ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/AnyEvent-Fork-RPC/RPC.pm
(Generate patch)

Comparing AnyEvent-Fork-RPC/RPC.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.5 by root, Wed Apr 17 19:39:54 2013 UTC vs.
Revision 1.46 by root, Sun Sep 15 20:18:14 2019 UTC

12 ->require ("MyModule") 12 ->require ("MyModule")
13 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ( 13 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run (
14 "MyModule::server", 14 "MyModule::server",
15 ); 15 );
16 16
17 use AnyEvent;
18
17 my $cv = AE::cv; 19 my $cv = AE::cv;
18 20
19 $rpc->(1, 2, 3, sub { 21 $rpc->(1, 2, 3, sub {
20 print "MyModule::server returned @_\n"; 22 print "MyModule::server returned @_\n";
21 $cv->send; 23 $cv->send;
24 $cv->recv; 26 $cv->recv;
25 27
26=head1 DESCRIPTION 28=head1 DESCRIPTION
27 29
28This module implements a simple RPC protocol and backend for processes 30This module implements a simple RPC protocol and backend for processes
29created via L<AnyEvent::Fork>, allowing you to call a function in the 31created via L<AnyEvent::Fork> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, allowing you
30child process and receive its return values (up to 4GB serialised). 32to call a function in the child process and receive its return values (up
33to 4GB serialised).
31 34
32It implements two different backends: a synchronous one that works like a 35It implements two different backends: a synchronous one that works like a
33normal function call, and an asynchronous one that can run multiple jobs 36normal function call, and an asynchronous one that can run multiple jobs
34concurrently in the child, using AnyEvent. 37concurrently in the child, using AnyEvent.
35 38
36It also implements an asynchronous event mechanism from the child to the 39It also implements an asynchronous event mechanism from the child to the
37parent, that could be used for progress indications or other information. 40parent, that could be used for progress indications or other information.
38 41
39=head1 EXAMPLES 42=head1 EXAMPLES
40 43
41=head2 Synchronous Backend 44=head2 Example 1: Synchronous Backend
42 45
43Here is a simple example that implements a backend that executes C<unlink> 46Here is a simple example that implements a backend that executes C<unlink>
44and C<rmdir> calls, and reports their status back. It also reports the 47and C<rmdir> calls, and reports their status back. It also reports the
45number of requests it has processed every three requests, which is clearly 48number of requests it has processed every three requests, which is clearly
46silly, but illustrates the use of events. 49silly, but illustrates the use of events.
55 58
56 my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork 59 my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork
57 ->new 60 ->new
58 ->require ("MyWorker") 61 ->require ("MyWorker")
59 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("MyWorker::run", 62 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("MyWorker::run",
60 on_error => sub { warn "FATAL: $_[0]"; exit 1 }, 63 on_error => sub { warn "ERROR: $_[0]"; exit 1 },
61 on_event => sub { warn "$_[0] requests handled\n" }, 64 on_event => sub { warn "$_[0] requests handled\n" },
62 on_destroy => $done, 65 on_destroy => $done,
63 ); 66 );
64 67
65 for my $id (1..6) { 68 for my $id (1..6) {
103dies with a fatal error - obviously, you must never let this happen :). 106dies with a fatal error - obviously, you must never let this happen :).
104 107
105Eventually it returns the status value true if the command was successful, 108Eventually it returns the status value true if the command was successful,
106or the status value 0 and the stringified error message. 109or the status value 0 and the stringified error message.
107 110
108On my system, running the first cdoe fragment with the given 111On my system, running the first code fragment with the given
109F<MyWorker.pm> in the current directory yields: 112F<MyWorker.pm> in the current directory yields:
110 113
111 /tmp/somepath/1: No such file or directory 114 /tmp/somepath/1: No such file or directory
112 /tmp/somepath/2: No such file or directory 115 /tmp/somepath/2: No such file or directory
113 3 requests handled 116 3 requests handled
134 137
135And as a final remark, there is a fine module on CPAN that can 138And as a final remark, there is a fine module on CPAN that can
136asynchronously C<rmdir> and C<unlink> and a lot more, and more efficiently 139asynchronously C<rmdir> and C<unlink> and a lot more, and more efficiently
137than this example, namely L<IO::AIO>. 140than this example, namely L<IO::AIO>.
138 141
142=head3 Example 1a: the same with the asynchronous backend
143
144This example only shows what needs to be changed to use the async backend
145instead. Doing this is not very useful, the purpose of this example is
146to show the minimum amount of change that is required to go from the
147synchronous to the asynchronous backend.
148
149To use the async backend in the previous example, you need to add the
150C<async> parameter to the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run> call:
151
152 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("MyWorker::run",
153 async => 1,
154 ...
155
156And since the function call protocol is now changed, you need to adopt
157C<MyWorker::run> to the async API.
