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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
47 \&IO::AIO::poll_cb); 48 \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
48 49
49DESCRIPTION 50DESCRIPTION
50 This module implements asynchronous I/O using whatever means your 51 This module implements asynchronous I/O using whatever means your
51 operating system supports. 52 operating system supports.
53
54 Asynchronous means that operations that can normally block your program
55 (e.g. reading from disk) will be done asynchronously: the operation will
56 still block, but you can do something else in the meantime. This is
57 extremely useful for programs that need to stay interactive even when
58 doing heavy I/O (GUI programs, high performance network servers etc.),
59 but can also be used to easily do operations in parallel that are
60 normally done sequentially, e.g. stat'ing many files, which is much
61 faster on a RAID volume or over NFS when you do a number of stat
62 operations concurrently.
63
64 While most of this works on all types of file descriptors (for example
65 sockets), using these functions on file descriptors that support
66 nonblocking operation (again, sockets, pipes etc.) is very inefficient.
67 Use an event loop for that (such as the Event module): IO::AIO will
68 naturally fit into such an event loop itself.
52 69
53 In this version, a number of threads are started that execute your 70 In this version, a number of threads are started that execute your
54 requests and signal their completion. You don't need thread support in 71 requests and signal their completion. You don't need thread support in
55 perl, and the threads created by this module will not be visible to 72 perl, and the threads created by this module will not be visible to
56 perl. In the future, this module might make use of the native aio 73 perl. In the future, this module might make use of the native aio
57 functions available on many operating systems. However, they are often 74 functions available on many operating systems. However, they are often
58 not well-supported or restricted (Linux doesn't allow them on normal 75 not well-supported or restricted (GNU/Linux doesn't allow them on normal
59 files currently, for example), and they would only support aio_read and 76 files currently, for example), and they would only support aio_read and
60 aio_write, so the remaining functionality would have to be implemented 77 aio_write, so the remaining functionality would have to be implemented
61 using threads anyway. 78 using threads anyway.
62 79
63 Although the module will work with in the presence of other (Perl-) 80 Although the module will work in the presence of other (Perl-) threads,
64 threads, it is currently not reentrant in any way, so use appropriate 81 it is currently not reentrant in any way, so use appropriate locking
65 locking yourself, always call "poll_cb" from within the same thread, or 82 yourself, always call "poll_cb" from within the same thread, or never
66 never call "poll_cb" (or other "aio_" functions) recursively. 83 call "poll_cb" (or other "aio_" functions) recursively.
84
85 EXAMPLE
86 This is a simple example that uses the Event module and loads
87 /etc/passwd asynchronously:
88
89 use Fcntl;
90 use Event;
91 use IO::AIO;
92
93 # register the IO::AIO callback with Event
94 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
95 poll => 'r',
96 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
97
98 # queue the request to open /etc/passwd
99 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
100 my $fh = shift
101 or die "error while opening: $!";
102
103 # stat'ing filehandles is generally non-blocking
104 my $size = -s $fh;
105
106 # queue a request to read the file
107 my $contents;
108 aio_read $fh, 0, $size, $contents, 0, sub {
109 $_[0] == $size
110 or die "short read: $!";
111
112 close $fh;
113
114 # file contents now in $contents
115 print $contents;
116
117 # exit event loop and program
118 Event::unloop;
119 };
120 };
121
122 # possibly queue up other requests, or open GUI windows,
123 # check for sockets etc. etc.
124
125 # process events as long as there are some:
126 Event::loop;
67 127
68REQUEST ANATOMY AND LIFETIME 128REQUEST ANATOMY AND LIFETIME
69 Every "aio_*" function creates a request. which is a C data structure 129 Every "aio_*" function creates a request. which is a C data structure
70 not directly visible to Perl. 130 not directly visible to Perl.
71 131
107 anymore (except possibly for the Perl object, but its connection to 167 anymore (except possibly for the Perl object, but its connection to
108 the actual aio request is severed and calling its methods will 168 the actual aio request is severed and calling its methods will
109 either do nothing or result in a runtime error). 169 either do nothing or result in a runtime error).
110 170
111FUNCTIONS 171FUNCTIONS
112 AIO FUNCTIONS 172 AIO REQUEST FUNCTIONS
113 All the "aio_*" calls are more or less thin wrappers around the 173 All the "aio_*" calls are more or less thin wrappers around the syscall
114 syscall with the same name (sans "aio_"). The arguments are similar 174 with the same name (sans "aio_"). The arguments are similar or
115 or identical, and they all accept an additional (and optional) 175 identical, and they all accept an additional (and optional) $callback
116 $callback argument which must be a code reference. This code 176 argument which must be a code reference. This code reference will get
117 reference will get called with the syscall return code (e.g. most 177 called with the syscall return code (e.g. most syscalls return -1 on
118 syscalls return -1 on error, unlike perl, which usually delivers 178 error, unlike perl, which usually delivers "false") as it's sole
119 "false") as it's sole argument when the given syscall has been 179 argument when the given syscall has been executed asynchronously.
120 executed asynchronously.
121 180
122 All functions expecting a filehandle keep a copy of the filehandle 181 All functions expecting a filehandle keep a copy of the filehandle
123 internally until the request has finished. 182 internally until the request has finished.
124 183
125 All requests return objects of type IO::AIO::REQ that allow further 184 All functions return request objects of type IO::AIO::REQ that allow
126 manipulation of those requests while they are in-flight. 185 further manipulation of those requests while they are in-flight.
127 186
128 The pathnames you pass to these routines *must* be absolute and 187 The pathnames you pass to these routines *must* be absolute and encoded
129 encoded in byte form. The reason for the former is that at the time 188 as octets. The reason for the former is that at the time the request is
130 the request is being executed, the current working directory could 189 being executed, the current working directory could have changed.
131 have changed. Alternatively, you can make sure that you never change 190 Alternatively, you can make sure that you never change the current
132 the current working directory. 191 working directory anywhere in the program and then use relative paths.
133 192
134 To encode pathnames to byte form, either make sure you either: a) 193 To encode pathnames as octets, either make sure you either: a) always
135 always pass in filenames you got from outside (command line, readdir 194 pass in filenames you got from outside (command line, readdir etc.)
136 etc.), b) are ASCII or ISO 8859-1, c) use the Encode module and 195 without tinkering, b) are ASCII or ISO 8859-1, c) use the Encode module
137 encode your pathnames to the locale (or other) encoding in effect in 196 and encode your pathnames to the locale (or other) encoding in effect in
138 the user environment, d) use Glib::filename_from_unicode on unicode 197 the user environment, d) use Glib::filename_from_unicode on unicode
139 filenames or e) use something else. 198 filenames or e) use something else to ensure your scalar has the correct
199 contents.
140 200
201 This works, btw. independent of the internal UTF-8 bit, which IO::AIO
202 handles correctly wether it is set or not.
