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Revision 1.15 by root, Fri Apr 5 08:56:36 2013 UTC vs.
Revision 1.54 by root, Fri Apr 26 17:24:05 2013 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, not being able to use event processing or
62similar 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. When exec'ing a new process, modules and data files
95might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory cost. But when
96forking, literally all data structures are copied - if the program frees
97them and replaces them by new data, the child processes will retain the
98old version even if it isn't used, which can suddenly and unexpectedly
99increase memory usage when freeing memory.
100
101The trade-off is between more sharing with fork (which can be good or
102bad), and no sharing with exec.
103
104This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows
105modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom
106process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without
107risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child
108memory usage.
109
110In other words, this module puts you into control over what is being
111shared and what isn't, at all times.
112
113=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult.
114
115For example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl
116interpreter - C<$^X> might not be a perl interpreter at all.
117
118This module tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl
119interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter
120might not even be necessary, but even without help from the main program,
121it will still work when used from a module.
122
123=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be slow, as all necessary modules
124have to be loaded from disk again, with no guarantees of success.
125
126Long running processes might run into problems when perl is upgraded
127and modules are no longer loadable because they refer to a different
128perl version, or parts of a distribution are newer than the ones already
129loaded.
130
131This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used as
132a template for new processes.
133
134=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running.
135
136For example, POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a
137multi-threaded program while doing anything useful in the child - in
138fact, if your perl program uses POSIX threads (even indirectly via
139e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), you cannot call fork on the perl level
140anymore without risking corruption issues on a number of operating
141systems.
142
143This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling
144fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way (via L<Proc::FastSpawn>).
145
146=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult
147to implement. Modules might not work in both parent and child.
148
149For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates watchers it
150becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child program, as the
151watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the parent. Worse, a
152module might want to use such a module, not knowing whether another module
153or the main program also does, leading to problems.
154
155Apart from event loops, graphical toolkits also commonly fall into the
156"unsafe module" category, or just about anything that communicates with
157the external world, such as network libraries and file I/O modules, which
158usually don't like being copied and then allowed to continue in two
159processes.
160
161With this module only the main program is allowed to create new processes
162by forking (because only the main program can know when it is still safe
163to do so) - all other processes are created via fork+exec, which makes it
164possible to use modules such as event loops or window interfaces safely.
165
166=back
167
168=head1 EXAMPLES
169
10 # create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function 170=head2 Create a single new process, tell it to run your worker function.
11 171
12 AnyEvent::Fork 172 AnyEvent::Fork
13 ->new 173 ->new
14 ->require ("MyModule") 174 ->require ("MyModule")
15 ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub { 175 ->run ("MyModule::worker, sub {
17 177
18 # now $master_filehandle is connected to the 178 # now $master_filehandle is connected to the
19 # $slave_filehandle in the new process. 179 # $slave_filehandle in the new process.
20 }); 180 });
21 181
22 # MyModule::worker might look like this 182C<MyModule> might look like this:
183
184 package MyModule;
185
23 sub MyModule::worker { 186 sub worker {
24 my ($slave_filehandle) = @_; 187 my ($slave_filehandle) = @_;
25 188
26 # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle 189 # now $slave_filehandle is connected to the $master_filehandle
27 # in the original prorcess. have fun! 190 # in the original prorcess. have fun!
28 } 191 }
29 192
30 ##################################################################
31 # create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket 193=head2 Create a pool of server processes all accepting on the same socket.
32 194
33 # create listener socket 195 # create listener socket
34 my $listener = ...; 196 my $listener = ...;
35 197
36 # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket 198 # create a pool template, initialise it and give it the socket
48 } 210 }
49 211
50 # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run 212 # now do other things - maybe use the filehandle provided by run
51 # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever. 213 # to wait for the processes to die. or whatever.
52 214
53 # My::Server::run might look like this 215C<My::Server> might look like this:
54 sub My::Server::run { 216
217 package My::Server;
218
219 sub run {
55 my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_; 220 my ($slave, $listener, $id) = @_;
56 221
57 close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources 222 close $slave; # we do not use the socket, so close it to save resources
58 223
59 # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO, 224 # we could go ballistic and use e.g. AnyEvent here, or IO::AIO,
61 while (my $socket = $listener->accept) { 226 while (my $socket = $listener->accept) {
62 # do sth. with new socket 227 # do sth. with new socket
63 } 228 }
64 } 229 }
65 230
66=head1 DESCRIPTION 231=head2 use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec
67 232
68This module allows you to create new processes, without actually forking 233This runs C</bin/echo hi>, with standard output redirected to F</tmp/log>
69them from your current process (avoiding the problems of forking), but 234and standard error redirected to the communications socket. It is usually
70preserving most of the advantages of fork. 235faster than fork+exec, but still lets you prepare the environment.