158
159First, you need to accept the extra initial C<$done> callback:
160
161 sub run {
162 my ($done, $cmd, $path) = @_;
163
164And since a response is now generated when C<$done> is called, as opposed
165to when the function returns, we need to call the C<$done> function with
166the status:
167
168 $done->($status or (0, "$!"));
169
170A few remarks are in order. First, it's quite pointless to use the async
171backend for this example - but it I<is> possible. Second, you can call
172C<$done> before or after returning from the function. Third, having both
173returned from the function and having called the C<$done> callback, the
174child process may exit at any time, so you should call C<$done> only when
175you really I<are> done.
176
177=head2 Example 2: Asynchronous Backend
178
179This example implements multiple count-downs in the child, using
180L<AnyEvent> timers. While this is a bit silly (one could use timers in the
181parent just as well), it illustrates the ability to use AnyEvent in the
182child and the fact that responses can arrive in a different order then the
183requests.
184
185It also shows how to embed the actual child code into a C<__DATA__>
186section, so it doesn't need any external files at all.
187
188And when your parent process is often busy, and you have stricter timing
189requirements, then running timers in a child process suddenly doesn't look
190so silly anymore.
191
192Without further ado, here is the code:
193
194 use AnyEvent;
195 use AnyEvent::Fork;
196 use AnyEvent::Fork::RPC;
197
198 my $done = AE::cv;
199
200 my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork
201 ->new
202 ->require ("AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::Async")
203 ->eval (do { local $/; <DATA> })
204 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("run",
205 async => 1,
206 on_error => sub { warn "ERROR: $_[0]"; exit 1 },
207 on_event => sub { print $_[0] },
208 on_destroy => $done,
209 );
210
211 for my $count (3, 2, 1) {
212 $rpc->($count, sub {
213 warn "job $count finished\n";
214 });
215 }
216
217 undef $rpc;
218
219 $done->recv;
220
221 __DATA__
222
223 # this ends up in main, as we don't use a package declaration
224
225 use AnyEvent;
226
227 sub run {
228 my ($done, $count) = @_;
229
230 my $n;
231
232 AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event "starting to count up to $count\n";
233
234 my $w; $w = AE::timer 1, 1, sub {
235 ++$n;
236
237 AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event "count $n of $count\n";
238
239 if ($n == $count) {
240 undef $w;
241 $done->();
242 }
243 };
244 }
245
246The parent part (the one before the C<__DATA__> section) isn't very
247different from the earlier examples. It sets async mode, preloads
248the backend module (so the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event> function is
249declared), uses a slightly different C<on_event> handler (which we use
250simply for logging purposes) and then, instead of loading a module with
251the actual worker code, it C<eval>'s the code from the data section in the
252child process.
253
254It then starts three countdowns, from 3 to 1 seconds downwards, destroys
255the rpc object so the example finishes eventually, and then just waits for
256the stuff to trickle in.
257
258The worker code uses the event function to log some progress messages, but
259mostly just creates a recurring one-second timer.
260
261The timer callback increments a counter, logs a message, and eventually,
262when the count has been reached, calls the finish callback.
263
264On my system, this results in the following output. Since all timers fire
265at roughly the same time, the actual order isn't guaranteed, but the order
266shown is very likely what you would get, too.
267
268 starting to count up to 3
269 starting to count up to 2
270 starting to count up to 1
271 count 1 of 3
272 count 1 of 2
273 count 1 of 1
274 job 1 finished
275 count 2 of 2
276 job 2 finished
277 count 2 of 3
278 count 3 of 3
279 job 3 finished
280
281While the overall ordering isn't guaranteed, the async backend still
282guarantees that events and responses are delivered to the parent process
283in the exact same ordering as they were generated in the child process.
284
285And unless your system is I<very> busy, it should clearly show that the
286job started last will finish first, as it has the lowest count.
287
288This concludes the async example. Since L<AnyEvent::Fork> does not
289actually fork, you are free to use about any module in the child, not just
290L<AnyEvent>, but also L<IO::AIO>, or L<Tk> for example.
291
292=head2 Example 3: Asynchronous backend with Coro
293
294With L<Coro> you can create a nice asynchronous backend implementation by
295defining an rpc server function that creates a new Coro thread for every
296request that calls a function "normally", i.e. the parameters from the
297parent process are passed to it, and any return values are returned to the
298parent process, e.g.:
299
300 package My::Arith;
301
302 sub add {
303 return $_[0] + $_[1];
304 }
305
306 sub mul {
307 return $_[0] * $_[1];
308 }
309
310 sub run {
311 my ($done, $func, @arg) = @_;
312
313 Coro::async_pool {
314 $done->($func->(@arg));
315 };
316 }
317
318The C<run> function creates a new thread for every invocation, using the
319first argument as function name, and calls the C<$done> callback on it's
320return values. This makes it quite natural to define the C<add> and C<mul>
321functions to add or multiply two numbers and return the result.
322
323Since this is the asynchronous backend, it's quite possible to define RPC
324function that do I/O or wait for external events - their execution will
325overlap as needed.
