EV
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NAME
EV - perl interface to libev, a high performance full-featured event
loop
SYNOPSIS
use EV;
# TIMERS
my $w = EV::timer 2, 0, sub {
warn "is called after 2s";
};
my $w = EV::timer 0, 3, sub {
warn "is called as soon as possible, then every 3s";
};
undef $w; # destroy event watcher again
my $w = EV::periodic 0, 60, 0, sub {
warn "is called every minute, on the minute, exactly";
};
# IO
my $w = EV::io *STDIN, EV::READ, sub {
my ($w, $revents) = @_; # all callbacks receive the watcher and event mask
warn "stdin is readable, you entered: ", <STDIN>;
};
# SIGNALS
my $w = EV::signal 'QUIT', sub {
warn "sigquit received\n";
};
# CHILD/PID STATUS CHANGES
my $w = EV::child $pid, 0, sub {
my ($w, $revents) = @_;
my $status = $w->rstatus;
};
# STAT CHANGES
my $w = EV::stat "/etc/passwd", 10, sub {
my ($w, $revents) = @_;
warn $w->path, " has changed somehow.\n";
};
# MAINLOOP
EV::run; # loop until EV::break is called or all watchers stop
EV::run EV::RUN_ONCE; # block until at least one event could be handled
EV::run EV::RUN_NOWAIT; # try to handle same events, but do not block
BEFORE YOU START USING THIS MODULE
If you only need timer, I/O, signal, child and idle watchers and not the
advanced functionality of this module, consider using AnyEvent instead,
specifically the simplified API described in AE.
When used with EV as backend, the AE API is as fast as the native EV
API, but your programs/modules will still run with many other event
loops.
DESCRIPTION
This module provides an interface to libev
(<http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/libev.html>). While the documentation
below is comprehensive, one might also consult the documentation of
libev itself (<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod> or
perldoc EV::libev) for more subtle details on watcher semantics or some
discussion on the available backends, or how to force a specific backend
with "LIBEV_FLAGS", or just about in any case because it has much more
detailed information.
This module is very fast and scalable. It is actually so fast that you
can use it through the AnyEvent module, stay portable to other event
loops (if you don't rely on any watcher types not available through it)
and still be faster than with any other event loop currently supported
in Perl.
PORTING FROM EV 3.X to 4.X
EV version 4 introduces a number of incompatible changes summarised
here. According to the depreciation strategy used by libev, there is a
compatibility layer in place so programs should continue to run
unchanged (the XS interface lacks this layer, so programs using that one
need to be updated).
This compatibility layer will be switched off in some future release.
this instance of EV, the set of recommended backends (supposed to be
good) for this platform and the set of embeddable backends (see
EMBED WATCHERS).
EV::sleep $seconds
Block the process for the given number of (fractional) seconds.
$time = EV::time
Returns the current time in (fractional) seconds since the epoch.
$time = EV::now
$time = $loop->now
Returns the time the last event loop iteration has been started.
This is the time that (relative) timers are based on, and referring
to it is usually faster then calling EV::time.
EV::now_update
$loop->now_update
Establishes the current time by querying the kernel, updating the
time returned by "EV::now" in the progress. This is a costly
operation and is usually done automatically within "EV::run".
This function is rarely useful, but when some event callback runs
for a very long time without entering the event loop, updating
libev's idea of the current time is a good idea.
EV::suspend
$loop->suspend
EV::resume
$loop->resume
These two functions suspend and resume a loop, for use when the loop
is not used for a while and timeouts should not be processed.
A typical use case would be an interactive program such as a game:
When the user presses "^Z" to suspend the game and resumes it an
hour later it would be best to handle timeouts as if no time had
actually passed while the program was suspended. This can be
achieved by calling "suspend" in your "SIGTSTP" handler, sending
yourself a "SIGSTOP" and calling "resume" directly afterwards to
resume timer processing.
