags, $mode, $callback->($fh)
236 Asynchronously open or create a file and call the callback with a
237 newly created filehandle for the file.
238
239 The pathname passed to "aio_open" must be absolute. See API NOTES,
240 above, for an explanation.
241
242 The $flags argument is a bitmask. See the "Fcntl" module for a list.
243 They are the same as used by "sysopen".
244
245 Likewise, $mode specifies the mode of the newly created file, if it
246 didn't exist and "O_CREAT" has been given, just like perl's
247 "sysopen", except that it is mandatory (i.e. use 0 if you don't
248 create new files, and 0666 or 0777 if you do). Note that the $mode
249 will be modified by the umask in effect then the request is being
250 executed, so better never change the umask.
251
252 Example:
253
254 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
255 if ($_[0]) {
256 print "open successful, fh is $_[0]\n";
257 ...
258 } else {
259 die "open failed: $!\n";
260 }
261 };
262
263 aio_close $fh, $callback->($status)
264 Asynchronously close a file and call the callback with the result
265 code.
266
267 Unfortunately, you can't do this to perl. Perl *insists* very
268 strongly on closing the file descriptor associated with the
269 filehandle itself.
270
271 Therefore, "aio_close" will not close the filehandle - instead it
272 will use dup2 to overwrite the file descriptor with the write-end of
273 a pipe (the pipe fd will be created on demand and will be cached).
274
275 Or in other words: the file descriptor will be closed, but it will
276 not be free for reuse until the perl filehandle is closed.
277
278 aio_read $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset, $callback->($retval)
279 aio_write $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset, $callback->($retval)
280 Reads or writes $length bytes from the specified $fh and $offset
281 into the scalar given by $data and offset $dataoffset and calls the
282 callback without the actual number of bytes read (or -1 on error,
283 just like the syscall).
284
285 If $offset is undefined, then the current file descriptor offset
286 will be used (and updated), otherwise the file descriptor offset
287 will not be changed by these calls.
288
289 If $length is undefined in "aio_write", use the remaining length of
290 $data.
291
292 If $dataoffset is less than zero, it will be counted from the end of
293 $data.
294
295 The $data scalar *MUST NOT* be modified in any way while the request
296 is outstanding. Modifying it can result in segfaults or World War
297 III (if the necessary/optional hardware is installed).
298
299 Example: Read 15 bytes at offset 7 into scalar $buffer, starting at
300 offset 0 within the scalar:
301
302 aio_read $fh, 7, 15, $buffer, 0, sub {
303 $_[0] > 0 or die "read error: $!";
304 print "read $_[0] bytes: <$buffer>\n";
305 };
306
307 aio_sendfile $out_fh, $in_fh, $in_offset, $length, $callback->($retval)
308 Tries to copy $length bytes from $in_fh to $out_fh. It starts
309 reading at byte offset $in_offset, and starts writing at the current
310 file offset of $out_fh. Because of that, it is not safe to issue
311 more than one "aio_sendfile" per $out_fh, as they will interfere
312 with each other.
313
314 This call tries to make use of a native "sendfile" syscall to
315 provide zero-copy operation. For this to work, $out_fh should refer
316 to a socket, and $in_fh should refer to mmap'able file.
317
318 If the native sendfile call fails or is not implemented, it will be
319 emulated, so you can call "aio_sendfile" on any type of filehandle
320 regardless of the limitations of the operating system.
321
322 Please note, however, that "aio_sendfile" can read more bytes from
323 $in_fh than are written, and there is no way to find out how many
324 bytes have been read from "aio_sendfile" alone, as "aio_sendfile"
325 only provides the number of bytes written to $out_fh. Only if the
326 result value equals $length one can assume that $length bytes have
327 been read.
328
329 aio_readahead $fh,$offset,$length, $callback->($retval)
330 "aio_readahead" populates the page cache with data from a file so
331 that subsequent reads from that file will not block on disk I/O. The
332 $offset argument specifies the starting point from which data is to
333 be read and $length specifies the number of bytes to be read. I/O is
334 performed in whole pages, so that offset is effectively rounded down
335 to a page boundary and bytes are read up to the next page boundary
336 greater than or equal to (off-set+length). "aio_readahead" does not
337 read beyond the end of the file. The current file offset of the file
338 is left unchanged.
339
340 If that syscall doesn't exist (likely if your OS isn't Linux) it
341 will be emulated by simply reading the data, which would have a
342 similar effect.
343
344 aio_stat $fh_or_path, $callback->($status)
345 aio_lstat $fh, $callback->($status)
346 Works like perl's "stat" or "lstat" in void context. The callback
347 will be called after the stat and the results will be available
348 using "stat _" or "-s _" etc...