203
141 $prev_pri = aioreq_pri [$pri] 204 $prev_pri = aioreq_pri [$pri]
142 Returns the priority value that would be used for the next 205 Returns the priority value that would be used for the next request
143 request and, if $pri is given, sets the priority for the next 206 and, if $pri is given, sets the priority for the next aio request.
144 aio request.
145 207
146 The default priority is 0, the minimum and maximum priorities 208 The default priority is 0, the minimum and maximum priorities are -4
147 are -4 and 4, respectively. Requests with higher priority will 209 and 4, respectively. Requests with higher priority will be serviced
148 be serviced first. 210 first.
149 211
150 The priority will be reset to 0 after each call to one of the 212 The priority will be reset to 0 after each call to one of the
151 "aio_*" functions. 213 "aio_*" functions.
152 214
153 Example: open a file with low priority, then read something from 215 Example: open a file with low priority, then read something from it
154 it with higher priority so the read request is serviced before 216 with higher priority so the read request is serviced before other
155 other low priority open requests (potentially spamming the 217 low priority open requests (potentially spamming the cache):
156 cache):
157 218
219 aioreq_pri -3;
220 aio_open ..., sub {
221 return unless $_[0];
222
158 aioreq_pri -3; 223 aioreq_pri -2;
159 aio_open ..., sub {
160 return unless $_[0];
161
162 aioreq_pri -2;
163 aio_read $_[0], ..., sub { 224 aio_read $_[0], ..., sub {
164 ...
165 };
166 };
167
168 aioreq_nice $pri_adjust
169 Similar to "aioreq_pri", but subtracts the given value from the
170 current priority, so effects are cumulative.
171
172 aio_open $pathname, $flags, $mode, $callback->($fh)
173 Asynchronously open or create a file and call the callback with
174 a newly created filehandle for the file.
175
176 The pathname passed to "aio_open" must be absolute. See API
177 NOTES, above, for an explanation.
178
179 The $flags argument is a bitmask. See the "Fcntl" module for a
180 list. They are the same as used by "sysopen".
181
182 Likewise, $mode specifies the mode of the newly created file, if
183 it didn't exist and "O_CREAT" has been given, just like perl's
184 "sysopen", except that it is mandatory (i.e. use 0 if you don't
185 create new files, and 0666 or 0777 if you do).
186
187 Example:
188
189 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
190 if ($_[0]) {
191 print "open successful, fh is $_[0]\n";
192 ...
193 } else {
194 die "open failed: $!\n";
195 }
196 };
197
198 aio_close $fh, $callback->($status)
199 Asynchronously close a file and call the callback with the
200 result code. *WARNING:* although accepted, you should not pass
201 in a perl filehandle here, as perl will likely close the file
202 descriptor another time when the filehandle is destroyed.
203 Normally, you can safely call perls "close" or just let
204 filehandles go out of scope.
205
206 This is supposed to be a bug in the API, so that might change.
207 It's therefore best to avoid this function.
208
209 aio_read $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset,
210 $callback->($retval)
211 aio_write $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset,
212 $callback->($retval)
213 Reads or writes "length" bytes from the specified "fh" and
214 "offset" into the scalar given by "data" and offset "dataoffset"
215 and calls the callback without the actual number of bytes read
216 (or -1 on error, just like the syscall).
217
218 The $data scalar *MUST NOT* be modified in any way while the
219 request is outstanding. Modifying it can result in segfaults or
220 WW3 (if the necessary/optional hardware is installed).
221
222 Example: Read 15 bytes at offset 7 into scalar $buffer, starting
223 at offset 0 within the scalar:
224
225 aio_read $fh, 7, 15, $buffer, 0, sub {
226 $_[0] > 0 or die "read error: $!";
227 print "read $_[0] bytes: <$buffer>\n";
228 };
229
230 aio_move $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
231 Try to move the *file* (directories not supported as either
232 source or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the
233 callback with the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
234
235 This is a composite request that tries to rename(2) the file
236 first. If rename files with "EXDEV", it creates the destination
237 file with mode 0200 and copies the contents of the source file
238 into it using "aio_sendfile", followed by restoring atime,
239 mtime, access mode and uid/gid, in that order, and unlinking the
240 $srcpath.
241
242 If an error occurs, the partial destination file will be
243 unlinked, if possible, except when setting atime, mtime, access
244 mode and uid/gid, where errors are being ignored.
245
246 aio_sendfile $out_fh, $in_fh, $in_offset, $length,
247 $callback->($retval)
248 Tries to copy $length bytes from $in_fh to $out_fh. It starts
249 reading at byte offset $in_offset, and starts writing at the
250 current file offset of $out_fh. Because of that, it is not safe
251 to issue more than one "aio_sendfile" per $out_fh, as they will
252 interfere with each other.
253
254 This call tries to make use of a native "sendfile" syscall to
255 provide zero-copy operation. For this to work, $out_fh should
256 refer to a socket, and $in_fh should refer to mmap'able file.
257
258 If the native sendfile call fails or is not implemented, it will
259 be emulated, so you can call "aio_sendfile" on any type of
260 filehandle regardless of the limitations of the operating
261 system.
262
263 Please note, however, that "aio_sendfile" can read more bytes
264 from $in_fh than are written, and there is no way to find out
265 how many bytes have been read from "aio_sendfile" alone, as
266 "aio_sendfile" only provides the number of bytes written to
267 $out_fh. Only if the result value equals $length one can assume
268 that $length bytes have been read.
269
270 aio_readahead $fh,$offset,$length, $callback->($retval)
271 "aio_readahead" populates the page cache with data from a file
272 so that subsequent reads from that file will not block on disk
273 I/O. The $offset argument specifies the starting point from
274 which data is to be read and $length specifies the number of
275 bytes to be read. I/O is performed in whole pages, so that
276 offset is effectively rounded down to a page boundary and bytes
277 are read up to the next page boundary greater than or equal to
278 (off-set+length). "aio_readahead" does not read beyond the end
279 of the file. The current file offset of the file is left
280 unchanged.
281
282 If that syscall doesn't exist (likely if your OS isn't Linux) it
283 will be emulated by simply reading the data, which would have a
284 similar effect.
285
286 aio_stat $fh_or_path, $callback->($status)
287 aio_lstat $fh, $callback->($status)
288 Works like perl's "stat" or "lstat" in void context. The
289 callback will be called after the stat and the results will be
290 available using "stat _" or "-s _" etc...
291
292 The pathname passed to "aio_stat" must be absolute. See API
293 NOTES, above, for an explanation.
294
295 Currently, the stats are always 64-bit-stats, i.e. instead of
296 returning an error when stat'ing a large file, the results will
297 be silently truncated unless perl itself is compiled with large
298 file support.
299
300 Example: Print the length of /etc/passwd:
301
302 aio_stat "/etc/passwd", sub {
303 $_[0] and die "stat failed: $!";
304 print "size is ", -s _, "\n";
305 };
306
307 aio_unlink $pathname, $callback->($status)
308 Asynchronously unlink (delete) a file and call the callback with
309 the result code.