Effectively, all "timer" watchers will be delayed by the time spend
between "suspend" and "resume", and all "periodic" watchers will be
rescheduled (that is, they will lose any events that would have
occured while suspended).
After calling "suspend" you must not call *any* function on the
given loop other than "resume", and you must not call "resume"
without a previous call to "suspend".
Calling "suspend"/"resume" has the side effect of updating the event
loop time (see "now_update").
$backend = EV::backend
$backend = $loop->backend
Returns an integer describing the backend used by libev
(EV::BACKEND_SELECT or EV::BACKEND_EPOLL).
$active = EV::run [$flags]
$active = $loop->run ([$flags])
Begin checking for events and calling callbacks. It returns when a
callback calls EV::break or the flags are nonzero (in which case the
return value is true) or when there are no active watchers which
reference the loop (keepalive is true), in which case the return
value will be false. The return value can generally be interpreted
as "if true, there is more work left to do".
The $flags argument can be one of the following:
0 as above
EV::RUN_ONCE block at most once (wait, but do not loop)
EV::RUN_NOWAIT do not block at all (fetch/handle events but do not wait)
EV::break [$how]
$loop->break ([$how])
When called with no arguments or an argument of EV::BREAK_ONE, makes
the innermost call to EV::run return.
When called with an argument of EV::BREAK_ALL, all calls to EV::run
will return as fast as possible.
When called with an argument of EV::BREAK_CANCEL, any pending break
will be cancelled.
$count = EV::iteration
$count = $loop->iteration
Return the number of times the event loop has polled for new events.
Sometimes useful as a generation counter.
EV::once $fh_or_undef, $events, $timeout, $cb->($revents)
$loop->once ($fh_or_undef, $events, $timeout, $cb->($revents))
This function rolls together an I/O and a timer watcher for a single
one-shot event without the need for managing a watcher object.
If $fh_or_undef is a filehandle or file descriptor, then $events
must be a bitset containing either "EV::READ", "EV::WRITE" or
"EV::READ | EV::WRITE", indicating the type of I/O event you want to
wait for. If you do not want to wait for some I/O event, specify
"undef" for $fh_or_undef and 0 for $events).
If timeout is "undef" or negative, then there will be no timeout.
Otherwise an "EV::timer" with this value will be started.
When an error occurs or either the timeout or I/O watcher triggers,
then the callback will be called with the received event set (in
general you can expect it to be a combination of "EV::ERROR",
"EV::READ", "EV::WRITE" and "EV::TIMER").
EV::once doesn't return anything: the watchers stay active till
either of them triggers, then they will be stopped and freed, and
the callback invoked.
EV::feed_fd_event $fd, $revents
$loop->feed_fd_event ($fd, $revents)
Feed an event on a file descriptor into EV. EV will react to this
call as if the readyness notifications specified by $revents (a
combination of "EV::READ" and "EV::WRITE") happened on the file
descriptor $fd.
EV::feed_signal_event $signal
Feed a signal event into the default loop. EV will react to this
call as if the signal specified by $signal had occured.
EV::feed_signal $signal
Feed a signal event into EV - unlike "EV::feed_signal_event", this
works regardless of which loop has registered the signal, and is
mainly useful for custom signal implementations.
EV::set_io_collect_interval $time
$loop->set_io_collect_interval ($time)
EV::set_timeout_collect_interval $time
$loop->set_timeout_collect_interval ($time)
These advanced functions set the minimum block interval when polling
for I/O events and the minimum wait interval for timer events. See
the libev documentation at
<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#FUNCTIONS_CONT
ROLLING_THE_EVENT_LOOP> (locally installed as EV::libev) for a more
detailed discussion.
$count = EV::pending_count
$count = $loop->pending_count
Returns the number of currently pending watchers.
EV::invoke_pending
$loop->invoke_pending
Invoke all currently pending watchers.