349
350 The pathname passed to "aio_stat" must be absolute. See API NOTES,
351 above, for an explanation.
352
353 Currently, the stats are always 64-bit-stats, i.e. instead of
354 returning an error when stat'ing a large file, the results will be
355 silently truncated unless perl itself is compiled with large file
356 support.
357
358 Example: Print the length of /etc/passwd:
359
360 aio_stat "/etc/passwd", sub {
361 $_[0] and die "stat failed: $!";
362 print "size is ", -s _, "\n";
363 };
364
365 aio_utime $fh_or_path, $atime, $mtime, $callback->($status)
366 Works like perl's "utime" function (including the special case of
367 $atime and $mtime being undef). Fractional times are supported if
368 the underlying syscalls support them.
369
370 When called with a pathname, uses utimes(2) if available, otherwise
371 utime(2). If called on a file descriptor, uses futimes(2) if
372 available, otherwise returns ENOSYS, so this is not portable.
373
374 Examples:
375
376 # set atime and mtime to current time (basically touch(1)):
377 aio_utime "path", undef, undef;
378 # set atime to current time and mtime to beginning of the epoch:
379 aio_utime "path", time, undef; # undef==0
380
381 aio_chown $fh_or_path, $uid, $gid, $callback->($status)
382 Works like perl's "chown" function, except that "undef" for either
383 $uid or $gid is being interpreted as "do not change" (but -1 can
384 also be used).
385
386 Examples:
387
388 # same as "chown root path" in the shell:
389 aio_chown "path", 0, -1;
390 # same as above:
391 aio_chown "path", 0, undef;
392
393 aio_truncate $fh_or_path, $offset, $callback->($status)
394 Works like truncate(2) or ftruncate(2).
395
396 aio_chmod $fh_or_path, $mode, $callback->($status)
397 Works like perl's "chmod" function.
398
399 aio_unlink $pathname, $callback->($status)
400 Asynchronously unlink (delete) a file and call the callback with the
401 result code.
402
403 aio_mknod $path, $mode, $dev, $callback->($status)
404 [EXPERIMENTAL]
405
406 Asynchronously create a device node (or fifo). See mknod(2).
407
408 The only (POSIX-) portable way of calling this function is:
409
410 aio_mknod $path, IO::AIO::S_IFIFO | $mode, 0, sub { ...
411
412 aio_link $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
413 Asynchronously create a new link to the existing object at $srcpath
414 at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the result code.
415
416 aio_symlink $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
417 Asynchronously create a new symbolic link to the existing object at
418 $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the result
419 code.
420
421 aio_readlink $path, $callback->($link)
422 Asynchronously read the symlink specified by $path and pass it to
423 the callback. If an error occurs, nothing or undef gets passed to
424 the callback.
425
426 aio_rename $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
427 Asynchronously rename the object at $srcpath to $dstpath, just as
428 rename(2) and call the callback with the result code.
429
430 aio_mkdir $pathname, $mode, $callback->($status)
431 Asynchronously mkdir (create) a directory and call the callback with
432 the result code. $mode will be modified by the umask at the time the
433 request is executed, so do not change your umask.
434
435 aio_rmdir $pathname, $callback->($status)
436 Asynchronously rmdir (delete) a directory and call the callback with
437 the result code.
438
439 aio_readdir $pathname, $callback->($entries)
440 Unlike the POSIX call of the same name, "aio_readdir" reads an
441 entire directory (i.e. opendir + readdir + closedir). The entries
442 will not be sorted, and will NOT include the "." and ".." entries.
443
444 The callback a single argument which is either "undef" or an
445 array-ref with the filenames.
446
447 aio_load $path, $data, $callback->($status)
448 This is a composite request that tries to fully load the given file
449 into memory. Status is the same as with aio_read.
450
451 aio_copy $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
452 Try to copy the *file* (directories not supported as either source
453 or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the callback with
454 the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
455
456 This is a composite request that creates the destination file with
457 mode 0200 and copies the contents of the source file into it using
458 "aio_sendfile", followed by restoring atime, mtime, access mode and
459 uid/gid, in that order.
460
461 If an error occurs, the partial destination file will be unlinked,
462 if possible, except when setting atime, mtime, access mode and
463 uid/gid, where errors are being ignored.
464
465 aio_move $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
466 Try to move the *file* (directories not supported as either source
467 or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the callback with
468 the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
469
470 This is a composite request that tries to rename(2) the file first;
471 if rename fails with "EXDEV", it copies the file with "aio_copy"
472 and, if that is successful, unlinks the $srcpath.
473
474 aio_scandir $path, $maxreq, $callback->($dirs, $nondirs)
475 Scans a directory (similar to "aio_readdir") but additionally tries
476 to efficiently separate the entries of directory $path into two sets
477 of names, directories you can recurse into (directories), and ones
478 you cannot recurse into (everything else, including symlinks to
479 directories).
