… | |
… | |
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 | |
|
|
18 | This module allows you to create new processes, without actually forking |
|
|
19 | them from your current process (avoiding the problems of forking), but |
|
|
20 | preserving most of the advantages of fork. |
|
|
21 | |
|
|
22 | It can be used to create new worker processes or new independent |
|
|
23 | subprocesses for short- and long-running jobs, process pools (e.g. for use |
|
|
24 | in pre-forked servers) but also to spawn new external processes (such as |
|
|
25 | CGI scripts from a web server), which can be faster (and more well behaved) |
|
|
26 | than using fork+exec in big processes. |
|
|
27 | |
|
|
28 | Special care has been taken to make this module useful from other modules, |
|
|
29 | while still supporting specialised environments such as L<App::Staticperl> |
|
|
30 | or L<PAR::Packer>. |
|
|
31 | |
|
|
32 | =head2 WHAT THIS MODULE IS NOT |
|
|
33 | |
|
|
34 | This module only creates processes and lets you pass file handles and |
|
|
35 | strings to it, and run perl code. It does not implement any kind of RPC - |
|
|
36 | there is no back channel from the process back to you, and there is no RPC |
|
|
37 | or message passing going on. |
|
|
38 | |
|
|
39 | If you need some form of RPC, you can either implement it yourself |
|
|
40 | in whatever way you like, use some message-passing module such |
|
|
41 | as L<AnyEvent::MP>, some pipe such as L<AnyEvent::ZeroMQ>, use |
|
|
42 | L<AnyEvent::Handle> on both sides to send e.g. JSON or Storable messages, |
|
|
43 | and so on. |
|
|
44 | |
|
|
45 | =head2 COMPARISON TO OTHER MODULES |
|
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46 | |
|
|
47 | There is an abundance of modules on CPAN that do "something fork", such as |
|
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48 | L<Parallel::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::Worker> |
|
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49 | or L<AnyEvent::Subprocess>. There are modules that implement their own |
|
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50 | process management, such as L<AnyEvent::DBI>. |
|
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51 | |
|
|
52 | The problems that all these modules try to solve are real, however, none |
|
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53 | of them (from what I have seen) tackle the very real problems of unwanted |
|
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54 | memory sharing, efficiency, not being able to use event processing or |
|
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55 | similar modules in the processes they create. |
|
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56 | |
|
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57 | This module doesn't try to replace any of them - instead it tries to solve |
|
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58 | the problem of creating processes with a minimum of fuss and overhead (and |
|
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59 | also luxury). Ideally, most of these would use AnyEvent::Fork internally, |
|
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60 | except they were written before AnyEvent:Fork was available, so obviously |
|
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61 | had to roll their own. |
|
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62 | |
|
|
63 | =head2 PROBLEM STATEMENT |
|
|
64 | |
|
|
65 | There are two traditional ways to implement parallel processing on UNIX |
|
|
66 | like operating systems - fork and process, and fork+exec and process. They |
|
|
67 | have different advantages and disadvantages that I describe below, |
|
|
68 | together with how this module tries to mitigate the disadvantages. |
|
|
69 | |
|
|
70 | =over 4 |
|
|
71 | |
|
|
72 | =item Forking from a big process can be very slow. |
|
|
73 | |
|
|
74 | A 5GB process needs 0.05s to fork on my 3.6GHz amd64 GNU/Linux box. This |
|
|
75 | overhead is often shared with exec (because you have to fork first), but |
|
|
76 | in some circumstances (e.g. when vfork is used), fork+exec can be much |
|
|
77 | faster. |
|
|
78 | |
|
|
79 | This module can help here by telling a small(er) helper process to fork, |
|
|
80 | which is faster then forking the main process, and also uses vfork where |
|
|
81 | possible. This gives the speed of vfork, with the flexibility of fork. |
|
|
82 | |
|
|
83 | =item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent |
|
|
84 | process. |
|
|
85 | |
|
|
86 | For example, modules or data files that are loaded will not use additional |
|
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87 | memory after a fork. When exec'ing a new process, modules and data files |
|
|
88 | might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory cost. But when |
|
|
89 | forking, literally all data structures are copied - if the program frees |
|
|
90 | them and replaces them by new data, the child processes will retain the |
|
|
91 | old version even if it isn't used, which can suddenly and unexpectedly |
|
|
92 | increase memory usage when freeing memory. |
|
|
93 | |
|
|
94 | The trade-off is between more sharing with fork (which can be good or |
|
|
95 | bad), and no sharing with exec. |
|
|
96 | |
|
|
97 | This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows |
|
|
98 | modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom |
|
|
