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Revision 1.39 by root, Sat Apr 6 22:39:37 2013 UTC vs.
Revision 1.63 by root, Wed Nov 26 13:36:18 2014 UTC

34This module only creates processes and lets you pass file handles and 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 - 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 36there is no back channel from the process back to you, and there is no RPC
37or message passing going on. 37or message passing going on.
38 38
39If you need some form of RPC, you can either implement it yourself 39If you need some form of RPC, you could use the L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>
40in whatever way you like, use some message-passing module such 40companion module, which adds simple RPC/job queueing to a process created
41as L<AnyEvent::MP>, some pipe such as L<AnyEvent::ZeroMQ>, use 41by this module.
42L<AnyEvent::Handle> on both sides to send e.g. JSON or Storable messages, 42
43and so on. 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.
44 51
45=head2 COMPARISON TO OTHER MODULES 52=head2 COMPARISON TO OTHER MODULES
46 53
47There is an abundance of modules on CPAN that do "something fork", such as 54There is an abundance of modules on CPAN that do "something fork", such as
48L<Parallel::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::Worker> 55L<Parallel::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::ForkManager>, L<AnyEvent::Worker>
49or L<AnyEvent::Subprocess>. There are modules that implement their own 56or L<AnyEvent::Subprocess>. There are modules that implement their own
50process management, such as L<AnyEvent::DBI>. 57process management, such as L<AnyEvent::DBI>.
51 58
52The problems that all these modules try to solve are real, however, none 59The problems that all these modules try to solve are real, however, none
53of them (from what I have seen) tackle the very real problems of unwanted 60of them (from what I have seen) tackle the very real problems of unwanted
54memory sharing, efficiency, not being able to use event processing or 61memory sharing, efficiency or not being able to use event processing, GUI
55similar modules in the processes they create. 62toolkits or similar modules in the processes they create.
56 63
57This module doesn't try to replace any of them - instead it tries to solve 64This module doesn't try to replace any of them - instead it tries to solve
58the problem of creating processes with a minimum of fuss and overhead (and 65the problem of creating processes with a minimum of fuss and overhead (and
59also luxury). Ideally, most of these would use AnyEvent::Fork internally, 66also luxury). Ideally, most of these would use AnyEvent::Fork internally,
60except they were written before AnyEvent:Fork was available, so obviously 67except they were written before AnyEvent:Fork was available, so obviously
82 89
83=item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent 90=item Forking usually creates a copy-on-write copy of the parent
84process. 91process.
85 92
86For example, modules or data files that are loaded will not use additional 93For example, modules or data files that are loaded will not use additional
87memory after a fork. When exec'ing a new process, modules and data files 94memory after a fork. Exec'ing a new process, in contrast, means modules
88might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory cost. But when 95and data files might need to be loaded again, at extra CPU and memory
89forking, literally all data structures are copied - if the program frees 96cost.
97
98But when forking, you still create a copy of your data structures - if
90them and replaces them by new data, the child processes will retain the 99the program frees them and replaces them by new data, the child processes
91old version even if it isn't used, which can suddenly and unexpectedly 100will retain the old version even if it isn't used, which can suddenly and
92increase memory usage when freeing memory. 101unexpectedly increase memory usage when freeing memory.
93 102
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
94The trade-off is between more sharing with fork (which can be good or 112There is a trade-off between more sharing with fork (which can be good or
95bad), and no sharing with exec. 113bad), and no sharing with exec.
96 114
97This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows 115This module allows the main program to do a controlled fork, and allows
98modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom 116modules to exec processes safely at any time. When creating a custom
99process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without 117process pool you can take advantage of data sharing via fork without
104shared and what isn't, at all times. 122shared and what isn't, at all times.
105 123
106=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult. 124=item Exec'ing a new perl process might be difficult.
107 125
108For example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl 126For example, it is not easy to find the correct path to the perl
109interpreter - C<$^X> might not be a perl interpreter at all. 127interpreter - C<$^X> might not be a perl interpreter at all. Worse, there
128might not even be a perl binary installed on the system.