310
311 aio_link $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
312 Asynchronously create a new link to the existing object at
313 $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the
314 result code.
315
316 aio_symlink $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
317 Asynchronously create a new symbolic link to the existing object
318 at $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the
319 result code.
320
321 aio_rename $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
322 Asynchronously rename the object at $srcpath to $dstpath, just
323 as rename(2) and call the callback with the result code.
324
325 aio_rmdir $pathname, $callback->($status)
326 Asynchronously rmdir (delete) a directory and call the callback
327 with the result code.
328
329 aio_readdir $pathname, $callback->($entries)
330 Unlike the POSIX call of the same name, "aio_readdir" reads an
331 entire directory (i.e. opendir + readdir + closedir). The
332 entries will not be sorted, and will NOT include the "." and
333 ".." entries.
334
335 The callback a single argument which is either "undef" or an
336 array-ref with the filenames.
337
338 aio_scandir $path, $maxreq, $callback->($dirs, $nondirs)
339 Scans a directory (similar to "aio_readdir") but additionally
340 tries to efficiently separate the entries of directory $path
341 into two sets of names, directories you can recurse into
342 (directories), and ones you cannot recurse into (everything
343 else, including symlinks to directories).
344
345 "aio_scandir" is a composite request that creates of many sub
346 requests_ $maxreq specifies the maximum number of outstanding
347 aio requests that this function generates. If it is "<= 0", then
348 a suitable default will be chosen (currently 6).
349
350 On error, the callback is called without arguments, otherwise it
351 receives two array-refs with path-relative entry names.
352
353 Example:
354
355 aio_scandir $dir, 0, sub {
356 my ($dirs, $nondirs) = @_;
357 print "real directories: @$dirs\n";
358 print "everything else: @$nondirs\n";
359 };
360
361 Implementation notes.
362
363 The "aio_readdir" cannot be avoided, but "stat()"'ing every
364 entry can.
365
366 After reading the directory, the modification time, size etc. of
367 the directory before and after the readdir is checked, and if
368 they match (and isn't the current time), the link count will be
369 used to decide how many entries are directories (if >= 2).
370 Otherwise, no knowledge of the number of subdirectories will be
371 assumed.
372
373 Then entries will be sorted into likely directories (everything
374 without a non-initial dot currently) and likely non-directories
375 (everything else). Then every entry plus an appended "/." will
376 be "stat"'ed, likely directories first. If that succeeds, it
377 assumes that the entry is a directory or a symlink to directory
378 (which will be checked seperately). This is often faster than
379 stat'ing the entry itself because filesystems might detect the
380 type of the entry without reading the inode data (e.g. ext2fs
381 filetype feature).
382
383 If the known number of directories (link count - 2) has been
384 reached, the rest of the entries is assumed to be
385 non-directories.
386
387 This only works with certainty on POSIX (= UNIX) filesystems,
388 which fortunately are the vast majority of filesystems around.
389
390 It will also likely work on non-POSIX filesystems with reduced
391 efficiency as those tend to return 0 or 1 as link counts, which
392 disables the directory counting heuristic.
393
394 aio_fsync $fh, $callback->($status)
395 Asynchronously call fsync on the given filehandle and call the
396 callback with the fsync result code.
397
398 aio_fdatasync $fh, $callback->($status)
399 Asynchronously call fdatasync on the given filehandle and call
400 the callback with the fdatasync result code.
401
402 If this call isn't available because your OS lacks it or it
403 couldn't be detected, it will be emulated by calling "fsync"
404 instead.
405
406 aio_group $callback->(...)
407 This is a very special aio request: Instead of doing something,
408 it is a container for other aio requests, which is useful if you
409 want to bundle many requests into a single, composite, request
410 with a definite callback and the ability to cancel the whole
411 request with its subrequests.
412
413 Returns an object of class IO::AIO::GRP. See its documentation
414 below for more info.
415
416 Example:
417
418 my $grp = aio_group sub {
419 print "all stats done\n";
420 };
421
422 add $grp
423 (aio_stat ...),
424 (aio_stat ...),
425 ...; 225 ...
426
427 aio_nop $callback->()
428 This is a special request - it does nothing in itself and is
429 only used for side effects, such as when you want to add a dummy
430 request to a group so that finishing the requests in the group
431 depends on executing the given code.
432
433 While this request does nothing, it still goes through the
434 execution phase and still requires a worker thread. Thus, the
435 callback will not be executed immediately but only after other
436 requests in the queue have entered their execution phase. This
437 can be used to measure request latency.
438
439 IO::AIO::aio_busy $fractional_seconds, $callback->() *NOT EXPORTED*
440 Mainly used for debugging and benchmarking, this aio request
441 puts one of the request workers to sleep for the given time.
442
443 While it is theoretically handy to have simple I/O scheduling
444 requests like sleep and file handle readable/writable, the
445 overhead this creates is immense (it blocks a thread for a long
446 time) so do not use this function except to put your application
447 under artificial I/O pressure.
448
449 IO::AIO::REQ CLASS
450 All non-aggregate "aio_*" functions return an object of this class
451 when called in non-void context.
452
453 cancel $req
454 Cancels the request, if possible. Has the effect of skipping
455 execution when entering the execute state and skipping calling
456 the callback when entering the the result state, but will leave
457 the request otherwise untouched. That means that requests that
458 currently execute will not be stopped and resources held by the
459 request will not be freed prematurely.
460
461 cb $req $callback->(...)
462 Replace (or simply set) the callback registered to the request.
463
464 IO::AIO::GRP CLASS
465 This class is a subclass of IO::AIO::REQ, so all its methods apply
466 to objects of this class, too.
467
468 A IO::AIO::GRP object is a special request that can contain multiple
469 other aio requests.
470
471 You create one by calling the "aio_group" constructing function with
472 a callback that will be called when all contained requests have
473 entered the "done" state:
474
475 my $grp = aio_group sub {
476 print "all requests are done\n";
477 };
478
479 You add requests by calling the "add" method with one or more
480 "IO::AIO::REQ" objects:
481
482 $grp->add (aio_unlink "...");
483
484 add $grp aio_stat "...", sub {
485 $_[0] or return $grp->result ("error");
486
487 # add another request dynamically, if first succeeded
488 add $grp aio_open "...", sub {
489 $grp->result ("ok");
490 }; 226 };
491 }; 227 };
492 228
229 aioreq_nice $pri_adjust
230 Similar to "aioreq_pri", but subtracts the given value from the
231 current priority, so the effect is cumulative.
232
233 aio_open $pathname, $flags, $mode, $callback->($fh)
234 Asynchronously open or create a file and call the callback with a
235 newly created filehandle for the file.
236
237 The pathname passed to "aio_open" must be absolute. See API NOTES,
238 above, for an explanation.