99 | process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without |
|
|
100 | risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child |
|
|
101 | memory usage. |
|
|
102 | |
|
|
103 | In other words, this module puts you into control over what is being |
|
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104 | shared and what isn't, at all times. |
|
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105 | |
|
|
106 | =item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult. |
|
|
107 | |
|
|
108 | For example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl |
|
|
109 | interpreter - C<$^X> might not be a perl interpreter at all. |
|
|
110 | |
|
|
111 | This module tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl |
|
|
112 | interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter |
|
|
113 | might not even be necessary, but even without help from the main program, |
|
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114 | it will still work when used from a module. |
|
|
115 | |
|
|
116 | =item Exec'ing a new perl process might be slow, as all necessary modules |
|
|
117 | have to be loaded from disk again, with no guarantees of success. |
|
|
118 | |
|
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119 | Long running processes might run into problems when perl is upgraded |
|
|
120 | and modules are no longer loadable because they refer to a different |
|
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121 | perl version, or parts of a distribution are newer than the ones already |
|
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122 | loaded. |
|
|
123 | |
|
|
124 | This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used as |
|
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125 | a template for new processes. |
|
|
126 | |
|
|
127 | =item Forking might be impossible when a program is running. |
|
|
128 | |
|
|
129 | For example, POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a |
|
|
130 | multi-threaded program while doing anything useful in the child - in |
|
|
131 | fact, if your perl program uses POSIX threads (even indirectly via |
|
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132 | e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), you cannot call fork on the perl level |
|
|
133 | anymore without risking corruption issues on a number of operating |
|
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134 | systems. |
|
|
135 | |
|
|
136 | This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling |
|
|
137 | fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way (via L<Proc::FastSpawn>). |
|
|
138 | |
|
|
139 | =item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult |
|
|
140 | to implement. Modules might not work in both parent and child. |
|
|
141 | |
|
|
142 | For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates watchers it |
|
|
143 | becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child program, as the |
|
|
144 | watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the parent. Worse, a |
|
|
145 | module might want to use such a module, not knowing whether another module |
|
|
146 | or the main program also does, leading to problems. |
|
|
147 | |
|
|
148 | Apart from event loops, graphical toolkits also commonly fall into the |
|
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149 | "unsafe module" category, or just about anything that communicates with |
|
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150 | the external world, such as network libraries and file I/O modules, which |
|
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151 | usually don't like being copied and then allowed to continue in two |
|
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152 | processes. |
|
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153 | |
|
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154 | With this module only the main program is allowed to create new processes |
|
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155 | by forking (because only the main program can know when it is still safe |
|
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156 | to do so) - all other processes are created via fork+exec, which makes it |
|
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157 | possible to use modules such as event loops or window interfaces safely. |
|
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158 | |
|
|
159 | =back |
|
|
160 | |
|
|
161 | =head1 EXAMPLES |
|
|
162 | |
10 | # create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function |
163 | =head2 Create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function. |
11 | |
164 | |
12 | AnyEvent::Fork |
165 | AnyEvent::Fork |
13 | ->new |
166 | ->new |
14 | ->require ("MyModule") |
167 | ->require ("MyModule") |
15 | ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub { |
168 | ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub { |
… | |
… | |
17 | |
170 | |
18 | # now $master_filehandle is connected to the |
171 | # now $master_filehandle is connected to the |
19 | # $slave_filehandle in the new process. |
172 | # $slave_filehandle in the new process. |
20 | }); |
173 | }); |
21 | |
174 | |
22 | # MyModule::worker might look like this |
175 | C<MyModule> might look like this: |
|
|
176 | |
|
|
177 | package MyModule; |
|
|
178 | |
23 | sub MyModule::worker { |
179 | sub worker { |
24 | my ($slave_filehandle) = @_; |
180 | my ($slave_filehandle) = @_; |
25 | |
181 | |
