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Revision 1.23 by root, Sat Apr 6 08:29:43 2013 UTC vs.
Revision 1.67 by root, Thu May 12 16:54:01 2016 UTC

4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use AnyEvent::Fork; 7 use AnyEvent::Fork;
8 8
9 ################################################################## 9 AnyEvent::Fork
10 ->new
11 ->require ("MyModule")
12 ->run ("MyModule::server", my $cv = AE::cv);
13
14 my $fh = $cv->recv;
15
16=head1 DESCRIPTION
17
18This module allows you to create new processes, without actually forking
19them from your current process (avoiding the problems of forking), but
20preserving most of the advantages of fork.
21
22It can be used to create new worker processes or new independent
23subprocesses for short- and long-running jobs, process pools (e.g. for use
24in pre-forked servers) but also to spawn new external processes (such as
25CGI scripts from a web server), which can be faster (and more well behaved)
26than using fork+exec in big processes.
27
28Special care has been taken to make this module useful from other modules,
29while still supporting specialised environments such as L<App::Staticperl>
30or L<PAR::Packer>.
31
32=head2 WHAT THIS MODULE IS NOT
33
34This module only creates processes and lets you pass file handles and
35strings to it, and run perl code. It does not implement any kind of RPC -
36there is no back channel from the process back to you, and there is no RPC
37or message passing going on.
38
39If you need some form of RPC, you could use the L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>
40companion module, which adds simple RPC/job queueing to a process created
41by this module.
42
43And if you need some automatic process pool management on top of
44L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>, you can look at the L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool>
45companion module.
46
47Or you can implement it yourself in whatever way you like: use some
48message-passing module such as L<AnyEvent::MP>, some pipe such as
49L<AnyEvent::ZeroMQ>, use L<AnyEvent::Handle> on both sides to send
50e.g. JSON or Storable messages, and so on.
51
52=head2 COMPARISON TO OTHER MODULES
53
54There is an abundance of modules on CPAN that do "something fork", such as
55L<Parallel::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::Worker>
56or L<AnyEvent::Subprocess>. There are modules that implement their own
57process management, such as L<AnyEvent::DBI>.
58
59The problems that all these modules try to solve are real, however, none
60of them (from what I have seen) tackle the very real problems of unwanted
61memory sharing, efficiency or not being able to use event processing, GUI
62toolkits or similar modules in the processes they create.
63
64This module doesn't try to replace any of them - instead it tries to solve
65the problem of creating processes with a minimum of fuss and overhead (and
66also luxury). Ideally, most of these would use AnyEvent::Fork internally,
67except they were written before AnyEvent:Fork was available, so obviously
68had to roll their own.
69
70=head2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
71
72There are two traditional ways to implement parallel processing on UNIX
73like operating systems - fork and process, and fork+exec and process. They
74have different advantages and disadvantages that I describe below,
75together with how this module tries to mitigate the disadvantages.
76
77=over 4
78
79=item Forking from a big process can be very slow.
80
81A 5GB process needs 0.05s to fork on my 3.6GHz amd64 GNU/Linux box. This
82overhead is often shared with exec (because you have to fork first), but
83in some circumstances (e.g. when vfork is used), fork+exec can be much
84faster.
85
86This module can help here by telling a small(er) helper process to fork,
87which is faster then forking the main process, and also uses vfork where
88possible. This gives the speed of vfork, with the flexibility of fork.
89
90=item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent
91process.
92
93For example, modules or data files that are loaded will not use additional
94memory after a fork. Exec'ing a new process, in contrast, means modules
95and data files might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory
96cost.
97
98But when forking, you still create a copy of your data structures - if
99the program frees them and replaces them by new data, the child processes
100will retain the old version even if it isn't used, which can suddenly and
101unexpectedly increase memory usage when freeing memory.
102
103For example, L<Gtk2::CV> is an image viewer optimised for large
104directories (millions of pictures). It also forks subprocesses for
105thumbnail generation, which inherit the data structure that stores all
106file information. If the user changes the directory, it gets freed in
107the main process, leaving a copy in the thumbnailer processes. This can
108lead to many times the memory usage that would actually be required. The
109solution is to fork early (and being unable to dynamically generate more
110subprocesses or do this from a module)... or to use L<AnyEvent:Fork>.
111
112There is a trade-off between more sharing with fork (which can be good or
113bad), and no sharing with exec.
114
115This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows
116modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom
117process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without
118risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child
119memory usage.
120
121In other words, this module puts you into control over what is being
122shared and what isn't, at all times.
123
124=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult.
125
126For example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl
127interpreter - C<$^X> might not be a perl interpreter at all. Worse, there
128might not even be a perl binary installed on the system.