71 236
72It can be used to create new worker processes or new independent 237 open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!";
73subprocesses for short- and long-running jobs, process pools (e.g. for use
74in pre-forked servers) but also to spawn new external processes (such as
75CGI scripts from a webserver), which can be faster (and more well behaved)
76than using fork+exec in big processes.
77 238
78Special care has been taken to make this module useful from other modules, 239 AnyEvent::Fork
79while still supporting specialised environments such as L<App::Staticperl> 240 ->new
80or L<PAR::Packer>. 241 ->eval ('
242 # compile a helper function for later use
243 sub run {
244 my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_;
81 245
82=head1 PROBLEM STATEMENT 246 # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR
247 open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die;
248 open STDERR, ">&", $fh or die;
83 249
84There are two ways to implement parallel processing on UNIX like operating 250 exec @cmd;
85systems - fork and process, and fork+exec and process. They have different 251 }
86advantages and disadvantages that I describe below, together with how this 252 ')
87module tries to mitigate the disadvantages. 253 ->send_fh ($output)
254 ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi")
255 ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv);
88 256
89=over 4 257 my $stderr = $cv->recv;
90 258
91=item Forking from a big process can be very slow (a 5GB process needs 259=head2 For stingy users: put the worker code into a C<DATA> section.
920.05s to fork on my 3.6GHz amd64 GNU/Linux box for example). This overhead
93is often shared with exec (because you have to fork first), but in some
94circumstances (e.g. when vfork is used), fork+exec can be much faster.
95 260
96This module can help here by telling a small(er) helper process to fork, 261When you want to be stingy with files, you cna put your code into the
97or fork+exec instead. 262C<DATA> section of your module (or program):
98 263
99=item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent 264 use AnyEvent::Fork;
100process. Memory (for example, modules or data files that have been
101will not take additional memory). When exec'ing a new process, modules
102and data files might need to be loaded again, at extra cpu and memory
103cost. Likewise when forking, all data structures are copied as well - if
104the program frees them and replaces them by new data, the child processes
105will retain the memory even if it isn't used.
106 265
107This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows 266 AnyEvent::Fork
108modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom 267 ->new
109process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without 268 ->eval (do { local $/; <DATA> })
110risking to share large dynamic data structures that will blow up child 269 ->run ("doit", sub { ... });
111memory usage.
112 270
113=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult and slow. For 271 __DATA__
114example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl interpreter,
115and all modules have to be loaded from disk again. Long running processes
116might run into problems when perl is upgraded for example.
117 272
118This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used 273 sub doit {
119as template, and also tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl 274 ... do something!
120interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter 275 }
121might not even be necessary.
122 276
123=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running. For example, 277=head2 For stingy standalone programs: do not rely on external files at
124POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a multithreaded program and 278all.
125do anything useful in the child - strictly speaking, if your perl program
126uses posix threads (even indirectly via e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>),
127you cannot call fork on the perl level anymore, at all.
128 279
129This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by caling 280For single-file scripts it can be inconvenient to rely on external
130fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way. 281files - even when using < C<DATA> section, you still need to C<exec>
282an external perl interpreter, which might not be available when using
283L<App::Staticperl>, L<Urlader> or L<PAR::Packer> for example.
131 284
132=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult 285Two modules help here - L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> forks a template process
133to implement. For example, when a program uses an event loop and creates 286for all further calls to C<new_exec>, and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>
134watchers it becomes very hard to use the event loop from a child 287forks the main program as a template process.
135program, as the watchers already exist but are only meaningful in the
136parent. Worse, a module might want to use such a system, not knowing
137whether another module or the main program also does, leading to problems.
138 288
139This module only lets the main program create pools by forking (because 289Here is how your main program should look like:
140only the main program can know when it is still safe to do so) - all other
141pools are created by fork+exec, after which such modules can again be
142loaded.
143 290
144=back 291 #! perl
292
293 # optional, as the very first thing.
294 # in case modules want to create their own processes.
295 use AnyEvent::Fork::Early;
296
297 # next, load all modules you need in your template process
298 use Example::My::Module
299 use Example::Whatever;
300
301 # next, put your run function definition and anything else you
302 # need, but do not use code outside of BEGIN blocks.
303 sub worker_run {
304 my ($fh, @args) = @_;
305 ...