239
240 The $flags argument is a bitmask. See the "Fcntl" module for a list.
241 They are the same as used by "sysopen".
242
243 Likewise, $mode specifies the mode of the newly created file, if it
244 didn't exist and "O_CREAT" has been given, just like perl's
245 "sysopen", except that it is mandatory (i.e. use 0 if you don't
246 create new files, and 0666 or 0777 if you do). Note that the $mode
247 will be modified by the umask in effect then the request is being
248 executed, so better never change the umask.
249
250 Example:
251
252 aio_open "/etc/passwd", O_RDONLY, 0, sub {
253 if ($_[0]) {
254 print "open successful, fh is $_[0]\n";
255 ...
256 } else {
257 die "open failed: $!\n";
258 }
259 };
260
261 aio_close $fh, $callback->($status)
262 Asynchronously close a file and call the callback with the result
263 code. *WARNING:* although accepted, you should not pass in a perl
264 filehandle here, as perl will likely close the file descriptor
265 another time when the filehandle is destroyed. Normally, you can
266 safely call perls "close" or just let filehandles go out of scope.
267
268 This is supposed to be a bug in the API, so that might change. It's
269 therefore best to avoid this function.
270
271 aio_read $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset, $callback->($retval)
272 aio_write $fh,$offset,$length, $data,$dataoffset, $callback->($retval)
273 Reads or writes $length bytes from the specified $fh and $offset
274 into the scalar given by $data and offset $dataoffset and calls the
275 callback without the actual number of bytes read (or -1 on error,
276 just like the syscall).
277
278 If $offset is undefined, then the current file offset will be used
279 (and updated), otherwise the file offset will not be changed by
280 these calls.
281
282 If $length is undefined in "aio_write", use the remaining length of
283 $data.
284
285 If $dataoffset is less than zero, it will be counted from the end of
286 $data.
287
288 The $data scalar *MUST NOT* be modified in any way while the request
289 is outstanding. Modifying it can result in segfaults or World War
290 III (if the necessary/optional hardware is installed).
291
292 Example: Read 15 bytes at offset 7 into scalar $buffer, starting at
293 offset 0 within the scalar:
294
295 aio_read $fh, 7, 15, $buffer, 0, sub {
296 $_[0] > 0 or die "read error: $!";
297 print "read $_[0] bytes: <$buffer>\n";
298 };
299
300 aio_sendfile $out_fh, $in_fh, $in_offset, $length, $callback->($retval)
301 Tries to copy $length bytes from $in_fh to $out_fh. It starts
302 reading at byte offset $in_offset, and starts writing at the current
303 file offset of $out_fh. Because of that, it is not safe to issue
304 more than one "aio_sendfile" per $out_fh, as they will interfere
305 with each other.
306
307 This call tries to make use of a native "sendfile" syscall to
308 provide zero-copy operation. For this to work, $out_fh should refer
309 to a socket, and $in_fh should refer to mmap'able file.
310
311 If the native sendfile call fails or is not implemented, it will be
312 emulated, so you can call "aio_sendfile" on any type of filehandle
313 regardless of the limitations of the operating system.
314
315 Please note, however, that "aio_sendfile" can read more bytes from
316 $in_fh than are written, and there is no way to find out how many
317 bytes have been read from "aio_sendfile" alone, as "aio_sendfile"
318 only provides the number of bytes written to $out_fh. Only if the
319 result value equals $length one can assume that $length bytes have
320 been read.
321
322 aio_readahead $fh,$offset,$length, $callback->($retval)
323 "aio_readahead" populates the page cache with data from a file so
324 that subsequent reads from that file will not block on disk I/O. The
325 $offset argument specifies the starting point from which data is to
326 be read and $length specifies the number of bytes to be read. I/O is
327 performed in whole pages, so that offset is effectively rounded down
328 to a page boundary and bytes are read up to the next page boundary
329 greater than or equal to (off-set+length). "aio_readahead" does not
330 read beyond the end of the file. The current file offset of the file
331 is left unchanged.
332
333 If that syscall doesn't exist (likely if your OS isn't Linux) it
334 will be emulated by simply reading the data, which would have a
335 similar effect.
336
337 aio_stat $fh_or_path, $callback->($status)
338 aio_lstat $fh, $callback->($status)
339 Works like perl's "stat" or "lstat" in void context. The callback
340 will be called after the stat and the results will be available
341 using "stat _" or "-s _" etc...
342
343 The pathname passed to "aio_stat" must be absolute. See API NOTES,
344 above, for an explanation.
345
346 Currently, the stats are always 64-bit-stats, i.e. instead of
347 returning an error when stat'ing a large file, the results will be
348 silently truncated unless perl itself is compiled with large file
349 support.
350
351 Example: Print the length of /etc/passwd:
352
353 aio_stat "/etc/passwd", sub {
354 $_[0] and die "stat failed: $!";
355 print "size is ", -s _, "\n";
356 };
357
358 aio_utime $fh_or_path, $atime, $mtime, $callback->($status)
359 Works like perl's "utime" function (including the special case of
360 $atime and $mtime being undef). Fractional times are supported if
361 the underlying syscalls support them.
362
363 When called with a pathname, uses utimes(2) if available, otherwise
364 utime(2). If called on a file descriptor, uses futimes(2) if
365 available, otherwise returns ENOSYS, so this is not portable.
366
367 Examples:
368
369 # set atime and mtime to current time (basically touch(1)):
370 aio_utime "path", undef, undef;
371 # set atime to current time and mtime to beginning of the epoch:
372 aio_utime "path", time, undef; # undef==0
373
374 aio_chown $fh_or_path, $uid, $gid, $callback->($status)
375 Works like perl's "chown" function, except that "undef" for either
376 $uid or $gid is being interpreted as "do not change" (but -1 can
377 also be used).
378
379 Examples:
380
381 # same as "chown root path" in the shell:
382 aio_chown "path", 0, -1;
383 # same as above:
384 aio_chown "path", 0, undef;
385
386 aio_truncate $fh_or_path, $offset, $callback->($status)
387 Works like truncate(2) or ftruncate(2).
388
389 aio_chmod $fh_or_path, $mode, $callback->($status)
390 Works like perl's "chmod" function.
391
392 aio_unlink $pathname, $callback->($status)
393 Asynchronously unlink (delete) a file and call the callback with the
394 result code.
395
396 aio_mknod $path, $mode, $dev, $callback->($status)
397 [EXPERIMENTAL]
398
399 Asynchronously create a device node (or fifo). See mknod(2).
400
401 The only (POSIX-) portable way of calling this function is:
402
403 aio_mknod $path, IO::AIO::S_IFIFO | $mode, 0, sub { ...
404
405 aio_link $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
406 Asynchronously create a new link to the existing object at $srcpath
407 at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the result code.
408
409 aio_symlink $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
410 Asynchronously create a new symbolic link to the existing object at
411 $srcpath at the path $dstpath and call the callback with the result
412 code.
413
414 aio_readlink $path, $callback->($link)
415 Asynchronously read the symlink specified by $path and pass it to
416 the callback. If an error occurs, nothing or undef gets passed to
417 the callback.