129
130This module tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl
131interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter
132might not even be necessary, but even without help from the main program,
133it will still work when used from a module.
134
135=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be slow, as all necessary modules
136have to be loaded from disk again, with no guarantees of success.
137
138Long running processes might run into problems when perl is upgraded
139and modules are no longer loadable because they refer to a different
140perl version, or parts of a distribution are newer than the ones already
141loaded.
142
143This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used as
144a template for new processes at a later time, e.g. for use in a process
145pool.
146
147=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running.
148
149For example, POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a
150multi-threaded program while doing anything useful in the child - in
151fact, if your perl program uses POSIX threads (even indirectly via
152e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), you cannot call fork on the perl level
153anymore without risking memory corruption or worse on a number of
154operating systems.
155
156This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling
157fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way (via L<Proc::FastSpawn>).
158
159=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult
160to implement. Modules might not work in both parent and child.
161
162For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates watchers it
163becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child program, as the
164watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the parent. Worse, a
165module might want to use such a module, not knowing whether another module
166or the main program also does, leading to problems.
167
168Apart from event loops, graphical toolkits also commonly fall into the
169"unsafe module" category, or just about anything that communicates with
170the external world, such as network libraries and file I/O modules, which
171usually don't like being copied and then allowed to continue in two
172processes.
173
174With this module only the main program is allowed to create new processes
175by forking (because only the main program can know when it is still safe
176to do so) - all other processes are created via fork+exec, which makes it
177possible to use modules such as event loops or window interfaces safely.
178
179=back
180
181=head1 EXAMPLES
182
183This is where the wall of text ends and code speaks.
184
10 # create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function 185=head2 Create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function.
11 186
12 AnyEvent::Fork 187 AnyEvent::Fork
13 ->new 188 ->new
14 ->require ("MyModule") 189 ->require ("MyModule")
15 ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub { 190 ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub {
17 192
18 # now $master_filehandle is connected to the 193 # now $master_filehandle is connected to the
19 # $slave_filehandle in the new process. 194 # $slave_filehandle in the new process.
20 }); 195 });
21 196
22 # MyModule::worker might look like this 197C<MyModule> might look like this:
198
199 package MyModule;
200
23 sub MyModule::worker { 201 sub worker {
24 my ($slave_filehandle) = @_; 202 my ($slave_filehandle) = @_;
25 203
26 # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle 204 # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle
27 # in the original prorcess. have fun! 205 # in the original process. have fun!
28 } 206 }
29 207
30 ##################################################################
31 # create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket 208=head2 Create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket.
32 209
33 # create listener socket 210 # create listener socket
34 my $listener = ...; 211 my $listener = ...;
35 212
36 # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket 213 # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket
48 } 225 }
49 226
50 # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run 227 # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run
51 # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever. 228 # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever.
52 229
53 # My::Server::run might look like this 230C<My::Server> might look like this:
54 sub My::Server::run { 231
232 package My::Server;
233
234 sub run {
55 my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_; 235 my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_;
56 236
57 close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources 237 close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources
58 238
59 # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO, 239 # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO,
61 while (my $socket = $listener->accept) { 241 while (my $socket = $listener->accept) {
62 # do sth. with new socket 242 # do sth. with new socket
63 } 243 }
64 } 244 }
65 245
66 ##################################################################
67 # use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec 246=head2 use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec
68 247
69 # this runs /bin/echo hi, with stdout redirected to /tmp/log 248This runs C</bin/echo hi>, with standard output redirected to F</tmp/log>
70 # and stderr to the communications socket. it is usually faster 249and standard error redirected to the communications socket. It is usually
71 # than fork+exec, but still let's you prepare the environment. 250faster than fork+exec, but still lets you prepare the environment.
72 251
73 open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!"; 252 open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!";
74 253
75 AnyEvent::Fork 254 AnyEvent::Fork
76 ->new 255 ->new
77 ->eval (' 256 ->eval ('
257 # compile a helper function for later use
78 sub run { 258 sub run {
79 my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_; 259 my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_;
80 260
81 # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR 261 # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR
82 open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die; 262 open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die;
89 ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi") 269 ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi")
90 ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv); 270 ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv);
91 271
92 my $stderr = $cv->recv; 272 my $stderr = $cv->recv;
93 273
94=head1 DESCRIPTION 274=head2 For stingy users: put the worker code into a C<DATA> section.
95 275
96This module allows you to create new processes, without actually forking 276When you want to be stingy with files, you can put your code into the
97them from your current process (avoiding the problems of forking), but 277C<DATA> section of your module (or program):
98preserving most of the advantages of fork.