26 | # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle |
182 | # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle |
27 | # in the original prorcess. have fun! |
183 | # in the original prorcess. have fun! |
28 | } |
184 | } |
29 | |
185 | |
30 | ################################################################## |
|
|
31 | # create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket |
186 | =head2 Create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket. |
32 | |
187 | |
33 | # create listener socket |
188 | # create listener socket |
34 | my $listener = ...; |
189 | my $listener = ...; |
35 | |
190 | |
36 | # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket |
191 | # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket |
… | |
… | |
48 | } |
203 | } |
49 | |
204 | |
50 | # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run |
205 | # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run |
51 | # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever. |
206 | # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever. |
52 | |
207 | |
53 | # My::Server::run might look like this |
208 | C<My::Server> might look like this: |
54 | sub My::Server::run { |
209 | |
|
|
210 | package My::Server; |
|
|
211 | |
|
|
212 | sub run { |
55 | my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_; |
213 | my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_; |
56 | |
214 | |
57 | close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources |
215 | close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources |
58 | |
216 | |
59 | # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO, |
217 | # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO, |
… | |
… | |
61 | while (my $socket = $listener->accept) { |
219 | while (my $socket = $listener->accept) { |
62 | # do sth. with new socket |
220 | # do sth. with new socket |
63 | } |
221 | } |
64 | } |
222 | } |
65 | |
223 | |
66 | ################################################################## |
|
|
67 | # use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec |
224 | =head2 use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec |
68 | |
225 | |
69 | # this runs /bin/echo hi, with stdout redirected to /tmp/log |
226 | This runs C</bin/echo hi>, with stdandard output redirected to /tmp/log |
70 | # and stderr to the communications socket. it is usually faster |
227 | and standard error redirected to the communications socket. It is usually |
71 | # than fork+exec, but still let's you prepare the environment. |
228 | faster than fork+exec, but still lets you prepare the environment. |
72 | |
229 | |
73 | open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!"; |
230 | open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!"; |
74 | |
231 | |
75 | AnyEvent::Fork |
232 | AnyEvent::Fork |
76 | ->new |
233 | ->new |
77 | ->eval (' |
234 | ->eval (' |
|
|
235 | # compile a helper function for later use |
78 | sub run { |
236 | sub run { |
79 | my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_; |
237 | my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_; |
80 | |
238 | |
81 | # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR |
239 | # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR |
82 | open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die; |
240 | open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die; |
… | |
… | |
88 | ->send_fh ($output) |
246 | ->send_fh ($output) |
89 | ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi") |
247 | ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi") |
90 | ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv); |
248 | ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv); |
91 | |
249 | |
92 | my $stderr = $cv->recv; |
250 | my $stderr = $cv->recv; |
93 | |
|
|
94 | =head1 DESCRIPTION |
|
|
95 | |
|
|
96 | This module allows you to create new processes, without actually forking |
|
|
97 | them from your current process (avoiding the problems of forking), but |
|
|
98 | preserving most of the advantages of fork. |
|
|
99 | |
|
|
100 | It can be used to create new worker processes or new independent |
|
|
101 | subprocesses for short- and long-running jobs, process pools (e.g. for use |
|
|
102 | in pre-forked servers) but also to spawn new external processes (such as |
|
|
103 | CGI scripts from a web server), which can be faster (and more well behaved) |
|
|
104 | than using fork+exec in big processes. |
|
|
105 | |
|
|
106 | Special care has been taken to make this module useful from other modules, |
|
|
107 | while still supporting specialised environments such as L<App::Staticperl> |
|
|
108 | or L<PAR::Packer>. |
|
|
109 | |
|
|
110 | =head1 WHAT THIS MODULE IS NOT |
|
|
111 | |
|
|
112 | This module only creates processes and lets you pass file handles and |
|
|
113 | strings to it, and run perl code. It does not implement any kind of RPC - |
|
|
114 | there is no back channel from the process back to you, and there is no RPC |
|
|
115 | or message passing going on. |
|
|
116 | |
|
|
117 | If you need some form of RPC, you can either implement it yourself |
|
|
118 | in whatever way you like, use some message-passing module such |
|
|
119 | as L<AnyEvent::MP>, some pipe such as L<AnyEvent::ZeroMQ>, use |
|
|
120 | L<AnyEvent::Handle> on both sides to send e.g. JSON or Storable messages, |
|
|
121 | and so on. |
|
|
122 | |
|
|
123 | =head1 PROBLEM STATEMENT |
|
|
124 | |
|
|
125 | There are two ways to implement parallel processing on UNIX like operating |
|
|