418
419 aio_rename $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
420 Asynchronously rename the object at $srcpath to $dstpath, just as
421 rename(2) and call the callback with the result code.
422
423 aio_mkdir $pathname, $mode, $callback->($status)
424 Asynchronously mkdir (create) a directory and call the callback with
425 the result code. $mode will be modified by the umask at the time the
426 request is executed, so do not change your umask.
427
428 aio_rmdir $pathname, $callback->($status)
429 Asynchronously rmdir (delete) a directory and call the callback with
430 the result code.
431
432 aio_readdir $pathname, $callback->($entries)
433 Unlike the POSIX call of the same name, "aio_readdir" reads an
434 entire directory (i.e. opendir + readdir + closedir). The entries
435 will not be sorted, and will NOT include the "." and ".." entries.
436
437 The callback a single argument which is either "undef" or an
438 array-ref with the filenames.
439
440 aio_load $path, $data, $callback->($status)
441 This is a composite request that tries to fully load the given file
442 into memory. Status is the same as with aio_read.
443
444 aio_copy $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
445 Try to copy the *file* (directories not supported as either source
446 or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the callback with
447 the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
448
449 This is a composite request that it creates the destination file
450 with mode 0200 and copies the contents of the source file into it
451 using "aio_sendfile", followed by restoring atime, mtime, access
452 mode and uid/gid, in that order.
453
454 If an error occurs, the partial destination file will be unlinked,
455 if possible, except when setting atime, mtime, access mode and
456 uid/gid, where errors are being ignored.
457
458 aio_move $srcpath, $dstpath, $callback->($status)
459 Try to move the *file* (directories not supported as either source
460 or destination) from $srcpath to $dstpath and call the callback with
461 the 0 (error) or -1 ok.
462
463 This is a composite request that tries to rename(2) the file first.
464 If rename files with "EXDEV", it copies the file with "aio_copy"
465 and, if that is successful, unlinking the $srcpath.
466
467 aio_scandir $path, $maxreq, $callback->($dirs, $nondirs)
468 Scans a directory (similar to "aio_readdir") but additionally tries
469 to efficiently separate the entries of directory $path into two sets
470 of names, directories you can recurse into (directories), and ones
471 you cannot recurse into (everything else, including symlinks to
472 directories).
473
474 "aio_scandir" is a composite request that creates of many sub
475 requests_ $maxreq specifies the maximum number of outstanding aio
476 requests that this function generates. If it is "<= 0", then a
477 suitable default will be chosen (currently 4).
478
479 On error, the callback is called without arguments, otherwise it
480 receives two array-refs with path-relative entry names.
481
482 Example:
483
484 aio_scandir $dir, 0, sub {
485 my ($dirs, $nondirs) = @_;
486 print "real directories: @$dirs\n";
487 print "everything else: @$nondirs\n";
488 };
489
490 Implementation notes.
491
492 The "aio_readdir" cannot be avoided, but "stat()"'ing every entry
493 can.
494
495 After reading the directory, the modification time, size etc. of the
496 directory before and after the readdir is checked, and if they match
497 (and isn't the current time), the link count will be used to decide
498 how many entries are directories (if >= 2). Otherwise, no knowledge
499 of the number of subdirectories will be assumed.
500
501 Then entries will be sorted into likely directories (everything
502 without a non-initial dot currently) and likely non-directories
503 (everything else). Then every entry plus an appended "/." will be
504 "stat"'ed, likely directories first. If that succeeds, it assumes
505 that the entry is a directory or a symlink to directory (which will
506 be checked seperately). This is often faster than stat'ing the entry
507 itself because filesystems might detect the type of the entry
508 without reading the inode data (e.g. ext2fs filetype feature).
509
510 If the known number of directories (link count - 2) has been
511 reached, the rest of the entries is assumed to be non-directories.
512
513 This only works with certainty on POSIX (= UNIX) filesystems, which
514 fortunately are the vast majority of filesystems around.
515
516 It will also likely work on non-POSIX filesystems with reduced
517 efficiency as those tend to return 0 or 1 as link counts, which
518 disables the directory counting heuristic.
519
520 aio_rmtree $path, $callback->($status)
521 Delete a directory tree starting (and including) $path, return the
522 status of the final "rmdir" only. This is a composite request that
523 uses "aio_scandir" to recurse into and rmdir directories, and unlink
524 everything else.
525
526 aio_fsync $fh, $callback->($status)
527 Asynchronously call fsync on the given filehandle and call the
528 callback with the fsync result code.
529
530 aio_fdatasync $fh, $callback->($status)
531 Asynchronously call fdatasync on the given filehandle and call the
532 callback with the fdatasync result code.
533
534 If this call isn't available because your OS lacks it or it couldn't
535 be detected, it will be emulated by calling "fsync" instead.
536
537 aio_group $callback->(...)
538 This is a very special aio request: Instead of doing something, it
539 is a container for other aio requests, which is useful if you want
540 to bundle many requests into a single, composite, request with a
541 definite callback and the ability to cancel the whole request with
542 its subrequests.
543
544 Returns an object of class IO::AIO::GRP. See its documentation below
545 for more info.
546
547 Example:
548
549 my $grp = aio_group sub {
550 print "all stats done\n";
551 };
552
553 add $grp
554 (aio_stat ...),
555 (aio_stat ...),
556 ...;
557
558 aio_nop $callback->()
559 This is a special request - it does nothing in itself and is only
560 used for side effects, such as when you want to add a dummy request
561 to a group so that finishing the requests in the group depends on
562 executing the given code.
563
564 While this request does nothing, it still goes through the execution
565 phase and still requires a worker thread. Thus, the callback will
566 not be executed immediately but only after other requests in the
567 queue have entered their execution phase. This can be used to
568 measure request latency.
569
570 IO::AIO::aio_busy $fractional_seconds, $callback->() *NOT EXPORTED*
571 Mainly used for debugging and benchmarking, this aio request puts
572 one of the request workers to sleep for the given time.
573
574 While it is theoretically handy to have simple I/O scheduling
575 requests like sleep and file handle readable/writable, the overhead
576 this creates is immense (it blocks a thread for a long time) so do
577 not use this function except to put your application under
578 artificial I/O pressure.
579
580 IO::AIO::REQ CLASS
581 All non-aggregate "aio_*" functions return an object of this class when
582 called in non-void context.
583
584 cancel $req
585 Cancels the request, if possible. Has the effect of skipping
586 execution when entering the execute state and skipping calling the
587 callback when entering the the result state, but will leave the
588 request otherwise untouched. That means that requests that currently
589 execute will not be stopped and resources held by the request will
590 not be freed prematurely.
591
592 cb $req $callback->(...)
593 Replace (or simply set) the callback registered to the request.
594
595 IO::AIO::GRP CLASS
596 This class is a subclass of IO::AIO::REQ, so all its methods apply to
597 objects of this class, too.