99 278
100It can be used to create new worker processes or new independent 279 use AnyEvent::Fork;
101subprocesses for short- and long-running jobs, process pools (e.g. for use
102in pre-forked servers) but also to spawn new external processes (such as
103CGI scripts from a web server), which can be faster (and more well behaved)
104than using fork+exec in big processes.
105 280
106Special care has been taken to make this module useful from other modules, 281 AnyEvent::Fork
107while still supporting specialised environments such as L<App::Staticperl> 282 ->new
108or L<PAR::Packer>. 283 ->eval (do { local $/; <DATA> })
284 ->run ("doit", sub { ... });
109 285
110=head1 WHAT THIS MODULE IS NOT 286 __DATA__
111 287
112This module only creates processes and lets you pass file handles and 288 sub doit {
113strings to it, and run perl code. It does not implement any kind of RPC - 289 ... do something!
114there is no back channel from the process back to you, and there is no RPC 290 }
115or message passing going on.
116 291
117If you need some form of RPC, you can either implement it yourself 292=head2 For stingy standalone programs: do not rely on external files at
118in whatever way you like, use some message-passing module such 293all.
119as L<AnyEvent::MP>, some pipe such as L<AnyEvent::ZeroMQ>, use
120L<AnyEvent::Handle> on both sides to send e.g. JSON or Storable messages,
121and so on.
122 294
123=head1 PROBLEM STATEMENT 295For single-file scripts it can be inconvenient to rely on external
296files - even when using a C<DATA> section, you still need to C<exec> an
297external perl interpreter, which might not be available when using
298L<App::Staticperl>, L<Urlader> or L<PAR::Packer> for example.
124 299
125There are two ways to implement parallel processing on UNIX like operating 300Two modules help here - L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> forks a template process
126systems - fork and process, and fork+exec and process. They have different 301for all further calls to C<new_exec>, and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>
127advantages and disadvantages that I describe below, together with how this 302forks the main program as a template process.
128module tries to mitigate the disadvantages.
129 303
130=over 4 304Here is how your main program should look like:
131 305
132=item Forking from a big process can be very slow (a 5GB process needs 306 #! perl
1330.05s to fork on my 3.6GHz amd64 GNU/Linux box for example). This overhead
134is often shared with exec (because you have to fork first), but in some
135circumstances (e.g. when vfork is used), fork+exec can be much faster.
136 307
137This module can help here by telling a small(er) helper process to fork, 308 # optional, as the very first thing.
138or fork+exec instead. 309 # in case modules want to create their own processes.
310 use AnyEvent::Fork::Early;
139 311
140=item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent 312 # next, load all modules you need in your template process
141process. Memory (for example, modules or data files that have been 313 use Example::My::Module
142will not take additional memory). When exec'ing a new process, modules 314 use Example::Whatever;
143and data files might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory
144cost. Likewise when forking, all data structures are copied as well - if
145the program frees them and replaces them by new data, the child processes
146will retain the memory even if it isn't used.
147 315
148This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows 316 # next, put your run function definition and anything else you
149modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom 317 # need, but do not use code outside of BEGIN blocks.
150process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without 318 sub worker_run {
151risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child 319 my ($fh, @args) = @_;
152memory usage. 320 ...
321 }
153 322
154=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult and slow. For 323 # now preserve everything so far as AnyEvent::Fork object
155example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl interpreter, 324 # in $TEMPLATE.
156and all modules have to be loaded from disk again. Long running processes 325 use AnyEvent::Fork::Template;
157might run into problems when perl is upgraded for example.
158 326
159This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used 327 # do not put code outside of BEGIN blocks until here
160as template, and also tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl
161interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter
162might not even be necessary.
163 328
164=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running. For example, 329 # now use the $TEMPLATE process in any way you like
165POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a multi-threaded program and
166do anything useful in the child - strictly speaking, if your perl program
167uses posix threads (even indirectly via e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>),
168you cannot call fork on the perl level anymore, at all.
169 330
170This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling 331 # for example: create 10 worker processes
171fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way. 332 my @worker;
172 333 my $cv = AE::cv;
173=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult 334 for (1..10) {
174to implement. For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates 335 $cv->begin;
175watchers it becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child 336 $TEMPLATE->fork->send_arg ($_)->run ("worker_run", sub {
176program, as the watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the 337 push @worker, shift;
177parent. Worse, a module might want to use such a system, not knowing 338 $cv->end;
178whether another module or the main program also does, leading to problems. 339 });
179 340 }
180This module only lets the main program create pools by forking (because 341 $cv->recv;
181only the main program can know when it is still safe to do so) - all other
182pools are created by fork+exec, after which such modules can again be
183loaded.