480
481 "aio_scandir" is a composite request that creates of many sub
482 requests_ $maxreq specifies the maximum number of outstanding aio
483 requests that this function generates. If it is "<= 0", then a
484 suitable default will be chosen (currently 4).
485
486 On error, the callback is called without arguments, otherwise it
487 receives two array-refs with path-relative entry names.
488
489 Example:
490
491 aio_scandir $dir, 0, sub {
492 my ($dirs, $nondirs) = @_;
493 print "real directories: @$dirs\n";
494 print "everything else: @$nondirs\n";
495 };
496
497 Implementation notes.
498
499 The "aio_readdir" cannot be avoided, but "stat()"'ing every entry
500 can.
501
502 After reading the directory, the modification time, size etc. of the
503 directory before and after the readdir is checked, and if they match
504 (and isn't the current time), the link count will be used to decide
505 how many entries are directories (if >= 2). Otherwise, no knowledge
506 of the number of subdirectories will be assumed.
507
508 Then entries will be sorted into likely directories (everything
509 without a non-initial dot currently) and likely non-directories
510 (everything else). Then every entry plus an appended "/." will be
511 "stat"'ed, likely directories first. If that succeeds, it assumes
512 that the entry is a directory or a symlink to directory (which will
513 be checked seperately). This is often faster than stat'ing the entry
514 itself because filesystems might detect the type of the entry
515 without reading the inode data (e.g. ext2fs filetype feature).
516
517 If the known number of directories (link count - 2) has been
518 reached, the rest of the entries is assumed to be non-directories.
519
520 This only works with certainty on POSIX (= UNIX) filesystems, which
521 fortunately are the vast majority of filesystems around.
522
523 It will also likely work on non-POSIX filesystems with reduced
524 efficiency as those tend to return 0 or 1 as link counts, which
525 disables the directory counting heuristic.
526
527 aio_rmtree $path, $callback->($status)
528 Delete a directory tree starting (and including) $path, return the
529 status of the final "rmdir" only. This is a composite request that
530 uses "aio_scandir" to recurse into and rmdir directories, and unlink
531 everything else.
532
533 aio_sync $callback->($status)
534 Asynchronously call sync and call the callback when finished.
535
536 aio_fsync $fh, $callback->($status)
537 Asynchronously call fsync on the given filehandle and call the
538 callback with the fsync result code.
539
540 aio_fdatasync $fh, $callback->($status)
541 Asynchronously call fdatasync on the given filehandle and call the
542 callback with the fdatasync result code.
543
544 If this call isn't available because your OS lacks it or it couldn't
545 be detected, it will be emulated by calling "fsync" instead.
546
547 aio_pathsync $path, $callback->($status)
548 This request tries to open, fsync and close the given path. This is
549 a composite request intended to sync directories after directory
550 operations (E.g. rename). This might not work on all operating
551 systems or have any specific effect, but usually it makes sure that
552 directory changes get written to disc. It works for anything that
553 can be opened for read-only, not just directories.
554
555 Passes 0 when everything went ok, and -1 on error.
556
557 aio_group $callback->(...)
558 This is a very special aio request: Instead of doing something, it
559 is a container for other aio requests, which is useful if you want
560 to bundle many requests into a single, composite, request with a
561 definite callback and the ability to cancel the whole request with
562 its subrequests.
563
564 Returns an object of class IO::AIO::GRP. See its documentation below
565 for more info.
566
567 Example:
568
569 my $grp = aio_group sub {
570 print "all stats done\n";
571 };
572
573 add $grp
574 (aio_stat ...),
575 (aio_stat ...),
576 ...;
577
578 aio_nop $callback->()
579 This is a special request - it does nothing in itself and is only
580 used for side effects, such as when you want to add a dummy request
581 to a group so that finishing the requests in the group depends on
582 executing the given code.
583
584 While this request does nothing, it still goes through the execution
585 phase and still requires a worker thread. Thus, the callback will
586 not be executed immediately but only after other requests in the
587 queue have entered their execution phase. This can be used to
588 measure request latency.
589
590 IO::AIO::aio_busy $fractional_seconds, $callback->() *NOT EXPORTED*
591 Mainly used for debugging and benchmarking, this aio request puts
592 one of the request workers to sleep for the given time.
593
594 While it is theoretically handy to have simple I/O scheduling
595 requests like sleep and file handle readable/writable, the overhead
596 this creates is immense (it blocks a thread for a long time) so do
597 not use this function except to put your application under
598 artificial I/O pressure.