326
327The above could be used like this:
328
329 my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork
330 ->new
331 ->require ("MyWorker")
332 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("My::Arith::run",
333 on_error => ..., on_event => ..., on_destroy => ...,
334 );
335
336 $rpc->(add => 1, 3, Coro::rouse_cb); say Coro::rouse_wait;
337 $rpc->(mul => 3, 2, Coro::rouse_cb); say Coro::rouse_wait;
338
339The C<say>'s will print C<4> and C<6>.
340
341=head2 Example 4: Forward AnyEvent::Log messages using C<on_event>
342
343This partial example shows how to use the C<event> function to forward
344L<AnyEvent::Log> messages to the parent.
345
346For this, the parent needs to provide a suitable C<on_event>:
347
348 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run (
349 on_event => sub {
350 if ($_[0] eq "ae_log") {
351 my (undef, $level, $message) = @_;
352 AE::log $level, $message;
353 } else {
354 # other event types
355 }
356 },
357 )
358
359In the child, as early as possible, the following code should reconfigure
360L<AnyEvent::Log> to log via C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event>:
361
362 $AnyEvent::Log::LOG->log_cb (sub {
363 my ($timestamp, $orig_ctx, $level, $message) = @{+shift};
364
365 if (defined &AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event) {
366 AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event (ae_log => $level, $message);
367 } else {
368 warn "[$$ before init] $message\n";
369 }
370 });
371
372There is an important twist - the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event> function
373is only defined when the child is fully initialised. If you redirect the
374log messages in your C<init> function for example, then the C<event>
375function might not yet be available. This is why the log callback checks
376whether the function is there using C<defined>, and only then uses it to
377log the message.
378
139=head1 PARENT PROCESS USAGE 379=head1 PARENT PROCESS USAGE
140 380
141This module exports nothing, and only implements a single function: 381This module exports nothing, and only implements a single function:
142 382
143=over 4 383=over 4
150 390
151use Errno (); 391use Errno ();
152use Guard (); 392use Guard ();
153 393
154use AnyEvent; 394use AnyEvent;
155#use AnyEvent::Fork;
156 395
157our $VERSION = 0.1; 396our $VERSION = '2.0';
158 397
159=item my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run $fork, $function, [key => value...] 398=item my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run $fork, $function, [key => value...]
160 399
161The traditional way to call it. But it is way cooler to call it in the 400The traditional way to call it. But it is way cooler to call it in the
162following way: 401following way:
182Called on (fatal) errors, with a descriptive (hopefully) message. If 421Called on (fatal) errors, with a descriptive (hopefully) message. If
183this callback is not provided, but C<on_event> is, then the C<on_event> 422this callback is not provided, but C<on_event> is, then the C<on_event>
184callback is called with the first argument being the string C<error>, 423callback is called with the first argument being the string C<error>,
185followed by the error message. 424followed by the error message.
186 425
187If neither handler is provided it prints the error to STDERR and will 426If neither handler is provided, then the error is reported with loglevel
188start failing badly. 427C<error> via C<AE::log>.
189 428
190=item on_event => $cb->(...) 429=item on_event => $cb->(...)
191 430
192Called for every call to the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event> function in the 431Called for every call to the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event> function in the
193child, with the arguments of that function passed to the callback. 432child, with the arguments of that function passed to the callback.
198 437
199Called when the C<$rpc> object has been destroyed and all requests have 438Called when the C<$rpc> object has been destroyed and all requests have
200been successfully handled. This is useful when you queue some requests and 439been successfully handled. This is useful when you queue some requests and
201want the child to go away after it has handled them. The problem is that 440want the child to go away after it has handled them. The problem is that
202the parent must not exit either until all requests have been handled, and 441the parent must not exit either until all requests have been handled, and
203this cna be accomplished by waiting for this callback. 442this can be accomplished by waiting for this callback.
204 443
205=item init => $function (default none) 444=item init => $function (default: none)
206 445
207When specified (by name), this function is called in the child as the very 446When specified (by name), this function is called in the child as the very
208first thing when taking over the process, with all the arguments normally 447first thing when taking over the process, with all the arguments normally
209passed to the C<AnyEvent::Fork::run> function, except the communications 448passed to the C<AnyEvent::Fork::run> function, except the communications
210socket. 449socket.
215It is called very early - before the serialisers are created or the 454It is called very early - before the serialisers are created or the
216C<$function> name is resolved into a function reference, so it could be 455C<$function> name is resolved into a function reference, so it could be
217used to load any modules that provide the serialiser or function. It can 456used to load any modules that provide the serialiser or function. It can
218not, however, create events. 457not, however, create events.
219 458
459=item done => $function (default: C<CORE::exit>)
460
461The function to call when the asynchronous backend detects an end of file
462condition when reading from the communications socket I<and> there are no
463outstanding requests. It is ignored by the synchronous backend.
464
465By overriding this you can prolong the life of a RPC process after e.g.
466the parent has exited by running the event loop in the provided function
467(or simply calling it, for example, when your child process uses L<EV> you
468could provide L<EV::run> as C<done> function).
469
470Of course, in that case you are responsible for exiting at the appropriate
471time and not returning from
472
220=item async => $boolean (default: 0) 473=item async => $boolean (default: C<0>)
221 474
222The default server used in the child does all I/O blockingly, and only 475The default server used in the child does all I/O blockingly, and only
223allows a single RPC call to execute concurrently. 476allows a single RPC call to execute concurrently.