598
599 A IO::AIO::GRP object is a special request that can contain multiple
600 other aio requests.
601
602 You create one by calling the "aio_group" constructing function with a
603 callback that will be called when all contained requests have entered
604 the "done" state:
605
606 my $grp = aio_group sub {
607 print "all requests are done\n";
608 };
609
610 You add requests by calling the "add" method with one or more
611 "IO::AIO::REQ" objects:
612
613 $grp->add (aio_unlink "...");
614
615 add $grp aio_stat "...", sub {
616 $_[0] or return $grp->result ("error");
617
618 # add another request dynamically, if first succeeded
619 add $grp aio_open "...", sub {
620 $grp->result ("ok");
621 };
622 };
623
493 This makes it very easy to create composite requests (see the source 624 This makes it very easy to create composite requests (see the source of
494 of "aio_move" for an application) that work and feel like simple 625 "aio_move" for an application) that work and feel like simple requests.
626
627 * The IO::AIO::GRP objects will be cleaned up during calls to
628 "IO::AIO::poll_cb", just like any other request.
629 * They can be canceled like any other request. Canceling will cancel not
630 only the request itself, but also all requests it contains.
631 * They can also can also be added to other IO::AIO::GRP objects.
632 * You must not add requests to a group from within the group callback
633 (or any later time).
634
635 Their lifetime, simplified, looks like this: when they are empty, they
636 will finish very quickly. If they contain only requests that are in the
637 "done" state, they will also finish. Otherwise they will continue to
638 exist.
639
640 That means after creating a group you have some time to add requests.
641 And in the callbacks of those requests, you can add further requests to
642 the group. And only when all those requests have finished will the the
643 group itself finish.
644
645 add $grp ...
646 $grp->add (...)
647 Add one or more requests to the group. Any type of IO::AIO::REQ can
648 be added, including other groups, as long as you do not create
649 circular dependencies.
650
651 Returns all its arguments.
652
653 $grp->cancel_subs
654 Cancel all subrequests and clears any feeder, but not the group
655 request itself. Useful when you queued a lot of events but got a
656 result early.
657
658 $grp->result (...)
659 Set the result value(s) that will be passed to the group callback
660 when all subrequests have finished and set thre groups errno to the
661 current value of errno (just like calling "errno" without an error
662 number). By default, no argument will be passed and errno is zero.
663
664 $grp->errno ([$errno])
665 Sets the group errno value to $errno, or the current value of errno
666 when the argument is missing.
667
668 Every aio request has an associated errno value that is restored
669 when the callback is invoked. This method lets you change this value
670 from its default (0).
671
672 Calling "result" will also set errno, so make sure you either set $!
673 before the call to "result", or call c<errno> after it.
674
675 feed $grp $callback->($grp)
676 Sets a feeder/generator on this group: every group can have an
677 attached generator that generates requests if idle. The idea behind
678 this is that, although you could just queue as many requests as you
679 want in a group, this might starve other requests for a potentially
680 long time. For example, "aio_scandir" might generate hundreds of
681 thousands "aio_stat" requests, delaying any later requests for a
682 long time.
683
684 To avoid this, and allow incremental generation of requests, you can
685 instead a group and set a feeder on it that generates those
686 requests. The feed callback will be called whenever there are few
687 enough (see "limit", below) requests active in the group itself and
688 is expected to queue more requests.
689
690 The feed callback can queue as many requests as it likes (i.e. "add"
691 does not impose any limits).
692
693 If the feed does not queue more requests when called, it will be
694 automatically removed from the group.
695
696 If the feed limit is 0, it will be set to 2 automatically.
697
698 Example:
699
700 # stat all files in @files, but only ever use four aio requests concurrently:
701
702 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "finished\n" };
703 limit $grp 4;
704 feed $grp sub {
705 my $file = pop @files
706 or return;
707
708 add $grp aio_stat $file, sub { ... };
709 };
710
711 limit $grp $num
712 Sets the feeder limit for the group: The feeder will be called
713 whenever the group contains less than this many requests.
714
715 Setting the limit to 0 will pause the feeding process.
716
717 SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
718 EVENT PROCESSING AND EVENT LOOP INTEGRATION
719 $fileno = IO::AIO::poll_fileno
720 Return the *request result pipe file descriptor*. This filehandle
721 must be polled for reading by some mechanism outside this module
722 (e.g. Event or select, see below or the SYNOPSIS). If the pipe
723 becomes readable you have to call "poll_cb" to check the results.
724
725 See "poll_cb" for an example.
726
727 IO::AIO::poll_cb
728 Process some outstanding events on the result pipe. You have to call
729 this regularly. Returns the number of events processed. Returns
730 immediately when no events are outstanding. The amount of events
731 processed depends on the settings of "IO::AIO::max_poll_req" and
732 "IO::AIO::max_poll_time".
733
734 If not all requests were processed for whatever reason, the
735 filehandle will still be ready when "poll_cb" returns.
736
737 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
738 IO::AIO::poll_cb with high priority:
739
740 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
741 poll => 'r', async => 1,
742 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
743
744 IO::AIO::max_poll_reqs $nreqs
745 IO::AIO::max_poll_time $seconds
746 These set the maximum number of requests (default 0, meaning
747 infinity) that are being processed by "IO::AIO::poll_cb" in one
748 call, respectively the maximum amount of time (default 0, meaning
749 infinity) spent in "IO::AIO::poll_cb" to process requests (more
750 correctly the mininum amount of time "poll_cb" is allowed to use).
751
752 Setting "max_poll_time" to a non-zero value creates an overhead of
753 one syscall per request processed, which is not normally a problem
754 unless your callbacks are really really fast or your OS is really
755 really slow (I am not mentioning Solaris here). Using
756 "max_poll_reqs" incurs no overhead.
757
758 Setting these is useful if you want to ensure some level of
759 interactiveness when perl is not fast enough to process all requests
760 in time.
761
762 For interactive programs, values such as 0.01 to 0.1 should be fine.
763
764 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
765 IO::AIO::poll_cb with low priority, to ensure that other parts of
766 the program get the CPU sometimes even under high AIO load.
767
768 # try not to spend much more than 0.1s in poll_cb
769 IO::AIO::max_poll_time 0.1;
770
771 # use a low priority so other tasks have priority
772 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
773 poll => 'r', nice => 1,
774 cb => &IO::AIO::poll_cb);
775
776 IO::AIO::poll_wait
777 If there are any outstanding requests and none of them in the result
778 phase, wait till the result filehandle becomes ready for reading
779 (simply does a "select" on the filehandle. This is useful if you
780 want to synchronously wait for some requests to finish).
781
782 See "nreqs" for an example.
783
784 IO::AIO::poll
785 Waits until some requests have been handled.
786
787 Returns the number of requests processed, but is otherwise strictly
788 equivalent to:
789
790 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
791
792 IO::AIO::flush
793 Wait till all outstanding AIO requests have been handled.
794
795 Strictly equivalent to:
796
797 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
798 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
799
800 CONTROLLING THE NUMBER OF THREADS
801 IO::AIO::min_parallel $nthreads
802 Set the minimum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. The current
803 default is 8, which means eight asynchronous operations can execute
804 concurrently at any one time (the number of outstanding requests,
805 however, is unlimited).