184
185=back
186 342
187=head1 CONCEPTS 343=head1 CONCEPTS
188 344
189This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl 345This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl
190process, or by forking from an existing "template" process. 346process, or by forking from an existing "template" process.
347
348All these processes are called "child processes" (whether they are direct
349children or not), while the process that manages them is called the
350"parent process".
191 351
192Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to 352Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to
193communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process, 353communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process,
194one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are 354one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are
195load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute 355load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute
269 my ($fork_fh) = @_; 429 my ($fork_fh) = @_;
270 }); 430 });
271 431
272=back 432=back
273 433
274=head1 FUNCTIONS 434=head1 THE C<AnyEvent::Fork> CLASS
435
436This module exports nothing, and only implements a single class -
437C<AnyEvent::Fork>.
438
439There are two class constructors that both create new processes - C<new>
440and C<new_exec>. The C<fork> method creates a new process by forking an
441existing one and could be considered a third constructor.
442
443Most of the remaining methods deal with preparing the new process, by
444loading code, evaluating code and sending data to the new process. They
445usually return the process object, so you can chain method calls.
446
447If a process object is destroyed before calling its C<run> method, then
448the process simply exits. After C<run> is called, all responsibility is
449passed to the specified function.
450
451As long as there is any outstanding work to be done, process objects
452resist being destroyed, so there is no reason to store them unless you
453need them later - configure and forget works just fine.
275 454
276=over 4 455=over 4
277 456
278=cut 457=cut
279 458
286use AnyEvent; 465use AnyEvent;
287use AnyEvent::Util (); 466use AnyEvent::Util ();
288 467
289use IO::FDPass; 468use IO::FDPass;
290 469
291our $VERSION = 0.5; 470our $VERSION = 1.3;
292
293our $PERL; # the path to the perl interpreter, deduces with various forms of magic
294
295=item my $pool = new AnyEvent::Fork key => value...
296
297Create a new process pool. The following named parameters are supported:
298
299=over 4
300
301=back
302
303=cut
304 471
305# the early fork template process 472# the early fork template process
306our $EARLY; 473our $EARLY;
307 474
308# the empty template process 475# the empty template process
309our $TEMPLATE; 476our $TEMPLATE;
477
478sub QUEUE() { 0 }
479sub FH() { 1 }
480sub WW() { 2 }
481sub PID() { 3 }
482sub CB() { 4 }
483
484sub _new {
485 my ($self, $fh, $pid) = @_;
486
487 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
488
489 $self = bless [
490 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
491 $fh,
492 undef, # AE watcher
493 $pid,
494 ], $self;
495
496 $self
497}
310 498
311sub _cmd { 499sub _cmd {
312 my $self = shift; 500 my $self = shift;
313 501
314 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl 502 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl
315 # versions from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack 503 # versions from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack
316 # it. 504 # it.
317 push @{ $self->[2] }, pack "a L/a*", $_[0], $_[1]; 505 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, pack "a L/a*", $_[0], $_[1];
318 506
319 $self->[3] ||= AE::io $self->[1], 1, sub { 507 $self->[WW] ||= AE::io $self->[FH], 1, sub {
320 do { 508 do {
321 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh, 509 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh,
322 # or a plain string. 510 # or a plain string.