224 477
225Setting C<async> to a true value switches to another implementation that 478Setting C<async> to a true value switches to another implementation that
226uses L<AnyEvent> in the child and allows multiple concurrent RPC calls. 479uses L<AnyEvent> in the child and allows multiple concurrent RPC calls (it
480does not support recursion in the event loop however, blocking condvar
481calls will fail).
227 482
228The actual API in the child is documented in the section that describes 483The actual API in the child is documented in the section that describes
229the calling semantics of the returned C<$rpc> function. 484the calling semantics of the returned C<$rpc> function.
230 485
231If you want to pre-load the actual back-end modules to enable memory 486If you want to pre-load the actual back-end modules to enable memory
232sharing, then you should load C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::Sync> for 487sharing, then you should load C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::Sync> for
233synchronous, and C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::Async> for asynchronous mode. 488synchronous, and C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::Async> for asynchronous mode.
234 489
235If you use a template process and want to fork both sync and async 490If you use a template process and want to fork both sync and async
236children, then it is permissible to laod both modules. 491children, then it is permissible to load both modules.
237 492
238=item serialiser => $string (default: '(sub { pack "(w/a*)*", @_ }, sub { unpack "(w/a*)*", shift })') 493=item serialiser => $string (default: C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::STRING_SERIALISER>)
239 494
240All arguments, result data and event data have to be serialised to be 495All arguments, result data and event data have to be serialised to be
241transferred between the processes. For this, they have to be frozen and 496transferred between the processes. For this, they have to be frozen and
242thawed in both parent and child processes. 497thawed in both parent and child processes.
243 498
244By default, only octet strings can be passed between the processes, which 499By default, only octet strings can be passed between the processes,
245is reasonably fast and efficient. 500which is reasonably fast and efficient and requires no extra modules
501(the C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC> distribution does not provide these extra
502serialiser modules).
246 503
247For more complicated use cases, you can provide your own freeze and thaw 504For more complicated use cases, you can provide your own freeze and thaw
248functions, by specifying a string with perl source code. It's supposed to 505functions, by specifying a string with perl source code. It's supposed to
249return two code references when evaluated: the first receives a list of 506return two code references when evaluated: the first receives a list of
250perl values and must return an octet string. The second receives the octet 507perl values and must return an octet string. The second receives the octet
252 509
253If you need an external module for serialisation, then you can either 510If you need an external module for serialisation, then you can either
254pre-load it into your L<AnyEvent::Fork> process, or you can add a C<use> 511pre-load it into your L<AnyEvent::Fork> process, or you can add a C<use>
255or C<require> statement into the serialiser string. Or both. 512or C<require> statement into the serialiser string. Or both.
256 513
514Here are some examples - all of them are also available as global
515variables that make them easier to use.
516
517=over 4
518
519=item C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::STRING_SERIALISER> - octet strings only
520
521This serialiser (currently the default) concatenates length-prefixes octet
522strings, and is the default. That means you can only pass (and return)
523strings containing character codes 0-255.
524
525The main advantages of this serialiser are the high speed and that it
526doesn't need another module. The main disadvantage is that you are very
527limited in what you can pass - only octet strings.
528
529Implementation:
530
531 (
532 sub { pack "(w/a*)*", @_ },
533 sub { unpack "(w/a*)*", shift }
534 )
535
536=item C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::CBOR_XS_SERIALISER> - uses L<CBOR::XS>
537
538This serialiser creates CBOR::XS arrays - you have to make sure the
539L<CBOR::XS> module is installed for this serialiser to work. It can be
540beneficial for sharing when you preload the L<CBOR::XS> module in a template
541process.
542
543L<CBOR::XS> is about as fast as the octet string serialiser, but supports
544complex data structures (similar to JSON) and is faster than any of the
545other serialisers. If you have the L<CBOR::XS> module available, it's the
546best choice.
547
548The encoder enables C<allow_sharing> (so this serialisation method can
549encode cyclic and self-referencing data structures).
550
551Implementation:
552
553 use CBOR::XS ();
554 (
555 sub { CBOR::XS::encode_cbor_sharing \@_ },
556 sub { @{ CBOR::XS::decode_cbor shift } }
557 )
558
559=item C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::JSON_SERIALISER> - uses L<JSON::XS> or L<JSON>
560
561This serialiser creates JSON arrays - you have to make sure the L<JSON>
562module is installed for this serialiser to work. It can be beneficial for
563sharing when you preload the L<JSON> module in a template process.
564
565L<JSON> (with L<JSON::XS> installed) is slower than the octet string
566serialiser, but usually much faster than L<Storable>, unless big chunks of
567binary data need to be transferred.
568
569Implementation:
570
571 use JSON ();
572 (
573 sub { JSON::encode_json \@_ },
574 sub { @{ JSON::decode_json shift } }
575 )
576
577=item C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::STORABLE_SERIALISER> - L<Storable>
578
579This serialiser uses L<Storable>, which means it has high chance of
580serialising just about anything you throw at it, at the cost of having
581very high overhead per operation. It also comes with perl. It should be
582used when you need to serialise complex data structures.