WATCHER OBJECTS
A watcher is an object that gets created to record your interest in some
event. For instance, if you want to wait for STDIN to become readable,
you would create an EV::io watcher for that:
my $watcher = EV::io *STDIN, EV::READ, sub {
my ($watcher, $revents) = @_;
warn "yeah, STDIN should now be readable without blocking!\n"
};
All watchers can be active (waiting for events) or inactive (paused).
Only active watchers will have their callbacks invoked. All callbacks
will be called with at least two arguments: the watcher and a bitmask of
received events.
Each watcher type has its associated bit in revents, so you can use the
same callback for multiple watchers. The event mask is named after the
type, i.e. EV::child sets EV::CHILD, EV::prepare sets EV::PREPARE,
EV::periodic sets EV::PERIODIC and so on, with the exception of I/O
events (which can set both EV::READ and EV::WRITE bits).
In the rare case where one wants to create a watcher but not start it at
the same time, each constructor has a variant with a trailing "_ns" in
its name, e.g. EV::io has a non-starting variant EV::io_ns and so on.
Please note that a watcher will automatically be stopped when the
watcher object is destroyed, so you *need* to keep the watcher objects
returned by the constructors.
Also, all methods changing some aspect of a watcher (->set, ->priority,
->fh and so on) automatically stop and start it again if it is active,
which means pending events get lost.
COMMON WATCHER METHODS
This section lists methods common to all watchers.
$w->start
Starts a watcher if it isn't active already. Does nothing to an
already active watcher. By default, all watchers start out in the
active state (see the description of the "_ns" variants if you need
stopped watchers).
$w->stop
Stop a watcher if it is active. Also clear any pending events
(events that have been received but that didn't yet result in a
callback invocation), regardless of whether the watcher was active
or not.
$bool = $w->is_active
Returns true if the watcher is active, false otherwise.
$current_data = $w->data
$old_data = $w->data ($new_data)
Queries a freely usable data scalar on the watcher and optionally
changes it. This is a way to associate custom data with a watcher:
my $w = EV::timer 60, 0, sub {
warn $_[0]->data;
};
$w->data ("print me!");
$current_cb = $w->cb
$old_cb = $w->cb ($new_cb)
Queries the callback on the watcher and optionally changes it. You
can do this at any time without the watcher restarting.
$current_priority = $w->priority
$old_priority = $w->priority ($new_priority)
Queries the priority on the watcher and optionally changes it.
Pending watchers with higher priority will be invoked first. The
valid range of priorities lies between EV::MAXPRI (default 2) and
EV::MINPRI (default -2). If the priority is outside this range it
before the callback will be triggered, but might be called at
other times, too.
This can be used to create very complex timers, such as a timer
that triggers on each midnight, local time (actually one day
after the last midnight, to keep the example simple):
my $daily = EV::periodic 0, 0, sub {
my ($w, $now) = @_;
use Time::Local ();
my (undef, undef, undef, $d, $m, $y) = localtime $now;
Time::Local::timelocal_nocheck 0, 0, 0, $d + 1, $m, $y
}, sub {
print "it's midnight or likely shortly after, now\n";
};
The "periodic_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
$w->set ($at, $interval, $reschedule_cb)
Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can
be called at any time.
$w->again
Simply stops and starts the watcher again.
$time = $w->at
Return the time that the watcher is expected to trigger next.
$offset = $w->offset
$old_offset = $w->offset ($new_offset)
Returns the current value of the offset attribute and optionally
sets a new one. Setting the new one will not restart the watcher -
if the watcher is active, the new offset value is used whenever it
expires next.
$interval = $w->interval
$old_interval = $w->interval ($new_interval)
See above, for the interval attribute.
$reschedule_cb = $w->reschedule_cb
$old_reschedule_cb = $w->reschedule_cb ($new_reschedule_cb)
See above, for the reschedule callback.
SIGNAL WATCHERS - signal me when a signal gets signalled!