599
600 IO::AIO::REQ CLASS
601 All non-aggregate "aio_*" functions return an object of this class when
602 called in non-void context.
603
604 cancel $req
605 Cancels the request, if possible. Has the effect of skipping
606 execution when entering the execute state and skipping calling the
607 callback when entering the the result state, but will leave the
608 request otherwise untouched. That means that requests that currently
609 execute will not be stopped and resources held by the request will
610 not be freed prematurely.
611
612 cb $req $callback->(...)
613 Replace (or simply set) the callback registered to the request.
614
615 IO::AIO::GRP CLASS
616 This class is a subclass of IO::AIO::REQ, so all its methods apply to
617 objects of this class, too.
618
619 A IO::AIO::GRP object is a special request that can contain multiple
620 other aio requests.
621
622 You create one by calling the "aio_group" constructing function with a
623 callback that will be called when all contained requests have entered
624 the "done" state:
625
626 my $grp = aio_group sub {
627 print "all requests are done\n";
628 };
629
630 You add requests by calling the "add" method with one or more
631 "IO::AIO::REQ" objects:
632
633 $grp->add (aio_unlink "...");
634
635 add $grp aio_stat "...", sub {
636 $_[0] or return $grp->result ("error");
637
638 # add another request dynamically, if first succeeded
639 add $grp aio_open "...", sub {
640 $grp->result ("ok");
641 };
642 };
643
573 This makes it very easy to create composite requests (see the source 644 This makes it very easy to create composite requests (see the source of
574 of "aio_move" for an application) that work and feel like simple 645 "aio_move" for an application) that work and feel like simple requests.
575 requests.
576 646
577 * The IO::AIO::GRP objects will be cleaned up during calls to 647 * The IO::AIO::GRP objects will be cleaned up during calls to
578 "IO::AIO::poll_cb", just like any other request. 648 "IO::AIO::poll_cb", just like any other request.
649
579 * They can be canceled like any other request. Canceling will cancel 650 * They can be canceled like any other request. Canceling will cancel
580 not only the request itself, but also all requests it contains. 651 not only the request itself, but also all requests it contains.
652
581 * They can also can also be added to other IO::AIO::GRP objects. 653 * They can also can also be added to other IO::AIO::GRP objects.
654
582 * You must not add requests to a group from within the group 655 * You must not add requests to a group from within the group callback
583 callback (or any later time). 656 (or any later time).
584 657
585 Their lifetime, simplified, looks like this: when they are empty, 658 Their lifetime, simplified, looks like this: when they are empty, they
586 they will finish very quickly. If they contain only requests that 659 will finish very quickly. If they contain only requests that are in the
587 are in the "done" state, they will also finish. Otherwise they will 660 "done" state, they will also finish. Otherwise they will continue to
588 continue to exist. 661 exist.
589 662
590 That means after creating a group you have some time to add 663 That means after creating a group you have some time to add requests
664 (precisely before the callback has been invoked, which is only done
591 requests. And in the callbacks of those requests, you can add 665 within the "poll_cb"). And in the callbacks of those requests, you can
592 further requests to the group. And only when all those requests have 666 add further requests to the group. And only when all those requests have
593 finished will the the group itself finish. 667 finished will the the group itself finish.
594 668
595 add $grp ... 669 add $grp ...
596 $grp->add (...) 670 $grp->add (...)
597 Add one or more requests to the group. Any type of IO::AIO::REQ 671 Add one or more requests to the group. Any type of IO::AIO::REQ can
598 can be added, including other groups, as long as you do not 672 be added, including other groups, as long as you do not create
599 create circular dependencies. 673 circular dependencies.
600 674
601 Returns all its arguments. 675 Returns all its arguments.
602 676
603 $grp->cancel_subs 677 $grp->cancel_subs
604 Cancel all subrequests and clears any feeder, but not the group 678 Cancel all subrequests and clears any feeder, but not the group
605 request itself. Useful when you queued a lot of events but got a 679 request itself. Useful when you queued a lot of events but got a
606 result early. 680 result early.
607 681
608 $grp->result (...) 682 $grp->result (...)
609 Set the result value(s) that will be passed to the group 683 Set the result value(s) that will be passed to the group callback
610 callback when all subrequests have finished and set thre groups 684 when all subrequests have finished and set the groups errno to the
611 errno to the current value of errno (just like calling "errno" 685 current value of errno (just like calling "errno" without an error
612 without an error number). By default, no argument will be passed 686 number). By default, no argument will be passed and errno is zero.
613 and errno is zero.
614 687
615 $grp->errno ([$errno]) 688 $grp->errno ([$errno])
616 Sets the group errno value to $errno, or the current value of 689 Sets the group errno value to $errno, or the current value of errno
617 errno when the argument is missing. 690 when the argument is missing.