323 511
324 if (ref $self->[2][0]) { 512 if (ref $self->[QUEUE][0]) {
325 # send fh 513 # send fh
326 unless (IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[1], fileno ${ $self->[2][0] }) { 514 unless (IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[FH], fileno ${ $self->[QUEUE][0] }) {
327 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK; 515 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
328 undef $self->[3]; 516 undef $self->[WW];
329 die "AnyEvent::Fork: file descriptor send failure: $!"; 517 die "AnyEvent::Fork: file descriptor send failure: $!";
330 } 518 }
331 519
332 shift @{ $self->[2] }; 520 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
333 521
334 } else { 522 } else {
335 # send string 523 # send string
336 my $len = syswrite $self->[1], $self->[2][0]; 524 my $len = syswrite $self->[FH], $self->[QUEUE][0];
337 525
338 unless ($len) { 526 unless ($len) {
339 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK; 527 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
340 undef $self->[3]; 528 undef $self->[WW];
341 die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!"; 529 die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!";
342 } 530 }
343 531
344 substr $self->[2][0], 0, $len, ""; 532 substr $self->[QUEUE][0], 0, $len, "";
345 shift @{ $self->[2] } unless length $self->[2][0]; 533 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] } unless length $self->[QUEUE][0];
346 } 534 }
347 } while @{ $self->[2] }; 535 } while @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
348 536
349 # everything written 537 # everything written
350 undef $self->[3]; 538 undef $self->[WW];
351 539
352 # invoke run callback, if any 540 # invoke run callback, if any
353 $self->[4]->($self->[1]) if $self->[4]; 541 if ($self->[CB]) {
542 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
543 @$self = ();
544 }
354 }; 545 };
355 546
356 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher 547 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher
357}
358
359sub _new {
360 my ($self, $fh, $pid) = @_;
361
362 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
363
364 $self = bless [
365 $pid,
366 $fh,
367 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
368 undef, # AE watcher
369 ], $self;
370
371 $self
372} 548}
373 549
374# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template 550# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template
375sub _new_fork { 551sub _new_fork {
376 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair; 552 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
381 if ($pid eq 0) { 557 if ($pid eq 0) {
382 require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve; 558 require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve;
383 $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent; 559 $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent;
384 close $fh; 560 close $fh;
385 $0 = "$_[1] of $parent"; 561 $0 = "$_[1] of $parent";
386 $SIG{CHLD} = 'IGNORE';
387 AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave); 562 AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave);
388 exit 0; 563 exit 0;
389 } elsif (!$pid) { 564 } elsif (!$pid) {
390 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!"; 565 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!";
391 } 566 }
398Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process 573Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process
399object for further manipulation. 574object for further manipulation.
400 575
401The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around 576The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around
402for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to 577for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to
403C<new_exec> and kept around for future calls. 578C<new_exec> first and then stays around for future calls.
404
405When the process object is destroyed, it will release the file handle
406that connects it with the new process. When the new process has not yet
407called C<run>, then the process will exit. Otherwise, what happens depends
408entirely on the code that is executed.
409 579
410=cut 580=cut
411 581
412sub new { 582sub new {
413 my $class = shift; 583 my $class = shift;
450 620
451You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template 621You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template
452process around is unacceptable. 622process around is unacceptable.
453 623
454The path to the perl interpreter is divined using various methods - first 624The path to the perl interpreter is divined using various methods - first
455C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that sounds 625C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that looks
456as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to 626as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to
457using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>. 627using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>.
458 628
629The path to perl can also be overriden by setting the global variable
630C<$AnyEvent::Fork::PERL> - it's value will be used for all subsequent
631invocations.
632
459=cut 633=cut
634
635our $PERL;
460 636
461sub new_exec { 637sub new_exec {
462 my ($self) = @_; 638 my ($self) = @_;
463 639
464 return $EARLY->fork 640 return $EARLY->fork
465 if $EARLY; 641 if $EARLY;
466 642
643 unless (defined $PERL) {
467 # first find path of perl 644 # first find path of perl
468 my $perl = $; 645 my $perl = $^X;
469 646
470 # first we try $^X, but the path must be absolute (always on win32), and end in sth. 647 # first we try $^X, but the path must be absolute (always on win32), and end in sth.
471 # that looks like perl. this obviously only works for posix and win32 648 # that looks like perl. this obviously only works for posix and win32
472 unless ( 649 unless (
473 ($^O eq "MSWin32" || $perl =~ m%^/%) 650 ($^O eq "MSWin32" || $perl =~ m%^/%)
474 && $perl =~ m%[/\\]perl(?:[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)+)?(\.exe)?$%i 651 && $perl =~ m%[/\\]perl(?:[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)+)?(\.exe)?$%i
475 ) { 652 ) {
476 # if it doesn't look perlish enough, try Config 653 # if it doesn't look perlish enough, try Config
477 require Config; 654 require Config;
478 $perl = $Config::Config{perlpath}; 655 $perl = $Config::Config{perlpath};
479 $perl =~ s/(?:\Q$Config::Config{_exe}\E)?$/$Config::Config{_exe}/; 656 $perl =~ s/(?:\Q$Config::Config{_exe}\E)?$/$Config::Config{_exe}/;
657 }
658
659 $PERL = $perl;
480 } 660 }
481 661
482 require Proc::FastSpawn; 662 require Proc::FastSpawn;
483 663
484 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair; 664 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
492 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC; 672 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC;
493 my %env = %ENV; 673 my %env = %ENV;
494 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC; 674 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC;
495 675
496 my $pid = Proc::FastSpawn::spawn ( 676 my $pid = Proc::FastSpawn::spawn (
497 $perl, 677 $PERL,
498 ["perl", "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$], 678 [$PERL, "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$],
499 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env], 679 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env],
500 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!"; 680 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!";
501 681
502 $self->_new ($fh, $pid) 682 $self->_new ($fh, $pid)
503} 683}
504 684
505=item $pid = $proc->pid 685=item $pid = $proc->pid
506 686
507Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the 687Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the
508process> running AnyEvent::Fork, and C<undef> otherwise. 688process running AnyEvent::Fork>, and C<undef> otherwise. As a general
689rule (that you cannot rely upon), processes created via C<new_exec>,
690L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct
691children, while all other processes are not.