$w = EV::signal $signal, $callback
$w = EV::signal_ns $signal, $callback
$w = $loop->signal ($signal, $callback)
$w = $loop->signal_ns ($signal, $callback)
Call the callback when $signal is received (the signal can be
specified by number or by name, just as with "kill" or %SIG).
Only one event loop can grab a given signal - attempting to grab the
same signal from two EV loops will crash the program immediately or
cause data corruption.
EV will grab the signal for the process (the kernel only allows one
component to receive a signal at a time) when you start a signal
watcher, and removes it again when you stop it. Perl does the same
when you add/remove callbacks to %SIG, so watch out.
You can have as many signal watchers per signal as you want.
The "signal_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
$w->set ($signal)
Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can
be called at any time.
$current_signum = $w->signal
$old_signum = $w->signal ($new_signal)
Returns the previously set signal (always as a number not name) and
optionally set a new one.
CHILD WATCHERS - watch out for process status changes
$w = EV::child $pid, $trace, $callback
$w = EV::child_ns $pid, $trace, $callback
$w = $loop->child ($pid, $trace, $callback)
$w = $loop->child_ns ($pid, $trace, $callback)
Call the callback when a status change for pid $pid (or any pid if
$pid is 0) has been received (a status change happens when the
process terminates or is killed, or, when trace is true,
additionally when it is stopped or continued). More precisely: when
the process receives a "SIGCHLD", EV will fetch the outstanding
exit/wait status for all changed/zombie children and call the
callback.
It is valid (and fully supported) to install a child watcher after a
child has exited but before the event loop has started its next
iteration (for example, first you "fork", then the new child process
might exit, and only then do you install a child watcher in the
parent for the new pid).
You can access both exit (or tracing) status and pid by using the
"rstatus" and "rpid" methods on the watcher object.
You can have as many pid watchers per pid as you want, they will all
be called.
The "child_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
$w->set ($pid, $trace)
Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can
be called at any time.
$current_pid = $w->pid
Returns the previously set process id and optionally set a new one.
$exit_status = $w->rstatus
Return the exit/wait status (as returned by waitpid, see the waitpid
entry in perlfunc).
$pid = $w->rpid
Return the pid of the awaited child (useful when you have installed
a watcher for all pids).
EV::Child::reinit [EXPERIMENTAL]
Internally, libev installs a signal handler for "SIGCHLD".
$w->set ($path, $interval)
Reconfigures the watcher, see the constructor above for details. Can
be called at any time.
$current_path = $w->path
$old_path = $w->path ($new_path)
Returns the previously set path and optionally set a new one.
$current_interval = $w->interval
$old_interval = $w->interval ($new_interval)
Returns the previously set interval and optionally set a new one.
Can be used to query the actual interval used.
IDLE WATCHERS - when you've got nothing better to do...
$w = EV::idle $callback
$w = EV::idle_ns $callback
$w = $loop->idle ($callback)
$w = $loop->idle_ns ($callback)
Call the callback when there are no other pending watchers of the
same or higher priority (excluding check, prepare and other idle
watchers of the same or lower priority, of course). They are called
idle watchers because when the watcher is the highest priority
pending event in the process, the process is considered to be idle
at that priority.
If you want a watcher that is only ever called when *no* other
events are outstanding you have to set the priority to "EV::MINPRI".
The process will not block as long as any idle watchers are active,
and they will be called repeatedly until stopped.
For example, if you have idle watchers at priority 0 and 1, and an
I/O watcher at priority 0, then the idle watcher at priority 1 and
the I/O watcher will always run when ready. Only when the idle
watcher at priority 1 is stopped and the I/O watcher at priority 0
is not pending with the 0-priority idle watcher be invoked.
The "idle_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
PREPARE WATCHERS - customise your event loop!
$w = EV::prepare $callback
$w = EV::prepare_ns $callback
$w = $loop->prepare ($callback)
$w = $loop->prepare_ns ($callback)
Call the callback just before the process would block. You can still
create/modify any watchers at this point.