306 }
307
308 # now preserve everything so far as AnyEvent::Fork object
309 # in §TEMPLATE.
310 use AnyEvent::Fork::Template;
311
312 # do not put code outside of BEGIN blocks until here
313
314 # now use the $TEMPLATE process in any way you like
315
316 # for example: create 10 worker processes
317 my @worker;
318 my $cv = AE::cv;
319 for (1..10) {
320 $cv->begin;
321 $TEMPLATE->fork->send_arg ($_)->run ("worker_run", sub {
322 push @worker, shift;
323 $cv->end;
324 });
325 }
326 $cv->recv;
145 327
146=head1 CONCEPTS 328=head1 CONCEPTS
147 329
148This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl 330This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl
149process, or by forking from an existing "template" process. 331process, or by forking from an existing "template" process.
332
333All these processes are called "child processes" (whether they are direct
334children or not), while the process that manages them is called the
335"parent process".
150 336
151Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to 337Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to
152communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process, 338communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process,
153one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are 339one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are
154load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute 340load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute
166needed the first time. Forking from this process shares the memory used 352needed the first time. Forking from this process shares the memory used
167for the perl interpreter with the new process, but loading modules takes 353for the perl interpreter with the new process, but loading modules takes
168time, and the memory is not shared with anything else. 354time, and the memory is not shared with anything else.
169 355
170This is ideal for when you only need one extra process of a kind, with the 356This is ideal for when you only need one extra process of a kind, with the
171option of starting and stipping it on demand. 357option of starting and stopping it on demand.
172 358
173Example: 359Example:
174 360
175 AnyEvent::Fork 361 AnyEvent::Fork
176 ->new 362 ->new
191modules you loaded) is shared between the processes, and each new process 377modules you loaded) is shared between the processes, and each new process
192consumes relatively little memory of its own. 378consumes relatively little memory of its own.
193 379
194The disadvantage of this approach is that you need to create a template 380The disadvantage of this approach is that you need to create a template
195process for the sole purpose of forking new processes from it, but if you 381process for the sole purpose of forking new processes from it, but if you
196only need a fixed number of proceses you can create them, and then destroy 382only need a fixed number of processes you can create them, and then destroy
197the template process. 383the template process.
198 384
199Example: 385Example:
200 386
201 my $template = AnyEvent::Fork->new->require ("Some::Module"); 387 my $template = AnyEvent::Fork->new->require ("Some::Module");
228 my ($fork_fh) = @_; 414 my ($fork_fh) = @_;
229 }); 415 });
230 416
231=back 417=back
232 418
233=head1 FUNCTIONS 419=head1 THE C<AnyEvent::Fork> CLASS
420
421This module exports nothing, and only implements a single class -
422C<AnyEvent::Fork>.
423
424There are two class constructors that both create new processes - C<new>
425and C<new_exec>. The C<fork> method creates a new process by forking an
426existing one and could be considered a third constructor.
427
428Most of the remaining methods deal with preparing the new process, by
429loading code, evaluating code and sending data to the new process. They
430usually return the process object, so you can chain method calls.
431
432If a process object is destroyed before calling its C<run> method, then
433the process simply exits. After C<run> is called, all responsibility is
434passed to the specified function.
435
436As long as there is any outstanding work to be done, process objects
437resist being destroyed, so there is no reason to store them unless you
438need them later - configure and forget works just fine.
234 439
235=over 4 440=over 4
236 441
237=cut 442=cut
238 443
239package AnyEvent::Fork; 444package AnyEvent::Fork;
240 445
241use common::sense; 446use common::sense;
242 447
243use Socket (); 448use Errno ();
244 449
245use AnyEvent; 450use AnyEvent;
246use AnyEvent::Util (); 451use AnyEvent::Util ();
247 452
248use IO::FDPass; 453use IO::FDPass;
249 454
250our $VERSION = 0.2; 455our $VERSION = '1.0';
251
252our $PERL; # the path to the perl interpreter, deduces with various forms of magic
253
254=item my $pool = new AnyEvent::Fork key => value...
255
256Create a new process pool. The following named parameters are supported:
257
258=over 4
259
260=back
261
262=cut
263 456
264# the early fork template process 457# the early fork template process
265our $EARLY; 458our $EARLY;
266 459
267# the empty template process 460# the empty template process
268our $TEMPLATE; 461our $TEMPLATE;
269 462
463sub QUEUE() { 0 }
464sub FH() { 1 }
465sub WW() { 2 }
466sub PID() { 3 }
467sub CB() { 4 }
468
469sub _new {
470 my ($self, $fh, $pid) = @_;
471
472 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
473
474 $self = bless [
475 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
476 $fh,
477 undef, # AE watcher
478 $pid,
479 ], $self;
480
481 $self
482}
483
270sub _cmd { 484sub _cmd {
271 my $self = shift; 485 my $self = shift;
272 486
273 #TODO: maybe append the packet to any existing string command already in the queue
274
275 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl versions 487 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl
276 # from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack it. 488 # versions from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack
277 push @{ $self->[2] }, pack "N/a*", pack "(w/a*)*", @_; 489 # it.