126 | systems - fork and process, and fork+exec and process. They have different |
|
|
127 | advantages and disadvantages that I describe below, together with how this |
|
|
128 | module tries to mitigate the disadvantages. |
|
|
129 | |
|
|
130 | =over 4 |
|
|
131 | |
|
|
132 | =item Forking from a big process can be very slow (a 5GB process needs |
|
|
133 | 0.05s to fork on my 3.6GHz amd64 GNU/Linux box for example). This overhead |
|
|
134 | is often shared with exec (because you have to fork first), but in some |
|
|
135 | circumstances (e.g. when vfork is used), fork+exec can be much faster. |
|
|
136 | |
|
|
137 | This module can help here by telling a small(er) helper process to fork, |
|
|
138 | or fork+exec instead. |
|
|
139 | |
|
|
140 | =item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent |
|
|
141 | process. Memory (for example, modules or data files that have been |
|
|
142 | will not take additional memory). When exec'ing a new process, modules |
|
|
143 | and data files might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory |
|
|
144 | cost. Likewise when forking, all data structures are copied as well - if |
|
|
145 | the program frees them and replaces them by new data, the child processes |
|
|
146 | will retain the memory even if it isn't used. |
|
|
147 | |
|
|
148 | This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows |
|
|
149 | modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom |
|
|
150 | process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without |
|
|
151 | risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child |
|
|
152 | memory usage. |
|
|
153 | |
|
|
154 | =item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult and slow. For |
|
|
155 | example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl interpreter, |
|
|
156 | and all modules have to be loaded from disk again. Long running processes |
|
|
157 | might run into problems when perl is upgraded for example. |
|
|
158 | |
|
|
159 | This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used |
|
|
160 | as template, and also tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl |
|
|
161 | interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter |
|
|
162 | might not even be necessary. |
|
|
163 | |
|
|
164 | =item Forking might be impossible when a program is running. For example, |
|
|
165 | POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a multi-threaded program and |
|
|
166 | do anything useful in the child - strictly speaking, if your perl program |
|
|
167 | uses posix threads (even indirectly via e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), |
|
|
168 | you cannot call fork on the perl level anymore, at all. |
|
|
169 | |
|
|
170 | This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling |
|
|
171 | fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way. |
|
|
172 | |
|
|
173 | =item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult |
|
|
174 | to implement. For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates |
|
|
175 | watchers it becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child |
|
|
176 | program, as the watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the |
|
|
177 | parent. Worse, a module might want to use such a system, not knowing |
|
|
178 | whether another module or the main program also does, leading to problems. |
|
|
179 | |
|
|
180 | This module only lets the main program create pools by forking (because |
|
|
181 | only the main program can know when it is still safe to do so) - all other |
|
|
182 | pools are created by fork+exec, after which such modules can again be |
|
|
183 | loaded. |
|
|
184 | |
|
|
185 | =back |
|
|
186 | |
251 | |
187 | =head1 CONCEPTS |
252 | =head1 CONCEPTS |
188 | |
253 | |
189 | This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl |
254 | This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl |
190 | process, or by forking from an existing "template" process. |
255 | process, or by forking from an existing "template" process. |
… | |
… | |
269 | my ($fork_fh) = @_; |
334 | my ($fork_fh) = @_; |
270 | }); |
335 | }); |
271 | |
336 | |
272 | =back |
337 | =back |
273 | |
338 | |
274 | =head1 FUNCTIONS |
339 | =head1 THE C<AnyEvent::Fork> CLASS |
|
|
340 | |
|
|
341 | This module exports nothing, and only implements a single class - |
|
|
342 | C<AnyEvent::Fork>. |
|
|
343 | |
|
|
344 | There are two class constructors that both create new processes - C<new> |
|
|
345 | and C<new_exec>. The C<fork> method creates a new process by forking an |
|
|
346 | existing one and could be considered a third constructor. |
|
|
347 | |
|
|
348 | Most of the remaining methods deal with preparing the new process, by |
|
|
349 | loading code, evaluating code and sending data to the new process. They |
|
|
350 | usually return the process object, so you can chain method calls. |
|
|
351 | |
|
|
352 | If a process object is destroyed before calling its C<run> method, then |
|
|
353 | the process simply exits. After C<run> is called, all responsibility is |
|
|
354 | passed to the specified function. |
|
|
355 | |
|
|
356 | As long as there is any outstanding work to be done, process objects |
|
|
357 | resist being destroyed, so there is no reason to store them unless you |
|
|
358 | need them later - configure and forget works just fine. |
275 | |
359 | |
276 | =over 4 |
360 | =over 4 |
277 | |
361 | |
278 | =cut |
362 | =cut |
279 | |
363 | |
… | |
… | |
286 | use AnyEvent; |