110 129
111This module tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl 130This module tries hard to identify the correct path to the perl
112interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter 131interpreter. With a cooperative main program, exec'ing the interpreter
113might not even be necessary, but even without help from the main program, 132might not even be necessary, but even without help from the main program,
114it will still work when used from a module. 133it will still work when used from a module.
120and modules are no longer loadable because they refer to a different 139and modules are no longer loadable because they refer to a different
121perl version, or parts of a distribution are newer than the ones already 140perl version, or parts of a distribution are newer than the ones already
122loaded. 141loaded.
123 142
124This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used as 143This module supports creating pre-initialised perl processes to be used as
125a template for new processes. 144a template for new processes at a later time, e.g. for use in a process
145pool.
126 146
127=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running. 147=item Forking might be impossible when a program is running.
128 148
129For example, POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a 149For example, POSIX makes it almost impossible to fork from a
130multi-threaded program while doing anything useful in the child - in 150multi-threaded program while doing anything useful in the child - in
131fact, if your perl program uses POSIX threads (even indirectly via 151fact, if your perl program uses POSIX threads (even indirectly via
132e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), you cannot call fork on the perl level 152e.g. L<IO::AIO> or L<threads>), you cannot call fork on the perl level
133anymore without risking corruption issues on a number of operating 153anymore without risking memory corruption or worse on a number of
134systems. 154operating systems.
135 155
136This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling 156This module can safely fork helper processes at any time, by calling
137fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way (via L<Proc::FastSpawn>). 157fork+exec in C, in a POSIX-compatible way (via L<Proc::FastSpawn>).
138 158
139=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult 159=item Parallel processing with fork might be inconvenient or difficult
221 } 241 }
222 } 242 }
223 243
224=head2 use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec 244=head2 use AnyEvent::Fork as a faster fork+exec
225 245
226This runs C</bin/echo hi>, with stdandard output redirected to /tmp/log 246This runs C</bin/echo hi>, with standard output redirected to F</tmp/log>
227and standard error redirected to the communications socket. It is usually 247and standard error redirected to the communications socket. It is usually
228faster than fork+exec, but still lets you prepare the environment. 248faster than fork+exec, but still lets you prepare the environment.
229 249
230 open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!"; 250 open my $output, ">/tmp/log" or die "$!";
231 251
232 AnyEvent::Fork 252 AnyEvent::Fork
233 ->new 253 ->new
234 ->eval (' 254 ->eval ('
255 # compile a helper function for later use
235 sub run { 256 sub run {
236 my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_; 257 my ($fh, $output, @cmd) = @_;
237 258
238 # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR 259 # perl will clear close-on-exec on STDOUT/STDERR
239 open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die; 260 open STDOUT, ">&", $output or die;
246 ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi") 267 ->send_arg ("/bin/echo", "hi")
247 ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv); 268 ->run ("run", my $cv = AE::cv);
248 269
249 my $stderr = $cv->recv; 270 my $stderr = $cv->recv;
250 271
272=head2 For stingy users: put the worker code into a C<DATA> section.
273
274When you want to be stingy with files, you can put your code into the
275C<DATA> section of your module (or program):
276
277 use AnyEvent::Fork;
278
279 AnyEvent::Fork
280 ->new
281 ->eval (do { local $/; <DATA> })
282 ->run ("doit", sub { ... });
283
284 __DATA__
285
286 sub doit {
287 ... do something!
288 }
289
290=head2 For stingy standalone programs: do not rely on external files at
291all.
292
293For single-file scripts it can be inconvenient to rely on external
294files - even when using a C<DATA> section, you still need to C<exec> an
295external perl interpreter, which might not be available when using
296L<App::Staticperl>, L<Urlader> or L<PAR::Packer> for example.
297
298Two modules help here - L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> forks a template process
299for all further calls to C<new_exec>, and L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>
300forks the main program as a template process.
301
302Here is how your main program should look like:
303
304 #! perl
305
306 # optional, as the very first thing.