490 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, pack "a N/a*", $_[0], $_[1];
278 491
279 $self->[3] ||= AE::io $self->[1], 1, sub { 492 $self->[WW] ||= AE::io $self->[FH], 1, sub {
493 do {
280 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh, 494 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh,
281 # or a plain string. 495 # or a plain string.
282 496
283 if (ref $self->[2][0]) { 497 if (ref $self->[QUEUE][0]) {
284 # send fh 498 # send fh
285 IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[1], fileno ${ $self->[2][0] } 499 unless (IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[FH], fileno ${ $self->[QUEUE][0] }) {
500 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
501 undef $self->[WW];
502 die "AnyEvent::Fork: file descriptor send failure: $!";
503 }
504
286 and shift @{ $self->[2] }; 505 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
287 506
288 } else { 507 } else {
289 # send string 508 # send string
290 my $len = syswrite $self->[1], $self->[2][0] 509 my $len = syswrite $self->[FH], $self->[QUEUE][0];
510
511 unless ($len) {
512 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
513 undef $self->[WW];
291 or do { undef $self->[3]; die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!" }; 514 die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!";
515 }
292 516
293 substr $self->[2][0], 0, $len, ""; 517 substr $self->[QUEUE][0], 0, $len, "";
294 shift @{ $self->[2] } unless length $self->[2][0]; 518 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] } unless length $self->[QUEUE][0];
295 } 519 }
520 } while @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
296 521
297 unless (@{ $self->[2] }) { 522 # everything written
298 undef $self->[3]; 523 undef $self->[WW];
524
299 # invoke run callback 525 # invoke run callback, if any
526 if ($self->[CB]) {
300 $self->[0]->($self->[1]) if $self->[0]; 527 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
528 @$self = ();
301 } 529 }
302 }; 530 };
303 531
304 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher 532 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher
305}
306
307sub _new {
308 my ($self, $fh) = @_;
309
310 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
311
312 $self = bless [
313 undef, # run callback
314 $fh,
315 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
316 undef, # AE watcher
317 ], $self;
318
319 $self
320} 533}
321 534
322# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template 535# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template
323sub _new_fork { 536sub _new_fork {
324 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair; 537 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
335 exit 0; 548 exit 0;
336 } elsif (!$pid) { 549 } elsif (!$pid) {
337 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!"; 550 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!";
338 } 551 }
339 552
340 AnyEvent::Fork->_new ($fh) 553 AnyEvent::Fork->_new ($fh, $pid)
341} 554}
342 555
343=item my $proc = new AnyEvent::Fork 556=item my $proc = new AnyEvent::Fork
344 557
345Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process 558Create a new "empty" perl interpreter process and returns its process
346object for further manipulation. 559object for further manipulation.
347 560
348The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around 561The new process is forked from a template process that is kept around
349for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to 562for this purpose. When it doesn't exist yet, it is created by a call to
350C<new_exec> and kept around for future calls. 563C<new_exec> first and then stays around for future calls.
351
352When the process object is destroyed, it will release the file handle
353that connects it with the new process. When the new process has not yet
354called C<run>, then the process will exit. Otherwise, what happens depends
355entirely on the code that is executed.
356 564
357=cut 565=cut
358 566
359sub new { 567sub new {
360 my $class = shift; 568 my $class = shift;
396reduces the amount of memory sharing that is possible, and is also slower. 604reduces the amount of memory sharing that is possible, and is also slower.
397 605
398You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template 606You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template
399process around is unacceptable. 607process around is unacceptable.
400 608
401The path to the perl interpreter is divined usign various methods - first 609The path to the perl interpreter is divined using various methods - first
402C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that sounds 610C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that sounds
403as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to 611as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to
404using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>. 612using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>.