618 691
619 Every aio request has an associated errno value that is restored 692 Every aio request has an associated errno value that is restored
620 when the callback is invoked. This method lets you change this 693 when the callback is invoked. This method lets you change this value
621 value from its default (0). 694 from its default (0).
622 695
623 Calling "result" will also set errno, so make sure you either 696 Calling "result" will also set errno, so make sure you either set $!
624 set $! before the call to "result", or call c<errno> after it. 697 before the call to "result", or call c<errno> after it.
625 698
626 feed $grp $callback->($grp) 699 feed $grp $callback->($grp)
627 Sets a feeder/generator on this group: every group can have an 700 Sets a feeder/generator on this group: every group can have an
628 attached generator that generates requests if idle. The idea 701 attached generator that generates requests if idle. The idea behind
629 behind this is that, although you could just queue as many 702 this is that, although you could just queue as many requests as you
630 requests as you want in a group, this might starve other 703 want in a group, this might starve other requests for a potentially
631 requests for a potentially long time. For example, "aio_scandir" 704 long time. For example, "aio_scandir" might generate hundreds of
632 might generate hundreds of thousands "aio_stat" requests, 705 thousands "aio_stat" requests, delaying any later requests for a
633 delaying any later requests for a long time. 706 long time.
634 707
635 To avoid this, and allow incremental generation of requests, you 708 To avoid this, and allow incremental generation of requests, you can
636 can instead a group and set a feeder on it that generates those 709 instead a group and set a feeder on it that generates those
637 requests. The feed callback will be called whenever there are 710 requests. The feed callback will be called whenever there are few
638 few enough (see "limit", below) requests active in the group 711 enough (see "limit", below) requests active in the group itself and
639 itself and is expected to queue more requests. 712 is expected to queue more requests.
640 713
641 The feed callback can queue as many requests as it likes (i.e. 714 The feed callback can queue as many requests as it likes (i.e. "add"
642 "add" does not impose any limits). 715 does not impose any limits).
643 716
644 If the feed does not queue more requests when called, it will be 717 If the feed does not queue more requests when called, it will be
645 automatically removed from the group. 718 automatically removed from the group.
646 719
647 If the feed limit is 0, it will be set to 2 automatically. 720 If the feed limit is 0 when this method is called, it will be set to
721 2 automatically.
648 722
649 Example: 723 Example:
650 724
651 # stat all files in @files, but only ever use four aio requests concurrently: 725 # stat all files in @files, but only ever use four aio requests concurrently:
652 726
653 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "finished\n" }; 727 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "finished\n" };
654 limit $grp 4; 728 limit $grp 4;
655 feed $grp sub { 729 feed $grp sub {
656 my $file = pop @files 730 my $file = pop @files
657 or return; 731 or return;
658 732
659 add $grp aio_stat $file, sub { ... }; 733 add $grp aio_stat $file, sub { ... };
660 }; 734 };
661 735
662 limit $grp $num 736 limit $grp $num
663 Sets the feeder limit for the group: The feeder will be called 737 Sets the feeder limit for the group: The feeder will be called
664 whenever the group contains less than this many requests. 738 whenever the group contains less than this many requests.
665 739
666 Setting the limit to 0 will pause the feeding process. 740 Setting the limit to 0 will pause the feeding process.
741
742 The default value for the limit is 0, but note that setting a feeder
743 automatically bumps it up to 2.
667 744
668 SUPPORT FUNCTIONS 745 SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
669 EVENT PROCESSING AND EVENT LOOP INTEGRATION 746 EVENT PROCESSING AND EVENT LOOP INTEGRATION
670 $fileno = IO::AIO::poll_fileno 747 $fileno = IO::AIO::poll_fileno
671 Return the *request result pipe file descriptor*. This 748 Return the *request result pipe file descriptor*. This filehandle
672 filehandle must be polled for reading by some mechanism outside 749 must be polled for reading by some mechanism outside this module
673 this module (e.g. Event or select, see below or the SYNOPSIS). 750 (e.g. Event or select, see below or the SYNOPSIS). If the pipe
674 If the pipe becomes readable you have to call "poll_cb" to check 751 becomes readable you have to call "poll_cb" to check the results.
675 the results.
676 752
677 See "poll_cb" for an example. 753 See "poll_cb" for an example.
678 754
679 IO::AIO::poll_cb 755 IO::AIO::poll_cb
680 Process some outstanding events on the result pipe. You have to 756 Process some outstanding events on the result pipe. You have to call
681 call this regularly. Returns the number of events processed. 757 this regularly. Returns 0 if all events could be processed, or -1 if
682 Returns immediately when no events are outstanding. The amount 758 it returned earlier for whatever reason. Returns immediately when no
683 of events processed depends on the settings of 759 events are outstanding. The amount of events processed depends on
684 "IO::AIO::max_poll_req" and "IO::AIO::max_poll_time". 760 the settings of "IO::AIO::max_poll_req" and
761 "IO::AIO::max_poll_time".