583
584Implementation:
585
586 use Storable ();
587 (
588 sub { Storable::freeze \@_ },
589 sub { @{ Storable::thaw shift } }
590 )
591
592=item C<$AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::NSTORABLE_SERIALISER> - portable Storable
593
594This serialiser also uses L<Storable>, but uses it's "network" format
595to serialise data, which makes it possible to talk to different
596perl binaries (for example, when talking to a process created with
597L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>).
598
599Implementation:
600
601 use Storable ();
602 (
603 sub { Storable::nfreeze \@_ },
604 sub { @{ Storable::thaw shift } }
605 )
606
257=back 607=back
258 608
609=item buflen => $bytes (default: C<512 - 16>)
610
611The starting size of the read buffer for request and response data.
612
613C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC> ensures that the buffer for reeading request and
614response data is large enough for at leats aingle request or response, and
615will dynamically enlarge the buffer if needed.
616
617While this ensures that memory is not overly wasted, it typically leads
618to having to do one syscall per request, which can be inefficient in some
619cases. In such cases, it can be beneficient to increase the buffer size to
620hold more than one request.
621
622=item buflen_req => $bytes (default: same as C<buflen>)
623
624Overrides C<buflen> for request data (as read by the forked process).
625
626=item buflen_res => $bytes (default: same as C<buflen>)
627
628Overrides C<buflen> for response data (replies read by the parent process).
629
630=back
631
632See the examples section earlier in this document for some actual
633examples.
634
259=cut 635=cut
260 636
261our $STRING_SERIALISER = '(sub { pack "(w/a*)*", @_ }, sub { unpack "(w/a*)*", shift })'; 637our $STRING_SERIALISER = '(sub { pack "(w/a*)*", @_ }, sub { unpack "(w/a*)*", shift })';
638our $CBOR_XS_SERIALISER = 'use CBOR::XS (); (sub { CBOR::XS::encode_cbor_sharing \@_ }, sub { @{ CBOR::XS::decode_cbor shift } })';
639our $JSON_SERIALISER = 'use JSON (); (sub { JSON::encode_json \@_ }, sub { @{ JSON::decode_json shift } })';
640our $STORABLE_SERIALISER = 'use Storable (); (sub { Storable::freeze \@_ }, sub { @{ Storable::thaw shift } })';
641our $NSTORABLE_SERIALISER = 'use Storable (); (sub { Storable::nfreeze \@_ }, sub { @{ Storable::thaw shift } })';
262 642
263sub run { 643sub run {
264 my ($self, $function, %arg) = @_; 644 my ($self, $function, %arg) = @_;
265 645
266 my $serialiser = delete $arg{serialiser} || $STRING_SERIALISER; 646 my $serialiser = delete $arg{serialiser} || $STRING_SERIALISER;
269 my $on_destroy = delete $arg{on_destroy}; 649 my $on_destroy = delete $arg{on_destroy};
270 650
271 # default for on_error is to on_event, if specified 651 # default for on_error is to on_event, if specified
272 $on_error ||= $on_event 652 $on_error ||= $on_event
273 ? sub { $on_event->(error => shift) } 653 ? sub { $on_event->(error => shift) }
274 : sub { die "AnyEvent::Fork::RPC: uncaught error: $_[0].\n" }; 654 : sub { AE::log die => "AnyEvent::Fork::RPC: uncaught error: $_[0]." };
275 655
276 # default for on_event is to raise an error 656 # default for on_event is to raise an error
277 $on_event ||= sub { $on_error->("event received, but no on_event handler") }; 657 $on_event ||= sub { $on_error->("event received, but no on_event handler") };
278 658
279 my ($f, $t) = eval $serialiser; die $@ if $@; 659 my ($f, $t) = eval $serialiser; die $@ if $@;
280 660
281 my (@rcb, $fh, $shutdown, $wbuf, $ww, $rw); 661 my (@rcb, %rcb, $fh, $shutdown, $wbuf, $ww);
282 my ($rlen, $rbuf) = 512 - 16; 662 my ($rlen, $rbuf, $rw) = $arg{buflen_res} || $arg{buflen} || 512 - 16;
283 663
284 my $wcb = sub { 664 my $wcb = sub {
285 my $len = syswrite $fh, $wbuf; 665 my $len = syswrite $fh, $wbuf;
286 666
287 if (!defined $len) { 667 unless (defined $len) {
288 if ($! != Errno::EAGAIN && $! != Errno::EWOULDBLOCK) { 668 if ($! != Errno::EAGAIN && $! != Errno::EWOULDBLOCK) {
289 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here 669 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here
290 $on_error->("$!"); 670 $on_error->("$!");
291 } 671 }
292 } 672 }
299 } 679 }
300 }; 680 };
301 681
302 my $module = "AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::" . ($arg{async} ? "Async" : "Sync"); 682 my $module = "AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::" . ($arg{async} ? "Async" : "Sync");