405 613
406=cut 614=cut
438 # quick. also doesn't work in win32. of course. what did you expect 646 # quick. also doesn't work in win32. of course. what did you expect
439 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC; 647 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC;
440 my %env = %ENV; 648 my %env = %ENV;
441 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC; 649 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC;
442 650
443 Proc::FastSpawn::spawn ( 651 my $pid = Proc::FastSpawn::spawn (
444 $perl, 652 $perl,
445 ["perl", "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$], 653 ["perl", "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$],
446 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env], 654 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env],
447 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!"; 655 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!";
448 656
449 $self->_new ($fh) 657 $self->_new ($fh, $pid)
658}
659
660=item $pid = $proc->pid
661
662Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the
663process running AnyEvent::Fork>, and C<undef> otherwise.
664
665Normally, only processes created via C<< AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec >> and
666L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct children, and you are responsible
667to clean up their zombies when they die.
668
669All other processes are not direct children, and will be cleaned up by
670AnyEvent::Fork itself.
671
672=cut
673
674sub pid {
675 $_[0][PID]
450} 676}
451 677
452=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args) 678=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args)
453 679
454Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... perl code, while setting C<@_> to 680Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... Perl code, while setting C<@_> to
455the strings specified by C<@args>. 681the strings specified by C<@args>, in the "main" package.
456 682
457This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required 683This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required
458(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used 684(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used
459to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that. 685to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that.
460 686
461The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no 687The code will usually be executed after this call returns, and there is no
462way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors 688way to pass anything back to the calling process. Any evaluation errors
463will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit. 689will be reported to stderr and cause the process to exit.
464 690
691If you want to execute some code (that isn't in a module) to take over the
692process, you should compile a function via C<eval> first, and then call
693it via C<run>. This also gives you access to any arguments passed via the
694C<send_xxx> methods, such as file handles. See the L<use AnyEvent::Fork as
695a faster fork+exec> example to see it in action.
696
465Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. 697Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls.
466 698
467=cut 699=cut
468 700
469sub eval { 701sub eval {
470 my ($self, $code, @args) = @_; 702 my ($self, $code, @args) = @_;
471 703
472 $self->_cmd (e => $code, @args); 704 $self->_cmd (e => pack "(w/a*)*", $code, @args);
473 705
474 $self 706 $self
475} 707}
476 708
477=item $proc = $proc->require ($module, ...) 709=item $proc = $proc->require ($module, ...)
494=item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...) 726=item $proc = $proc->send_fh ($handle, ...)
495 727
496Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process, 728Send one or more file handles (I<not> file descriptors) to the process,
497to prepare a call to C<run>. 729to prepare a call to C<run>.
498 730
499The process object keeps a reference to the handles until this is done, 731The process object keeps a reference to the handles until they have
500so you must not explicitly close the handles. This is most easily 732been passed over to the process, so you must not explicitly close the
501accomplished by simply not storing the file handles anywhere after passing 733handles. This is most easily accomplished by simply not storing the file
502them to this method. 734handles anywhere after passing them to this method - when AnyEvent::Fork
735is finished using them, perl will automatically close them.
503 736
504Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls. 737Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls.
505 738
506Example: pass an fh to a process, and release it without closing. it will 739Example: pass a file handle to a process, and release it without
507be closed automatically when it is no longer used. 740closing. It will be closed automatically when it is no longer used.
508 741
509 $proc->send_fh ($my_fh); 742 $proc->send_fh ($my_fh);
510 undef $my_fh; # free the reference if you want, but DO NOT CLOSE IT 743 undef $my_fh; # free the reference if you want, but DO NOT CLOSE IT
511 744
512=cut 745=cut
514sub send_fh { 747sub send_fh {
515 my ($self, @fh) = @_; 748 my ($self, @fh) = @_;
516 749
517 for my $fh (@fh) { 750 for my $fh (@fh) {
518 $self->_cmd ("h"); 751 $self->_cmd ("h");
519 push @{ $self->[2] }, \$fh; 752 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, \$fh;
520 } 753 }
521 754
522 $self 755 $self
523} 756}
524 757
525=item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...) 758=item $proc = $proc->send_arg ($string, ...)
526 759
527Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to 760Send one or more argument strings to the process, to prepare a call to
528C<run>. The strings can be any octet string. 761C<run>. The strings can be any octet strings.
529 762
763The protocol is optimised to pass a moderate number of relatively short
764strings - while you can pass up to 4GB of data in one go, this is more
765meant to pass some ID information or other startup info, not big chunks of
766data.
767
530Returns the process object for easy chaining of emthod calls. 768Returns the process object for easy chaining of method calls.