685 762
686 If not all requests were processed for whatever reason, the 763 If not all requests were processed for whatever reason, the
687 filehandle will still be ready when "poll_cb" returns. 764 filehandle will still be ready when "poll_cb" returns, so normally
765 you don't have to do anything special to have it called later.
688 766
689 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls 767 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
690 IO::AIO::poll_cb with high priority: 768 IO::AIO::poll_cb with high priority:
691 769
692 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, 770 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
693 poll => 'r', async => 1, 771 poll => 'r', async => 1,
694 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb); 772 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
695 773
696 IO::AIO::max_poll_reqs $nreqs 774 IO::AIO::max_poll_reqs $nreqs
697 IO::AIO::max_poll_time $seconds 775 IO::AIO::max_poll_time $seconds
698 These set the maximum number of requests (default 0, meaning 776 These set the maximum number of requests (default 0, meaning
699 infinity) that are being processed by "IO::AIO::poll_cb" in one 777 infinity) that are being processed by "IO::AIO::poll_cb" in one
700 call, respectively the maximum amount of time (default 0, 778 call, respectively the maximum amount of time (default 0, meaning
701 meaning infinity) spent in "IO::AIO::poll_cb" to process 779 infinity) spent in "IO::AIO::poll_cb" to process requests (more
702 requests (more correctly the mininum amount of time "poll_cb" is 780 correctly the mininum amount of time "poll_cb" is allowed to use).
703 allowed to use).
704 781
782 Setting "max_poll_time" to a non-zero value creates an overhead of
783 one syscall per request processed, which is not normally a problem
784 unless your callbacks are really really fast or your OS is really
785 really slow (I am not mentioning Solaris here). Using
786 "max_poll_reqs" incurs no overhead.
787
705 Setting these is useful if you want to ensure some level of 788 Setting these is useful if you want to ensure some level of
706 interactiveness when perl is not fast enough to process all 789 interactiveness when perl is not fast enough to process all requests
707 requests in time. 790 in time.
708 791
709 For interactive programs, values such as 0.01 to 0.1 should be 792 For interactive programs, values such as 0.01 to 0.1 should be fine.
710 fine.
711 793
712 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls 794 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
713 IO::AIO::poll_some with low priority, to ensure that other parts 795 IO::AIO::poll_cb with low priority, to ensure that other parts of
714 of the program get the CPU sometimes even under high AIO load. 796 the program get the CPU sometimes even under high AIO load.
715 797
716 # try not to spend much more than 0.1s in poll_cb 798 # try not to spend much more than 0.1s in poll_cb
717 IO::AIO::max_poll_time 0.1; 799 IO::AIO::max_poll_time 0.1;
718 800
719 # use a low priority so other tasks have priority 801 # use a low priority so other tasks have priority
720 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno, 802 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
721 poll => 'r', nice => 1, 803 poll => 'r', nice => 1,
722 cb => &IO::AIO::poll_cb); 804 cb => &IO::AIO::poll_cb);
723 805
724 IO::AIO::poll_wait 806 IO::AIO::poll_wait
807 If there are any outstanding requests and none of them in the result
725 Wait till the result filehandle becomes ready for reading 808 phase, wait till the result filehandle becomes ready for reading
726 (simply does a "select" on the filehandle. This is useful if you 809 (simply does a "select" on the filehandle. This is useful if you
727 want to synchronously wait for some requests to finish). 810 want to synchronously wait for some requests to finish).
728 811
729 See "nreqs" for an example. 812 See "nreqs" for an example.
730 813
731 IO::AIO::poll 814 IO::AIO::poll
732 Waits until some requests have been handled. 815 Waits until some requests have been handled.
733 816
817 Returns the number of requests processed, but is otherwise strictly
734 Strictly equivalent to: 818 equivalent to:
735 819
736 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb 820 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
737 if IO::AIO::nreqs;
738 821
739 IO::AIO::flush 822 IO::AIO::flush
740 Wait till all outstanding AIO requests have been handled. 823 Wait till all outstanding AIO requests have been handled.
741 824
742 Strictly equivalent to: 825 Strictly equivalent to:
743 826
744 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb 827 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
745 while IO::AIO::nreqs; 828 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
746 829
747 CONTROLLING THE NUMBER OF THREADS 830 CONTROLLING THE NUMBER OF THREADS
748 IO::AIO::min_parallel $nthreads 831 IO::AIO::min_parallel $nthreads
749 Set the minimum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. The current 832 Set the minimum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. The current
750 default is 8, which means eight asynchronous operations can 833 default is 8, which means eight asynchronous operations can execute
751 execute concurrently at any one time (the number of outstanding 834 concurrently at any one time (the number of outstanding requests,
752 requests, however, is unlimited). 835 however, is unlimited).