See the EV::check watcher, below, for explanations and an example.
The "prepare_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
CHECK WATCHERS - customise your event loop even more!
$w = EV::check $callback
$w = EV::check_ns $callback
$w = $loop->check ($callback)
$w = $loop->check_ns ($callback)
Call the callback just after the process wakes up again (after it
has gathered events), but before any other callbacks have been
invoked.
This can be used to integrate other event-based software into the EV
mainloop: You register a prepare callback and in there, you create
io and timer watchers as required by the other software. Here is a
real-world example of integrating Net::SNMP (with some details left
out):
our @snmp_watcher;
our $snmp_prepare = EV::prepare sub {
# do nothing unless active
$dispatcher->{_event_queue_h}
or return;
# make the dispatcher handle any outstanding stuff
... not shown
# create an I/O watcher for each and every socket
@snmp_watcher = (
(map { EV::io $_, EV::READ, sub { } }
keys %{ $dispatcher->{_descriptors} }),
EV::timer +($event->[Net::SNMP::Dispatcher::_ACTIVE]
? $event->[Net::SNMP::Dispatcher::_TIME] - EV::now : 0),
0, sub { },
);
};
The callbacks are irrelevant (and are not even being called), the
only purpose of those watchers is to wake up the process as soon as
one of those events occurs (socket readable, or timer timed out).
The corresponding EV::check watcher will then clean up:
our $snmp_check = EV::check sub {
# destroy all watchers
@snmp_watcher = ();
# make the dispatcher handle any new stuff
... not shown
};
The callbacks of the created watchers will not be called as the
watchers are destroyed before this can happen (remember EV::check
gets called first).
The "check_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
EV::CHECK constant issues
Like all other watcher types, there is a bitmask constant for use in
$revents and other places. The "EV::CHECK" is special as it has the
same name as the "CHECK" sub called by Perl. This doesn't cause big
issues on newer perls (beginning with 5.8.9), but it means thatthe
constant must be *inlined*, i.e. runtime calls will not work. That
means that as long as you always "use EV" and then "EV::CHECK" you
are on the safe side.
FORK WATCHERS - the audacity to resume the event loop after a fork
Fork watchers are called when a "fork ()" was detected. The invocation
is done before the event loop blocks next and before "check" watchers
are being called, and only in the child after the fork.
$w = EV::fork $callback
$w = EV::fork_ns $callback
$w = $loop->fork ($callback)
$w = $loop->fork_ns ($callback)
Call the callback before the event loop is resumed in the child
process after a fork.
The "fork_ns" variant doesn't start (activate) the newly created
watcher.
EMBED WATCHERS - when one backend isn't enough...
This is a rather advanced watcher type that lets you embed one event
loop into another (currently only IO events are supported in the
embedded loop, other types of watchers might be handled in a delayed or
incorrect fashion and must not be used).
See the libev documentation at
<http://pod.tst.eu/http://cvs.schmorp.de/libev/ev.pod#code_ev_embed_code
_when_one_backend_> (locally installed as EV::libev) for more details.
In short, this watcher is most useful on BSD systems without working
kqueue to still be able to handle a large number of sockets:
my $socket_loop;
# check wether we use SELECT or POLL _and_ KQUEUE is supported
if (
(EV::backend & (EV::BACKEND_POLL | EV::BACKEND_SELECT))
&& (EV::supported_backends & EV::embeddable_backends & EV::BACKEND_KQUEUE)
) {
# use kqueue for sockets
$socket_loop = new EV::Loop EV::BACKEND_KQUEUE | EV::FLAG_NOENV;
}
# use the default loop otherwise
$socket_loop ||= EV::default_loop;
$w = EV::embed $otherloop[, $callback]
$w = EV::embed_ns $otherloop[, $callback]
$w = $loop->embed ($otherloop[, $callback])
( run in 0.569 second using v1.01-cache-2.11-cpan-39bf76dae61 )