370 | use AnyEvent; |
287 | use AnyEvent::Util (); |
371 | use AnyEvent::Util (); |
288 | |
372 | |
289 | use IO::FDPass; |
373 | use IO::FDPass; |
290 | |
374 | |
291 | our $VERSION = 0.5; |
375 | our $VERSION = 0.6; |
292 | |
|
|
293 | our $PERL; # the path to the perl interpreter, deduces with various forms of magic |
|
|
294 | |
|
|
295 | =item my $pool = new AnyEvent::Fork key => value... |
|
|
296 | |
|
|
297 | Create a new process pool. The following named parameters are supported: |
|
|
298 | |
376 | |
299 | =over 4 |
377 | =over 4 |
300 | |
378 | |
301 | =back |
379 | =back |
302 | |
380 | |
… | |
… | |
381 | if ($pid eq 0) { |
459 | if ($pid eq 0) { |
382 | require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve; |
460 | require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve; |
383 | $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent; |
461 | $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent; |
384 | close $fh; |
462 | close $fh; |
385 | $0 = "$_[1] of $parent"; |
463 | $0 = "$_[1] of $parent"; |
386 | $SIG{CHLD} = 'IGNORE'; |
|
|
387 | AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave); |
464 | AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave); |
388 | exit 0; |
465 | exit 0; |
389 | } elsif (!$pid) { |
466 | } elsif (!$pid) { |
390 | die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!"; |
467 | die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!"; |
391 | } |
468 | } |
… | |
… | |
398 | Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process |
475 | Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process |
399 | object for further manipulation. |
476 | object for further manipulation. |
400 | |
477 | |
401 | The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around |
478 | The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around |
402 | for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to |
479 | for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to |
403 | C<new_exec> and kept around for future calls. |
480 | C<new_exec> first and then stays around for future calls. |
404 | |
|
|
405 | When the process object is destroyed, it will release the file handle |
|
|
406 | that connects it with the new process. When the new process has not yet |
|
|
407 | called C<run>, then the process will exit. Otherwise, what happens depends |
|
|
408 | entirely on the code that is executed. |
|
|
409 | |
481 | |
410 | =cut |
482 | =cut |
411 | |
483 | |
412 | sub new { |
484 | sub new { |
413 | my $class = shift; |
485 | my $class = shift; |
… | |
… | |
503 | } |
575 | } |
504 | |
576 | |
505 | =item $pid = $proc->pid |
577 | =item $pid = $proc->pid |
506 | |
578 | |
507 | Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the |
579 | Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the |
508 | process> running AnyEvent::Fork, and C<undef> otherwise. |
580 | process running AnyEvent::Fork>, and C<undef> otherwise. |
509 | |
581 | |
510 | Normally, only processes created via C<< AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec >> and |
582 | Normally, only processes created via C<< AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec >> and |
511 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct children, and you are responsible |
583 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct children, and you are responsible |
512 | to clean up their zombies when they die. |
584 | to clean up their zombies when they die. |
513 | |
585 | |
514 | All other processes are not direct children, and will be cleaned up by |
586 | All other processes are not direct children, and will be cleaned up by |
515 | AnyEvent::Fork. |
587 | AnyEvent::Fork itself. |
516 | |
588 | |
517 | =cut |
589 | =cut |
518 | |
590 | |
519 | sub pid { |
591 | sub pid { |
520 | $_[0][0] |
592 | $_[0][0] |
… | |
… | |
531 | |
603 | |
532 | The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no |
604 | The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no |
533 | way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors |
605 | way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors |
534 | will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit. |
606 | will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit. |
535 | |
607 | |
536 | If you want to execute some code to take over the process (see the |
608 | If 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 |
609 | process, you should compile a function via C<eval> first, and then call |
538 | C<eval> first, and then call it via C<run>. This also gives you access to |
610 | it via C<run>. This also gives you access to any arguments passed via the |
539 | any arguments passed via the C<send_xxx> methods, such as file handles. |
611 | C<send_xxx> methods, such as file handles. See the L<use AnyEvent::Fork as |
|
|
612 | a faster fork+exec> example to see it in action. |
540 | |
613 | |
541 | Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. |
614 | Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. |
542 | |
615 | |
543 | =cut |
616 | =cut |
544 | |
617 | |
… | |
… | |
570 | =item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...) |
643 | =item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...) |
571 | |
644 | |
572 | Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process, |
645 | Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process, |
573 | to prepare a call to C<run>. |
646 | to prepare a call to C<run>. |
574 | |
647 | |