307 # in case modules want to create their own processes.
308 use AnyEvent::Fork::Early;
309
310 # next, load all modules you need in your template process
311 use Example::My::Module
312 use Example::Whatever;
313
314 # next, put your run function definition and anything else you
315 # need, but do not use code outside of BEGIN blocks.
316 sub worker_run {
317 my ($fh, @args) = @_;
318 ...
319 }
320
321 # now preserve everything so far as AnyEvent::Fork object
322 # in $TEMPLATE.
323 use AnyEvent::Fork::Template;
324
325 # do not put code outside of BEGIN blocks until here
326
327 # now use the $TEMPLATE process in any way you like
328
329 # for example: create 10 worker processes
330 my @worker;
331 my $cv = AE::cv;
332 for (1..10) {
333 $cv->begin;
334 $TEMPLATE->fork->send_arg ($_)->run ("worker_run", sub {
335 push @worker, shift;
336 $cv->end;
337 });
338 }
339 $cv->recv;
340
251=head1 CONCEPTS 341=head1 CONCEPTS
252 342
253This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl 343This module can create new processes either by executing a new perl
254process, or by forking from an existing "template" process. 344process, or by forking from an existing "template" process.
345
346All these processes are called "child processes" (whether they are direct
347children or not), while the process that manages them is called the
348"parent process".
255 349
256Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to 350Each such process comes with its own file handle that can be used to
257communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process, 351communicate with it (it's actually a socket - one end in the new process,
258one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are 352one end in the main process), and among the things you can do in it are
259load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute 353load modules, fork new processes, send file handles to it, and execute
369use AnyEvent; 463use AnyEvent;
370use AnyEvent::Util (); 464use AnyEvent::Util ();
371 465
372use IO::FDPass; 466use IO::FDPass;
373 467
374our $VERSION = 0.5; 468our $VERSION = 1.2;
375
376our $PERL; # the path to the perl interpreter, deduces with various forms of magic
377
378=over 4
379
380=back
381
382=cut
383 469
384# the early fork template process 470# the early fork template process
385our $EARLY; 471our $EARLY;
386 472
387# the empty template process 473# the empty template process
388our $TEMPLATE; 474our $TEMPLATE;
475
476sub QUEUE() { 0 }
477sub FH() { 1 }
478sub WW() { 2 }
479sub PID() { 3 }
480sub CB() { 4 }
481
482sub _new {
483 my ($self, $fh, $pid) = @_;
484
485 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
486
487 $self = bless [
488 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
489 $fh,
490 undef, # AE watcher
491 $pid,
492 ], $self;
493
494 $self
495}
389 496
390sub _cmd { 497sub _cmd {
391 my $self = shift; 498 my $self = shift;
392 499
393 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl 500 # ideally, we would want to use "a (w/a)*" as format string, but perl
394 # versions from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack 501 # versions from at least 5.8.9 to 5.16.3 are all buggy and can't unpack
395 # it. 502 # it.
396 push @{ $self->[2] }, pack "a L/a*", $_[0], $_[1]; 503 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, pack "a L/a*", $_[0], $_[1];
397 504
398 $self->[3] ||= AE::io $self->[1], 1, sub { 505 $self->[WW] ||= AE::io $self->[FH], 1, sub {
399 do { 506 do {
400 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh, 507 # send the next "thing" in the queue - either a reference to an fh,
401 # or a plain string. 508 # or a plain string.