303 683
304 $self->require ($module) 684 $self->eval ("use $module 2 ()")
305 ->send_arg ($function, $arg{init}, $serialiser) 685 ->send_arg (
686 function => $function,
687 init => $arg{init},
688 serialiser => $serialiser,
689 done => $arg{done} || "$module\::do_exit",
690 rlen => $arg{buflen_req} || $arg{buflen} || 512 - 16,
691 -10 # the above are 10 arguments
692 )
306 ->run ("$module\::run", sub { 693 ->run ("$module\::run", sub {
307 $fh = shift; 694 $fh = shift
695 or return $on_error->("connection failed");
696
697 my ($id, $len);
308 $rw = AE::io $fh, 0, sub { 698 $rw = AE::io $fh, 0, sub {
309 $rlen = $rlen * 2 + 16 if $rlen - 128 < length $rbuf; 699 $rlen = $rlen * 2 + 16 if $rlen - 128 < length $rbuf;
310 my $len = sysread $fh, $rbuf, $rlen - length $rbuf, length $rbuf; 700 $len = sysread $fh, $rbuf, $rlen - length $rbuf, length $rbuf;
311 701
312 if ($len) { 702 if ($len) {
313 while (5 <= length $rbuf) { 703 while (8 <= length $rbuf) {
314 $len = unpack "L", $rbuf; 704 ($id, $len) = unpack "NN", $rbuf;
315 4 + $len <= length $rbuf 705 8 + $len <= length $rbuf
316 or last; 706 or last;
317 707
318 my @r = $t->(substr $rbuf, 4, $len); 708 my @r = $t->(substr $rbuf, 8, $len);
319 substr $rbuf, 0, $len + 4, ""; 709 substr $rbuf, 0, 8 + $len, "";
710
711 if ($id) {
712 if (@rcb) {
713 (shift @rcb)->(@r);
714 } elsif (my $cb = delete $rcb{$id}) {
715 $cb->(@r);
716 } else {
717 undef $rw; undef $ww;
718 $on_error->("unexpected data from child");
320 719 }
321 if (pop @r) { 720 } else {
322 $on_event->(@r); 721 $on_event->(@r);
323 } elsif (@rcb) {
324 (shift @rcb)->(@r);
325 } else {
326 undef $rw; undef $ww;
327 $on_error->("unexpected data from child");
328 } 722 }
329 } 723 }
330 } elsif (defined $len) { 724 } elsif (defined $len) {
331 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here 725 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here
332 726
333 if (@rcb) { 727 if (@rcb || %rcb) {
334 $on_error->("unexpected eof"); 728 $on_error->("unexpected eof");
335 } else { 729 } else {
336 $on_destroy->(); 730 $on_destroy->()
731 if $on_destroy;
337 } 732 }
338 } elsif ($! != Errno::EAGAIN && $! != Errno::EWOULDBLOCK) { 733 } elsif ($! != Errno::EAGAIN && $! != Errno::EWOULDBLOCK) {
339 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here 734 undef $rw; undef $ww; # it ends here
340 $on_error->("read: $!"); 735 $on_error->("read: $!");
341 } 736 }
344 $ww ||= AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb; 739 $ww ||= AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb;
345 }); 740 });
346 741
347 my $guard = Guard::guard { 742 my $guard = Guard::guard {
348 $shutdown = 1; 743 $shutdown = 1;
349 $ww ||= $fh && AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb; 744
745 shutdown $fh, 1 if $fh && !$ww;
350 }; 746 };
351 747
748 my $id;
749
750 $arg{async}
352 sub { 751 ? sub {
353 push @rcb, pop; 752 $id = ($id == 0xffffffff ? 0 : $id) + 1;
753 $id = ($id == 0xffffffff ? 0 : $id) + 1 while exists $rcb{$id}; # rarely loops
354 754
755 $rcb{$id} = pop;
756
355 $guard; # keep it alive 757 $guard if 0; # keep it alive
356 758
357 $wbuf .= pack "L/a*", &$f; 759 $wbuf .= pack "NN/a*", $id, &$f;
358 $ww ||= $fh && AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb; 760 $ww ||= $fh && AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb;
359 } 761 }
762 : sub {
763 push @rcb, pop;
764
765 $guard; # keep it alive
766
767 $wbuf .= pack "N/a*", &$f;
768 $ww ||= $fh && AE::io $fh, 1, $wcb;
769 }
360} 770}
361 771
362=item $rpc->(..., $cb->(...)) 772=item $rpc->(..., $cb->(...))
363 773
364The RPC object returned by C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run> is actually a code 774The RPC object returned by C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run> is actually a code
379 789
380The other thing that can be done with the RPC object is to destroy it. In 790The other thing that can be done with the RPC object is to destroy it. In
381this case, the child process will execute all remaining RPC calls, report 791this case, the child process will execute all remaining RPC calls, report
382their results, and then exit. 792their results, and then exit.
383 793
794See the examples section earlier in this document for some actual
795examples.