509 692
510Normally, only processes created via C<< AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec >> and 693Or in other words, you do not normally have to take care of zombies for
511L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct children, and you are responsible 694processes created via C<new>, but when in doubt, or zombies are a problem,
512to clean up their zombies when they die. 695you need to check whether a process is a diretc child by calling this
513 696method, and possibly creating a child watcher or reap it manually.
514All other processes are not direct children, and will be cleaned up by
515AnyEvent::Fork.
516 697
517=cut 698=cut
518 699
519sub pid { 700sub pid {
520 $_[0][0] 701 $_[0][PID]
521} 702}
522 703
523=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args) 704=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args)
524 705
525Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... perl code, while setting C<@_> to 706Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... Perl code, while setting C<@_> to
526the strings specified by C<@args>, in the "main" package. 707the strings specified by C<@args>, in the "main" package.
527 708
528This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required 709This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required
529(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used 710(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used
530to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that. 711to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that.
531 712
532The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no 713The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no
533way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors 714way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors
534will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit. 715will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit.
535 716
536If you want to execute some code to take over the process (see the 717If you want to execute some code (that isn't in a module) to take over the
537"fork+exec" example in the SYNOPSIS), you should compile a function via 718process, you should compile a function via C<eval> first, and then call
538C<eval> first, and then call it via C<run>. This also gives you access to 719it via C<run>. This also gives you access to any arguments passed via the
539any arguments passed via the C<send_xxx> methods, such as file handles. 720C<send_xxx> methods, such as file handles. See the L<use AnyEvent::Fork as
721a faster fork+exec> example to see it in action.
540 722
541Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. 723Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls.
724
725It's common to want to call an iniitalisation function with some
726arguments. Make sure you actually pass C<@_> to that function (for example
727by using C<&name> syntax), and do not just specify a function name:
728
729 $proc->eval ('&MyModule::init', $string1, $string2);
542 730
543=cut 731=cut
544 732
545sub eval { 733sub eval {
546 my ($self, $code, @args) = @_; 734 my ($self, $code, @args) = @_;
570=item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...) 758=item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...)
571 759
572Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process, 760Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process,
573to prepare a call to C<run>. 761to prepare a call to C<run>.
574 762
575The process object keeps a reference to the handles until this is done, 763The process object keeps a reference to the handles until they have
576so you must not explicitly close the handles. This is most easily 764been passed over to the process, so you must not explicitly close the
577accomplished by simply not storing the file handles anywhere after passing 765handles. This is most easily accomplished by simply not storing the file
578them to this method. 766handles anywhere after passing them to this method - when AnyEvent::Fork
767is finished using them, perl will automatically close them.
579 768
580Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. 769Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls.
581 770
582Example: pass a file handle to a process, and release it without 771Example: pass a file handle to a process, and release it without
583closing. It will be closed automatically when it is no longer used. 772closing. It will be closed automatically when it is no longer used.
590sub send_fh { 779sub send_fh {
591 my ($self, @fh) = @_; 780 my ($self, @fh) = @_;
592 781
593 for my $fh (@fh) { 782 for my $fh (@fh) {
594 $self->_cmd ("h"); 783 $self->_cmd ("h");
595 push @{ $self->[2] }, \$fh; 784 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, \$fh;
596 } 785 }
597 786
598 $self 787 $self
599} 788}
600 789
601=item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...) 790=item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...)
602 791
603Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to 792Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to
604C<run>. The strings can be any octet string. 793C<run>. The strings can be any octet strings.
605 794
606The protocol is optimised to pass a moderate number of relatively short 795The protocol is optimised to pass a moderate number of relatively short
607strings - while you can pass up to 4GB of data in one go, this is more 796strings - while you can pass up to 4GB of data in one go, this is more
608meant to pass some ID information or other startup info, not big chunks of 797meant to pass some ID information or other startup info, not big chunks of
609data. 798data.
625Enter the function specified by the function name in C<$func> in the 814Enter the function specified by the function name in C<$func> in the
626process. The function is called with the communication socket as first 815process. The function is called with the communication socket as first
627argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier 816argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier
628via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called. 817via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called.