753 836
754 IO::AIO starts threads only on demand, when an AIO request is 837 IO::AIO starts threads only on demand, when an AIO request is queued
755 queued and no free thread exists. Please note that queueing up a 838 and no free thread exists. Please note that queueing up a hundred
756 hundred requests can create demand for a hundred threads, even 839 requests can create demand for a hundred threads, even if it turns
757 if it turns out that everything is in the cache and could have 840 out that everything is in the cache and could have been processed
758 been processed faster by a single thread. 841 faster by a single thread.
759 842
760 It is recommended to keep the number of threads relatively low, 843 It is recommended to keep the number of threads relatively low, as
761 as some Linux kernel versions will scale negatively with the 844 some Linux kernel versions will scale negatively with the number of
762 number of threads (higher parallelity => MUCH higher latency). 845 threads (higher parallelity => MUCH higher latency). With current
763 With current Linux 2.6 versions, 4-32 threads should be fine. 846 Linux 2.6 versions, 4-32 threads should be fine.
764 847
765 Under most circumstances you don't need to call this function, 848 Under most circumstances you don't need to call this function, as
766 as the module selects a default that is suitable for low to 849 the module selects a default that is suitable for low to moderate
767 moderate load. 850 load.
768 851
769 IO::AIO::max_parallel $nthreads 852 IO::AIO::max_parallel $nthreads
770 Sets the maximum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. If more 853 Sets the maximum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. If more than
771 than the specified number of threads are currently running, this 854 the specified number of threads are currently running, this function
772 function kills them. This function blocks until the limit is 855 kills them. This function blocks until the limit is reached.
773 reached.
774 856
775 While $nthreads are zero, aio requests get queued but not 857 While $nthreads are zero, aio requests get queued but not executed
776 executed until the number of threads has been increased again. 858 until the number of threads has been increased again.
777 859
778 This module automatically runs "max_parallel 0" at program end, 860 This module automatically runs "max_parallel 0" at program end, to
779 to ensure that all threads are killed and that there are no 861 ensure that all threads are killed and that there are no outstanding
780 outstanding requests. 862 requests.
781 863
782 Under normal circumstances you don't need to call this function. 864 Under normal circumstances you don't need to call this function.
783 865
784 IO::AIO::max_idle $nthreads 866 IO::AIO::max_idle $nthreads
785 Limit the number of threads (default: 4) that are allowed to 867 Limit the number of threads (default: 4) that are allowed to idle
786 idle (i.e., threads that did not get a request to process within 868 (i.e., threads that did not get a request to process within 10
787 10 seconds). That means if a thread becomes idle while $nthreads 869 seconds). That means if a thread becomes idle while $nthreads other
788 other threads are also idle, it will free its resources and 870 threads are also idle, it will free its resources and exit.
789 exit.
790 871
791 This is useful when you allow a large number of threads (e.g. 872 This is useful when you allow a large number of threads (e.g. 100 or
792 100 or 1000) to allow for extremely high load situations, but 873 1000) to allow for extremely high load situations, but want to free
793 want to free resources under normal circumstances (1000 threads 874 resources under normal circumstances (1000 threads can easily
794 can easily consume 30MB of RAM). 875 consume 30MB of RAM).
795 876
796 The default is probably ok in most situations, especially if 877 The default is probably ok in most situations, especially if thread
797 thread creation is fast. If thread creation is very slow on your 878 creation is fast. If thread creation is very slow on your system you
798 system you might want to use larger values. 879 might want to use larger values.
799 880
800 $oldmaxreqs = IO::AIO::max_outstanding $maxreqs 881 IO::AIO::max_outstanding $maxreqs
801 This is a very bad function to use in interactive programs 882 This is a very bad function to use in interactive programs because
802 because it blocks, and a bad way to reduce concurrency because 883 it blocks, and a bad way to reduce concurrency because it is
803 it is inexact: Better use an "aio_group" together with a feed 884 inexact: Better use an "aio_group" together with a feed callback.
804 callback.
805 885
806 Sets the maximum number of outstanding requests to $nreqs. If 886 Sets the maximum number of outstanding requests to $nreqs. If you do
807 you to queue up more than this number of requests, the next call 887 queue up more than this number of requests, the next call to the
808 to the "poll_cb" (and "poll_some" and other functions calling 888 "poll_cb" (and "poll_some" and other functions calling "poll_cb")
809 "poll_cb") function will block until the limit is no longer 889 function will block until the limit is no longer exceeded.