531 769
532=cut 770=cut
533 771
534sub send_arg { 772sub send_arg {
535 my ($self, @arg) = @_; 773 my ($self, @arg) = @_;
536 774
537 $self->_cmd (a => @arg); 775 $self->_cmd (a => pack "(w/a*)*", @arg);
538 776
539 $self 777 $self
540} 778}
541 779
542=item $proc->run ($func, $cb->($fh)) 780=item $proc->run ($func, $cb->($fh))
543 781
544Enter the function specified by the fully qualified name in C<$func> in 782Enter the function specified by the function name in C<$func> in the
545the process. The function is called with the communication socket as first 783process. The function is called with the communication socket as first
546argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier 784argument, followed by all file handles and string arguments sent earlier
547via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called. 785via C<send_fh> and C<send_arg> methods, in the order they were called.
548 786
549If the called function returns, the process exits.
550
551Preparing the process can take time - when the process is ready, the
552callback is invoked with the local communications socket as argument.
553
554The process object becomes unusable on return from this function. 787The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
788further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
789
790The function name should be fully qualified, but if it isn't, it will be
791looked up in the C<main> package.
792
793If the called function returns, doesn't exist, or any error occurs, the
794process exits.
795
796Preparing the process is done in the background - when all commands have
797been sent, the callback is invoked with the local communications socket
798as argument. At this point you can start using the socket in any way you
799like.
555 800
556If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides, 801If the communication socket isn't used, it should be closed on both sides,
557to save on kernel memory. 802to save on kernel memory.
558 803
559The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly 804The socket is non-blocking in the parent, and blocking in the newly
560created process. The close-on-exec flag is set on both. Even if not used 805created process. The close-on-exec flag is set in both.
806
561otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the existance of the 807Even if not used otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the
562process - if the other process exits, you get a readable event on it, 808existence of the process - if the other process exits, you get a readable
563because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't create any 809event on it, because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't
564children using fork). 810create any children using fork).
565 811
566Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some 812Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some
567file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code. 813file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code.
568 814
569 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork 815 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork
577 ->send_arg ("str3") 823 ->send_arg ("str3")
578 ->run ("Some::function", sub { 824 ->run ("Some::function", sub {
579 my ($fh) = @_; 825 my ($fh) = @_;
580 826
581 # fh is nonblocking, but we trust that the OS can accept these 827 # fh is nonblocking, but we trust that the OS can accept these
582 # extra 3 octets anyway. 828 # few octets anyway.
583 syswrite $fh, "hi #$_\n"; 829 syswrite $fh, "hi #$_\n";
584 830
585 # $fh is being closed here, as we don't store it anywhere 831 # $fh is being closed here, as we don't store it anywhere
586 }); 832 });
587 } 833 }
589 # Some::function might look like this - all parameters passed before fork 835 # Some::function might look like this - all parameters passed before fork
590 # and after will be passed, in order, after the communications socket. 836 # and after will be passed, in order, after the communications socket.
591 sub Some::function { 837 sub Some::function {
592 my ($fh, $str1, $str2, $fh1, $fh2, $str3) = @_; 838 my ($fh, $str1, $str2, $fh1, $fh2, $str3) = @_;
593 839
594 print scalar <$fh>; # prints "hi 1\n" and "hi 2\n" 840 print scalar <$fh>; # prints "hi #1\n" and "hi #2\n" in any order
595 } 841 }
596 842
597=cut 843=cut
598 844
599sub run { 845sub run {
600 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_; 846 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_;
601 847
602 $self->[0] = $cb; 848 $self->[CB] = $cb;
603 $self->_cmd (r => $func); 849 $self->_cmd (r => $func);
604} 850}
605 851
606=back 852=back
853
854=head2 ADVANCED METHODS
855
856=over 4
857
858=item new_from_stdio AnyEvent::Fork $fh
859
860Assume that you have a perl interpreter running (without any special
861options or a program) somewhere and it has it's STDIN and STDOUT connected
862to the C<$fh> somehow. I.e. exactly the state perl is in when you start it
863without any arguments:
864
865 perl
866
867Then you can create an C<AnyEvent::Fork> object out of this perl
868interpreter with this constructor.
869
870When the usefulness of this isn't immediately clear, imagine you manage to
871run a perl interpreter remotely (F<ssh remotemachine perl>), then you can
872manage it mostly like a local C<AnyEvent::Fork> child.
873
874This works without any module support, i.e. the remote F<perl> does not
875need to have any special modules installed.
876
877There are a number of limitations though: C<send_fh> will only work if the
878L<IO::FDPass> module is loadable by the remote perl and the two processes
879are connected in a way that let's L<IO::FDPass> do it's work.
880
881This will therefore not work over a network connection. From this follows
882that C<fork> will also not work under these circumstances, as it relies on
883C<send_fh> internally.