629 818
819The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
820further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
821
630The function name should be fully qualified, but if it isn't, it will be 822The function name should be fully qualified, but if it isn't, it will be
631looked up in the main package. 823looked up in the C<main> package.
632 824
633If the called function returns, doesn't exist, or any error occurs, the 825If the called function returns, doesn't exist, or any error occurs, the
634process exits. 826process exits.
635 827
636Preparing the process is done in the background - when all commands have 828Preparing the process is done in the background - when all commands have
637been sent, the callback is invoked with the local communications socket 829been sent, the callback is invoked with the local communications socket
638as argument. At this point you can start using the socket in any way you 830as argument. At this point you can start using the socket in any way you
639like. 831like.
640 832
641The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
642further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
643
644If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides, 833If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides,
645to save on kernel memory. 834to save on kernel memory.
646 835
647The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly 836The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly
648created process. The close-on-exec flag is set in both. 837created process. The close-on-exec flag is set in both.
649 838
650Even if not used otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the 839Even if not used otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the
651existence of the process - if the other process exits, you get a readable 840existence of the process - if the other process exits, you get a readable
652event on it, because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't 841event on it, because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't
653create any children using fork). 842create any children using fork).
843
844=over 4
845
846=item Compatibility to L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>
847
848If you want to write code that works with both this module and
849L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, you need to write your code so that it assumes
850there are two file handles for communications, which might not be unix
851domain sockets. The C<run> function should start like this:
852
853 sub run {
854 my ($rfh, @args) = @_; # @args is your normal arguments
855 my $wfh = fileno $rfh ? $rfh : *STDOUT;
856
857 # now use $rfh for reading and $wfh for writing
858 }
859
860This checks whether the passed file handle is, in fact, the process
861C<STDIN> handle. If it is, then the function was invoked visa
862L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, so STDIN should be used for reading and
863C<STDOUT> should be used for writing.
864
865In all other cases, the function was called via this module, and there is
866only one file handle that should be sued for reading and writing.
867
868=back
654 869
655Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some 870Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some
656file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code. 871file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code.
657 872
658 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork 873 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork
686=cut 901=cut
687 902
688sub run { 903sub run {
689 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_; 904 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_;
690 905
691 $self->[4] = $cb; 906 $self->[CB] = $cb;
692 $self->_cmd (r => $func); 907 $self->_cmd (r => $func);
908}
909
910=back
911
912=head2 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
913
914These methods might go away completely or change behaviour, at any time.
915
916=over 4
917
918=item $proc->to_fh ($cb->($fh)) # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
919
920Flushes all commands out to the process and then calls the callback with
921the communications socket.
922
923The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
924further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
925
926The point of this method is to give you a file handle that you can pass
927to another process. In that other process, you can call C<new_from_fh
928AnyEvent::Fork $fh> to create a new C<AnyEvent::Fork> object from it,
929thereby effectively passing a fork object to another process.
930
931=cut
932
933sub to_fh {
934 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
935
936 $self->[CB] = $cb;
937
938 unless ($self->[WW]) {
939 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
940 @$self = ();
941 }
942}
943
944=item new_from_fh AnyEvent::Fork $fh # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
945
946Takes a file handle originally rceeived by the C<to_fh> method and creates
947a new C<AnyEvent:Fork> object. The child process itself will not change in
948any way, i.e. it will keep all the modifications done to it before calling
949C<to_fh>.
950
951The new object is very much like the original object, except that the
952C<pid> method will return C<undef> even if the process is a direct child.
953
954=cut
955
956sub new_from_fh {
957 my ($class, $fh) = @_;
958
959 $class->_new ($fh)
693} 960}
694 961
695=back 962=back
696 963
697=head1 PERFORMANCE 964=head1 PERFORMANCE
707 974
708 2079 new processes per second, using manual socketpair + fork 975 2079 new processes per second, using manual socketpair + fork
709 976
710Then I did the same thing, but instead of calling fork, I called 977Then I did the same thing, but instead of calling fork, I called
711AnyEvent::Fork->new->run ("CORE::exit") and then again waited for the 978AnyEvent::Fork->new->run ("CORE::exit") and then again waited for the
712socket form the child to close on exit. This does the same thing as manual 979socket from the child to close on exit. This does the same thing as manual
713socket pair + fork, except that what is forked is the template process 980socket pair + fork, except that what is forked is the template process
714(2440kB), and the socket needs to be passed to the server at the other end 981(2440kB), and the socket needs to be passed to the server at the other end
715of the socket first. 982of the socket first.
716 983
717 2307 new processes per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new 984 2307 new processes per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new
722 479 vfork+execs per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec 989 479 vfork+execs per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec
723 990
724So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even 991So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even
725though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead? 992though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead?