810 exceeded.
811 890
812 The default value is very large, so there is no practical limit 891 The default value is very large, so there is no practical limit on
813 on the number of outstanding requests. 892 the number of outstanding requests.
814 893
815 You can still queue as many requests as you want. Therefore, 894 You can still queue as many requests as you want. Therefore,
816 "max_oustsanding" is mainly useful in simple scripts (with low 895 "max_outstanding" is mainly useful in simple scripts (with low
817 values) or as a stop gap to shield against fatal memory overflow 896 values) or as a stop gap to shield against fatal memory overflow
818 (with large values). 897 (with large values).
819 898
820 STATISTICAL INFORMATION 899 STATISTICAL INFORMATION
821 IO::AIO::nreqs 900 IO::AIO::nreqs
822 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready, execute 901 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready, execute or
823 or pending states (i.e. for which their callback has not been 902 pending states (i.e. for which their callback has not been invoked
824 invoked yet). 903 yet).
825 904
826 Example: wait till there are no outstanding requests anymore: 905 Example: wait till there are no outstanding requests anymore:
827 906
828 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb 907 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
829 while IO::AIO::nreqs; 908 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
830 909
831 IO::AIO::nready 910 IO::AIO::nready
832 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready state (not 911 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready state (not yet
833 yet executed). 912 executed).
834 913
835 IO::AIO::npending 914 IO::AIO::npending
836 Returns the number of requests currently in the pending state 915 Returns the number of requests currently in the pending state
837 (executed, but not yet processed by poll_cb). 916 (executed, but not yet processed by poll_cb).
838 917
839 FORK BEHAVIOUR 918 FORK BEHAVIOUR
840 This module should do "the right thing" when the process using it 919 This module should do "the right thing" when the process using it forks:
841 forks:
842 920
843 Before the fork, IO::AIO enters a quiescent state where no requests 921 Before the fork, IO::AIO enters a quiescent state where no requests can
844 can be added in other threads and no results will be processed. 922 be added in other threads and no results will be processed. After the
845 After the fork the parent simply leaves the quiescent state and 923 fork the parent simply leaves the quiescent state and continues
846 continues request/result processing, while the child frees the 924 request/result processing, while the child frees the request/result
847 request/result queue (so that the requests started before the fork 925 queue (so that the requests started before the fork will only be handled
848 will only be handled in the parent). Threads will be started on 926 in the parent). Threads will be started on demand until the limit set in
849 demand until the limit set in the parent process has been reached 927 the parent process has been reached again.
850 again.
851 928
852 In short: the parent will, after a short pause, continue as if fork 929 In short: the parent will, after a short pause, continue as if fork had
853 had not been called, while the child will act as if IO::AIO has not 930 not been called, while the child will act as if IO::AIO has not been
854 been used yet. 931 used yet.
855 932
856 MEMORY USAGE 933 MEMORY USAGE
857 Per-request usage: 934 Per-request usage:
858 935
859 Each aio request uses - depending on your architecture - around 936 Each aio request uses - depending on your architecture - around 100-200
860 100-200 bytes of memory. In addition, stat requests need a stat 937 bytes of memory. In addition, stat requests need a stat buffer (possibly
861 buffer (possibly a few hundred bytes), readdir requires a result 938 a few hundred bytes), readdir requires a result buffer and so on. Perl
862 buffer and so on. Perl scalars and other data passed into aio 939 scalars and other data passed into aio requests will also be locked and
863 requests will also be locked and will consume memory till the 940 will consume memory till the request has entered the done state.
864 request has entered the done state.
865 941
866 This is now awfully much, so queuing lots of requests is not usually 942 This is not awfully much, so queuing lots of requests is not usually a
867 a problem. 943 problem.
868 944
869 Per-thread usage: 945 Per-thread usage:
870 946
871 In the execution phase, some aio requests require more memory for 947 In the execution phase, some aio requests require more memory for
872 temporary buffers, and each thread requires a stack and other data 948 temporary buffers, and each thread requires a stack and other data
873 structures (usually around 16k-128k, depending on the OS). 949 structures (usually around 16k-128k, depending on the OS).
874 950
875KNOWN BUGS 951KNOWN BUGS
876 Known bugs will be fixed in the next release. 952 Known bugs will be fixed in the next release.
877 953
878SEE ALSO 954SEE ALSO
879 Coro::AIO. 955 AnyEvent::AIO for easy integration into event loops, Coro::AIO for a
956 more natural syntax.
880 957
881AUTHOR 958AUTHOR
882 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 959 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
883 http://home.schmorp.de/ 960 http://home.schmorp.de/
884 961

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