402 509
403 if (ref $self->[2][0]) { 510 if (ref $self->[QUEUE][0]) {
404 # send fh 511 # send fh
405 unless (IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[1], fileno ${ $self->[2][0] }) { 512 unless (IO::FDPass::send fileno $self->[FH], fileno ${ $self->[QUEUE][0] }) {
406 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK; 513 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
407 undef $self->[3]; 514 undef $self->[WW];
408 die "AnyEvent::Fork: file descriptor send failure: $!"; 515 die "AnyEvent::Fork: file descriptor send failure: $!";
409 } 516 }
410 517
411 shift @{ $self->[2] }; 518 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
412 519
413 } else { 520 } else {
414 # send string 521 # send string
415 my $len = syswrite $self->[1], $self->[2][0]; 522 my $len = syswrite $self->[FH], $self->[QUEUE][0];
416 523
417 unless ($len) { 524 unless ($len) {
418 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK; 525 return if $! == Errno::EAGAIN || $! == Errno::EWOULDBLOCK;
419 undef $self->[3]; 526 undef $self->[WW];
420 die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!"; 527 die "AnyEvent::Fork: command write failure: $!";
421 } 528 }
422 529
423 substr $self->[2][0], 0, $len, ""; 530 substr $self->[QUEUE][0], 0, $len, "";
424 shift @{ $self->[2] } unless length $self->[2][0]; 531 shift @{ $self->[QUEUE] } unless length $self->[QUEUE][0];
425 } 532 }
426 } while @{ $self->[2] }; 533 } while @{ $self->[QUEUE] };
427 534
428 # everything written 535 # everything written
429 undef $self->[3]; 536 undef $self->[WW];
430 537
431 # invoke run callback, if any 538 # invoke run callback, if any
432 $self->[4]->($self->[1]) if $self->[4]; 539 if ($self->[CB]) {
540 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
541 @$self = ();
542 }
433 }; 543 };
434 544
435 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher 545 () # make sure we don't leak the watcher
436}
437
438sub _new {
439 my ($self, $fh, $pid) = @_;
440
441 AnyEvent::Util::fh_nonblocking $fh, 1;
442
443 $self = bless [
444 $pid,
445 $fh,
446 [], # write queue - strings or fd's
447 undef, # AE watcher
448 ], $self;
449
450 $self
451} 546}
452 547
453# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template 548# fork template from current process, used by AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template
454sub _new_fork { 549sub _new_fork {
455 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair; 550 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
460 if ($pid eq 0) { 555 if ($pid eq 0) {
461 require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve; 556 require AnyEvent::Fork::Serve;
462 $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent; 557 $AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::OWNER = $parent;
463 close $fh; 558 close $fh;
464 $0 = "$_[1] of $parent"; 559 $0 = "$_[1] of $parent";
465 $SIG{CHLD} = 'IGNORE';
466 AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave); 560 AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::serve ($slave);
467 exit 0; 561 exit 0;
468 } elsif (!$pid) { 562 } elsif (!$pid) {
469 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!"; 563 die "AnyEvent::Fork::Early/Template: unable to fork template process: $!";
470 } 564 }
524 618
525You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template 619You should use C<new> whenever possible, except when having a template
526process around is unacceptable. 620process around is unacceptable.
527 621
528The path to the perl interpreter is divined using various methods - first 622The path to the perl interpreter is divined using various methods - first
529C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that sounds 623C<$^X> is investigated to see if the path ends with something that looks
530as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to 624as if it were the perl interpreter. Failing this, the module falls back to
531using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>. 625using C<$Config::Config{perlpath}>.
532 626
627The path to perl can also be overriden by setting the global variable
628C<$AnyEvent::Fork::PERL> - it's value will be used for all subsequent
629invocations.
630
533=cut 631=cut
632
633our $PERL;
534 634
535sub new_exec { 635sub new_exec {
536 my ($self) = @_; 636 my ($self) = @_;
537 637
538 return $EARLY->fork 638 return $EARLY->fork
539 if $EARLY; 639 if $EARLY;
540 640
641 unless (defined $PERL) {
541 # first find path of perl 642 # first find path of perl
542 my $perl = $; 643 my $perl = $^X;
543 644
544 # first we try $^X, but the path must be absolute (always on win32), and end in sth. 645 # first we try $^X, but the path must be absolute (always on win32), and end in sth.