726 993
727The difference is simply the process size: forking the 6MB process takes 994The difference is simply the process size: forking the 5MB process takes
728so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the overhead 995so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the extra
729introduced is canceled out. 996overhead is canceled out.
730 997
731If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower: 998If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower:
732 999
733 1340 new processes, manual fork in a 20MB process 1000 1340 new processes, manual fork of a 20MB process
734 731 new processes, manual fork in a 200MB process 1001 731 new processes, manual fork of a 200MB process
735 235 new processes, manual fork in a 2000MB process 1002 235 new processes, manual fork of a 2000MB process
736 1003
737What that means (to me) is that I can use this module without having a 1004What that means (to me) is that I can use this module without having a bad
738very bad conscience because of the extra overhead required to start new 1005conscience because of the extra overhead required to start new processes.
739processes.
740 1006
741=head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS 1007=head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS
742 1008
743This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising 1009This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising
744them, most can be avoided. 1010them, most can be avoided.
745 1011
746=over 4 1012=over 4
747 1013
748=item "leaked" file descriptors for exec'ed processes 1014=item leaked file descriptors for exec'ed processes
749 1015
750POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new 1016POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new
751process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new 1017process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new
752file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's 1018file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's
753often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner. 1019often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner.
773libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors. 1039libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors.
774 1040
775Fortunately, most of these leaked descriptors do no harm, other than 1041Fortunately, most of these leaked descriptors do no harm, other than
776sitting on some resources. 1042sitting on some resources.
777 1043
778=item "leaked" file descriptors for fork'ed processes 1044=item leaked file descriptors for fork'ed processes
779 1045
780Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them, 1046Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them,
781which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited. 1047which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited.
782 1048
783However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer 1049However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer
792 1058
793The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing 1059The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing
794L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay 1060L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay
795initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually. 1061initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually.
796 1062
797=item exit runs destructors 1063=item exiting calls object destructors
798 1064
799This only applies to users of Lc<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and 1065This only applies to users of L<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and
800L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>. 1066L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or when initialising code creates objects
1067that reference external resources.
801 1068
802When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling 1069When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling
803exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point 1070exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point
804Perl runs all destructors. 1071Perl runs all destructors.
805 1072
824to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to 1091to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to
825care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something 1092care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something
826useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption 1093useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption
827issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr. 1094issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr.
828 1095
829Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment, as it should implement fd 1096Since fork is endlessly broken on win32 perls (it doesn't even remotely
830passing, but doesn't, and rolling my own is hard, as cygwin doesn't 1097work within it's documented limits) and quite obviously it's not getting
831support enough functionality to do it. 1098improved any time soon, the best way to proceed on windows would be to
1099always use C<new_exec> and thus never rely on perl's fork "emulation".
1100
1101Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment due to some hilarious
1102shortcomings of its API - see L<IO::FDPoll> for more details. If you never
1103use C<send_fh> and always use C<new_exec> to create processes, it should
1104work though.
1105
1106=head1 USING AnyEvent::Fork IN SUBPROCESSES
1107
1108AnyEvent::Fork itself cannot generally be used in subprocesses. As long as
1109only one process ever forks new processes, sharing the template processes
1110is possible (you could use a pipe as a lock by writing a byte into it to
1111unlock, and reading the byte to lock for example)
1112
1113To make concurrent calls possible after fork, you should get rid of the
1114template and early fork processes. AnyEvent::Fork will create a new
1115template process as needed.
1116
1117 undef $AnyEvent::Fork::EARLY;
1118 undef $AnyEvent::Fork::TEMPLATE;
1119
1120It doesn't matter whether you get rid of them in the parent or child after
1121a fork.
832 1122
833=head1 SEE ALSO 1123=head1 SEE ALSO
834 1124
835L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> (to avoid executing a perl interpreter), 1125L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early>, to avoid executing a perl interpreter at all
1126(part of this distribution).
1127
836L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> (to create a process by forking the main 1128L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, to create a process by forking the main
837program at a convenient time). 1129program at a convenient time (part of this distribution).
838 1130
839=head1 AUTHOR 1131L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, for another way to create processes that is
1132mostly compatible to this module and modules building on top of it, but
1133works better with remote processes.
1134
1135L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>, for simple RPC to child processes (on CPAN).
1136
1137L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool>, for simple worker process pool (on CPAN).
1138
1139=head1 AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
840 1140
841 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1141 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
842 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1142 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/AnyEvent-Fork
843 1143
844=cut 1144=cut
845 1145
8461 11461
847 1147

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