806
807 IO::AIO starts threads only on demand, when an AIO request is queued
808 and no free thread exists. Please note that queueing up a hundred
809 requests can create demand for a hundred threads, even if it turns
810 out that everything is in the cache and could have been processed
811 faster by a single thread.
812
813 It is recommended to keep the number of threads relatively low, as
814 some Linux kernel versions will scale negatively with the number of
815 threads (higher parallelity => MUCH higher latency). With current
816 Linux 2.6 versions, 4-32 threads should be fine.
817
818 Under most circumstances you don't need to call this function, as
819 the module selects a default that is suitable for low to moderate
820 load.
821
822 IO::AIO::max_parallel $nthreads
823 Sets the maximum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. If more than
824 the specified number of threads are currently running, this function
825 kills them. This function blocks until the limit is reached.
826
827 While $nthreads are zero, aio requests get queued but not executed
828 until the number of threads has been increased again.
829
830 This module automatically runs "max_parallel 0" at program end, to
831 ensure that all threads are killed and that there are no outstanding
495 requests. 832 requests.
496 833
497 * The IO::AIO::GRP objects will be cleaned up during calls to
498 "IO::AIO::poll_cb", just like any other request.
499 * They can be canceled like any other request. Canceling will cancel
500 not only the request itself, but also all requests it contains.
501 * They can also can also be added to other IO::AIO::GRP objects.
502 * You must not add requests to a group from within the group
503 callback (or any later time).
504
505 Their lifetime, simplified, looks like this: when they are empty,
506 they will finish very quickly. If they contain only requests that
507 are in the "done" state, they will also finish. Otherwise they will
508 continue to exist.
509
510 That means after creating a group you have some time to add
511 requests. And in the callbacks of those requests, you can add
512 further requests to the group. And only when all those requests have
513 finished will the the group itself finish.
514
515 add $grp ...
516 $grp->add (...)
517 Add one or more requests to the group. Any type of IO::AIO::REQ
518 can be added, including other groups, as long as you do not
519 create circular dependencies.
520
521 Returns all its arguments.
522
523 $grp->cancel_subs
524 Cancel all subrequests and clears any feeder, but not the group
525 request itself. Useful when you queued a lot of events but got a
526 result early.
527
528 $grp->result (...)
529 Set the result value(s) that will be passed to the group
530 callback when all subrequests have finished and set thre groups
531 errno to the current value of errno (just like calling "errno"
532 without an error number). By default, no argument will be passed
533 and errno is zero.
534
535 $grp->errno ([$errno])
536 Sets the group errno value to $errno, or the current value of
537 errno when the argument is missing.
538
539 Every aio request has an associated errno value that is restored
540 when the callback is invoked. This method lets you change this
541 value from its default (0).
542
543 Calling "result" will also set errno, so make sure you either
544 set $! before the call to "result", or call c<errno> after it.
545
546 feed $grp $callback->($grp)
547 Sets a feeder/generator on this group: every group can have an
548 attached generator that generates requests if idle. The idea
549 behind this is that, although you could just queue as many
550 requests as you want in a group, this might starve other
551 requests for a potentially long time. For example, "aio_scandir"
552 might generate hundreds of thousands "aio_stat" requests,
553 delaying any later requests for a long time.
554
555 To avoid this, and allow incremental generation of requests, you
556 can instead a group and set a feeder on it that generates those
557 requests. The feed callback will be called whenever there are
558 few enough (see "limit", below) requests active in the group
559 itself and is expected to queue more requests.
560
561 The feed callback can queue as many requests as it likes (i.e.
562 "add" does not impose any limits).
563
564 If the feed does not queue more requests when called, it will be
565 automatically removed from the group.
566
567 If the feed limit is 0, it will be set to 2 automatically.
568
569 Example:
570
571 # stat all files in @files, but only ever use four aio requests concurrently:
572
573 my $grp = aio_group sub { print "finished\n" };
574 limit $grp 4;
575 feed $grp sub {
576 my $file = pop @files
577 or return;
578
579 add $grp aio_stat $file, sub { ... };
580 };
581
582 limit $grp $num
583 Sets the feeder limit for the group: The feeder will be called
584 whenever the group contains less than this many requests.
585
586 Setting the limit to 0 will pause the feeding process.
587
588 SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
589 $fileno = IO::AIO::poll_fileno
590 Return the *request result pipe file descriptor*. This
591 filehandle must be polled for reading by some mechanism outside
592 this module (e.g. Event or select, see below or the SYNOPSIS).
593 If the pipe becomes readable you have to call "poll_cb" to check
594 the results.
595
596 See "poll_cb" for an example.
597
598 IO::AIO::poll_cb
599 Process all outstanding events on the result pipe. You have to
600 call this regularly. Returns the number of events processed.
601 Returns immediately when no events are outstanding.
602
603 If not all requests were processed for whatever reason, the
604 filehandle will still be ready when "poll_cb" returns.
605
606 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
607 IO::AIO::poll_cb with high priority:
608
609 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
610 poll => 'r', async => 1,
611 cb => \&IO::AIO::poll_cb);
612
613 IO::AIO::poll_some $max_requests
614 Similar to "poll_cb", but only processes up to $max_requests
615 requests at a time.
616
617 Useful if you want to ensure some level of interactiveness when
618 perl is not fast enough to process all requests in time.
619
620 Example: Install an Event watcher that automatically calls
621 IO::AIO::poll_some with low priority, to ensure that other parts
622 of the program get the CPU sometimes even under high AIO load.
623
624 Event->io (fd => IO::AIO::poll_fileno,
625 poll => 'r', nice => 1,
626 cb => sub { IO::AIO::poll_some 256 });
627
628 IO::AIO::poll_wait
629 Wait till the result filehandle becomes ready for reading
630 (simply does a "select" on the filehandle. This is useful if you
631 want to synchronously wait for some requests to finish).
632
633 See "nreqs" for an example.
634
635 IO::AIO::nreqs
636 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready, execute
637 or pending states (i.e. for which their callback has not been
638 invoked yet).
639
640 Example: wait till there are no outstanding requests anymore:
641
642 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
643 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
644
645 IO::AIO::nready
646 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready state (not
647 yet executed).
648
649 IO::AIO::npending
650 Returns the number of requests currently in the pending state
651 (executed, but not yet processed by poll_cb).
652
653 IO::AIO::flush
654 Wait till all outstanding AIO requests have been handled.
655
656 Strictly equivalent to:
657
658 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
659 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
660
661 IO::AIO::poll
662 Waits until some requests have been handled.
663
664 Strictly equivalent to:
665
666 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
667 if IO::AIO::nreqs;
668
669 IO::AIO::min_parallel $nthreads
670 Set the minimum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. The current
671 default is 8, which means eight asynchronous operations can
672 execute concurrently at any one time (the number of outstanding
673 requests, however, is unlimited).