545 # that looks like perl. this obviously only works for posix and win32 646 # that looks like perl. this obviously only works for posix and win32
546 unless ( 647 unless (
547 ($^O eq "MSWin32" || $perl =~ m%^/%) 648 ($^O eq "MSWin32" || $perl =~ m%^/%)
548 && $perl =~ m%[/\\]perl(?:[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)+)?(\.exe)?$%i 649 && $perl =~ m%[/\\]perl(?:[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)+)?(\.exe)?$%i
549 ) { 650 ) {
550 # if it doesn't look perlish enough, try Config 651 # if it doesn't look perlish enough, try Config
551 require Config; 652 require Config;
552 $perl = $Config::Config{perlpath}; 653 $perl = $Config::Config{perlpath};
553 $perl =~ s/(?:\Q$Config::Config{_exe}\E)?$/$Config::Config{_exe}/; 654 $perl =~ s/(?:\Q$Config::Config{_exe}\E)?$/$Config::Config{_exe}/;
655 }
656
657 $PERL = $perl;
554 } 658 }
555 659
556 require Proc::FastSpawn; 660 require Proc::FastSpawn;
557 661
558 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair; 662 my ($fh, $slave) = AnyEvent::Util::portable_socketpair;
566 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC; 670 #local $ENV{PERL5LIB} = join ":", grep !ref, @INC;
567 my %env = %ENV; 671 my %env = %ENV;
568 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC; 672 $env{PERL5LIB} = join +($^O eq "MSWin32" ? ";" : ":"), grep !ref, @INC;
569 673
570 my $pid = Proc::FastSpawn::spawn ( 674 my $pid = Proc::FastSpawn::spawn (
571 $perl, 675 $PERL,
572 ["perl", "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$], 676 ["perl", "-MAnyEvent::Fork::Serve", "-e", "AnyEvent::Fork::Serve::me", fileno $slave, $$],
573 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env], 677 [map "$_=$env{$_}", keys %env],
574 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!"; 678 ) or die "unable to spawn AnyEvent::Fork server: $!";
575 679
576 $self->_new ($fh, $pid) 680 $self->_new ($fh, $pid)
577} 681}
578 682
579=item $pid = $proc->pid 683=item $pid = $proc->pid
580 684
581Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the 685Returns the process id of the process I<iff it is a direct child of the
582process running AnyEvent::Fork>, and C<undef> otherwise. 686process running AnyEvent::Fork>, and C<undef> otherwise. As a general
687rule (that you cannot rely upon), processes created via C<new_exec>,
688L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> or L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct
689children, while all other processes are not.
583 690
584Normally, only processes created via C<< AnyEvent::Fork->new_exec >> and 691Or in other words, you do not normally have to take care of zombies for
585L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> are direct children, and you are responsible 692processes created via C<new>, but when in doubt, or zombies are a problem,
586to clean up their zombies when they die. 693you need to check whether a process is a diretc child by calling this
587 694method, and possibly creating a child watcher or reap it manually.
588All other processes are not direct children, and will be cleaned up by
589AnyEvent::Fork itself.
590 695
591=cut 696=cut
592 697
593sub pid { 698sub pid {
594 $_[0][0] 699 $_[0][PID]
595} 700}
596 701
597=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args) 702=item $proc = $proc->eval ($perlcode, @args)
598 703
599Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... perl code, while setting C<@_> to 704Evaluates the given C<$perlcode> as ... Perl code, while setting C<@_> to
600the strings specified by C<@args>, in the "main" package. 705the strings specified by C<@args>, in the "main" package.
601 706
602This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required 707This call is meant to do any custom initialisation that might be required
603(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used 708(for example, the C<require> method uses it). It's not supposed to be used
604to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that. 709to completely take over the process, use C<run> for that.
666sub send_fh { 771sub send_fh {
667 my ($self, @fh) = @_; 772 my ($self, @fh) = @_;
668 773
669 for my $fh (@fh) { 774 for my $fh (@fh) {
670 $self->_cmd ("h"); 775 $self->_cmd ("h");
671 push @{ $self->[2] }, \$fh; 776 push @{ $self->[QUEUE] }, \$fh;
672 } 777 }
673 778
674 $self 779 $self
675} 780}
676 781
725 830
726Even if not used otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the 831Even if not used otherwise, the socket can be a good indicator for the
727existence of the process - if the other process exits, you get a readable 832existence of the process - if the other process exits, you get a readable
728event on it, because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't 833event on it, because exiting the process closes the socket (if it didn't
729create any children using fork). 834create any children using fork).