796
384=back 797=back
385 798
386=head1 CHILD PROCESS USAGE 799=head1 CHILD PROCESS USAGE
387 800
388The following function is not available in this module. They are only 801The following function is not available in this module. They are only
389available in the namespace of this module when the child is running, 802available in the namespace of this module when the child is running,
390without having to load any extra modules. They are part of the child-side 803without having to load any extra modules. They are part of the child-side
391API of L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>. 804API of L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>.
392 805
806Note that these functions are typically not yet declared when code is
807compiled into the child, because the backend module is only loaded when
808you call C<run>, which is typically the last method you call on the fork
809object.
810
811Therefore, you either have to explicitly pre-load the right backend module
812or mark calls to these functions as function calls, e.g.:
813
814 AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event (0 => "five");
815 AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event->(0 => "five");
816 &AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::flush;
817
393=over 4 818=over 4
394 819
395=item AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event ... 820=item AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::event (...)
396 821
397Send an event to the parent. Events are a bit like RPC calls made by the 822Send an event to the parent. Events are a bit like RPC calls made by the
398child process to the parent, except that there is no notion of return 823child process to the parent, except that there is no notion of return
399values. 824values.
400 825
826See the examples section earlier in this document for some actual
827examples.
828
829Note: the event data, like any data send to the parent, might not be sent
830immediatelly but queued for later sending, so there is no guarantee that
831the event has been sent to the parent when the call returns - when you
832e.g. exit directly after calling this function, the parent might never
833receive the event. See the next function for a remedy.
834
835=item $success = AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::flush ()
836
837Synchronously wait and flush the reply data to the parent. Returns true on
838success and false otherwise (i.e. when the reply data cannot be written at
839all). Ignoring the success status is a common and healthy behaviour.
840
841Only the "async" backend does something on C<flush> - the "sync" backend
842is not buffering reply data and always returns true from this function.
843
844Normally, reply data might or might not be written to the parent
845immediatelly but is buffered. This can greatly improve performance and
846efficiency, but sometimes can get in your way: for example. when you want
847to send an error message just before exiting, or when you want to ensure
848replies timely reach the parent before starting a long blocking operation.
849
850In these cases, you can call this function to flush any outstanding reply
851data to the parent. This is done blockingly, so no requests will be
852handled and no event callbacks will be called.
853
854For example, you could wrap your request function in a C<eval> block and
855report the exception string back to the caller just before exiting:
856
857 sub req {
858 ...
859
860 eval {
861 ...
862 };
863
864 if ($@) {
865 AnyEvent::RPC::event (throw => "$@");
866 AnyEvent::RPC::flush ();
867 exit;
868 }
869
870 ...
871 }
872
401=back 873=back
402 874
875=head2 PROCESS EXIT
876
877If and when the child process exits depends on the backend and
878configuration. Apart from explicit exits (e.g. by calling C<exit>) or
879runtime conditions (uncaught exceptions, signals etc.), the backends exit
880under these conditions:
881
882=over 4
883
884=item Synchronous Backend
885
886The synchronous backend is very simple: when the process waits for another
887request to arrive and the writing side (usually in the parent) is closed,
888it will exit normally, i.e. as if your main program reached the end of the
889file.
890
891That means that if your parent process exits, the RPC process will usually
892exit as well, either because it is idle anyway, or because it executes a
893request. In the latter case, you will likely get an error when the RPc
894process tries to send the results to the parent (because agruably, you
895shouldn't exit your parent while there are still outstanding requests).
896
897The process is usually quiescent when it happens, so it should rarely be a
898problem, and C<END> handlers can be used to clean up.
899
900=item Asynchronous Backend
901
902For the asynchronous backend, things are more complicated: Whenever it
903listens for another request by the parent, it might detect that the socket
904was closed (e.g. because the parent exited). It will sotp listening for
905new requests and instead try to write out any remaining data (if any) or
906simply check whether the socket can be written to. After this, the RPC
907process is effectively done - no new requests are incoming, no outstanding
908request data can be written back.
909
910Since chances are high that there are event watchers that the RPC server
911knows nothing about (why else would one use the async backend if not for
912the ability to register watchers?), the event loop would often happily
913continue.
914
915This is why the asynchronous backend explicitly calls C<CORE::exit> when
916it is done (under other circumstances, such as when there is an I/O error
917and there is outstanding data to write, it will log a fatal message via
918L<AnyEvent::Log>, also causing the program to exit).
919
920You can override this by specifying a function name to call via the C<done>
921parameter instead.
922
923=back
924
925=head1 ADVANCED TOPICS
926
927=head2 Choosing a backend
928
929So how do you decide which backend to use? Well, that's your problem to
930solve, but here are some thoughts on the matter:
931
932=over 4
933
934=item Synchronous
935
936The synchronous backend does not rely on any external modules (well,
937except L<common::sense>, which works around a bug in how perl's warning
938system works). This keeps the process very small, for example, on my
939system, an empty perl interpreter uses 1492kB RSS, which becomes 2020kB
940after C<use warnings; use strict> (for people who grew up with C64s around
941them this is probably shocking every single time they see it). The worker
942process in the first example in this document uses 1792kB.