674
675 IO::AIO starts threads only on demand, when an AIO request is
676 queued and no free thread exists.
677
678 It is recommended to keep the number of threads relatively low,
679 as some Linux kernel versions will scale negatively with the
680 number of threads (higher parallelity => MUCH higher latency).
681 With current Linux 2.6 versions, 4-32 threads should be fine.
682
683 Under most circumstances you don't need to call this function,
684 as the module selects a default that is suitable for low to
685 moderate load.
686
687 IO::AIO::max_parallel $nthreads
688 Sets the maximum number of AIO threads to $nthreads. If more
689 than the specified number of threads are currently running, this
690 function kills them. This function blocks until the limit is
691 reached.
692
693 While $nthreads are zero, aio requests get queued but not
694 executed until the number of threads has been increased again.
695
696 This module automatically runs "max_parallel 0" at program end,
697 to ensure that all threads are killed and that there are no
698 outstanding requests.
699
700 Under normal circumstances you don't need to call this function. 834 Under normal circumstances you don't need to call this function.
701 835
836 IO::AIO::max_idle $nthreads
837 Limit the number of threads (default: 4) that are allowed to idle
838 (i.e., threads that did not get a request to process within 10
839 seconds). That means if a thread becomes idle while $nthreads other
840 threads are also idle, it will free its resources and exit.
841
842 This is useful when you allow a large number of threads (e.g. 100 or
843 1000) to allow for extremely high load situations, but want to free
844 resources under normal circumstances (1000 threads can easily
845 consume 30MB of RAM).
846
847 The default is probably ok in most situations, especially if thread
848 creation is fast. If thread creation is very slow on your system you
849 might want to use larger values.
850
702 $oldmaxreqs = IO::AIO::max_outstanding $maxreqs 851 $oldmaxreqs = IO::AIO::max_outstanding $maxreqs
703 This is a very bad function to use in interactive programs 852 This is a very bad function to use in interactive programs because
704 because it blocks, and a bad way to reduce concurrency because 853 it blocks, and a bad way to reduce concurrency because it is
705 it is inexact: Better use an "aio_group" together with a feed 854 inexact: Better use an "aio_group" together with a feed callback.
706 callback.
707 855
708 Sets the maximum number of outstanding requests to $nreqs. If 856 Sets the maximum number of outstanding requests to $nreqs. If you to
709 you to queue up more than this number of requests, the next call 857 queue up more than this number of requests, the next call to the
710 to the "poll_cb" (and "poll_some" and other functions calling 858 "poll_cb" (and "poll_some" and other functions calling "poll_cb")
711 "poll_cb") function will block until the limit is no longer 859 function will block until the limit is no longer exceeded.
712 exceeded.
713 860
714 The default value is very large, so there is no practical limit 861 The default value is very large, so there is no practical limit on
715 on the number of outstanding requests. 862 the number of outstanding requests.
716 863
717 You can still queue as many requests as you want. Therefore, 864 You can still queue as many requests as you want. Therefore,
718 "max_oustsanding" is mainly useful in simple scripts (with low 865 "max_oustsanding" is mainly useful in simple scripts (with low
719 values) or as a stop gap to shield against fatal memory overflow 866 values) or as a stop gap to shield against fatal memory overflow
720 (with large values). 867 (with large values).
868
869 STATISTICAL INFORMATION
870 IO::AIO::nreqs
871 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready, execute or
872 pending states (i.e. for which their callback has not been invoked
873 yet).
874
875 Example: wait till there are no outstanding requests anymore:
876
877 IO::AIO::poll_wait, IO::AIO::poll_cb
878 while IO::AIO::nreqs;
879
880 IO::AIO::nready
881 Returns the number of requests currently in the ready state (not yet
882 executed).
883
884 IO::AIO::npending
885 Returns the number of requests currently in the pending state
886 (executed, but not yet processed by poll_cb).
721 887
722 FORK BEHAVIOUR 888 FORK BEHAVIOUR
723 This module should do "the right thing" when the process using it 889 This module should do "the right thing" when the process using it forks:
724 forks:
725 890
726 Before the fork, IO::AIO enters a quiescent state where no requests 891 Before the fork, IO::AIO enters a quiescent state where no requests can
727 can be added in other threads and no results will be processed. 892 be added in other threads and no results will be processed. After the
728 After the fork the parent simply leaves the quiescent state and 893 fork the parent simply leaves the quiescent state and continues
729 continues request/result processing, while the child frees the 894 request/result processing, while the child frees the request/result
730 request/result queue (so that the requests started before the fork 895 queue (so that the requests started before the fork will only be handled
731 will only be handled in the parent). Threads will be started on 896 in the parent). Threads will be started on demand until the limit set in
732 demand until the limit set in the parent process has been reached 897 the parent process has been reached again.
733 again.
734 898
735 In short: the parent will, after a short pause, continue as if fork 899 In short: the parent will, after a short pause, continue as if fork had
736 had not been called, while the child will act as if IO::AIO has not 900 not been called, while the child will act as if IO::AIO has not been
737 been used yet. 901 used yet.
738 902
739 MEMORY USAGE 903 MEMORY USAGE
740 Per-request usage: 904 Per-request usage:
741 905
742 Each aio request uses - depending on your architecture - around 906 Each aio request uses - depending on your architecture - around 100-200
743 100-200 bytes of memory. In addition, stat requests need a stat 907 bytes of memory. In addition, stat requests need a stat buffer (possibly
744 buffer (possibly a few hundred bytes), readdir requires a result 908 a few hundred bytes), readdir requires a result buffer and so on. Perl
745 buffer and so on. Perl scalars and other data passed into aio 909 scalars and other data passed into aio requests will also be locked and
746 requests will also be locked and will consume memory till the 910 will consume memory till the request has entered the done state.
747 request has entered the done state.
748 911
749 This is now awfully much, so queuing lots of requests is not usually 912 This is now awfully much, so queuing lots of requests is not usually a
750 a problem. 913 problem.
751 914
752 Per-thread usage: 915 Per-thread usage:
753 916
754 In the execution phase, some aio requests require more memory for 917 In the execution phase, some aio requests require more memory for
755 temporary buffers, and each thread requires a stack and other data 918 temporary buffers, and each thread requires a stack and other data
756 structures (usually around 16k-128k, depending on the OS). 919 structures (usually around 16k-128k, depending on the OS).
757 920
758KNOWN BUGS 921KNOWN BUGS
759 Known bugs will be fixed in the next release. 922 Known bugs will be fixed in the next release.
760 923
761SEE ALSO 924SEE ALSO
762 Coro::AIO. 925 Coro::AIO.
763 926
764AUTHOR 927AUTHOR
765 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 928 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
766 http://home.schmorp.de/ 929 http://home.schmorp.de/
767 930

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