835
836=over 4
837
838=item Compatibility to L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>
839
840If you want to write code that works with both this module and
841L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, you need to write your code so that it assumes
842there are two file handles for communications, which might not be unix
843domain sockets. The C<run> function should start like this:
844
845 sub run {
846 my ($rfh, @args) = @_; # @args is your normal arguments
847 my $wfh = fileno $rfh ? $rfh : *STDOUT;
848
849 # now use $rfh for reading and $wfh for writing
850 }
851
852This checks whether the passed file handle is, in fact, the process
853C<STDIN> handle. If it is, then the function was invoked visa
854L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, so STDIN should be used for reading and
855C<STDOUT> should be used for writing.
856
857In all other cases, the function was called via this module, and there is
858only one file handle that should be sued for reading and writing.
859
860=back
730 861
731Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some 862Example: create a template for a process pool, pass a few strings, some
732file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code. 863file handles, then fork, pass one more string, and run some code.
733 864
734 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork 865 my $pool = AnyEvent::Fork
762=cut 893=cut
763 894
764sub run { 895sub run {
765 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_; 896 my ($self, $func, $cb) = @_;
766 897
767 $self->[4] = $cb; 898 $self->[CB] = $cb;
768 $self->_cmd (r => $func); 899 $self->_cmd (r => $func);
900}
901
902=back
903
904=head2 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
905
906These methods might go away completely or change behaviour, at any time.
907
908=over 4
909
910=item $proc->to_fh ($cb->($fh)) # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
911
912Flushes all commands out to the process and then calls the callback with
913the communications socket.
914
915The process object becomes unusable on return from this function - any
916further method calls result in undefined behaviour.
917
918The point of this method is to give you a file handle that you can pass
919to another process. In that other process, you can call C<new_from_fh
920AnyEvent::Fork $fh> to create a new C<AnyEvent::Fork> object from it,
921thereby effectively passing a fork object to another process.
922
923=cut
924
925sub to_fh {
926 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
927
928 $self->[CB] = $cb;
929
930 unless ($self->[WW]) {
931 $self->[CB]->($self->[FH]);
932 @$self = ();
933 }
934}
935
936=item new_from_fh AnyEvent::Fork $fh # EXPERIMENTAL, MIGHT BE REMOVED
937
938Takes a file handle originally rceeived by the C<to_fh> method and creates
939a new C<AnyEvent:Fork> object. The child process itself will not change in
940any way, i.e. it will keep all the modifications done to it before calling
941C<to_fh>.
942
943The new object is very much like the original object, except that the
944C<pid> method will return C<undef> even if the process is a direct child.
945
946=cut
947
948sub new_from_fh {
949 my ($class, $fh) = @_;
950
951 $class->_new ($fh)
769} 952}
770 953
771=back 954=back
772 955
773=head1 PERFORMANCE 956=head1 PERFORMANCE
783 966
784 2079 new processes per second, using manual socketpair + fork 967 2079 new processes per second, using manual socketpair + fork
785 968
786Then I did the same thing, but instead of calling fork, I called 969Then I did the same thing, but instead of calling fork, I called
787AnyEvent::Fork->new->run ("CORE::exit") and then again waited for the 970AnyEvent::Fork->new->run ("CORE::exit") and then again waited for the
788socket form the child to close on exit. This does the same thing as manual 971socket from the child to close on exit. This does the same thing as manual
789socket pair + fork, except that what is forked is the template process 972socket pair + fork, except that what is forked is the template process
790(2440kB), and the socket needs to be passed to the server at the other end 973(2440kB), and the socket needs to be passed to the server at the other end
791of the socket first. 974of the socket first.