575 | The process object keeps a reference to the handles until this is done, |
648 | The process object keeps a reference to the handles until they have |
576 | so you must not explicitly close the handles. This is most easily |
649 | been passed over to the process, so you must not explicitly close the |
577 | accomplished by simply not storing the file handles anywhere after passing |
650 | handles. This is most easily accomplished by simply not storing the file |
578 | them to this method. |
651 | handles anywhere after passing them to this method - when AnyEvent::Fork |
|
|
652 | is finished using them, perl will automatically close them. |
579 | |
653 | |
580 | Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. |
654 | Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. |
581 | |
655 | |
582 | Example: pass a file handle to a process, and release it without |
656 | Example: pass a file handle to a process, and release it without |
583 | closing. It will be closed automatically when it is no longer used. |
657 | closing. It will be closed automatically when it is no longer used. |
… | |
… | |
599 | } |
673 | } |
600 | |
674 | |
601 | =item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...) |
675 | =item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...) |
602 | |
676 | |
603 | Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to |
677 | Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to |
604 | C<run>. The strings can be any octet string. |
678 | C<run>. The strings can be any octet strings. |
605 | |
679 | |
606 | The protocol is optimised to pass a moderate number of relatively short |
680 | The protocol is optimised to pass a moderate number of relatively short |
607 | strings - while you can pass up to 4GB of data in one go, this is more |
681 | strings - while you can pass up to 4GB of data in one go, this is more |
608 | meant to pass some ID information or other startup info, not big chunks of |
682 | meant to pass some ID information or other startup info, not big chunks of |
609 | data. |
683 | data. |
… | |
… | |
625 | Enter the function specified by the function name in C<$func> in the |
699 | Enter the function specified by the function name in C<$func> in the |
626 | process. The function is called with the communication socket as first |
700 | process. The function is called with the communication socket as first |
627 | argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier |
701 | argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier |
628 | via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called. |
702 | via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called. |
629 | |
703 | |
|
|
704 | The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any |
|
|
705 | further method calls result in undefined behaviour. |
|
|
706 | |
630 | The function name should be fully qualified, but if it isn't, it will be |
707 | The function name should be fully qualified, but if it isn't, it will be |
631 | looked up in the main package. |
708 | looked up in the C<main> package. |
632 | |
709 | |
633 | If the called function returns, doesn't exist, or any error occurs, the |
710 | If the called function returns, doesn't exist, or any error occurs, the |
634 | process exits. |
711 | process exits. |
635 | |
712 | |
636 | Preparing the process is done in the background - when all commands have |
713 | Preparing the process is done in the background - when all commands have |
637 | been sent, the callback is invoked with the local communications socket |
714 | been sent, the callback is invoked with the local communications socket |
638 | as argument. At this point you can start using the socket in any way you |
715 | as argument. At this point you can start using the socket in any way you |
639 | like. |
716 | like. |
640 | |
|
|
641 | The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any |
|
|
642 | further method calls result in undefined behaviour. |
|
|
643 | |
717 | |
644 | If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides, |
718 | If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides, |
645 | to save on kernel memory. |
719 | to save on kernel memory. |
646 | |
720 | |
647 | The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly |
721 | The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly |
… | |
… | |
722 | 479 vfork+execs per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec |
796 | 479 vfork+execs per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec |
723 | |
797 | |
724 | So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even |
798 | So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even |
725 | though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead? |
799 | though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead? |
726 | |
800 | |
727 | The difference is simply the process size: forking the 6MB process takes |
801 | The difference is simply the process size: forking the 5MB process takes |
728 | so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the overhead |
802 | so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the extra |
729 | introduced is canceled out. |
803 | overhead introduced is canceled out. |
730 | |
804 | |
731 | If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower: |
805 | If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower: |
732 | |
806 | |
733 | 1340 new processes, manual fork in a 20MB process |
807 | 1340 new processes, manual fork of a 20MB process |
734 | 731 new processes, manual fork in a 200MB process |