884
885Although not a limitation of this module, keep in mind that the
886"communications socket" is simply C<STDIN>, and depending on how you
887started F<perl> (e.g. via F<ssh>), it might only be half-duplex. This is
888fine for C<AnyEvent::Fork>, but your C<run> function might want to use
889C<STDIN> (or the "communications socket") for input and C<STDOUT> for
890output.
891
892You can support both cases by checking the C<fileno> of the handle passed
893to your run function:
894
895 sub run {
896 my ($rfh) = @_;
897
898 my $wfh = fileno $rfh ? $rfh : *STDOUT;
899
900 # now use $rfh for reading and $wfh for writing
901 }
902
903=cut
904
905sub new_from_stdio {
906 my ($class, $fh) = @_;
907
908 my $self = $class->_new ($fh);
909
910 # send startup code
911 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] },
912 (do "AnyEvent/Fork/serve.pl")
913 . <<'EOF';
914
915$OWNER = "another process";
916$0 = "AnyEvent::Fork/stdio of $OWNER";
917
918serve *STDIN;
919__END__
920EOF
921
922 # the data is only sent when the user requests additional things, which
923 # is likely early enough for our purposes.
924
925 $self
926}
927
928=back
929
930=head2 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
931
932These methods might go away completely or change behaviour, a any time.
933
934=over 4
935
936=item $proc->to_fh ($cb->($fh)) # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
937
938Flushes all commands out to the process and then calls the callback with
939the communications socket.
940
941The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
942further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
943
944The point of this method is to give you a file handle thta you cna pass
945to another process. In that other process, you can call C<new_from_fh
946AnyEvent::Fork> to create a new C<AnyEvent::Fork> object from it, thereby
947effectively passing a fork object to another process.
948
949=cut
950
951sub to_fh {
952 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
953
954 $self->[CB] = $cb;
955
956 unless ($self->[WW]) {
957 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
958 @$self = ();
959 }
960}
961
962=item new_from_fh AnyEvent::Fork $fh # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
963
964Takes a file handle originally rceeived by the C<to_fh> method and creates
965a new C<AnyEvent:Fork> object. The child process itself will not change in
966any way, i.e. it will keep all the modifications done to it before calling
967C<to_fh>.
968
969The new object is very much like the original object, except that the
970C<pid> method will return C<undef> even if the process is a direct child.
971
972=cut
973
974sub new_from_fh {
975 my ($class, $fh) = @_;
976
977 $class->_new ($fh)
978}
979
980=back
981
982=head1 PERFORMANCE
983
984Now for some unscientific benchmark numbers (all done on an amd64
985GNU/Linux box). These are intended to give you an idea of the relative
986performance you can expect, they are not meant to be absolute performance
987numbers.
988
989OK, so, I ran a simple benchmark that creates a socket pair, forks, calls
990exit in the child and waits for the socket to close in the parent. I did
991load AnyEvent, EV and AnyEvent::Fork, for a total process size of 5100kB.
992
993 2079 new processes per second, using manual socketpair + fork
994
995Then I did the same thing, but instead of calling fork, I called
996AnyEvent::Fork->new->run ("CORE::exit") and then again waited for the
997socket from the child to close on exit. This does the same thing as manual
998socket pair + fork, except that what is forked is the template process
999(2440kB), and the socket needs to be passed to the server at the other end
1000of the socket first.
1001
1002 2307 new processes per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new
1003
1004And finally, using C<new_exec> instead C<new>, using vforks+execs to exec
1005a new perl interpreter and compile the small server each time, I get:
1006
1007 479 vfork+execs per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec
1008
1009So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even
1010though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead?
1011
1012The difference is simply the process size: forking the 5MB process takes
1013so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the extra
1014overhead is canceled out.
1015
1016If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower:
1017
1018 1340 new processes, manual fork of a 20MB process
1019 731 new processes, manual fork of a 200MB process
1020 235 new processes, manual fork of a 2000MB process
1021
1022What that means (to me) is that I can use this module without having a bad
1023conscience because of the extra overhead required to start new processes.
607 1024
608=head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS 1025=head1 TYPICAL PROBLEMS
609 1026
610This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising 1027This section lists typical problems that remain. I hope by recognising
611them, most can be avoided. 1028them, most can be avoided.
612 1029
613=over 4 1030=over 4
614 1031
615=item "leaked" file descriptors for exec'ed processes 1032=item leaked file descriptors for exec'ed processes
616 1033
617POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new 1034POSIX systems inherit file descriptors by default when exec'ing a new
618process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new 1035process. While perl itself laudably sets the close-on-exec flags on new
619file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's 1036file handles, most C libraries don't care, and even if all cared, it's
620often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner. 1037often not possible to set the flag in a race-free manner.