792 975
793 2307 new processes per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new 976 2307 new processes per second, using AnyEvent::Fork->new
800So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even 983So how can C<< AnyEvent->new >> be faster than a standard fork, even
801though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead? 984though it uses the same operations, but adds a lot of overhead?
802 985
803The difference is simply the process size: forking the 5MB process takes 986The difference is simply the process size: forking the 5MB process takes
804so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the extra 987so much longer than forking the 2.5MB template process that the extra
805overhead introduced is canceled out. 988overhead is canceled out.
806 989
807If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower: 990If the benchmark process grows, the normal fork becomes even slower:
808 991
809 1340 new processes, manual fork of a 20MB process 992 1340 new processes, manual fork of a 20MB process
810 731 new processes, manual fork of a 200MB process 993 731 new processes, manual fork of a 200MB process
870initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually. 1053initialising them, for example, by calling C<init Gtk2> manually.
871 1054
872=item exiting calls object destructors 1055=item exiting calls object destructors
873 1056
874This only applies to users of L<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and 1057This only applies to users of L<AnyEvent::Fork:Early> and
875L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or when initialiasing code creates objects 1058L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, or when initialising code creates objects
876that reference external resources. 1059that reference external resources.
877 1060
878When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling 1061When a process created by AnyEvent::Fork exits, it might do so by calling
879exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point 1062exit, or simply letting perl reach the end of the program. At which point
880Perl runs all destructors. 1063Perl runs all destructors.
900to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to 1083to make it so, mostly due to the bloody broken perl that nobody seems to
901care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something 1084care about. The fork emulation is a bad joke - I have yet to see something
902useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption 1085useful that you can do with it without running into memory corruption
903issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr. 1086issues or other braindamage. Hrrrr.
904 1087
1088Since fork is endlessly broken on win32 perls (it doesn't even remotely
1089work within it's documented limits) and quite obviously it's not getting
1090improved any time soon, the best way to proceed on windows would be to
1091always use C<new_exec> and thus never rely on perl's fork "emulation".
1092
905Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment due to some hilarious 1093Cygwin perl is not supported at the moment due to some hilarious
906shortcomings of its API - see L<IO::FDPoll> for more details. 1094shortcomings of its API - see L<IO::FDPoll> for more details. If you never
1095use C<send_fh> and always use C<new_exec> to create processes, it should
1096work though.
1097
1098=head1 USING AnyEvent::Fork IN SUBPROCESSES
1099
1100AnyEvent::Fork itself cannot generally be used in subprocesses. As long as
1101only one process ever forks new processes, sharing the template processes
1102is possible (you could use a pipe as a lock by writing a byte into it to
1103unlock, and reading the byte to lock for example)
1104
1105To make concurrent calls possible after fork, you should get rid of the
1106template and early fork processes. AnyEvent::Fork will create a new
1107template process as needed.
1108
1109 undef $AnyEvent::Fork::EARLY;
1110 undef $AnyEvent::Fork::TEMPLATE;
1111
1112It doesn't matter whether you get rid of them in the parent or child after
1113a fork.
907 1114
908=head1 SEE ALSO 1115=head1 SEE ALSO
909 1116
910L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early> (to avoid executing a perl interpreter), 1117L<AnyEvent::Fork::Early>, to avoid executing a perl interpreter at all
1118(part of this distribution).
1119
911L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template> (to create a process by forking the main 1120L<AnyEvent::Fork::Template>, to create a process by forking the main
912program at a convenient time). 1121program at a convenient time (part of this distribution).
913 1122
914=head1 AUTHOR 1123L<AnyEvent::Fork::Remote>, for another way to create processes that is
1124mostly compatible to this module and modules building on top of it, but
1125works better with remote processes.
1126
1127L<AnyEvent::Fork::RPC>, for simple RPC to child processes (on CPAN).
1128
1129L<AnyEvent::Fork::Pool>, for simple worker process pool (on CPAN).
1130
1131=head1 AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
915 1132
916 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1133 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
917 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1134 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/AnyEvent-Fork
918 1135
919=cut 1136=cut
920 1137
9211 11381
922 1139

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