808 | 731 new processes, manual fork of a 200MB process |
735 | 235 new processes, manual fork in a 2000MB process |
809 | 235 new processes, manual fork of a 2000MB process |
736 | |
810 | |
737 | What that means (to me) is that I can use this module without having a |
811 | What that means (to me) is that I can use this module without having a bad |
738 | very bad conscience because of the extra overhead required to start new |
812 | conscience because of the extra overhead required to start new processes. |
739 | processes. |
|
|
740 | |
813 | |
741 | =head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS |
814 | =head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS |
742 | |
815 | |
743 | This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising |
816 | This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising |
744 | them, most can be avoided. |
817 | them, most can be avoided. |
745 | |
818 | |
746 | =over 4 |
819 | =over 4 |
747 | |
820 | |
748 | =item "leaked" file descriptors for exec'ed processes |
821 | =item leaked file descriptors for exec'ed processes |
749 | |
822 | |
750 | POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new |
823 | POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new |
751 | process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new |
824 | process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new |
752 | file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's |
825 | file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's |
753 | often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner. |
826 | often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner. |
… | |
… | |
773 | libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors. |
846 | libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors. |
774 | |
847 | |
775 | Fortunately, most of these leaked descriptors do no harm, other than |
848 | Fortunately, most of these leaked descriptors do no harm, other than |
776 | sitting on some resources. |
849 | sitting on some resources. |
777 | |
850 | |
778 | =item "leaked" file descriptors for fork'ed processes |
851 | =item leaked file descriptors for fork'ed processes |
779 | |
852 | |
780 | Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them, |
853 | Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them, |
781 | which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited. |
854 | which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited. |
782 | |
855 | |
783 | However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer |
856 | However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer |
… | |
… | |
792 | |
865 | |
793 | The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing |
866 | The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing |
794 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay |
867 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay |
795 | initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually. |
868 | initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually. |
796 | |
869 | |
797 | =item exit runs destructors |
870 | =item exiting calls object destructors |
798 | |
871 | |
799 | This only applies to users of Lc<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and |
872 | This only applies to users of L<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and |
800 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>. |
873 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or when initialiasing code creates objects |
|
|
874 | that reference external resources. |
801 | |
875 | |
802 | When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling |
876 | When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling |
803 | exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point |
877 | exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point |
804 | Perl runs all destructors. |
878 | Perl runs all destructors. |
805 | |
879 | |
… | |
… | |
824 | to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to |
898 | to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to |
825 | care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something |
899 | care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something |
826 | useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption |
900 | useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption |
827 | issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr. |
901 | issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr. |
828 | |
902 | |
829 | Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment, as it should implement fd |
903 | Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment due to some hilarious |
830 | passing, but doesn't, and rolling my own is hard, as cygwin doesn't |
904 | shortcomings of its API - see L<IO::FDPoll> for more details. |
831 | support enough functionality to do it. |
|
|
832 | |
905 | |
833 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
906 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
834 | |
907 | |
835 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> (to avoid executing a perl interpreter), |
908 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> (to avoid executing a perl interpreter), |
836 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> (to create a process by forking the main |
909 | L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> (to create a process by forking the main |