621 1038
622That means some file descriptors can leak through. And since it isn't 1039That means some file descriptors can leak through. And since it isn't
623possible to know which file descriptors are "good" and "neccessary" (or 1040possible to know which file descriptors are "good" and "necessary" (or
624even to know which file descreiptors are open), there is no good way to 1041even to know which file descriptors are open), there is no good way to
625close the ones that might harm. 1042close the ones that might harm.
626 1043
627As an example of what "harm" can be done consider a web server that 1044As an example of what "harm" can be done consider a web server that
628accepts connections and afterwards some module uses AnyEvent::Fork for the 1045accepts connections and afterwards some module uses AnyEvent::Fork for the
629first time, causing it to fork and exec a new process, which might inherit 1046first time, causing it to fork and exec a new process, which might inherit
637well before many random file descriptors are open. 1054well before many random file descriptors are open.
638 1055
639In general, the solution for these kind of problems is to fix the 1056In general, the solution for these kind of problems is to fix the
640libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors. 1057libraries or the code that leaks those file descriptors.
641 1058
642Fortunately, most of these lekaed descriptors do no harm, other than 1059Fortunately, most of these leaked descriptors do no harm, other than
643sitting on some resources. 1060sitting on some resources.
644 1061
645=item "leaked" file descriptors for fork'ed processes 1062=item leaked file descriptors for fork'ed processes
646 1063
647Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them, 1064Normally, L<AnyEvent::Fork> does start new processes by exec'ing them,
648which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited. 1065which closes file descriptors not marked for being inherited.
649 1066
650However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer 1067However, L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> offer
659 1076
660The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing 1077The solution is to either not load these modules before use'ing
661L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay 1078L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or to delay
662initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually. 1079initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually.
663 1080
1081=item exiting calls object destructors
1082
1083This only applies to users of L<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and
1084L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or when initialising code creates objects
1085that reference external resources.
1086
1087When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling
1088exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point
1089Perl runs all destructors.
1090
1091Not all destructors are fork-safe - for example, an object that represents
1092the connection to an X display might tell the X server to free resources,
1093which is inconvenient when the "real" object in the parent still needs to
1094use them.
1095
1096This is obviously not a problem for L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early>, as you used
1097it as the very first thing, right?
1098
1099It is a problem for L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> though - and the solution
1100is to not create objects with nontrivial destructors that might have an
1101effect outside of Perl.
1102
664=back 1103=back
665 1104
666=head1 PORTABILITY NOTES 1105=head1 PORTABILITY NOTES
667 1106
668Native win32 perls are somewhat supported (AnyEvent::Fork::Early is a nop, 1107Native win32 perls are somewhat supported (AnyEvent::Fork::Early is a nop,
669and ::Template is not going to work), and it cost a lot of blood and sweat 1108and ::Template is not going to work), and it cost a lot of blood and sweat
670to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to 1109to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to
671care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something 1110care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something
672useful that you cna do with it without running into memory corruption 1111useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption
673issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr. 1112issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr.
674 1113
675Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment, as it should implement fd 1114Since fork is endlessly broken on win32 perls (it doesn't even remotely
676passing, but doesn't, and rolling my own is hard, as cygwin doesn't 1115work within it's documented limits) and quite obviously it's not getting
677support enough functionality to do it. 1116improved any time soon, the best way to proceed on windows would be to
1117always use C<new_exec> and thus never rely on perl's fork "emulation".
1118
1119Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment due to some hilarious
1120shortcomings of its API - see L<IO::FDPoll> for more details. If you never
1121use C<send_fh> and always use C<new_exec> to create processes, it should
1122work though.
678 1123
679=head1 SEE ALSO 1124=head1 SEE ALSO
680 1125
681L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> (to avoid executing a perl interpreter), 1126L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early>, to avoid executing a perl interpreter at all
1127(part of this distribution).
1128
682L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> (to create a process by forking the main 1129L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, to create a process by forking the main
683program at a convenient time). 1130program at a convenient time (part of this distribution).
684 1131
685=head1 AUTHOR 1132L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>, for simple RPC to child processes (on CPAN).
1133
1134L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool>, for simple worker process pool (on CPAN).
1135
1136=head1 AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
686 1137
687 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1138 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
688 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1139 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/AnyEvent-Fork
689 1140
690=cut 1141=cut
691 1142
6921 11431
693 1144

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