943
944Since the calls are done synchronously, slow jobs will keep newer jobs
945from executing.
946
947The synchronous backend also has no overhead due to running an event loop
948- reading requests is therefore very efficient, while writing responses is
949less so, as every response results in a write syscall.
950
951If the parent process is busy and a bit slow reading responses, the child
952waits instead of processing further requests. This also limits the amount
953of memory needed for buffering, as never more than one response has to be
954buffered.
955
956The API in the child is simple - you just have to define a function that
957does something and returns something.
958
959It's hard to use modules or code that relies on an event loop, as the
960child cannot execute anything while it waits for more input.
961
962=item Asynchronous
963
964The asynchronous backend relies on L<AnyEvent>, which tries to be small,
965but still comes at a price: On my system, the worker from example 1a uses
9663420kB RSS (for L<AnyEvent>, which loads L<EV>, which needs L<XSLoader>
967which in turn loads a lot of other modules such as L<warnings>, L<strict>,
968L<vars>, L<Exporter>...).
969
970It batches requests and responses reasonably efficiently, doing only as
971few reads and writes as needed, but needs to poll for events via the event
972loop.
973
974Responses are queued when the parent process is busy. This means the child
975can continue to execute any queued requests. It also means that a child
976might queue a lot of responses in memory when it generates them and the
977parent process is slow accepting them.
978
979The API is not a straightforward RPC pattern - you have to call a
980"done" callback to pass return values and signal completion. Also, more
981importantly, the API starts jobs as fast as possible - when 1000 jobs
982are queued and the jobs are slow, they will all run concurrently. The
983child must implement some queueing/limiting mechanism if this causes
984problems. Alternatively, the parent could limit the amount of rpc calls
985that are outstanding.
986
987Blocking use of condvars is not supported (in the main thread, outside of
988e.g. L<Coro> threads).
989
990Using event-based modules such as L<IO::AIO>, L<Gtk2>, L<Tk> and so on is
991easy.
992
993=back
994
995=head2 Passing file descriptors
996
997Unlike L<AnyEvent::Fork>, this module has no in-built file handle or file
998descriptor passing abilities.
999
1000The reason is that passing file descriptors is extraordinary tricky
1001business, and conflicts with efficient batching of messages.
1002
1003There still is a method you can use: Create a
1004C<AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair> and C<send_fh> one half of it to
1005the process before you pass control to C<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run>.
1006
1007Whenever you want to pass a file descriptor, send an rpc request to the
1008child process (so it expects the descriptor), then send it over the other
1009half of the socketpair. The child should fetch the descriptor from the
1010half it has passed earlier.
1011
1012Here is some (untested) pseudocode to that effect:
1013
1014 use AnyEvent::Util;
1015 use AnyEvent::Fork;
1016 use AnyEvent::Fork::RPC;
1017 use IO::FDPass;
1018
1019 my ($s1, $s2) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
1020
1021 my $rpc = AnyEvent::Fork
1022 ->new
1023 ->send_fh ($s2)
1024 ->require ("MyWorker")
1025 ->AnyEvent::Fork::RPC::run ("MyWorker::run"
1026 init => "MyWorker::init",
1027 );
1028
1029 undef $s2; # no need to keep it around
1030
1031 # pass an fd
1032 $rpc->("i'll send some fd now, please expect it!", my $cv = AE::cv);
1033
1034 IO::FDPass fileno $s1, fileno $handle_to_pass;
1035
1036 $cv->recv;
1037
1038The MyWorker module could look like this:
1039
1040 package MyWorker;
1041
1042 use IO::FDPass;
1043
1044 my $s2;
1045
1046 sub init {
1047 $s2 = $_[0];
1048 }
1049
1050 sub run {
1051 if ($_[0] eq "i'll send some fd now, please expect it!") {
1052 my $fd = IO::FDPass::recv fileno $s2;
1053 ...
1054 }
1055 }
1056
1057Of course, this might be blocking if you pass a lot of file descriptors,
1058so you might want to look into L<AnyEvent::FDpasser> which can handle the
1059gory details.
1060
1061=head1 EXCEPTIONS
1062
1063There are no provisions whatsoever for catching exceptions at this time -
1064in the child, exceptions might kill the process, causing calls to be lost
1065and the parent encountering a fatal error. In the parent, exceptions in
1066the result callback will not be caught and cause undefined behaviour.
1067
403=head1 SEE ALSO 1068=head1 SEE ALSO
404 1069
405L<AnyEvent::Fork> (to create the processes in the first place), 1070L<AnyEvent::Fork>, to create the processes in the first place.
1071
1072L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, likewise, but helpful for remote processes.
1073
406L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool> (to manage whole pools of processes). 1074L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool>, to manage whole pools of processes.
407 1075
408=head1 AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION 1076=head1 AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
409 1077
410 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1078 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
411 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/AnyEvent-Fork-RPC 1079 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/AnyEvent-Fork-RPC

Diff Legend

Removed lines
+ Added lines
< Changed lines
> Changed lines